Sunday, October 08, 2006
Welcome back, Veronica
Veronica Mars: Welcome Wagon - The CW, 3 October
Contains spoilers
For me, Veronica Mars was the best series on American television last year, and easily the one whose new season I was looking forward to the most. And, with Welcome Wagon, Rob Thomas didn't disappoint.
This was no easy task as Thomas also had to try to introduce the series to an audience unfamiliar with the show, as well as moving things on for existing fans. Welcome Wagon might have been the first Veronica Mars episode for some viewers, but the majority will have watched Not Pictured back in May. This seems a harder task than Russell T Davies had when introducing Doctor Who to a new audience - with the last televised episode nine years earlier, the only established continuity he had to bother with was the Doctor and the TARDIS.
And I think Rob Thomas pulled it off. I've seen comments that the episode would have been too confusing for newbies, but it didn't really strike me as that at all.
Any viewer paying attention - and this is Veronica Mars so you need to - will have picked up the gist of the show. Veronica is a teenaged "detective" (to quote Piz) who solves mysteries for her friends (and others) and whose dad used to be sheriff. She's dating Logan, and has an established friendship with Mac and Wallace, while their room-mates Piz and Parker are both new characters. A new viewer could also make a decent stab at the cause of Mac's lack of libido - Dick's drunken exchange with Mac clearly suggests it's related to his brother, whose fate had previously been discussed by Logan and Veronica.
The Keith/Kendall/Cormac plot obviously ties into the end of Not Pictured, but even this didn't seem totally inaccessible to newbies. Without prior knowledge, wasn't this simply a case Keith was working on without telling Veronica, and which involves some double dealing on the part of Cormac (and, possibly, Liam Fitzpatrick, if Vinnie's bugging of Keith's briefcase is anything to go by). Obviously those of us who watched season 2 know the backstory here, but knowledge of it didn't seem required, and no doubt this will be filled in over the next couple of weeks anyway.
Season 3 also sees four new characters added to the credits. I'm pleased to see Mac is now a regular as she's certainly been one of my favourite characters over the last year, and while I want Keith to end up as sheriff by the end of the season, keeping Lamb as sheriff is certainly better for the series' dynamics until then.
We also meet two new characters - Parker and Piz, roommates to Mac and Wallace respectively. Despite Piz's comment about walking around the room naked, it seems to be Parker who has fewer qualms on this front, as she manages to change her top twice in five minutes in front of an embarrassed-looking Veronica.
Both seem interesting characters. However, despite Logan and Veronica arguably being better when they're off rather than on (although like Keith being sheriff, I hope that they are together when the series ends), I'm hoping that Piz and Veronica don't end up as a couple. Parker seems the complete opposite of Mac and not just because of her "new guy every night" tendency - the idea of Mac watching Top Model is hilarious, and the pair's reactions to Veronica's "Are we ready to rock?" question are completely different.
The series' move to three mini-arcs rather than one season-long one has been well publicised, as has the fact that the first one picks up the rapes at Hearst first mentioned in The Rapes of Graff. Newbies didn't need to know that, however, as the Take Back the Night demo which Dick gatecrashes (and I knew it was him when he started dancing) fills them in. That the victim is one of the regulars is a bit of a surprise, but being this close to home is bound to kickstart Veronica's investigation, especially since she was probably in the room at the same time. Parker's rather slutty behaviour means there are a load of suspects, although in true "Veronica Mars" style the real rapist probably hasn't even been seen yet.
A good start to the season, and it's still the best show on television. Fingers crossed the ratings are enough to keep it on the air...
Veronica Mars: Welcome Wagon - The CW, 3 October
Contains spoilers
For me, Veronica Mars was the best series on American television last year, and easily the one whose new season I was looking forward to the most. And, with Welcome Wagon, Rob Thomas didn't disappoint.
This was no easy task as Thomas also had to try to introduce the series to an audience unfamiliar with the show, as well as moving things on for existing fans. Welcome Wagon might have been the first Veronica Mars episode for some viewers, but the majority will have watched Not Pictured back in May. This seems a harder task than Russell T Davies had when introducing Doctor Who to a new audience - with the last televised episode nine years earlier, the only established continuity he had to bother with was the Doctor and the TARDIS.
And I think Rob Thomas pulled it off. I've seen comments that the episode would have been too confusing for newbies, but it didn't really strike me as that at all.
Any viewer paying attention - and this is Veronica Mars so you need to - will have picked up the gist of the show. Veronica is a teenaged "detective" (to quote Piz) who solves mysteries for her friends (and others) and whose dad used to be sheriff. She's dating Logan, and has an established friendship with Mac and Wallace, while their room-mates Piz and Parker are both new characters. A new viewer could also make a decent stab at the cause of Mac's lack of libido - Dick's drunken exchange with Mac clearly suggests it's related to his brother, whose fate had previously been discussed by Logan and Veronica.
The Keith/Kendall/Cormac plot obviously ties into the end of Not Pictured, but even this didn't seem totally inaccessible to newbies. Without prior knowledge, wasn't this simply a case Keith was working on without telling Veronica, and which involves some double dealing on the part of Cormac (and, possibly, Liam Fitzpatrick, if Vinnie's bugging of Keith's briefcase is anything to go by). Obviously those of us who watched season 2 know the backstory here, but knowledge of it didn't seem required, and no doubt this will be filled in over the next couple of weeks anyway.
Season 3 also sees four new characters added to the credits. I'm pleased to see Mac is now a regular as she's certainly been one of my favourite characters over the last year, and while I want Keith to end up as sheriff by the end of the season, keeping Lamb as sheriff is certainly better for the series' dynamics until then.
We also meet two new characters - Parker and Piz, roommates to Mac and Wallace respectively. Despite Piz's comment about walking around the room naked, it seems to be Parker who has fewer qualms on this front, as she manages to change her top twice in five minutes in front of an embarrassed-looking Veronica.
Both seem interesting characters. However, despite Logan and Veronica arguably being better when they're off rather than on (although like Keith being sheriff, I hope that they are together when the series ends), I'm hoping that Piz and Veronica don't end up as a couple. Parker seems the complete opposite of Mac and not just because of her "new guy every night" tendency - the idea of Mac watching Top Model is hilarious, and the pair's reactions to Veronica's "Are we ready to rock?" question are completely different.
The series' move to three mini-arcs rather than one season-long one has been well publicised, as has the fact that the first one picks up the rapes at Hearst first mentioned in The Rapes of Graff. Newbies didn't need to know that, however, as the Take Back the Night demo which Dick gatecrashes (and I knew it was him when he started dancing) fills them in. That the victim is one of the regulars is a bit of a surprise, but being this close to home is bound to kickstart Veronica's investigation, especially since she was probably in the room at the same time. Parker's rather slutty behaviour means there are a load of suspects, although in true "Veronica Mars" style the real rapist probably hasn't even been seen yet.
A good start to the season, and it's still the best show on television. Fingers crossed the ratings are enough to keep it on the air...
