The first time I saw Veronica Mars I was on my lunch break from college. It took me a little by surprise; I was wondering why RTE1 were presenting a show about rich American kids smuggling drugs over the Mexican boarder at one in the day. Not that I was complaining. It was enchanting. A group of silly affluent teenage boys had gotten into trouble with the law involving a stolen car and steroids and they needed the help of a cute blonde girl to save the day. It was like an edgy OC with a Mystery twist. It even had a good soundtrack. Why hadn’t I heard of this before? Then again I really should’ve had better things to be doing during August of 2006…
Veronica Mars filled that void that the OC had created and that One Tree Hill never fully managed to choke. It was like what would happen if Nancy Drew grew up in a modern Southern Californian town, warts and all. The show pivots around the titular hero, played by Kristen Bell, a sassy high school student who fancies herself as a bit of a detective and her attempts to discover the truth behind her best friends’ murder. Although there is a clear narrative running through the show, most episodes have a stand alone mystery- allowing the devoted fan to remain absorbed without alienating the casual watcher. What really surprised me was the willingness of the show to be (in some ways) subversive. Here was a noir teenage drama with a female lead who didn’t portray any sexual stereotypes, but was at the same time flawed and human. Also the themes that the show dealt with were surprisingly adult and complex- class conflict, morality and ethics, social order, inclusion, conformity. And these issues are rarely dealt with in a condescending manner that one would expect from a show aimed primarily at adolescents. Here was a show that mixed the typical emotional driven teenage trials of love, loss and betrayal with the gritty realism of a late night cop show. A rare show indeed.
Given that the viewing time wasn’t the most convenient I didn’t get a chance to fully immerse myself into Veronica Mars. I saw a few episodes from season one and season two before RTE took it off the air, much to my anger and disappointment. I had enough to develop a taste but I was in no way satisfied. Day after day I checked the TV listings hoping to find the name Veronica Mars somewhere. The only place it appeared was on the Living Channel- the channel for stay-at-home-wives who, judging by most of the programming bounce between the highs of Prozac and the lows of gin. And I, being without the evils of digital, was denied access to this station. So, after a while I gave up and eventually forgot about Veronica Mars.
Until I recently discovered that a friend of mine was a big fan. She even had t-shirts. And more importantly she had all the episodes on her computer. (I had no idea there were three seasons, oh joy!) So, I acquired the first season last week and watched it in pretty much one long viewing. Last night. And I loved it. I love how the characters don’t conform to the types of characters one would expect in a show starring mostly teenagers. Logan is a good example of this. His role is the rich bad boy who is a little crazy, but not enough to be very threatening. While he never does anything too out of character, he remains sufficiently unpredictable. His actions are often surprising, but never ridiculous. Similarly Veronica’s character is convincing because of her imperfections which make her human. While she might do something that goes against her conscience, her motives are understandable, as are her feelings which are generally well projected. She is a character with strong convictions and an inability to tolerate disrespect. Many of the actions she carries out throughout the series are motivated by revenge and the moral implications of being consumed by a need for vengeance are often explored. As an outsider she has little value for being well liked, and expects other characters to dislike her before they even get to know her. Time and again Veronica encounters people who try to dissipate her negative view of humanity and teach her that she can have friends should she choose to open herself up. Loyal best friend and constant side-kick Wallace unfairly plays Veronica’s second fiddle and unquestioningly helps her. While his portrayal in this season is problematic, I can see his character developing in the second series. One of the most charming elements of the show is the relationship between Veronica and her private eye father Keith Mars, brilliantly played by Enrico Colantoni. Dialogue between them is always full of dry wit and their closeness is expertly portrayed, the viewer can easily see both the tenderness and strength they share.
While watching Veronica Mars progress I began to realise that it owed a lot less to the teen dramas and Mystery shows I gave it credit for and a lot more to the highly influential 90’s TV drama Twin Peaks. The similarities are striking. Both shows begin with the mysterious murder of a beautiful and promising young women, who is “full of secrets” and continue to be consumed by the solving of the murder. Both shows are about a community bitterly divided into the decadently rich and the poor who work for them. Both shows (and most of Lynchs’ work) are about the dark secrets that hide beneath the pleasant exterior of modern America. Both shows have very strong female characters. The supernatural even enters into Veronica Mars at some points. Where these shows diverge is in the presentation and style. And maybe that’s a good thing; the world only needs one show as brilliantly surreal and twisted as Twin Peaks.
But all that is not to say this show is perfect. There are some shamelessly gaping holes and blatant inaccuracies in some of the stories, particularly when dealing with technology and in detailing the solving of some crimes. Also, it is easy to see how this show could become boring and formulaic- a minor mystery is solved every show while at the same time some progress is made into the main story arc, frequently leaving a cliff-hanger at the end of an episode. A lot is required of the writing if this is expected to work, but from what I’ve seen so far I’d be confident. One major criticism that I’ve noticed from spectators is that the show isn’t “gritty” or “real” enough and that the show was hyped up too much and never lived up to its’ expectations. Well, I never heard anything about Veronica Mars before I accidentally came upon it one summer lunch-time, so this only applies to people who believe the hype. More fool you, I say. Obviously it isn’t The Wire or The Sopranos, but it doesn’t try to be. It’s the perfect antidote to recent teen dramas, full of humour, suspense and convincing story telling.
Veronica Mars filled that void that the OC had created and that One Tree Hill never fully managed to choke. It was like what would happen if Nancy Drew grew up in a modern Southern Californian town, warts and all. The show pivots around the titular hero, played by Kristen Bell, a sassy high school student who fancies herself as a bit of a detective and her attempts to discover the truth behind her best friends’ murder. Although there is a clear narrative running through the show, most episodes have a stand alone mystery- allowing the devoted fan to remain absorbed without alienating the casual watcher. What really surprised me was the willingness of the show to be (in some ways) subversive. Here was a noir teenage drama with a female lead who didn’t portray any sexual stereotypes, but was at the same time flawed and human. Also the themes that the show dealt with were surprisingly adult and complex- class conflict, morality and ethics, social order, inclusion, conformity. And these issues are rarely dealt with in a condescending manner that one would expect from a show aimed primarily at adolescents. Here was a show that mixed the typical emotional driven teenage trials of love, loss and betrayal with the gritty realism of a late night cop show. A rare show indeed.
Given that the viewing time wasn’t the most convenient I didn’t get a chance to fully immerse myself into Veronica Mars. I saw a few episodes from season one and season two before RTE took it off the air, much to my anger and disappointment. I had enough to develop a taste but I was in no way satisfied. Day after day I checked the TV listings hoping to find the name Veronica Mars somewhere. The only place it appeared was on the Living Channel- the channel for stay-at-home-wives who, judging by most of the programming bounce between the highs of Prozac and the lows of gin. And I, being without the evils of digital, was denied access to this station. So, after a while I gave up and eventually forgot about Veronica Mars.
Until I recently discovered that a friend of mine was a big fan. She even had t-shirts. And more importantly she had all the episodes on her computer. (I had no idea there were three seasons, oh joy!) So, I acquired the first season last week and watched it in pretty much one long viewing. Last night. And I loved it. I love how the characters don’t conform to the types of characters one would expect in a show starring mostly teenagers. Logan is a good example of this. His role is the rich bad boy who is a little crazy, but not enough to be very threatening. While he never does anything too out of character, he remains sufficiently unpredictable. His actions are often surprising, but never ridiculous. Similarly Veronica’s character is convincing because of her imperfections which make her human. While she might do something that goes against her conscience, her motives are understandable, as are her feelings which are generally well projected. She is a character with strong convictions and an inability to tolerate disrespect. Many of the actions she carries out throughout the series are motivated by revenge and the moral implications of being consumed by a need for vengeance are often explored. As an outsider she has little value for being well liked, and expects other characters to dislike her before they even get to know her. Time and again Veronica encounters people who try to dissipate her negative view of humanity and teach her that she can have friends should she choose to open herself up. Loyal best friend and constant side-kick Wallace unfairly plays Veronica’s second fiddle and unquestioningly helps her. While his portrayal in this season is problematic, I can see his character developing in the second series. One of the most charming elements of the show is the relationship between Veronica and her private eye father Keith Mars, brilliantly played by Enrico Colantoni. Dialogue between them is always full of dry wit and their closeness is expertly portrayed, the viewer can easily see both the tenderness and strength they share.
While watching Veronica Mars progress I began to realise that it owed a lot less to the teen dramas and Mystery shows I gave it credit for and a lot more to the highly influential 90’s TV drama Twin Peaks. The similarities are striking. Both shows begin with the mysterious murder of a beautiful and promising young women, who is “full of secrets” and continue to be consumed by the solving of the murder. Both shows are about a community bitterly divided into the decadently rich and the poor who work for them. Both shows (and most of Lynchs’ work) are about the dark secrets that hide beneath the pleasant exterior of modern America. Both shows have very strong female characters. The supernatural even enters into Veronica Mars at some points. Where these shows diverge is in the presentation and style. And maybe that’s a good thing; the world only needs one show as brilliantly surreal and twisted as Twin Peaks.
But all that is not to say this show is perfect. There are some shamelessly gaping holes and blatant inaccuracies in some of the stories, particularly when dealing with technology and in detailing the solving of some crimes. Also, it is easy to see how this show could become boring and formulaic- a minor mystery is solved every show while at the same time some progress is made into the main story arc, frequently leaving a cliff-hanger at the end of an episode. A lot is required of the writing if this is expected to work, but from what I’ve seen so far I’d be confident. One major criticism that I’ve noticed from spectators is that the show isn’t “gritty” or “real” enough and that the show was hyped up too much and never lived up to its’ expectations. Well, I never heard anything about Veronica Mars before I accidentally came upon it one summer lunch-time, so this only applies to people who believe the hype. More fool you, I say. Obviously it isn’t The Wire or The Sopranos, but it doesn’t try to be. It’s the perfect antidote to recent teen dramas, full of humour, suspense and convincing story telling.
Of course it's cancelled now, so it might be difficult to find this show now...
Veronica: You prank-called Mandy?
Veronica: You prank-called Mandy?
Lenny: What if I did?
Veronica: Well, I want to congratulate you. Shake your hand. Congratulations! You've been named the world's biggest cockroach. This award is given in recognition in your unparalleled lack of decency and humanity. Bravo. You're going to die friendless and alone.
Lenny: Hey, everyone knows you're the biggest...
Veronica: Shut up! If I want you to speak, I'll wave a Snausage in front of your nose. You use Mandy again to convince yourself you're not a loser, I will ruin your life. Got it?
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