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fandomhigh_ooc2008-01-13 07:16 pm
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Spotlight on Fandoms - Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is a show that ran for three seasons that was created by Rob Thomas (no, not the singer) and and executive produced by Joel Silver. It's a show about a girl detective in Neptune, California. But Veronica isn't the Nancy Drew girl detective that you're used to.
Characters:
Veronica Mars - Our spunky heroine. She doesn't have issues, she has subscriptions. And sadly, she doesn't seem to learn from her mistakes through the three seasons of the show. She constantly sticks her nose into dangerous situations, doesn't trust anyone (even the people she should trust) and puts herself into stupidly dangerous situations.
Logan Echolls - Introduced in the Pilot as the "obligatory psychotic jackass". Ends up being an on again/off again love interest for Veronica and we learn that he has layers that make him the way he is.
Duncan Kane - Veronica's ex boyfriend & Lilly's brother. Has the presence of a cardboard box. Veronica foolishly gets back together with him for part of Season 2.
Wallace Fennel - Veronica's BFF. She meets him in the Pilot when he gets taped naked to the flagpole by the PCHers for being a snitch. She cuts him down and they become pals.
Eli "Weevil" Navarro - Leader of the PCH gang. Veronica ends up helping him and his boys with a few things and they become pals. He's a tough guy with a heart of gold.
Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie - Neptune's resident computer geek. Veronica enlists her assistance on a case and they end up becoming friends.
Meg Manning - Good girl 09er who tries to be friends with Veronica even after everything that's happened. Ends up getting knocked up by Duncan Kane and dying just after giving birth as a result of injuries she sustained in the bus crash.
Dick Casablancas - A rich boy that definitely lives up to his name, Dick is a racist, mean, jackass who has been known to drug his girlfriends to get them in the mood for sex. He replaces Duncan as Logan's BFF in the second season
Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas - Dick's little brother and like other TV little brothers (*cough*SamandPeter*cough*) is king of broody emo looks. He becomes a love interest for Mac in the second season. Amongst other things.
Keith Mars - Veronica's dad. He owns Mars Investigations and teaches Veronica a lot of the tricks of the trade. He's one of the best parents on modern television.
Season Overviews:
Season One:
Season one introduces us to our titular character, Veronica Mars, and the world she inhabits. We learn over time, and through a series of flashbacks, that Veronica's BFF, Lilly Kane, was murdered almost a year ago. This one event has managed to turn Veronica's world completely upside down. She's a junior in high school and pretty much universally hated by her peers because her father, Keith, who was sheriff at the time of Lilly's murder, accused software mogul, Jake Kane (who created streaming video technology), of murdering his daughter. Keith was removed from office and the new sheriff put another man, Abel Koontz, in jail. Veronica's mother left her husband and daughter amidst the scandal and all of Veronica's friends turned their backs on her.
She copes by doing work for her father's PI firm. At the beginning it's mostly stakeouts to catch adulterers. But she decides to start investigating Lilly's murder herself, quickly finding a number of discrepancies in the case. As she gets closer to the truth, she makes some new friends (Wallace, Weevil & Mac) and re-connects with some old ones (Logan & Meg). Also through Season One, Veronica is trying to learn who raped her at a party shortly after Lilly's death. In addition to these two over-arcing stories, she handles cases for her classmates on an episode by episode basis.
The season ends with Veronica finally discovering who raped her, that Logan (who she has been dating) has been lying to her and the identity of the murderer, which nearly gets her & her father killed.
Season Two:
Season two starts off with Veronica as a senior in high school with a new (but old) boyfriend, Duncan Kane and with her vowing to give up the PI life. But then what do you know, a bus crashes into the ocean and she’s back solving mysteries again. Solving the mystery of who crashed the bus isn’t her only problem. Logan’s jailed for the murder of a PCHer, Keith is running for Sheriff of Neptune, Wallace runs away to Chicago and is accused of a hit-and-run, and the comatose survivor of the bus crash (you might know her, Meg Manning?) is pregnant with Duncan’s illegitimate child. Who has time to apply for college during all that crap? Veronica does, apparently.
There's also another whole storyline about some Irish gang - the Fitzpatricks - and how they're working in cahoots with Weevil's gang - the PCHers - but it never really seemed to have much of a connection with anything else going on.
The season has a very climatic ending involving a plane blowing up, Veronica finding out something terrible about her past and someone taking a swan dive off a hotel roof. *tear*
Season Three:
Season three sees Veronica with Logan (yes, again) and a student at Hearst college in Neptune. This season, unlike the previous two, has a few different big-ish mysteries instead of one. Veronica has to find the Hearst rapist, the murderer of Dean O’Dell and she has to find who the hell sent out her sex tape. Yes, Veronica has a sex tape. And no, it’s not with Logan. Which brings me to the other thing about season three is the constant breaking up and then getting back together of Logan and Veronica. Let’s not get into that. It makes us angry. You also get to meet Mac and Wallace’s respective roommates, Piz and Parker who end up being love interests for Veronica and Logan. *sigh* Keith gets another shot at becoming sheriff and Dick’s father comes back to town and Dick surprisingly shows a little depth. But we’ll never get to see how those two things turn out since the show was cancelled. Boo.
Sam’s standing by the fact that Dick was the best part of season three.
But Why Should I Watch?
The first season of Veronica Mars is probably one of the most well-crafted seasons of television ever. There are compelling characters, you care what happens to them, there's a lot going on, but not too much to keep track of easily. Each episode features a "case of the week" and also furthers both over-arcing storylines.
The payoff of both season long story arcs is worth waiting for. The "villians" are characters you meet early on in the season and the motives are shocking.
The second season had a little too much going on, but the bus crash story line pays off in a huge way.
The third season... well... it's not that surprising the show was cancelled.
In other words? You should definitely watch season one right now if you haven't seen it.
Jen and Sam's Favorite Episodes
Jen
Season 1
Return of the Kane (1x6) - An excellent Logan episode - where we learn why he's such a psychotic jackass.
An Echolls Family Christmas (1x12) - Weevil gets invited to a high stakes poker game at Logan's place and wins, only to learn the money has disappeared. Veronica investigates to figure out who took it (and kicks ass at poker).
A Trip to the Dentist (1x21) - We learn the identity of Veronica's rapist and she gets on the trail of Lilly's killer.
Season 2
Donut Run (2x11) - I really only like this one because it's Duncan's last episode and I loathe him, though the story is actually pretty interesting.
Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough (2x13) - Someone steals the money for the senior class trip from the Winter Festival. This is the episode that convinced me Veronica/Weevil could be a valid ship. It also introduced a character that I loathed almost as much as Duncan, but she didn't last long.
Season 3
My Big Fat Greek Rush Week (3x2) - I have to confess that I haven't seen all of season three at this point. I got so frustrated by Veronica's stupidity and the constant on/off relationship between Veronica & Logan. However, this episode was fun for a couple of reasons. #1 it has Veronica undercover as a sorority girl which is hilarious and #2 it has Ryder Strong (from Boy Meets World fame) as a guest star.
Sam
Season 1
Ruskie Business (1x15) - It's a Valentine's Day episode where Meg has a secret admirer and Veronica has to help her figure out who it is. Too bad it's Duncan. She also has to help a Russian woman find her husband but not all is as it seems (but is it ever?). The highlight of the episode is definitely the first appearance of Alyson Hannigan as Trina Echolls. The scene where she has to shuffle out drunk!Logan from the V-Day dance is priceless.
A Trip to the Dentist (1x21) - Probably my favorite episode ever because the '09ers are my favorite characters and this episode is chock full of them.
Season 2
I Am God (2x18) - This episode is beautiful with Veronica's dreams of the dead kids from the bus crash. And there's the reappearance of Meg, which makes me happy. The Veronica/Logan banter during the episode is supercute too.
Not Pictured (2x22) - Veronica graduates! Seriously, there are so many "OMG are you kidding me?" moments in this episode it's not even funny. And the ending makes me cry.
Season 3
Spit and Eggs (3x09) - You finally get to see who the Hearst rapist is! If you stop wondering why Veronica is an idiot for two seconds (and believe me, you will) the episode is actually quite enjoyable. There is some great music in this episode, both at the frat party they go to and during the action scenes.
Weevils Wobble But They Don't Go Down (3x19) - Okay, first? Best episode title ever. And there's *finally* a Weevil-centric episode this season and you realize how much you missed Francis Capra this whole time. And this is the episode where Dick's dad comes back and my boy finally gets some depth! And Logan punches Piz! Yay!
[Co-written with the lovely![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
marsheadtilt]
Characters:
Veronica Mars - Our spunky heroine. She doesn't have issues, she has subscriptions. And sadly, she doesn't seem to learn from her mistakes through the three seasons of the show. She constantly sticks her nose into dangerous situations, doesn't trust anyone (even the people she should trust) and puts herself into stupidly dangerous situations.
Logan Echolls - Introduced in the Pilot as the "obligatory psychotic jackass". Ends up being an on again/off again love interest for Veronica and we learn that he has layers that make him the way he is.
Duncan Kane - Veronica's ex boyfriend & Lilly's brother. Has the presence of a cardboard box. Veronica foolishly gets back together with him for part of Season 2.
Wallace Fennel - Veronica's BFF. She meets him in the Pilot when he gets taped naked to the flagpole by the PCHers for being a snitch. She cuts him down and they become pals.
Eli "Weevil" Navarro - Leader of the PCH gang. Veronica ends up helping him and his boys with a few things and they become pals. He's a tough guy with a heart of gold.
Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie - Neptune's resident computer geek. Veronica enlists her assistance on a case and they end up becoming friends.
Meg Manning - Good girl 09er who tries to be friends with Veronica even after everything that's happened. Ends up getting knocked up by Duncan Kane and dying just after giving birth as a result of injuries she sustained in the bus crash.
Dick Casablancas - A rich boy that definitely lives up to his name, Dick is a racist, mean, jackass who has been known to drug his girlfriends to get them in the mood for sex. He replaces Duncan as Logan's BFF in the second season
Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas - Dick's little brother and like other TV little brothers (*cough*SamandPeter*cough*) is king of broody emo looks. He becomes a love interest for Mac in the second season. Amongst other things.
Keith Mars - Veronica's dad. He owns Mars Investigations and teaches Veronica a lot of the tricks of the trade. He's one of the best parents on modern television.
Season Overviews:
Season One:
Season one introduces us to our titular character, Veronica Mars, and the world she inhabits. We learn over time, and through a series of flashbacks, that Veronica's BFF, Lilly Kane, was murdered almost a year ago. This one event has managed to turn Veronica's world completely upside down. She's a junior in high school and pretty much universally hated by her peers because her father, Keith, who was sheriff at the time of Lilly's murder, accused software mogul, Jake Kane (who created streaming video technology), of murdering his daughter. Keith was removed from office and the new sheriff put another man, Abel Koontz, in jail. Veronica's mother left her husband and daughter amidst the scandal and all of Veronica's friends turned their backs on her.
She copes by doing work for her father's PI firm. At the beginning it's mostly stakeouts to catch adulterers. But she decides to start investigating Lilly's murder herself, quickly finding a number of discrepancies in the case. As she gets closer to the truth, she makes some new friends (Wallace, Weevil & Mac) and re-connects with some old ones (Logan & Meg). Also through Season One, Veronica is trying to learn who raped her at a party shortly after Lilly's death. In addition to these two over-arcing stories, she handles cases for her classmates on an episode by episode basis.
The season ends with Veronica finally discovering who raped her, that Logan (who she has been dating) has been lying to her and the identity of the murderer, which nearly gets her & her father killed.
Season Two:
Season two starts off with Veronica as a senior in high school with a new (but old) boyfriend, Duncan Kane and with her vowing to give up the PI life. But then what do you know, a bus crashes into the ocean and she’s back solving mysteries again. Solving the mystery of who crashed the bus isn’t her only problem. Logan’s jailed for the murder of a PCHer, Keith is running for Sheriff of Neptune, Wallace runs away to Chicago and is accused of a hit-and-run, and the comatose survivor of the bus crash (you might know her, Meg Manning?) is pregnant with Duncan’s illegitimate child. Who has time to apply for college during all that crap? Veronica does, apparently.
There's also another whole storyline about some Irish gang - the Fitzpatricks - and how they're working in cahoots with Weevil's gang - the PCHers - but it never really seemed to have much of a connection with anything else going on.
The season has a very climatic ending involving a plane blowing up, Veronica finding out something terrible about her past and someone taking a swan dive off a hotel roof. *tear*
Season Three:
Season three sees Veronica with Logan (yes, again) and a student at Hearst college in Neptune. This season, unlike the previous two, has a few different big-ish mysteries instead of one. Veronica has to find the Hearst rapist, the murderer of Dean O’Dell and she has to find who the hell sent out her sex tape. Yes, Veronica has a sex tape. And no, it’s not with Logan. Which brings me to the other thing about season three is the constant breaking up and then getting back together of Logan and Veronica. Let’s not get into that. It makes us angry. You also get to meet Mac and Wallace’s respective roommates, Piz and Parker who end up being love interests for Veronica and Logan. *sigh* Keith gets another shot at becoming sheriff and Dick’s father comes back to town and Dick surprisingly shows a little depth. But we’ll never get to see how those two things turn out since the show was cancelled. Boo.
Sam’s standing by the fact that Dick was the best part of season three.
But Why Should I Watch?
The first season of Veronica Mars is probably one of the most well-crafted seasons of television ever. There are compelling characters, you care what happens to them, there's a lot going on, but not too much to keep track of easily. Each episode features a "case of the week" and also furthers both over-arcing storylines.
The payoff of both season long story arcs is worth waiting for. The "villians" are characters you meet early on in the season and the motives are shocking.
The second season had a little too much going on, but the bus crash story line pays off in a huge way.
The third season... well... it's not that surprising the show was cancelled.
In other words? You should definitely watch season one right now if you haven't seen it.
Jen and Sam's Favorite Episodes
Jen
Season 1
Return of the Kane (1x6) - An excellent Logan episode - where we learn why he's such a psychotic jackass.
An Echolls Family Christmas (1x12) - Weevil gets invited to a high stakes poker game at Logan's place and wins, only to learn the money has disappeared. Veronica investigates to figure out who took it (and kicks ass at poker).
A Trip to the Dentist (1x21) - We learn the identity of Veronica's rapist and she gets on the trail of Lilly's killer.
Season 2
Donut Run (2x11) - I really only like this one because it's Duncan's last episode and I loathe him, though the story is actually pretty interesting.
Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough (2x13) - Someone steals the money for the senior class trip from the Winter Festival. This is the episode that convinced me Veronica/Weevil could be a valid ship. It also introduced a character that I loathed almost as much as Duncan, but she didn't last long.
Season 3
My Big Fat Greek Rush Week (3x2) - I have to confess that I haven't seen all of season three at this point. I got so frustrated by Veronica's stupidity and the constant on/off relationship between Veronica & Logan. However, this episode was fun for a couple of reasons. #1 it has Veronica undercover as a sorority girl which is hilarious and #2 it has Ryder Strong (from Boy Meets World fame) as a guest star.
Sam
Season 1
Ruskie Business (1x15) - It's a Valentine's Day episode where Meg has a secret admirer and Veronica has to help her figure out who it is. Too bad it's Duncan. She also has to help a Russian woman find her husband but not all is as it seems (but is it ever?). The highlight of the episode is definitely the first appearance of Alyson Hannigan as Trina Echolls. The scene where she has to shuffle out drunk!Logan from the V-Day dance is priceless.
A Trip to the Dentist (1x21) - Probably my favorite episode ever because the '09ers are my favorite characters and this episode is chock full of them.
Season 2
I Am God (2x18) - This episode is beautiful with Veronica's dreams of the dead kids from the bus crash. And there's the reappearance of Meg, which makes me happy. The Veronica/Logan banter during the episode is supercute too.
Not Pictured (2x22) - Veronica graduates! Seriously, there are so many "OMG are you kidding me?" moments in this episode it's not even funny. And the ending makes me cry.
Season 3
Spit and Eggs (3x09) - You finally get to see who the Hearst rapist is! If you stop wondering why Veronica is an idiot for two seconds (and believe me, you will) the episode is actually quite enjoyable. There is some great music in this episode, both at the frat party they go to and during the action scenes.
Weevils Wobble But They Don't Go Down (3x19) - Okay, first? Best episode title ever. And there's *finally* a Weevil-centric episode this season and you realize how much you missed Francis Capra this whole time. And this is the episode where Dick's dad comes back and my boy finally gets some depth! And Logan punches Piz! Yay!
[Co-written with the lovely
marsheadtilt]