To me, this show has two major factors going against it (and will have a third in the new season). The first is that UPN makes the premise sound like ridiculous soap-like teen fare. I even have a hard time explaining the premise to people and making it sound good. The second is that it, well, airs on UPN, so no one believes it can be good, and it also doesn't fit in with what their usual viewers would expect. Finally, it will be airing against Lost in the new season.

All that being said, it's a great show with some of the most consistently good writing I've seen on TV, great acting, and lots and lots of wonderful snark. Kristen Bell is dead-on as Veronica, and most of the rest of the cast is fab as well. Despite the fact that it's a show "about teenagers," it actually has a lot of depth and is at its core an homage to film noir; it's also beautifully shot. I've seen (and enjoyed) Tru Calling as well, but the writing and acting on VM is surperior to TC's writing and acting.

I kept hearing this for months as well. Veronica Mars is the greatest new show on TV. over and over again. SO this summer I decided I'd give it a shot. As of right now I have about 10 episodes sitting on my TIVO, but for some reason it jumps from the pilot episode to the tenth episode. And since this show is buffyesque in its overarching storylines that you need to keep track of, I was screwed. I figured I could wait til october when it comes out on DVD and just get it on Netflix, but im anal (tee hee...) about this stuff so im downloading the missing episodes.

THe pilot was pretty good. Kristen Bell is quite the hottie (side note, she does a brief nude scene in the David Mamet movie "Spartan", if youre into taht kind of thing...) and I liked the "big" murder mystery that the show is slowly unraveling.

And Charisma Carpenter in the early Zander dating days was my dream girl. Even the revelation of her oversized aerolas in Playboy havent diminished my affection for her.

When the pilot came on, I gave it a shot because... well, what the hell. And I realized pretty quickly that it's not a teeny-bopper show; it's actually a lot darker than Buffy most of the time, since there are no demons or vampires to kill for catharsis, only a lot of really fucked-up people. I mean, the best "whodunit" episode was when Veronica tried to figure out who drugged and raped her. It's a seriously fucking good show.

I'm as big a fan of Buffy as anyone, and by the end of the debut season of "Veronica Mars," I had to reluctantly admit I liked VM as much -- or more -- than I liked season one or two of Buffy. VM is definitely its own show, and it might take some time to get into its groove, but it's well worth the effort. It's extremely well-written and Kristen Bell is nothing short of phenomenal, particularly in the last five or six episodes.

And I'll just refrain from commenting on "Smallville," because well, my mom taught me if you can't say something nice, keep your goshdarn mouth shut. ;) But Veronica would chew up Lana and spit her out. Totally.

If you're going to watch Veronica Mars, then you have to watch it from the beginning, uninterrupted, completely, so I would recommend watching the CBS airings without judging the show from those airings. Veronica Mars' first season is as close to 22 hours of perfect television as I've seen. Multiple threads that somehow find ways of cohering and building on each other, superlative acting from Kristen Bell, Enrico, and J. Dohring, emotional oomph from clues to the overarching mysteries arriving every episode, etc. The sheer pace of each episode is something that Lost's writers could learn from. Just satisfying all around. I'm kind of scared that the second season won't be able to match the intensity of the first now that the overarching mysteries have been solved, but I have full trust that Rob Thomas and the VM writers will pull through because they did so time and again throughout the first season.

I too dismissed this show because it was on UPN. I saw the two episodes on Friday, and they were good and I am looking forward to the rest. I just wish it could jump station and go to something other than UPN...

Love, love, love VM!!! Best new show I watched last season. As far as UPN airing the shows out of order, I read somewhere that they were trying to show the best episodes of the season and couldn't fit all of them into the summer. The dvd not coming out until after the 2nd season starts I also read about - something about the network telling the creators it would come out sooner, but it got pushed back so it wouldn't compete with another show being released on dvd. Anyway - watch this show!!!

This show is above and beyond what you would expect it to be. Somewhere between Buffy and Wonder Falls is where this lands. I love it, but it also was relatively hard to watch towards the end of last season, because I was afraid it was going to get the axe, and then quickly wrap up a bunch of story lines as fast as possible leaving a bunch of holes. HOWEVER, it took its time, it was funny and also very harsh, and ended itself up in a nice little cliffhanger. Cordy lost her vim from me when Fred showed up on the scene (along with the short hair bobb, and the extra weight), so I am looking forward to some more cameos from Willow. If this counts, definitely WATCH THIS SHOW!

Minor tidbit - Saw them filming a scene for Veronica Mars on Monday at a gas station in downtown San Diego. So there you go.

i started watching veronica mars this summer because i'd seen a couple veronicagasms on this site throughout the season. it's actually a pretty good show, kristin bell is one of the major reasons i tune in (thanks for the nude scene info eddiebosox, it's added to my weekend to do list) but the stories are actually interesting, though it's a little tough having missed a few episodes.

by the way, somebody alert the assholes at the parent's television council because i'm pretty sure i heard the f-bomb dropped on the show. the episode is the one airing on cbs this friday where she gets investigates the school's secret society. just after she surprises the group during a meeting and they give chase (somewhere around the 30 minute mark) the leader of the group quietly mutters "fuck" under his breath. i love moments like that- hearing the f-word on tv makes me giddy. check it out and tell me if you hear the same.

If it's really airing during LOST next season, why even bother?

Terrible time slot....

I agree that it is hard to sell VM to others by talking about it. When I try to get people to watch, they usually look at me like I'm asking them to do something ridiculous (it's the Buffy problem all over again). My husband and I have been loyal from the first episode, the acting and writing are killer. It really is one of the best shows on TV, and it doesn't matter if it centers around high school kids. Heck, even my Mom (a huge mystery fan) loves the show because she thinks it is so clever & well done! We wish it wasn't on at the same time as Lost now, but last season it was on opposite TAR, and we survived by taping one show while watching the other on another TV (sad to be tivo-free). We also relied on TVgasm's TAR re-caps if we missed a show, and it would be so wonderful to have that luxury with VM this year as well! With the myriad of crappy shows out there these days, it's nice to have two decent shows to look forward to in one night. Now, please go watch this show so you can realize how kick-ass it is!

Lynnie's right. My dawgs always make fun of me when I say I gotta get home to see VM. This show is awwwwwwesome! People just dont get it. Maybe showing it on CBS will help. GO VM! It's yer birthday! We gonna party like its yer birthday!

I started watching over the summer too and am now hooked.
Gonna get annoying in the fall when it's airs against Lost, but VM is definitely a show worth catching.

this show is awesome.

but its gonna fall off a fucking cliff next year when it goes against LOST