Sunday, August 21, 2005
In praise of "Veronica Mars"
It's not sci-fi, it's not fantasy, but I thought I'd just say how great UPN's "Veronica Mars" is. It was a toss up between it and "Lost" which was my favourite US series of the 2004/05 season.
Obviously Kristen Bell provides some great eye candy, but far more importantly, she makes Veronica a great character. Throw in a good cast and some ongoing mysteries - the Lily Kane murder, Veronica's supposed date rape and her paternity - and you've got a series that rises far above what appears to be an unimpressive premise: high school student helps out her PI dad after her mum runs out.
Despite less than stellar ratings it's been renewed for a second series, although yet again Sky One's acquisition bods have missed a gem (c.f. "Lost", "Firefly" and their decision to let "Alias" go) and we in the UK will have to put up with it on LivingTV. Apart from the lower audience it will undoubtedly get, it'll also be treated shabbily - almost certainly in 4:3 and probably plastered with logos plugging "Most Haunted" or some other nonsense. Let's just hope that they manage to give it a decent timeslot and *don't* strip it Monday to Friday.
For those unconvinced, Joss Whedon was certainly bigging it up recently:
My peeps and I just finished a crazed Veronica Marsathon, and I can no longer restrain myself. Best. Show. Ever. Seriously, I've never gotten more wrapped up in a show I wasn't making, and maybe even more than those. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion, I mean BIG, and charsimatic actors and I was just DYING from the mystery and the relationships and PAIN, this show knows from pain and no, I don't care, laugh all you want, I had to share this. These guys know what they're doing on a level that intimidates me. It's the Harry Potter of shows. There. I said it. People should do whatever they can to check out this first season so the second won't be a spoiler fest. I'm nutty.
I'm a little calmer now. Oh God, no I'm not! Wait. Wait. Okay. Some of you may already be all up on this, and some may disagree, but I'm urging peeps to check it out, 'cause there is great TV afoot, and who doesn't want that? Thank you for your time.
And another thing for "Buffy" fans - Alyson Hannigan guest starred in a couple of season 1 episodes and Charisma Carpenter will be in half a dozen in season 2.
It's not sci-fi, it's not fantasy, but I thought I'd just say how great UPN's "Veronica Mars" is. It was a toss up between it and "Lost" which was my favourite US series of the 2004/05 season.
Obviously Kristen Bell provides some great eye candy, but far more importantly, she makes Veronica a great character. Throw in a good cast and some ongoing mysteries - the Lily Kane murder, Veronica's supposed date rape and her paternity - and you've got a series that rises far above what appears to be an unimpressive premise: high school student helps out her PI dad after her mum runs out.
Despite less than stellar ratings it's been renewed for a second series, although yet again Sky One's acquisition bods have missed a gem (c.f. "Lost", "Firefly" and their decision to let "Alias" go) and we in the UK will have to put up with it on LivingTV. Apart from the lower audience it will undoubtedly get, it'll also be treated shabbily - almost certainly in 4:3 and probably plastered with logos plugging "Most Haunted" or some other nonsense. Let's just hope that they manage to give it a decent timeslot and *don't* strip it Monday to Friday.
For those unconvinced, Joss Whedon was certainly bigging it up recently:
My peeps and I just finished a crazed Veronica Marsathon, and I can no longer restrain myself. Best. Show. Ever. Seriously, I've never gotten more wrapped up in a show I wasn't making, and maybe even more than those. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion, I mean BIG, and charsimatic actors and I was just DYING from the mystery and the relationships and PAIN, this show knows from pain and no, I don't care, laugh all you want, I had to share this. These guys know what they're doing on a level that intimidates me. It's the Harry Potter of shows. There. I said it. People should do whatever they can to check out this first season so the second won't be a spoiler fest. I'm nutty.
I'm a little calmer now. Oh God, no I'm not! Wait. Wait. Okay. Some of you may already be all up on this, and some may disagree, but I'm urging peeps to check it out, 'cause there is great TV afoot, and who doesn't want that? Thank you for your time.
And another thing for "Buffy" fans - Alyson Hannigan guest starred in a couple of season 1 episodes and Charisma Carpenter will be in half a dozen in season 2.
