LIke many people, I missed this show when it was on the air (actually, I watched five minutes and said "Wow, a high school girl who's also a detective? That's retarded!"), and didn't give it a second thought until I saw all three seasons sitting on the shelf of a person I respected. I raised a disdainful (but still respectful) eyebrow in his general direction, and after five minutes of fervent gushing and insistent nudging I walked out of his office with the aforementioned three seasons nestled in my bag. Rebecca and I sat down to check out an episode that night, and I quickly realized that my friend was right: VERONICA MARS is a great freaking show.The heart and soul of the show is, of course, high-schooler Veronica Mars herself, played with brains, guts, and sass by Kristen Bell. She is Nancy Drew for the new millennium, except twice as hot and she carries a Tazer. Bell is a joy to watch, and she is supported by an outstanding group of actors (Enrico Colantoni is fantastic as her private detective/former sheriff dad). The show is built around a big mystery that takes an entire season to solve, while each individual episode has its own smaller story arc. The big mysteries are compelling and complex, and the episodic story lines are tightly woven and smart. With echoes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett ringing through every episode, VERONICA MARS is a modern noir, except its set in a high school and nobody smokes.
Of course, no show is perfect, and MARS is no exception. The lighting is preposterously stylized, the characters can sometimes be a touch one-note, and you are asked to believe that the only Latino kids who go to Neptune High are in a gang--a biker gang. HOWEVER! The fact of the matter is that everything else about the show is so good, and done so well, that the flaws come off as charming quirks rather than glaring failures, and make you love the show all the more (Rebecca and I always laugh when a featured extra is blatantly 35 years old). There are only three seasons of the fantastic show, and each one is better than the next. By the time you finish the last episode of the series (and the 12-minute promo for Season 4), you will shake your hands at the heavens and ask why a loving and merciful God would allow this show to be cancelled.
3 comments:
Okay, now I have a reason to finally finish Six Feet Under.
It broke my heart when Veronica Mars went off the air. I'm happy you've finally discovered her yourself.
"A review on Veronica Mars? wow, that's retarded." Or, so I foolishly thought.
I never thought twice about this show, but am willing to try it based on your review.
I now hope you will review Freaks and Geeks. My laziness (couldn't muster the energy to skip to the menu on a disc) exposed me to a freaks and geeks ad last night. I'm intrigued.
Post a Comment