Wicked twists in plotlines show exciting life on 'Mars'
Originally published in The Daily Orange - 11/18/05
If Nancy Drew and Sam Spade had a daughter, she would probably be a lot like teenage detective Veronica Mars.
Intriguing storylines, razor-sharp wit and a talented young cast make "Veronica Mars" one of the best shows on television.
Veronica Mars (Kristin Bell) solves mysteries in the socially divided beach town of Neptune, Calif. Each episode contains clues about the main mystery of the season: What caused a bus full of her classmates to end up in the Pacific Ocean? Working out of her office in the girls' bathroom in the high school, Veronica also helps classmates solve their own mysteries for a small fee. These range from figuring out who hit a car in the school parking lot to learning why only student athletes from the poor section of town failed their drug screening test. This allows one mystery to be solved each episode, while viewers are still teased with hints about the larger, overarching crime.
"Veronica Mars" has a complicated and absorbing plotline, full of shocking twists. Last season, Veronica was inexplicably dumped by her boyfriend, her best friend was murdered and she had reason to believe her dad wasn't her birth father. But this isn't your typical high school soap opera.
In a town tensely divided between the haves and the have-nots, Veronica frequently tells viewers that nothing happens by accident. Each character has an equally complex background story, and the writers constantly build upon past episodes to weave storylines and characters together. Someone who appeared in an episode last season can easily reappear this season and be the lynchpin to solving that episode's mystery.
The dry sarcasm of the script balances out the often disturbing plots of murder, rape and incest. After telling her father about the first day back at school after summer vacation, he jokingly asks if she had any premarital sex that day. She assures him she did.
"But don't worry, Dad," she said. "I swear you're gonna like these guys."
Veronica's ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring), the wise-cracking son of a movie star, is arrested on charges of murdering a member of a local motorcycle gang. Called forward in the police line-up, he smugly launches into Sally Field's Oscar Award acceptance speech.
"I'd just like to say, the other nominees are all such wonderfully gifted criminals."
In a cast made up primarily of young actors, Bell and Dohring stand out. Bell is spunky and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. She delivers her wry lines in a perfect deadpan tone. Bell also provides voiceover commentary throughout most of the show, conveying a world-weariness that would normally seem unrealistic coming from a teenager.
Dohring has the bigger challenge of making the arrogant Logan also be a sympathetic character. When Logan is being a jerk, Dohring speaks in a slow sneering tone. When Logan is vulnerable, Dohring's entire facial expression shifts to make him look scared and emotionally raw.
"Veronica Mars," which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on UPN, is absorbing, funny and well worth investigating.
If Nancy Drew and Sam Spade had a daughter, she would probably be a lot like teenage detective Veronica Mars.
Intriguing storylines, razor-sharp wit and a talented young cast make "Veronica Mars" one of the best shows on television.
Veronica Mars (Kristin Bell) solves mysteries in the socially divided beach town of Neptune, Calif. Each episode contains clues about the main mystery of the season: What caused a bus full of her classmates to end up in the Pacific Ocean? Working out of her office in the girls' bathroom in the high school, Veronica also helps classmates solve their own mysteries for a small fee. These range from figuring out who hit a car in the school parking lot to learning why only student athletes from the poor section of town failed their drug screening test. This allows one mystery to be solved each episode, while viewers are still teased with hints about the larger, overarching crime.
"Veronica Mars" has a complicated and absorbing plotline, full of shocking twists. Last season, Veronica was inexplicably dumped by her boyfriend, her best friend was murdered and she had reason to believe her dad wasn't her birth father. But this isn't your typical high school soap opera.
In a town tensely divided between the haves and the have-nots, Veronica frequently tells viewers that nothing happens by accident. Each character has an equally complex background story, and the writers constantly build upon past episodes to weave storylines and characters together. Someone who appeared in an episode last season can easily reappear this season and be the lynchpin to solving that episode's mystery.
The dry sarcasm of the script balances out the often disturbing plots of murder, rape and incest. After telling her father about the first day back at school after summer vacation, he jokingly asks if she had any premarital sex that day. She assures him she did.
"But don't worry, Dad," she said. "I swear you're gonna like these guys."
Veronica's ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring), the wise-cracking son of a movie star, is arrested on charges of murdering a member of a local motorcycle gang. Called forward in the police line-up, he smugly launches into Sally Field's Oscar Award acceptance speech.
"I'd just like to say, the other nominees are all such wonderfully gifted criminals."
In a cast made up primarily of young actors, Bell and Dohring stand out. Bell is spunky and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. She delivers her wry lines in a perfect deadpan tone. Bell also provides voiceover commentary throughout most of the show, conveying a world-weariness that would normally seem unrealistic coming from a teenager.
Dohring has the bigger challenge of making the arrogant Logan also be a sympathetic character. When Logan is being a jerk, Dohring speaks in a slow sneering tone. When Logan is vulnerable, Dohring's entire facial expression shifts to make him look scared and emotionally raw.
"Veronica Mars," which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on UPN, is absorbing, funny and well worth investigating.
posted by The Couch Critic at
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