TheAlbaniac on 26/1/2006 at 12:54

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I've recently started watching a (new) show called (http://www.veronicamars.com) Veronica Mars and so far I really like it.

Veronica Mars is best described as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Vampires + Nancy Drew". Basically, it's about a seventeen year old girl living in a town in California. Practically everyone is a multi-millionair, or works for one. Veronica's life is instantly changed when her best friend Lily Kane is murdered. Consequently, she loses her boyfriend, her mother, her best friend, her good standing in town and her dad is fired as the town sherriff.

That's where the show starts. It's basically about Veronica Mars being a misfit, and working alongside her dad as a private detective. A running thread through the entire first season is the search for the real murderer of her best friend.

The whole thing has a distinct Buffy-vibe. If you liked buffy, I can pretty much guarantee you'll like this. If you didn't like buffy because of the theme, you might still like this as it's all pretty realistic.

If, on the other hand, you hated Buffy because of it's teen-centered approach, or it's joss-whedon offbeat humor and witticisms, you probably won't like this.

The dialogue is really, really good, acting is great and the format is interesting(it's told from third-person perspective, with lots of flashbacks). I also realy like the pacing. This might be one of the few shows I've ever watched where the actual plot didn't seem drawn out. A good chunk of every episode is spent on solving the overarching mystery. The episode-specific material is great too, though.

It also has some nice geek-moments. Veronica does a lot of 'hacking' and digital stuff, all with her apple laptop. it's really one big apple commercial. the references to 'tech' stuff is surprisingly accurate. For example, she walks in on two people discussing which linux distro is best, and it sounds convincing. In one episode she enters a gamer-cafe dressed as a japanese schoolgirl in a pink skirt and we hear some convincing leet-speak...

This really fills the space left by Buffy when I stopped watching it because of it's turn to horrible soap-opera. There's still plenty of relationship junk, but it's kept to a minimum.

Are any of you watching it, or is it too obscure for that? how popular is it in the USA?

Komag on 26/1/2006 at 22:41

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I checked out the link based on this recommendation, and I heartily disagree. She's pretty enough, but really just a little above average to me.

DarkViper on 26/1/2006 at 23:45

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Hot? She could use some longer hair. Her dead best friend is hotter.

I kind of find it funny that Cassidy's nickname is "Beaver" and his brother's name is Dick. :erg: Sounded funny in my head anyway.

I remember hearing of a show that Alyson Hannigan (of American Pie & Buffy "fame") was going to be in... as well as Charisma Carpenter (I know her from Buffy as well). I personally think that the "other" slayer was hotter. And agree that the show degenerated into a gay soap opera that I stopped watching soon after the 2nd slayer showed up, whatever her name was it's been a long time.

I haven't heard of this show.... but then again I'm lost on all the new teen-oriented WB-type shows... WB or not it still looks that way. Laguna Beach/The OC just killed it. Besides, I hate getting slammed with the damned stereotypes just because I live in Orange County... it's not all nice houses and rich hot bitches.

Sorry.

I'm betting it's very popular in the USA right now.

JACKofTrades on 27/1/2006 at 00:23

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Cobie Smulders is hot. Also, Doogie Howser is actually funny. I like that show. Guaranteed to get canceled.

TheAlbaniac on 27/1/2006 at 13:01

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Dude, Buffy has a weird nose and Veronica's dead friend's face looks like a fish.

Plus, Buffy didn't have an iMac.