Things I Used to Love: Veronica Mars

My Veronica Mars collection -- the series on DVD, and the T-shirt and stickers that were part of my Kickstarter goodies.

Oh, Veronica Mars. My love for this show is deep and true. Every time I rewatch it, I my appreciation for it grows (which is not always the case with shows from my younger years). I find these posts are hardest to write about the things I still love, because it's hard to express why something is important to you. "Because it's so, so awesome!" doesn't make for an interesting read. So I will try to keep the straight-up gushing to a minimum.

Some background: Veronica Mars was a TV show that aired from 2004-2007, first on UPN and then on the newly formed CW network. IMDB describes the premise of the show as follows:

"After her best friend is murdered and her father is removed as county sheriff, Veronica Mars dedicates her life to cracking the toughest mysteries in the affluent town of Neptune."

That's technically accurate, but it's really lacking the heart of the show. Veronica is whip-smart and feisty, and has all the best comebacks and one-liners. Formerly popular, she's now an outcast, but her social status only fuels her sassiness. She is kind to those whom she feels deserve it, but certainly not someone you'd want to cross.

I came across Veronica Mars on winter break 2005-2006. I had surgery and spent most of my break on the couch, consuming media in mass quantities. I picked VM out at the video store and plowed through the first season in a day or two. The second season was currently airing, so I jumped aboard midseason (although I didn't have a strong grasp on what was going on) and watched religiously for the rest of its run.

One of my favorite parts about the show is Veronica's relationship with her dad. Their rapport is admirable, but never hokey. He treats her like an adult for the most part, but still cares deeply for her, and her pain when she disappoints him is palpable.

Then there's Veronica's love life. She pretty much always has a man around, but her romantic endeavors are hardly the focus of the show. The main love interests were Duncan, her murdered best friend's brother and clean-cut billionaire; Logan, the rich-kid bad-boy with whom she has a love-hate relationship; and Piz, the sweet, smart college boy (and the hottest of the three, in my opinion). Many believe that Logan and Veronica (couple name: LoVe) are meant for each other, but I prefer not to choose favorites in this case. I can see how Piz and Logan could both be good matches.

There were a host of before-they-were-stars guest stars, including: Melissa Leo, Jessica Chastain, Ari Graynor, Armie Hammer, Max Greenfield, etc. And a few after-they-were-stars appearances by '90s faves Rider Strong (Boy Meets World), Zachery Ty Bryan, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (from Home Improvement). It's pretty fun to re-watch and see people you know recognize pop up in random roles.

This has nothing to do with anything, but I think it's one of the funniest lines of the series.

While the first season definitely got me hooked, the second season is my favorite. Veronica and Mac bond, the season-long mystery has a lot of twists and turns, and Veronica has all the love interests. The third season switches gears a bit, as we find Veronica attending Hearst College (still in Neptune). I thought there was some thought-provoking commentary about rape in this season, and the serious subject matter matched the slowed-down theme song (though I prefer the upbeat version). I know they were trying to tweak the show to appease the network and avoid cancellation, so they opted for several shorter mystery arcs (rather than a season-long issue, as they had done in past years). The last two episodes of the series open up this whole new can of worms, and leave the audience with absolutely no closure.

I was pretty gutted when the series got cancelled in 2007. Once it was identified as a "bubble" show (likely to get cancelled), I wrote letters to the network, signed online petitions, and Googled furiously for any news the day of the CW upfronts. The series finale was so deeply unsatisfying, how could they leave it with so many loose ends?

Fortunately for me, I wasn't the only one who wasn't ready to say goodbye to Veronica. Last spring, Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas (the show's creator, not the guy from Matchbox 20) hatched a plan to bring Veronica back in the form of a feature film, and said Kickstarter-funded movie comes out tomorrow! I love the inventive way they went about getting this movie made, and I was happy to shell out $50 for a chance to have more V. Mars (and some pretty sweet swag). I'm suuuuper excited to see the movie. AMC is doing special opening-night screenings this evening, but since I will be en route to Vegas, I cannot attend (rough life, I know). But I plan to watch it as soon as possible upon returning home, and I have already purchased my tickets for a Monday-morning show. I can't wait to see what happens.