So, in-between Netflix shipments of Doctor Who, I've taken to watching the first season of "Veronica Mars," which I bought on reliable advice a few weeks back. Let me tell you, it's been a good couple of months for me discovering new shows and music I like.
What Veronica Mars ends up being, if I may be so glib, is a little like "Chloe Sullivan: The Series," except that all the Weird is mundane Hollyweird as opposed to Krypton-weird. Oh, and Veronica's rarely a damsel in distress pining away for the boy who doesn't notice her. She's what Chloe Sullivan should have been, and that's pretty much exactly what I want from TV.
Incidentally, though, I keep getting this "Dexter" vibe from the series. I think it's the music, coupled with the first-person narration and the story arc style. Which reminds me, I still have to watch the rest of last season of "Dexter."
8 comments:
Early on lots of people were saying Veronica Mars was just a ripoff of Chloe Sullivan, but really, they're both just riffs on Nancy Drew. Too bad there weren't enough people who both watched and wanted a girl detective series to keep Veronica Mars on the air.
Veronica Mars has been one of the better dramas to show up on network TV in a while.
If Veronica Mars is at all a copy-cat of Chloe Sullivan, she takes everything Ms. Sullivan is and improves upon it (as you said, Tom).
-M
The first season, in particular, was just so well-crafted, a damn near perfect example of an season arc in episodic television. But at the time it first came on, some people were drawing comparisons to Buffy.
I miss Veronica Mars.
I checked out the first disc of Buffy, and I'll be watching more when I'm done with Dr. Who, but Veronica Mars definitely hooked me a lot more than Ms. Summers.
Although I did like that Buffy referenced the movie it spun out of. I always enjoyed the Buffy film.
Make no mistake, seasons 2 and 3 of Veronica Mars aren't as good as the first season... but they're still really good. I was particularly impressed with the final episode, which struck the perfect note to end the series on.
Personally, I really liked Season 2. Season 3 wasn't as good, but I still enjoyed that, too (maybe I'm biased).
And as far as Buffy goes, Tom, it takes some getting used to. The first season is, in my opinion, not so great. Right around the second third of Season 2 it kicks into high gear.
-M
Matthew: I've heard mixed things about the rest of VM, but I figure, I bought at least two seasons of Smallville after its sell-by date had passed, and Veronica Mars is already better in just about every facet; I can justify that kind of purchase.
Matt: I kind of suspected that. Something that really surprised me (though it shouldn't have, I suppose) was how much those first episodes of Buffy really felt like a mid-'90s syndication series. It's hard to describe exactly why, but I had the same feeling watching it that I once had watching "Xena" and "Poltergeist: The Legacy" and such.
Matt: I kind of suspected that. Something that really surprised me (though it shouldn't have, I suppose) was how much those first episodes of Buffy really felt like a mid-'90s syndication series. It's hard to describe exactly why, but I had the same feeling watching it that I once had watching "Xena" and "Poltergeist: The Legacy" and such.
Totally agree. Bad music, cheap effects, and poor production values. Season 1 is important in that it sets up some pretty important mythology, but for the most part one viewing is all you're gonna need.
-M
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