For once I agree with EW, who featured 'Veronica Mars' on their list of 5 shows you should be watching. If you pick up the EW issue with the stars of 'Desperate Housewives' on the cover, it has a handy catch-up guide for those who missed the first 2 eps of this show.
Here's my catch-up guide if you haven't watched so far: Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell, who looks like a younger version of Kathryn Morris from 'Cold Case') is an outcast at her high school in the upmarket and snobby town of Neptune, CA. She used to be a part of the in-crowd, until her best friend Lilly (the daughter of a powerful software developer) was murdered, and her father (then the local sheriff) fingered Lilly's father for the murder. Veronica's father was put under pressure to find someone else responsible for the murder, and lo and behold, a drifter confessed. Veronica's father lost his job, her mother left, and Veronica's boyfriend (Lilly's brother) broke up with her. And then Veronica was drugged and date raped at a party - she still has no idea who was responsible, as the new sheriff (who's a real bastard) refused to investigate.
Eight months after her father was fired, Veronica's dad is a P.I. He's still convinced that Lilly was murdered by her father, and continues to investigate the case in his spare time.
Veronica, meanwhile, has a new part-time job - helping her father with his P.I. work.
UPN's website has a good selection of features, including a guide to the characters (under dossiers), Veronica's diary, and an amusing 'Ask Veronica' feature:
www.upn.com/shows/veronic.../index.phpWhy should you watch this show? Well the writing is considerably sharper and smarter than the last UPN show which featured a blonde teenage girl as its lead character.
The main father/daughter relationship is written and played really well. The mixture of humour and more serious drama is done with an expert touch. Plus, nobody has yet called Veronica 'Ronnie', and she's so tough that she'd probably punch anyone who did.
Anyway, 'Veronica Mars' airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on UPN. I find that it bridges the gap between 'Gilmore Girls' and 'SVU' pretty well. Please watch if you get a chance, as the ratings so far haven't been great and the show could do with some word-of-mouth success.
Pro bono, which I think means,'Sucker Who Doesn't Get Paid' in Latin.
- Veronica Mars