Veronica Mars: Season 1

It’s a Raymond Chandler evening
At the end of someone’s day
And I’m standing in my pocket
And I’m slowly turning grey

It’s rare I’ll let the back of a DVD box do my job for me, but this once I’m going to make an exception, because it tells you exactly what you need to know about Veronica Mars: “A little bit Buffy. A little bit Bogart. A dash of Nancy Drew.” That won’t stop me from filling another six paragraphs, of course, but it’s a nice starting point. Yet it doesn’t fully do the character justice because Veronica Mars is far more than the sum of her forebears- smarter than the Hardy Boys, sassier than Nancy Drew, looks waaay better in a miniskirt than that chump Encyclopedia Brown. But a person could be forgiven their skepticism because let’s face it: when boiled down to a one-sentence description, the idea of a high school girl solving mysteries sounds nearly as inane as… well, the idea of a high school girl fighting demons. To get around that, let’s take a closer look at just who this girl is, shall we?

Veronica Mars used to have everything: a place in the in crowd, the richest boyfriend in school, his sister Lilly for a best friend, and a happy home life with her father as sheriff. That all came crashing down the day Lilly was murdered, setting off a chain of events that culminated in Keith Mars being drummed out of office, Veronica’s mother skipping town, and Veronica herself becoming the school pariah. Less than a year later we’re introduced to a wiser, tougher Veronica struggling to help her father with his fledgling detective agency and to solve a few cases of her own, all while enduring abuse from her former friends and returning it in spades. Looming behind it all is the specter of Lilly Kane’s murder, the solution to which has the power to either vindicate or damn Keith’s suspicions and allow Veronica to finally lay her friend to rest. Aided by her only friend Wallace, ignored by former boyfriend Duncan, and tormented by Lilly’s ex and psychotic jackass Logan, it’s going to be a busy year for Veronica Mars. And if you’re a fan of intelligent, entertaining TV, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

I remember what I told you
But I can’t remember why
And the yellow leaves are falling
In a spiral from the sky

I mentioned Buffy earlier, and not to belabor the point, but the two shows do have a lot in common, starting with how they begin: a cute, formerly popular teenage girl suddenly finds herself ostracized and forced to rebuild her life from scratch. On the other hand, a wittier writer than I observed the irony of VM’s theme song containing the lines “A long time ago, we used to be friends, but I haven’t thought of you lately at all”… because, after suffering through the last two seasons of Buffy, a blonde spitfire who kicked evil’s ass without benefit of superpowers swooped in and stole my heart, and I’ve barely thought of the Slayer since. Heresy, I know, but if we were all on The Bachelor, Veronica would most definitely get a rose; Buffy might not. (Note: I do not watch The Bachelor.) While I love the first few seasons of BtVS, Veronica grafts Buffy’s attitude onto Willow’s character and ditches the self-pity, with a definite emphasis on brains over brawn. Still, fans of one show will almost certainly appreciate the other, as they touch on many of the same themes set against a high school backdrop. One final comparison: channeling Spike, the character of Logan was originally intended as a recurring antagonist and pain in Veronica’s ass but interacted so well with the rest of the cast that his role was expanded, creating a much more rounded character.

One of the key areas in which Veronica Mars sets itself apart is its willingness to tackle tough issues and darker themes. Make no mistake- VM may take place in high school, but it’s far more The Shield than Dawson’s Creek. That’s apparent from the very first episode, where we learn that Veronica’s sole attempt to rejoin the in crowd following Lilly’s death ended with her being drugged and raped at a party. Terrible occurrences like these aren’t glossed over or trivialized in a melodramatic “tonight, on a very special Veronica Mars” way; rather, they’re presented as an unfortunate consequence of the world the characters inhabit, one that is often enjoyable but sometimes horribly unfair. Veronica and Keith usually solve the case, but that doesn’t mean they all end well, which is precisely how things should be in noir. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of humor to go around and more than a few happy endings, but you should never take it for granted from one episode to another.

There’s a body on the railings
That I can’t identify
And I’d like to reassure you but
I’m not that kind of guy

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes VM work because every aspect of the show works in tandem to create a greater whole. Certainly the writing is sharp, particularly in season 1, full of strong character arcs and a satisfying conclusion. Creator Rob Thomas cites Twin Peaks as a huge influence but claims Laura Palmer taught him an important lesson: if you’re going to introduce a huge mystery to the audience, you have to eventually solve it. I forget whether prior to this I thought Kristen Bell was great or just great looking, but either way, she does an excellent job of spearheading the cast. It would be easy for the character to become a stereotypical “sassy girl hurting on the inside,” but Bell never lets Veronica become a cliché and shows acting range far beyond her years. Likewise, Enrico Colatoni (known to all you Galaxy Quest fans) is outstanding, and his and Veronica’s interactions just might go down as the best parent-child relationship in television history. By turns supportive, suspicious, joking, protective, competent, and always, always loving, Keith is the kind of TV dad we need to see more of; in some episodes with particularly heavy Keith/Veronica interaction, the rest of the cast might as well not exist.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the stellar guest stars (mostly, Paris Hilton) who manage to support the main cast without overshadowing them. Prominent names include Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith, Paul Rudd, Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat, Ralph “The Todd” Maschio, Alyson Hannigan, and Charisma Carpenter, the latter two even getting to share a scene together. (Good news for Buffy fans who always wanted to see Willow out-bitch Cordelia.) In a similar vein, what helps keep the “mystery of the week” format from getting stale is that minor characters often return in later episodes, reinforcing the notion of a cohesive universe; some, like Tina Majorino’s Mac, even join the main cast in later seasons. And while the show has a few flaws, in the first season at least they tend to be fairly minor. For instance, the constant jokes about Veronica being flat-chested wear thin quickly… Kristin Bell isn’t stacked, but she’s not exactly surfboarding it either, unless the girl’s got one hell of a water bra. Likewise, Veronica’s voiceovers are often clever but sometimes feel redundant.

I could go on, but it boils down to one thing, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of detective fiction or not: Veronica Mars is television for smart people. It doesn’t spoonfeed you answers, it doesn’t make you wonder if the writers think you’re an idiot — it trusts you to make intuitive leaps and see how things connect yourself. If that sounds like your kind of show, if you like the idea of a spunky heroine with a brain in her head and a terrific supporting cast, then there’s no mystery: you owe it to yourself to give Veronica Mars a try.

It’s a Raymond Chandler evening
And the pavements are all wet
And I’m lurking in the shadows
‘Cause it hasn’t happened…

…yet.