I sat down with some friends recently and we watched Veronica Mars in it's entirety. Veronica Mars is the kind of show that just doesn't come along often enough; here we have smart, snarky female lead who moonlights as a teen detective. The brilliance of the shows premise is in it's approach. It pretends to be yet another teen drama, with all that juicy angst and rich kids brooding and misbehaving. Except it's not. Veronica Mars at it's core is a hardboiled crime drama, straight out of an old black-and-white Noir film.
Season one kicks off with the murder of Veronica's best friend, Lily. Veronica's father, Keith looses his job as Sheriff after accusing Lily's family of the murder. Veronica's mother leaves soon afterwards and Keith takes up as a Private Eye. I won't spoil the mystery for you, but needless to say it's a humdinger. The cast of characters are both well performed and well chosen. We meet the 09ers, the PCH biker gang, the spoiled rich kids and the lower-class kids who all have secrets.
The second season follows a similar formula as the first, this time with a school bus accident making up our season-long mystery. The show fleshes out more of it's supporting cast, with some small parts in the first season, now becoming more important roles. The season length story arc this time doesn't feel as gripping this time until the final third of the season, though we are consistently given clues through the run. I just didn't feel as drawn-in as a did with Lily, possibly because season one used several flashbacks to introduce us to-and make us care about-her character. I wanted to know who would do such a thing, because I liked Lily. The busload of students from Veronica's class never felt quite....for lack of a better term, real to me. Still, Kristen Bell's acting chops manage to make me care enough, and there are a few smaller mysteries that play out through the coarse of the series that help to pique your interest throughout. We care this time around because Veronica and Keith care.
For whatever reason, season three changes the formula. Instead of a season length mystery arc, we get three shorter mysteries: a series of rapes at Veronica's university, the murder of the Dean and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the Coach of the basketball team. I enjoyed the change of pace this season, with the shorter mysteries being a refreshing change. However, it does rob the season finale of a big finish. Instead the last few episodes build up another plot that implicates Veronica and leads Keith to make a compromising decision. Don't get me wrong, the finale is what it should be, I just felt a sense of anti-climax watching it; something I didn't feel at the close of season one or two. It does put Veronica in the place she needs to be, character wise, but I needed more.
Season three would be the last for this critically acclaimed series. Like so many shows I've enjoyed over the years, it suffered from low-ratings. I'd give almost anything to see this show return with new stories for the young sleuth from Neptune with a sharp tongue and a thirst for the truth. If you haven't seen it, you can track down the dvd's for a very reasonable price. I guarantee you won't regret it.