Veronica Mars

Nickelodeon production with extra hormone
we just started watching this on netflix on demand, and i've actually kind of appreciated this vibe. pleasingly artificial? Like, it's not even going for any real semblance of believability -- everything is sorta stylized in a way that maybe more shows should be.

The show could do away with the washed-out/weirdly lit look of all the flashback scenes, though.

it could do away with amanda seyfried (seriously, am i the only person that hates her?)

this is the only thing i've seen Seyfried in, but yeah, she is horrible here.

(might not be her fault, tho, i don't know)

she looks like A) an alien B) gemma ward C) my cousin Natale

always thought it was weird that amanda seyfried and the actress who plays mac in v. mars were also both in big love

My gf was very proud of herself for identifying the girl who plays Mac as
http://image.xyface.com/image/a/movie-andre/andre-140119.jpg

(The one on the left.)

omg, i knew she was familiar from something. did not think it was that.

does she have bell's palsy in that photo?

it's been so long since i watched s.1 of this that i nearly forgot seyfried was on this show. that said, y'all crazy, i luv her

Has there ever been a fish out of water show with a super rich person forced to live with poor people? Because there have been a lot of the opposite. One of the things I liked best about "Buffy" was that pretty much everyone was firmly middle class.

Also also, I hate almost everyone in the first five eps, V. Mars excepted.

iirc the sixth episode is when they start giving Logan a bit more depth.

I agree about the enjoyably artificial feel, though they did do some things realistically that other network high school shows don't, especially drug use. Like, Logan does drugs off and on, but it's never LOGAN HAS A DRUG PROBLEM, he just gets high and plays Halo with Dick a lot.

josh it's not quite like buffy, but i feel like if you're 5 eps in and hate everyone and aren't liking it, u should cut yr losses

(ie, it might ramp up a bit, but not as steeply as buffy)

Has there ever been a fish out of water show with a super rich person forced to live with poor people?

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h279/juicyfrt/simplelife_Main-Profile_hea.jpg

that's actually how we canoe in canada

nice.

x-post Since Veronica can hold her own, I figured the only reason the supporting cast was composed almost entirely of rich assholes was to set the stage for their potential redemption. BTW, had a great theory as to what's going on (being totally blind to future plot turns), but deep down I'm (preemptively) bummed that there's no way the show will go where I wished it went. Eh, it's light. I'll give it a few more eps.

i feel like if you're 5 eps in and hate everyone and aren't liking it, u should cut yr losses

Agreed. VM never ramped up in terms of quality the way Buffy did. I think if you don't like it after the first 5 episodes you're probably never going to like it.

it's funny that I like this show but hate logan tons and duncan and piz and wallace sometimes and mac sometimes and the rest. I like veronica and keith

tbh most tv show characters, even on tv shows I love, are pretty hateable

mr rogers for example

Has there ever been a fish out of water show with a super rich person forced to live with poor people?

Green Acres

I think it's the actors I hate rather than the characters which are just a bit rubbish

i like wallace most of the time. and i like weevil.

I like the mushmouthed deputy, the defense lawyer, and Ken Marino as the rival p.i. (though I can't remember how much he's in season 1).

I like just about all of the characters on this show? I think it must take a lot for me to hate a character.

yeah they are all quite good

xpost

Oh, I like all the teenagers too but pretty much all the adult secondary characters are great iirc and that's a real strength of the show compared to other "teen dramas." OTOH, I'll spend time watching people on TV who I would actively avoid irl (which is kind of no duh, but I mean I still can't believe I enjoy a show about football players in Texas) and maybe other people aren't like that.

I'd say watch past the first 5. That Troy subplot seems like an out and out fuckup by the writers' compared to the rest of the season which is really well-balanced between the overarching plot and the individual eps.

the Troy thing sets up the show's cynical tone so well!

A lot of the 09ers seem kind of cardboard, tbh. Logan and Duncan seem to be getting a bit more interesting (I've watched 12 episodes), but a lot of the secondary characters are just anonymous chiseled dudes.

show has had some good homicide cameos so far, which I appreciate. Bayliss! Melissa Leo -- as a transgendered woman! i hope there are more.

xp
I moved to a new high school after sophomore year, so "anonymous chiseled dudes" actually rings true with my experience.

I think that's it tylerw. I was always sad they didn't have a scene together.

i also appreciate that, despite its kinda artificial feel, a lot of the show seems to be filmed on location in the San Diego area, and kind of gets the vibe of the place right.

As kind of an extension of what I saying about the adult characters, I think one are where VM excels over Buffy is the setting. Neptune and its high school feel much more real to me than Sunnydale. Obv neither show is aiming for naturalism, and I don't really care about this idea wrt to Buffy, but I think it's one of the pleasures of VM.

i've also watched 5 eps of this and kinda lost interest. not sure why exactly because there's a lot i like about it. a friend told me the overarching plot gets darker and more interesting within the next few eps, so i'm gonna try again.

the trans mom ep made me cry and is by far my favorite so far ;_;

At least Veronica Mars didn't have an awesome pool hall/bar/concert venue (with national touring acts!)... that caters to one high school and only serves juice/soda.

Did you not get to the episode where Spoon plays yet.

I remember almost no details about VM (except for how much I hated the 12 Angry Men/Veronicas episode)

v mars doesn't ramp up like buffy but it starts out stronger (i love buffy a lot more overall but the first season of vmars is better than the first season of buffy). also, vmars starts moving really fast about six episodes from the end of the season and then it's impossible to stop watching. i think i watched the last six episodes in a night the first time i watched the first season through.

person who finds the characters unlikeable, how can you dislike Cliff??!?

Logan is a great character and i love him but boys seem to have something against him ime

we're jealous duh.

totally! he's the classic "why do girls only like jerks?" model

logan is a great character arc iirc

logan 100% rubbish

I just dug out my Veronica Mars dvd set and Episode 5 is probably the worst episode of the season (well maybe the Paris Hilton one earlier is worse). The thing is from around episode 11 the series hits a really great roll all the way to the end. Now it may be the show just isn't to your taste, but it might be worth hanging on a wee bit longer to see if that second half of the season saves it for you.

Yeah, I think I'll stick with it a bit longer, because it's harmless/mindless enough, and def. sharp enough for me to suspect it can do better. With Troy out of the way, I hope it's onward and upward! Or at least reaches cruising altitude.