Credit: www.TVShowsonDVD.com
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Video
Release Date: October 11, 2005
Number of Discs: 6
Number of Episodes: 22
Running Time: 935 Minutes
Retail Price: $59.95
Creator:
Rob Thomas
Cast:
Kristen Bell……….Veronica Mars
Percy Daggs III……….Wallace Fennel
Teddy Dunn……….Duncan Kane
Jason Dohring……….Logan Echolls
Francis Capra……….Eli “Weevil” Navarro
Enrico Colantoni……….Keith Mars
The Show:
The premise in a nutshell: Nancy Drew by way of Beverly Hills 90210.
Right off the bat let me just say television critics that compare Veronica Mars to Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, are totally foolish and way off base. Sure, both shows have blonde-haired leading ladies who attend high school and witty wordplay, but that’s where the comparisons end. Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) uses her intellect, not karate (nor wooden stakes) to reach a resolution. To this day, I have never seen Veronica battle vampires or other demonic entities.
In the spirit of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, the first season of Veronica Mars is one long story arc. For an entire year television audiences wanted to know, “Who killed Lilly Kane?”
The show takes place in the fictional town of Neptune, California. To be a resident of this town you are either a millionaire or you work for one. Sorry middle class, try Freemont. Resident billionaire Jake Kane (Kyle Secor) is having a rough time of late. As his son Duncan (Teddy Dunn) begins his junior year at Neptune High, Mr. Kane is still reeling from the death of his daughter Lilly (Amanda Seyfried). If her death wasn’t enough to consume him, he had to deal with allegations by Sheriff Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni) that he had something to do with her murder. Mars pursued Jake Kane as best he could, but public outcry and a lack of concrete evidence forced the sheriff out of office.
The Kanes weren’t the only ones who suffered when Lilly passed; Veronica Mars lost her best friend. When she made the choice to side with her dad after his allegations were made public, Veronica lost her other friends, including her boyfriend, Duncan Kane. Her status at Neptune High dropped. She went from the “haves” to the “have nots,” eating by herself at lunchtime. And if that wasn’t enough, Veronica’s mother split town because she couldn’t deal with the scrutiny.
Like most female protagonists that are written well, Veronica is resilient and moves on with her life. After her father was forced out of office, he opened up Mars Investigations, a private investigative firm. Keith Mars is the heavy in the operation, but he allows his daughter to work as his secretary. Occasionally, there will be times when she’ll be out snooping, taking photographs of a cheating husband during a nighttime rendezvous. But when she isn’t juggling Calculus homework or easing her father’s caseload, Veronica helps classmates with their problems. Her services don’t come cheap, though. A girl’s got to pay for college somehow.
During the first season we meet an intriguing cast of characters. Upon cutting down Wallace Fennel (Percy Daggs III), the new kid in Neptune, who’d been stripped to skivvies and taped to a flagpole, the two have been inseparable. They make a great team; Wallace is Robin to Veronica’s Batman. Whenever Veronica has a problem that requires access to school records, she turns to Wallace – he works as an office aide. Granted, this is highly illegal, but when blonde-haired girl with pizzazz says, “Jump!” he obeys.
Enrico Colantoni plays Veronica’s loving dad, Keith. Keith Mars has a paunchy build, but he is able to command authority. When he isn’t on a case and caught up in PI work, he spends time with a boyfriend-less Veronica watching movies. He also tries to act hip, saying catchphrases like “Who’s your daddy?” to amuse his daughter. Eli Navarro (Francis Capra), nicknamed Weevil, is the tough-looking leader of a motorcycle gang. He may look menacing to some, but Weevil and Veronica have a working relationship that involves mutual backscratching.
Every story has to have a villain – a character in certain instances you love to loathe. Veronica Mars has Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring). There’s just something about him that gets under your skin. All high schools have their own versions of Logan. He’s cocky, arrogant; walks with a swagger that says, “Yeah, my dad’s a multi-millionaire movie star, so what?” At the time of Lilly’s murder, Logan was her boyfriend. He was a suspect in her death, but Sheriff Mars had his eyes dead set on Lilly’s father. Over the course of the season, we see Logan’s character change. Dealing with his girlfriend’s death and living in a mansion with two bickering parents, is a tough burden for anyone. That’s why Logan hides it with sarcastic wit, dumbass remarks, and other characteristics related to class clowns.
While ABC’s Lost was a phenomenon last season, proving a drama about castaways could survive without a “Skipper” or “little buddy,” Veronica Mars had an “it” factor that appealed to a younger demographic – mainly 18-25 year-olds. The reason: the show’s creator, Rob Thomas.
Prior to his stint as the creator of 17-year-old Veronica, Thomas had a short-lived show entitled Cupid with Jeremy Piven. The comedy only lasted for fourteen episodes, which, after the praise Piven has gotten from HBO’s Entourage, makes you wonder who’s running Hollywood. Still, out of failure breeds success. Rob Thomas must be doing something right if Joss Whedon (Buffy, The Vampire Slayer; Firefly) and Kevin Smith (Clerks; Chasing Amy) are singing his praises.
Perhaps it is his style. His central character, Veronica Mars, is the show’s core and the element that makes viewers want to tune in each week. By surrounding her with a strong supporting cast and a good story, Thomas is able to create little mysteries and moments that may seem inconsequential – like who raped Veronica, or who is Veronica’s father? – but eventually lead to the bigger picture.
Without Kristen Bell in the titular role, Rob Thomas in the writer’s seat, or the show’s legion of fans, Veronica Mars could have been seen as just another teenager soap. Thankfully, the program can’t be lumped in that genre. It’s in a league of its own.
Score: 8/10
The DVD:
Years from now, when people look back at important moments in TV history, 2004 will be a significant year. Much like 1999, which was an important year for movies, with the releases of The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, and Being John Malkovich, 2004 was a breeding ground for a crop of thriving, new shows. (See Lost, Desperate Housewives, or House, M.D.) Following the success of 24 on DVD, networks began thinking outside the proverbial box. The executives figured that programs with a continuous storyline would not do well in reruns. So, in order to generate interest, shows would be released on DVD a week or two before a new season premiered. And it has worked to some degree. That is except for Veronica Mars, winner of the award for Best Show in the Worst Release Date. The first season came out on DVD three weeks into the second season.
VIDEO: How does it look?
Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season goes the anamorphic widescreen route; for regular UPN broadcasts the show was presented in full frame. No complaints with the video transfer. The blacks seem a bit darker, but the darkness adds to the atmosphere of the show. There is very little grain in the image. When it is present, it is noticeable in interior shot scenes. Notice lightly-colored walls and you’ll see. Compared to the original airings, though, you’ll be glad you watched the entire season in widescreen.
Score: 8.5/10
AUDIO: How does it sound?
This first season only sports a Dolby Digital 2.0 format. The audio is spot-on, albeit basic for a TV on DVD release. But the dialogue and music selections come in loud and clear; and that’s all you really need. And speaking of the music selections, Rob Thomas and staff have a nice lead-in. It’s The Dandy Warhols’ “We used to be friends.” How appropriate since Veronica has so few.
Score: 8/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Over 20 minutes of unaired scenes, plus an extended Pilot Episode!
Prior to the second season premiere of Veronica Mars on UPN, the show’s creator, Rob Thomas, was given the option to either have a barebones version to generate fan interest or hold off and release a DVD set with all the bells-and-whistles midway through the second season. After much deliberation, Thomas settled on a barebones release so he could devote more of his time to working on a new season-long mystery for Veronica Mars to solve.
You better watch the entire season before viewing the extras on disc 6, because you won’t have a clue (no pun intended) where the 20 minutes of unaired scenes would have fit in the show. Unfortunately, there isn’t commentary to explain why the scenes were left out of the final cut, in the first place. Another disadvantage is that all deleted scenes are one after another; there is no scene selection. So, if you want to watch a certain scene you’ll have to use the “Fast Forward” button on your remote.
Besides a promo for season 2, the only other extra is an extended version of the pilot episode with an unaired opening sequence. If I did the legwork, like Veronica on one of her cases, I could find out how the extended pilot differs from the TV version. But, I’m not like Veronica. I’m more like Encyclopedia Brown.
Score: 2/10
