“Veronica Mars”
[This was written ages ago (early last year actually), but I’m only now getting around to publishing some of the stuff I’ve drafted in Writer. 2012 is all about output/creation for me, so expect more posts than usual.]
I’ve been watching a lot of TV and film during the past year or so thanks to Netflix and its Watch Instantly service. I’d planned to review some standout titles along the way, but I kinda let that idea fall by the wayside, but I might get around to it eventually.
Anyway, instead of backtracking I thought I would forge ahead… I recently watched the entire series of Veronica Mars via Watch Instantly. Yeah, I know, for any self-respecting geek I’m a few years late to the party. The series lead, Kristen Bell, first caught my eye when she joined the cast of NBC’s Heroes. I only stuck with that show for a couple of seasons but in that short time I became absolutely smitten with Bell. I’ve kinda had a craving for her ever since. And of course it wasn’t long until I learned that she helmed a series of her very own, Veronica Mars. I’d heard nothing but great things about it, but I kept putting it off… who knows why? I still haven’t watched The Shield, The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Mad Men… the list goes on and on.
Anyway, I finally set down to the task a few months ago, and with the help of my recent cold I was able to marathon most of the show with a few sessions and got through it relatively quickly. It’s just the type of show you can’t help but burn through, at least I couldn’t.
So what is the show? I’ll spare you a literal synopsis since you could find that anywhere and anything I ever heard never got me to watch it anyway; I kept hearing the same thing over and over. What would’ve hooked me instantly is if someone told me the show is relatively heavy on tech and extremely heavy on social engineering. And all of it is housed under this neo-noir, crime-procedural structure. Add to that a strong, witty, resourceful, snarky, smart, sexy female lead… I mean, c’mon!
Obviously, I recommend giving the show a shot. As I mentioned earlier the entire series is available via Watch Instantly so you can get started right away if you have a Netflix account. The only thing I would warn you about is something that turned me off initially: the narration. I normally enjoy narration (thinking fondly of Dogville, Manderlay, The Wonder Years, American Beauty, etc.), but for some reason there was something about the way it was handled in the first several episodes that rubbed me the wrong way. I can’t peg what it was, so maybe it was just me. Other than that, I can’t see not falling in love with the series, and Veronica.
