I watched Veronica Mars quite sporadically when it was on E4, usually after school. A couple of years ago, I decided to order the box set and watch it from start to finish. It was even better than I could ever anticipate. First of all, it's a brilliant neo-noir. The dialogue and voice over narration is smart, quick and full of irony and humour. And the best part is, it is all coming from the mouth of a cute and little blonde. You totally buy it because she's charismatic, compelling and intelligent but best of all she's flawed. Sometimes she makes terrible choices and gets it wrong. I have to say that the show's main strength is Veronica as a character, played wonderfully by Kristen Bell- this role was meant for her.I adore the relationship between her and Keith, so enduring and sweet, it's the emotional centre beneath all of the snarky sarcasm. I know the show has been praised for its feminist undertones, and rightly so, but I think the character of Logan often gets overlooked in that respect. Here is a male character (also a love interest) who isn't conventionally great looking, who looks like a high school student and who isn't hyper-masculine. Okay, he saves Veronica once or twice but generally she's the person saving his @r$e. There is even an episode where it is implied that he literally wet himself out of fear, while being held at gunpoint. Even his tortured, bad boy archetype is acknowledged, with a wry and knowing wink, being constantly referenced. There has been some criticism about the setting and the plot lines being unrealistic. I agree that Neptune, "a town without the middle class", and all that goes on within it, is rather far fetched. The show isn't anchored in the real world. But neither was Buffy. Veronica Mars still deals with real world problems, with universal themes and topical issues. I don't really care that it is highly stylised, too polished, that it is set in sunny California, a world so far removed from our own it may as well be on Mars (puns!). Everyone can relate to being an outsider, to the authority officials being corrupt or just unhelpful, to a culture of date rape and slut shaming, gang violence and to good ol' fashioned financial troubles.
My favourite tiny detail- you see Veronica wearing clothes she has worn before. It's like, "hey look, she wore that jacket a couple of episodes ago. Finally, a teenage girl with a finite wardrobe!"
My favourite tiny detail- you see Veronica wearing clothes she has worn before. It's like, "hey look, she wore that jacket a couple of episodes ago. Finally, a teenage girl with a finite wardrobe!"
Tell Your Friends