I love Veronica Mars--even though the show has been off the air for five years now. I read a great review of the pilot before it aired. Otherwise, I might have never seen the show.
The pilot was compelling. I might have missed an episode in the first half of the first season but VM soon became can't miss TV. We started taping episodes so we could re-watch them. Googling the show's creator, Rob Thomas, led me to Television Without Pity recaps and forums. VM was the first show that I watched along with TWoP.
Earlier this year, Soapnet added VM to its line-up. Soapnet shows 16 hours of VM each week; with only 64 episodes, Soapnet cycles though the seasons quickly. Catching pieces of episodes reminds me of how much I enjoyed the show--especially the first season.
We have all three seasons on DVD and I decided to re-watch the complete series.
I've completed the first disk of Season One: Pilot, Credit Where Credit's Due, Meet John Smith and The Wrath of Con.
Pilot was great. Through a liberal use of voice overs and flashbacks, we see how Veronica's life changed after her best friend's Lily's death (among other things, she's a social pariah at Neptune High.) Pilot sets up the season long mysteries: what really happened to Lily, who raped Veronica and where is Veronica's mother Lianne Mars? The mystery of the week shows the beginning of Veronica's friendship with Wallace and perhaps an alliance between Veronica and Weevil. There's also a hint of Veronica's mimicking ability which comes into play in future episodes.
Credit Where Credit's Due: The biggest problem with this episode is its stunt guest star, Paris Hilton. Although she's a year younger than Kristen Bell, she looks too old to be a high school student. I must admit that she effectively plays a rich, spoiled bitch so her acting doesn't ruin the show. This episode develops the Veronica/Weevil connection--she solves the case that gets him out of trouble. Plus Veronica discovers proof that the reported time of Lily's death was wrong and that the Kanes' alibis no longer hold up.
Meet John Smith: I was psyched to see guest star Melissa Leo; I've loved her since she played Linda Warner on All My Children (her first IMDB credit.) This week's mystery is a classmate's search for his missing father. The resolution caught me by surprise and is a nice balance to Veronica's unsuccessful search for her mother. There are more hints of odd things going on in the Kane household including Duncan's hallucination of Lily telling him the story of her murder isn't right. I also liked that Veronica jumped to the wrong conclusion about one of the "John Smiths." She may be smart and tough but she's not always right. It's nice to know that even in the noir world of Neptune, not all is dark.
Wrath of Con: This is a fun episode as Veronica out-cons the geeky cons who tricked Wallace's friend out of $3000. Via flashback, we also get an idea of how close the foursome of Veronica, Lily, Duncan and Logan were, dressed up to go to a school dance but instead having an all-night limo party. Back in the present, Veronica gives Logan a tape of their party night which he edits into a video tribute at the dedication of the Lily Kane fountain. They share a smile watching the video. Weevil is also at the dedication, crying. What's up with that? The episode ends with Veronica stopping the limo on the way to this year's dance so she can skinny dip as a kind of tribute to Lily. It was a sweet moment, but damn--is she really going to go to the dance with her hair all wet and straggly? What about the salt water? Seaweed? I also hate the trope that women can just slip off shoes and gown to get naked. What about her date Troy and Wallace and his date, just waiting in the limo? Too impractical. Why couldn't she have skinny-dipped on the way home? (End of rant--I'll just have to let it go now.)
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