Veronica Mars - season one
Jan. 30th, 2011 08:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lathanyI've had Veronica Mars recommended to me by lots of people, including ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chrestomancy and floralaetifica. However, it's been difficult to get hold of. But this month I acquired the French box set, which includes an English version.
Turns out that season one is just as good as was promised.
The format is one I really like - a plot per episode along with a couple of full season plots. It's not science fiction or fantasy (which are my usual things) but a high school private detective drama. It's cast beautifully (Kristen Bell is excellent, but so are others - Lily and Logan stand out) and the dialogue's great.
I think what makes it so watchable is that Veronica herself is an excellent character - smart, never willing to give up, but flawed as well. I particularly liked how her "eye for an eye" approach is dealt with; that it mostly runs without comment, but a couple of the characters - specifically two of the most sympathetic characters - suggest that maybe it's not the right answer. Also, what she learns about the people around her is interesting, as is seeing many of the early events revisited with a new perspective.
The show is an odd mix of dark and light. The two season plots are a rape and a murder - which is about as dark as you can get. But much of the dialogue is fluffy, her romances are entertaining and she has some excellent exchanges with her father and with Wallace (and others).
In terms of the two season plots - both work, come across as plausible and are resolved by the end of the season. Also, particularly with the murder, the show is good at dropping a little bit more information every episode around the episode plot. Many other shows could learn from this. Oh, and I didn't guess the murderer.
With the individual episodes:
Having watched the full season extremely quickly, we'll take a break before watching two and three. I'm looking forward to them.
chrestomancy and floralaetifica. However, it's been difficult to get hold of. But this month I acquired the French box set, which includes an English version.Turns out that season one is just as good as was promised.
The format is one I really like - a plot per episode along with a couple of full season plots. It's not science fiction or fantasy (which are my usual things) but a high school private detective drama. It's cast beautifully (Kristen Bell is excellent, but so are others - Lily and Logan stand out) and the dialogue's great.
I think what makes it so watchable is that Veronica herself is an excellent character - smart, never willing to give up, but flawed as well. I particularly liked how her "eye for an eye" approach is dealt with; that it mostly runs without comment, but a couple of the characters - specifically two of the most sympathetic characters - suggest that maybe it's not the right answer. Also, what she learns about the people around her is interesting, as is seeing many of the early events revisited with a new perspective.
The show is an odd mix of dark and light. The two season plots are a rape and a murder - which is about as dark as you can get. But much of the dialogue is fluffy, her romances are entertaining and she has some excellent exchanges with her father and with Wallace (and others).
In terms of the two season plots - both work, come across as plausible and are resolved by the end of the season. Also, particularly with the murder, the show is good at dropping a little bit more information every episode around the episode plot. Many other shows could learn from this. Oh, and I didn't guess the murderer.
With the individual episodes:
- I felt that there was only one I didn't like: Drinking the Kool Aid. I didn't like it because it failed on two counts - that the within-episode plot has a nice idea, but it's a bit dull to watch, whilst this episode also stands out for being the only one that doesn't have grand plot movement (despite all but promising some from the end of the previous episode).
- I didn't guess the twist in Meet John Smith (I didn't guess others as well, but this was the first one I missed)
- I found M.A.D. dark because of what had happened to Carmen.
- Favourites? The pilot, the end, Clash of the Tritons (who didn't love that song?), An Echolls Family Christmas and You Think You Know Somebody.
Having watched the full season extremely quickly, we'll take a break before watching two and three. I'm looking forward to them.
