Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season

Once in a while, you stumble upon a show that hooks you in at the beginning, then slowly it begins to lose your interest for a while then maybe near the end leave you perhaps intrigued enough to tune in next season.

Well, once in a blue moon do you stumble upon a show that hooks you in at the beginning only to build intensity and quality as the show progresses, leaving your heart to race on many ocassions, building momentum as it comes to a spectacular final three episodes evoking emotions such as joy, shock, rage, and sadness all at the same time. Ladies, gentlemen, young adults, teenagers Veronica Mars IS this type of show!

This little UPN show proved itself as the next craze...even though it had to go up against some tough competition in the form of Law and Order:SUV, House, Amazing Race, and One Tree Hill. Nonetheless, a devoted fan base emerged creating much talk and debate among show plot lines, characters and couples.

Veronica Mars is a show centered by a young, sassy, intelligent, spy woman (often referred to the Nancy Drew of the 21st century) who has a few issues that all stem from one event, her best friends murder:

First the obvious, "Who killed Lilly Kane?"
Also, after her father wrongfully accuses Lilly's father for her murder, Veronica is torn to chose who she will stand by, her father now an outcast, fired as detective , or the popular circle of friends who think she's now crazy. Needless to say she loses her friends and her boyfriend (Lilly's brother ) but gains a chip on the shoulder and a heck of a lot of determination in order to re-gain her fathers respect and put Lilly's ghost to rest by making it her mission to solve her murder.
And if that's not enough, she was also drug raped at a party, and has no idea what happened that night.

These mysteries and questions are the major plot arcs of the season...they are all raised at the beginning of the season and finally answered in the finale two episodes. How we get from the beginning to the grand finale is pure, poetic television! Sure there are the minor plot lines in-between, and the episodic mysteries much like Smallville was first season...but there is no rock left unturned...the writers and producers thought of everything, and leave their audience feeling excited and satisfied at the end...as well as a little crazy because there is another cliff hanger that leaves you wanting more!

Now the actors headed by Kristen Bell (Veronica), her father played by Enrico Colontoni and Perry Daggs III as the best friend Wallace give outstanding performances. They are supported by Jason Dohring (Logan Echolls) who makes you want to love and hate his character, Francis Capra as Weevil our lovable bad-boy, and Teddy Dunn who is Veronica's ex Duncan Kane. Many diss Dunn's performance but I believe he really came into his own near the second half of the season and surpassed all my expectations during the final two episodes. In all, I guess what I'm getting at is that the show is well-casted, and this is hard to do considering that the supporting cast (there are many more I have not mentioned) is a large number of characters important to the progression and suspense of the major plot lines, because they make their characters believable the audience in turn can be taken in so easily by this story and truly care about these characters.

I'm glad they're coming out with this season before season two begins because it only means that more people are going to be taken by this series. There are 22 episodes plus extras included are:

"a Director's Cut of the Pilot episode, plus 25 minutes of unaired scenes and bloopers" (tvshowsondvd.com)

I know the extras are few but the producers and the network wanted to get this out as soon as possible, so hopefully they will make up for extras on the season two set!

Just know, that you will not be able to stop watching once you've started...my cousin and I got to the point where we couldn't have anybody else making noise in the room when we were watching mars and by the finale we were going crazy jumping up and down and screaming at the screen! This show is a can't miss for any mystery lover...and well, for anyone who appreciates strong willed protagonist like Veronica Mars, you'll be cheering her on the whole way through.

this great show has been through so much and was so close to being canceled!it's great to see new exciting previews for season 2.this is such a great dvd and is loaded with drama and keeps you guessing on the big "who done it" question until the last possible second!this dvd is a must for anyone who claims to be a veronica mars fan!!!!!

I was drawn to this series by it's reputation for being well-written and captivating. I often find myself not liking the over-popular shows however. Veronica Mars turned out to be one of those shows that deserves all the hype it gets.

The show is hard to pin down with a target audience. The most obvious choice would be the young teen crowd because they can identify with the high school setting, and the likeable character of Veronica. Ms. Mars ends up being quite witty and often throws references about that are beyond her 17 year old character. When asked how the private eye business is going she responds "We're still chasing that maltese falcon!" So the show definitely has some jokes for older audiences.

The show is set in the typical nondescript American beachside city where people park their cars at school with surfboards on the roof. This show wastes no time in tearing down the picture perfect facade that other shows rely on though. Veronica Mars takes the familiar teen drama setting and infuses it with gritty realism, throwing in issues like rape, drug use, sexual affairs, abusive households, alcoholism, and of course the central plot line of a murder. It's worth mentioning to cautious parents that this show is rated PG and although the topics are heavy, they are dealt with in a way that is not explicit.

The real accomplishment of Veronica Mars as a show is to be entertaining to a variety of audiences. The role of Veronica as her father's P.I. assistant makes her somewhat of a Nancy Drew throwback, but unlike most shows like this, you don't get the feeling that the mystery is small time, or purposely simple so young audiences can follow it. Veronica solves cases for her classmates at high school, but the cases are not the dull "who stole the cookie?" type. The central plot of her best friend's murder is very interesting, and ties in well with all the shows characters.

Lastly, for those tired of shows that drag on forever, stringing you along with a single plotline, rest your fears. By the end of season one, you will be satisfied, but curious about season two.