Veronica Mars
The cast of Veronica Mars
Genre	Teen drama/Noir
Running time	42 Minutes
Creator(s)	Rob Thomas
Starring	Kristen Bell Enrico Colantoni Percy Daggs III Teddy Dunn Jason Dohring Francis Capra Ryan Hansen Kyle Gallner Tessa Thompson
Country of origin	United States
Original network/channel	UPN (2004-2006) CW (2006-)
Original run	September 22, 2004 – present
No. of episodes	44 as of May 9, 2006
IMDb profile

Veronica Mars is an American teen drama/neo-noir series currently broadcast on UPN. The show stars Kristen Bell as the titular high school student, who moonlights as a private investigator under the wing (and to the chagrin) of her detective father. The show balances murder mystery, high school drama, and social commentary with considerable sarcasm and offbeat humour, often at the same time.

The series was created by Rob Thomas and premiered in 2004.

Veronica Mars has been heavily publicized as an asset of the forthcoming The WB/UPN merger, The CW, and as of May 16, 2006, it has been renewed for a third season of 22 episodes (with the option of reducing it to 13 if ratings aren't satisfactory) [1].

Summary

Veronica Mars' life changed forever the night her best friend Lilly Kane was murdered. Veronica's father, local sheriff Keith Mars, was laughed out of office for daring to suggest that Lilly's father, the town's local billionaire, was to blame. Days before the murder, Lilly's brother, Duncan Kane, dumped Veronica without a word. Months later, Veronica is drugged at a party, leading her to believe she was raped. Veronica's mother mysteriously skipped town soon afterwards.

Ostracized by her high school in-crowd for siding with her dad, Veronica now helps him with his new detective agency. Striking a delicate balance between math homework and undercover stakeouts, she struggles to solve the mysteries that have plagued her life over the past year. Turning her grief into fuel, she is determined to outsmart, outmaneuver, and out-snark all those who stand in her way.

The first season centers on Veronica's mission to uncover Lilly's real murderer. By season's end, this and other mysteries surrounding her life are slowly solved. Most episodes advance solving Lilly's murder and contain other mysteries involving Neptune High and her father's cases. The second season finds Veronica trying to get her life back and regain some normality, but as new mysteries present themselves in Neptune, she finds this impossible.

The second seasons deals with the mystery of a school bus falling over a cliff full with students from Neptune High and the twin trials of Logan and Aaron Echolls.

The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California on the outskirts of San Diego. Other characters include Wallace Fennel, her best friend and crime-solving accomplice; Eli "Weevil" Navarro, leader of the P.C.H. Biker Gang; and Logan Echolls, the outwardly snarky, snotty son of an A-List actor.

Characters and their players

Main characters

• Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell)
• Wallace Fennel (Percy Daggs III) - Veronica's best friend.
• Duncan Kane (2004-2006) (Teddy Dunn) - Veronica's ex-boyfriend and Lilly's brother.
• Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) - Friend of Duncan's, Lilly's boyfriend, Veronica's boyfriend.
• Eli "Weevil" Navarro (Francis Capra) - Leader of the PCH Biker gang.
• Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni) - Veronica's father, private investigator and former sheriff.
• Mallory Dent (2004) (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) - Journalism teacher at Neptune High.
• Dick Casablancas (2005-) (recurring previously) (Ryan Hansen) - Friend of Logan's and school bully.
• Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas (2005-2006) (recurring previously) (Kyle Gallner) - Dick's younger brother.
• Jackie Cook (2005-2006) (Tessa Thompson) - Student at Neptune High, daughter of Terrence Cook.
• Don Lamb (2006-) (recurring previously) (Michael Muhney) - Sheriff of Neptune.

Recurring characters

• Kendall Casablancas (Charisma Carpenter) - Beaver and Dick's stepmother.
• Van Clemmons (Duane Daniels) - Vice-principal of Neptune High.
• Vincent "Butters" Clemmons (Adam Hendershott) - Student at Neptune High, son of Van Clemmons.
• Terrence Cook (Jeffrey Sams) - Former baseball player and father of Jackie.
• Corny (Jonathan Chesner) - Stoner friend of Veronica's.
• Hector Cortez (Patrick Wolff) - P.C.H. Biker.
• Leo D'Amato (Max Greenfield) - Sheriff's Deputy.
• Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin) - Logan and Trina's father.
• Lynn Echolls (Lisa Rinna) - Logan's mother, Trina's stepmother.
• Trina Echolls (Alyson Hannigan) - Logan's adopted sister.
• Alicia Fennel (Erica Gimpel) - Wallace's mother.
• Sean Friedrich (Kevin Sheridan) - '09er.
• Jessica Fuller (Lisa Long) - President of the school board.
• Casey Gant (Jonathan Bennett) - '09er.
• Gia Goodman (Krysten Ritter) - Woody Goodman's daughter.
• Woody Goodman (Steve Guttenberg) - Owner of the Sharks baseball team, Balboa County Supervisor (informally known as the "Mayor of Neptune").
• Harvey Greenblatt (Paul Ganus) - Aaron Echolls's agent.
• Dr. Tom Griffith (Rick Peters) - A prominent plastic surgeon.
• Hannah Griffith (Jessy Schram) - An 09er student at Neptune High, daughter of Dr. Tom Griffith.
• Rebecca James (Paula Marshall) - School guidance counselor.
• Celeste Kane (Lisa Thornhill) - Lilly and Duncan's mother.
• Jake Kane (Kyle Secor) - Lilly and Duncan's father.
• Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried) - Veronica's murdered best friend, Duncan's sister, was Logan's girlfriend.
• Abel Koontz (Christian Clemenson) - Lilly's convicted alleged killer.
• Sheriff Don Lamb (Michael Muhney) - Current town sheriff.
• Cindy "Mac" MacKenzie (Tina Majorino) - School computer expert and Veronica's friend.
• Meg Manning (Alona Tal) - Veronica's last remaining '09er friend.
• Lianne Susan Mars (née Reynolds) (Corinne Bohrer) - Veronica's estranged alcoholic mother.
• Cliff McCormack (Daran Norris) - Public defender and family friend of the Mars's.
• Barry Randall (Roy Werner) - Family attorney of the Echolls, Kanes and Casablancas.
• Deputy Sacks (Brandon Hillock) - Sheriff Lamb's right-hand man.
• Madison Sinclair (Amanda Noret) - Dick's girlfriend.
• Thumper (James Molina) - P.C.H. Biker.
• Felix Toombs (Brad Bufanda) - Weevil's right-hand man.
• Troy Vandergraff (Aaron Ashmore) - Friend of Duncan's.
• Vinnie Van Lowe (Ken Marino) - Keith's rival private investigator.
• Clarence Wiedman Jr. (Christopher B. Duncan) - Head of security at Kane Software.
• Nathan Woods (Cress Williams) - Wallace's biological father.

Episodes

See List of Veronica Mars episodes

Music

The theme song for the show is "We Used to Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols. The composer for the show, Josh Kramon writes the original music heard in the background of most of the show. The sound, different from typical television scores, is constructed to convey the film noir theme the show centers on, highly reminiscent of Air and Zero 7.

A soundtrack to accompany the CD is available, consisting of songs picked from the first and second seasons.

Comparisons

• Veronica's glib wit and anti-establishment attitude draw comparisons to such 1990s female television characters such as Daria Morgendorffer from Daria while the show's handling of teen life and high school as a metaphor for real life problems have led to comparisons towards Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Perhaps by coincidence, Buffy regulars Alyson Hannigan and Charisma Carpenter have both had recurring roles on Veronica Mars.
• Her character is shown to have a lot of similarities to Smallville's Chloe Sullivan, who herself is a proto-Lois Lane.
• In spite of these comparisons towards Buffy, fans of Veronica Mars have been divided on comparisons of the two shows. Many fans resent being compared towards Buffy since Veronica Mars is based firmly in the noir genre while Buffy is more of the super-hero/supernatural genre. Buffy creator Joss Whedon in particular has been very supportive of the show and has called Veronica Mars the 'best show ever'[2] and even appeared in an episode of the show's second season.
• The series is heavily influenced by film noir classics such as "The Big Sleep" in terms of plots, directing and camera-techniques, and dialogue featuring irony and sexually explicit innuendo.
• Lilly Kane's role is often compared to Laura Palmer of Twin Peaks, a similar MacGuffin of a victim whose murder investigation uncovered dark secrets in her past and drove the season's developments. Like Laura, Lilly only appears in flashbacks or dream sequences, and both shows are neo-noirs which feature large ensemble casts and extended, complex plotlines.

Episode broadcasts

Veronica Mars currently airs in the United States on UPN on Tuesdays at 9pm ET. (During the first season the show aired Tuesdays at 9pm ET but moved to Wednesdays at 9pm ET at the start its second season. It then returned to its Tuesday timeslot on April 11th, 2006 in order to attempt to increase ratings through moving away from series such as Lost and American Idol).

Since Canada's CTV began airing the series in June 2005 and Britain's LivingTV in October 2005, the show has expanded internationally to over thirteen other countries who have joined them.

In July 2005 - August 2005, UPN's corporate sibling CBS also aired repeats of the show on Fridays at 8pm ET, in efforts to increase exposure for the series. The series' pilot episode was originally tested at CBS and almost picked up by the television network. The ratings it scored during its summer 2005 run influenced more audience traction on its home network, and could be seen when the second season began on UPN the following September.

The show premiered in Australia on November 28, 2005, initially airing on Monday nights at 7:30pm on Channel Ten, and then at 7:30pm on Friday nights. After 10 episodes had been aired, Ten advertised the 11th (as opposed to the 22nd) as the season finale, and the continued status of its screening in Australia is now unclear.

The first season of the show has been aired in New Zealand on Channel 2(TVNZ) at 7:30pm on Friday Nights. The first season finale screened on December 9, 2005. Television New Zealand has promised to play the second season sometime during 2006, most likely during the winter season of June-October.

The first season of the show is currently airing in Italy on Italia1 on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm. The first episode premiered on April 12th, 2006.

On March 29, 2006 a fraudulent press release entitled "Veronica Mars Canned" sent fans into a frenzy believing that their beloved show had in fact been cancelled. Hours later Rob Thomas confirmed that this press release was a hoax, and the show had not been cancelled. The text of the press release can be found here

Critical acclaim

"...in this smart, engaging series about a former popular girl turned crime-solving high school outcast, the hard-boiled dialogue comes from its teen protagonist's mouth in a way that stabs any potential cutesiness in the heart with an ice pick." - LA Weekly

"Her character, a witty, jaded and vulnerable 17-year-old, has been through the 21st century high school social wringer, and she's done it on a show that offers more wit and style than the usual run of teen TV drama." - Palm Beach Post

"On Veronica Mars, wholesome is out; gritty reality is in. The show never soft-pedals the timeless, fundamental truth that high school is hell." - Chicago Sun Times

"Veronica Mars is a character study masquerading as a high-school drama..." - The Boston Phoenix

"Veronica Mars is a sharp teen noir in the making...Tinged with class resentment and nostalgia for Veronica's lost innocence, this series pulses with promise." - The Village Voice

"Equal parts intrigue, drama, and humor, Veronica Mars is also a lesson book for the disenfranchised. Few tv series aim so high; even fewer succeed so well." - PopMatters

"Veronica Mars blends the prosaic details of high school pecking orders with a solitary detective's quest for justice and revenge. Whether doing her math homework while on surveillance duty outside a cheap motel or facing down thugs, Veronica (Kristen Bell) is an amateur sleuth who is closer in spirit to Philip Marlowe than to Nancy Drew." - The New York Times

"One of the 6 best dramas on TV!" - TIME Magazine

Ratings and reviews

The series' first season received low ratings and was consistently last in its time slot. However, its strong fan base, regular critical praise for its witty writing and strong female protagonist, and the fact that it fit UPN's desired young female viewer demographic, were enough to convince the network to renew the show for a second season. Veronica Mars is the only UPN drama series of the 2004–2005 season to survive into the 2005–2006 season, surviving the cancellation of higher-rated UPN series Kevin Hill and Star Trek: Enterprise. The show won several awards at website Television Without Pity.[3]

Season 2 (2005)

1. "Normal is the Watchword" September 28, 2005 (US ratings: 3.30 million viewers)
2. "Driver Ed" October 5, 2005 (US ratings: 3.02 million viewers)
3. "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang" October 12, 2005 (US ratings: 3.03 million viewers)
4. "Green-Eyed Monster" October 19, 2005 (US ratings: 3.12 million viewers)
5. "Blast from the Past" October 26, 2005 (US ratings: 3.55 million viewers)
6. "Rat Saw God" November 9, 2005 (US ratings: 3.01 million viewers)
7. "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" November 16, 2005 (US ratings: 2.90 million viewers)
8. "Ahoy, Mateys!" November 23, 2005 (US ratings: 2.54 million viewers)
9. "My Mother, the Fiend" November 30, 2005 (US ratings: 3.01 million viewers}
10. "One Angry Veronica" December 7, 2005 (US ratings: 3.42 million viewers)
11. "Donut Run" January 25, 2006 (US ratings: 1.60 million viewers)
12. "Rashard and Wallace Go To White Castle" February 1, 2006 (US ratings: 2.14 million viewers)
13. "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough" February 8, 2006 (US ratings: 2.05 million viewers)
14. "Versatile Toppings" March 15, 2006 (US ratings: 2.76 million viewers)
15. "The Quick and the Wed" March 22, 2006 (US ratings: 2.58 million viewers)
16. "The Rapes of Graff" March 29, 2006 (US ratings: 2.07 million viewers)
17. "Plan B" April 5, 2006 (US ratings: 3.00 million viewers)
18. "I Am God" April 11, 2006 (US ratings: 2.07 million viewers)
19. "Nevermind the Buttocks" April 18, 2006 (US ratings: 1.91 million viewers)
20. "Look Who's Stalking" April 25, 2006 (US ratings: 2.02 million viewers)
21. "Happy Go Lucky" May 2, 2006 (US ratings: 2.33 million viewers)
22. "Not Pictured - Season Finale" May 9, 2006 (US ratings: 2.42 million viewers)

Ratings are based on Nielsen Media Research data and are obtained from Mediaweek.[4]

DVD releases

• On October 11, 2005, the first season of Veronica Mars was released on DVD in Region 1 from Warner Home Video. The six-disc set includes all 22 episodes from the first season including an extended version of the Pilot Episode with an unaired opening sequence and over 20 minutes of unaired scenes.

• On May 3, 2006, Warner Home Video announced that the second season of Veronica Mars will be released on DVD in Region 1 on August 15, 2006 (later pushed back to August 22, 2006). The box-set is expected to include all 22 episodes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, gag reel and deleted scenes. The later date is supposedly to give more leeway in gathering extras for the disc.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Veronica Mars

• Veronica Mars at UPN
• Website of creator Rob Thomas with Veronica Mars section
• Open Case: Veronica Mars at Soulful Spike Society Weekly episode reviews
• Veronica Mars at The Internet Movie Database
• Veronica Mars at TV.com
• Veronica Mars at The TV IV
• Veronica Mars music index at TuneFind.com
• A guide to San Diego locations seen on Veronica Mars
• Veronica Mars at AOL Television