TVgasm Recaps

It seems like I am always thanking the TVgasm readers for something or other, and I have to say that I once again have all of my thanks to give for finally pushing me into the world that is Veronica Mars. In retrospect, I never should have needed the push in the first place. After all, this show is right in my wheelhouse. I could go on and on for a long time why I didn't try the show, and why I am now hooked only four episodes in (one from last season and the first three this year), but the TVgasm readers were not the ones who needed the convincing. So thanks for getting me hooked on Neptune High, and thanks for being such fanatics that UPN kept this show alive for a second season. If I ever see you out in Los Angeles, I'll have to buy you a drink.

So far, I have really enjoyed my Veronica Mars baptism by fire. Part of the problem with recapping a show that has so many ardent fans is that you are going to sometimes reveal that your knowledge is lacking and people will take you to task for that. But most people have been very nice as I get myself caught up to speed. This is a learning process, people! As infallible as all of us TVgasm writers are (after much practice, I can say that with a straight face), even we deserve a little understanding now and then. After three episodes of dealing heavily with conspiracies surrounding the bus crash, we took a little step back to explore some more of the mundane little plot points that make up the life of Neptune's ab fab young sleuth and those that surround her. Highlights include Duncan being a pussy and Wallace getting some more of the same!

Oh Veronica Mars, you really do suck me in with that spell of yours. Most of the comments and the e-mail I get about the show are centered around me getting the Season 1 DVD so I can have a better appreciation for the show. I am sure it would be nice, but I don't think you need to know the ins and outs of Season 1 to enjoy the show now. I know they aren't the same show, but I never watched the first season of 24 until there was a marathon Labor Day of 2002, and even then, I never saw the first 8 or 9 episodes until a coworker let me borrow the DVDs a few weekends back. What I am trying to get at is that there is still time for you to get the fever and tune in. This week served up a lot of great high school backstabbing, and featured a blast from the past and a revelation that Veronica likes to oil up her boobs.

Things haven't been going so smoothly for the Veronica Mars family these days. Keith Mars seemed to be coasting to an easy win in the sheriff's race, but the revelation that his negligence might have contributed to the bus accident tanked his hopes. He had evidence that the there was an explosion just before the bus, but the integrity of the investigation was more important than his winning the mayor race, so he took the chance and gave it to Sheriff Lam. As for Veronica, she was embarrassed on public access television, but the real blow was Wallace's departure. After being lied to by his mother and believing that Veronica wouldn't give him the kind of support he was always willing to give her, he left with his dad, leaving Veronica without her best friend and without any mystery solving sidekick to aid her should she need it. This week, we greatly expanded the conspiracy surrounding the bus crash, and perhaps opened a little bit of a door back to Lilly Kane's murder. I even changed my opinion about Logan the Penis Head.

So everybody should be very happy. I received Veronica Mars Season 1 on DVD this past weekend, and I plan on doing a marathon viewing session during the holiday weekend. By this time next week, I'll be well on my way to making all of the proper references and gaining all of the important insights into the characters and their complexities like only the truly obsessed fan can comprehend. Until then, we are left with dealing with the mystery of this season, which is the big bus crash that killed all of those students from Neptune High, and their hot teacher. The only problem with the search for the truth is that whenever we think we have solved one mystery, three more rise from its ashes. And if all of that wasn't enough for the folks of Neptune, a new witness came forward in the murder of Felix Toombs, meaning there was new pressure on Logan. And Wallace is nowhere to be found.

As promised, I used up pretty much every spare moment I had over this weekend taking in the complete first season of Veronica Mars. After watching the first DVD (first four episodes of the season), I have to admit that I wasn't that crazy about how things started, or at least I wasn't nearly as into it as I was the second season. Some of that may be because I already knew what happened, but by the time I had finished the third DVD, I was hooked and couldn't get enough. Even though I knew what was coming towards the end (spoiler alert: Aaron Echolls killed Lily), the final episode was very exciting. But why am I telling you guys (and girls) everything you already know? As we continue along this season with the yellow school bus that turned into a yellow submarine, we also must deal with Logan's trial looming, and the possibility that the two of them may be connected.

We know that Veronica Mars is smart, fearless, resourceful, and combines all of that into one smoking hot, petite package, but one of the great things about her is that she still has a mean streak. That's not to say that she goes around and tries to pick fights with people, of course. Veronica is very nice to her friends, whether it means baking them snickerdoodles for the big game, introducing them to the parents they never met, or solving their murder. It's just that our girl has made plenty of enemies, and she has no trouble getting back at her enemies with a vengeance. And while the people she decides to take down a notch might not always deserve it (surely Meg would have been happier if Veronica had been slightly more forgiving), Veronica does so much good, we can certainly understand why she may be inclined to do some things out of pure spite. And while it may not be in line with the holiday spirit, sometimes spite feels so good.

Veronica Mars can never seem to pick the right guy. She falls in love with one guy, but he might be her brother, so things end. Another guy seems nice, but was just using her to help him cover up the fact that he stole his dad's car plus a cachet of illegal drugs. Things are going nice with the bad boy, but his dad did try to kill you, plus it turns out the first guy is not your brother, and although you hate his mom, she has moved out of town. Then you find out that this guy impregnated the girl that he used to go out with. Oh yeah, this girl is in a coma, and you continue to blame yourself for the whole thing. And let's not forget that you and your boyfriend were caught in this girl's house trying to save her youngest sister from a life being locked up in a closet as disciplinary tool. Complicated enough for you? Well, it gets a whole lot better than that.

UPN made us wait a long time for the return of Veronica Mars. It's been so long since our latest episode that UPN, having formed an unholy alliance with The WB, doesn't really even exist anymore. Since my last recap, I have been hard at work preaching the gospel of Veronica Mars, and can report that I have successfully recruited half of my parents, and all of my sisters living in Florida. By the time I was on my way back home (delayed in PHL, unable to connect to SBC Freedomlink, forced to get sloshed to pass the time), I was completing my third cycle of the DVD set. I think I have my addiction under control, but I nearly threw the DVDs back in when I saw there was no episode last week. I desperately needed to know what happened to Meg's baby, and what would it mean for Veronica and Duncan, and were they going to explain why Wallace was back, and, well, we got the answers to all of those questions, and it was worth the wait.

After Duncan fled for Mexico last week, many people in Neptune, including Veronica Mars wondered if they would ever see him again. For those of you wondering the same thing, don't hold your breath. See, the actor whop lays Duncan, Teddy Dunn[not Gunn, thanks KiwiKerry4eva], is only signed on for one more episode this season, which means that we probably have heard the last of the Meg Manning saga for a little while. It might be sort of an abrupt end, but the writers were shrewd to have Astrid, Celeste Kane's personal assistant, accompany Duncan, meaning we can always use her as a proxy towards Duncan's whereabouts. Who knows, maybe Duncan will jump on Astrid (he seems to like the type) and save her the trouble of kissing up to Celeste in order to make money. That is all speculation, and even with Duncan out of the picture, we still have plenty of conspiracies running through Neptune to keep us busy. And as we have all learned from 1.5 seasons of Veronica Mars, answering those questions is never easy.

For all of the shit that people give UPN, myself included, I have to say that it has been home to some of my favorite television shows. Granted, I didn't really pat attention to it until they landed the final seasons of Buffy, and since then my only reason for watching it prior to four months ago was America's Next Top Model. Then I found Veronica Mars, and I could not be happier. The town of Neptune is still reeling from the news last week that Terrence Cook is now being investigated as the person behind the fiery bus crash. I am sure that everybody wants to see whoever did this get what they deserve, but considering that it was Sheriff Lamb, perhaps the most incompetent sheriff in TV history not named Rosco P. Coltrane, that was hot on tail, that almost assured Terrence of his innocence; he was just going to have to find somebody smarter than Don Lamb to help him prove it. Since that requirement only eliminates about three people in town, I would have to say that Terrence has a fighting chance.

It's been way too long since we have had the pleasure of a new episode of Veronica Mars. Unfortunately for those of us who prefer quality writing as opposed to repetitive renditions of the hits of Stevie Wonder, we had to sit tight until American Idol wound itself down to only a couple of hours a week. One of the difficulties for Veronica Mars is that it is nearly impossible to match the interest and intrigue of the Lily Kane murder now that we are in our second season. The Bus crash, the Fitzpatricks, the fall of Weevil; I guess it is OK. But really, it doesn't matter to me because I started watching this show before I knew how great the first season was. However, now that we have taken care of Duncan and Meg, brought Wallace back home, and have Mac and Beaver hooking up, I really do believe that things will be can't miss from here on out.

Before we start off with this week's recap, I just wanted to remind everybody that Veronica Mars is switching to Tuesdays at 9PM, starting April 11th. Our poor girl got trounced by idol and barely kept the ANTM audience so it's on (hopefully) to greener pastures. For a show that always has some speculation floating around that it is going to get cancelled, this is not great news, but that still doesn't take away from the here and now. I have been telling anybody who will listen, whether it be at a bar or a dinner party, that Veronica Mars is the best show on television. While that might make me the least interesting person in the room, at least my conscience is clean. Last week, Veronica found some explosives and detonators in the Terrence Cook's hangar. You remember; it's the one where he keeps all of his fine cars.That's not to say that that Terrence Cook is guilty of homicide, but it will make Keith's job a lot harder.

Our sassy, angst-ridden, teenage crime fighting machine Veronica Marshas plenty of talents, one of them being the uncanny ability to create enemies. Now although there are several times when Veronica has made an enemy because she was too quick to judge somebody or they grow tired of how she acts like she is the smartest girl in the whole town, most of the time people dislike her because she has foiled some nefarious crime or exposed some sort of rampant hypocrisy. Oh, and I shouldn't forget the people who want her dead because they believe she is responsible for the bus crash that killed their loved ones, or because she accused half the town of killing Lily Kane. Veronica has had a very difficult time in high school, but like a lot of teenagers, she is going to get a second chance at everything once she graduates and starts college.

Although I am sure that fans of Veronica Mars know that the show is switching time slots to Tuesdays at 9PM Eastern (check local listings) starting tomorrow, April 11th, but the new time slot is also an opportunity for those who have not been enlightened to take the Veronica Mars plunge. Listen, I am not expecting fans of House, Scrubs, or Dennis Haysbert (The Unit) to forego new episodes of their favorites to switch over, but really, let's at least help Veronica Mars kick the shit out of Pepper Dennis. For those of you who are already in the know and caught this week's episode, you were treated to the one of the better episodes of the year. When characters on Veronica Mars get their revenge, they don't pull any punches. We all thought our favorite stubby ex-cholo, Eli "Weevil" Navarro, got his revenge after being booted out of the PCH, but it turns out he hadn't even gotten started.

As I've always said, one of the things that I love about Veronica Mars is that the show is able to juggle so many story lines with a lot of skill. As you dig deeper into the mystery, it only gets more complicated. While this makes it very difficult to turn somebody onto the show this late into the season, watching how everything comes together gives those of us who have hung around since the beginning of the year a wonderful sense of accomplishment. If you thought things were going to get less complicated once Weevil got his revenge on Thumper, you don't know the writers very well. We know that when she was solving Lily Kane's murder, Veronica would see visions of her best friend, who would often give her advice on how things were going. This year, it looks like Veronica is once again playing medium as kids killed in the bus crash started visiting her dreams in order to provide some clarity, and that's a good thing After all, we only have five episodes left to get to the bottom of this thing.

Although I have enjoyed the last couple of weeks, I was starting to get worried about Veronica Mars. It has been as funny and clever as ever, but some things were troubling, and they go far beyond my dread at having to hear all the gushing should Logan and Veronica get together. No, I was starting to wonder if perhaps the writers didn't have a plan. You know, perhaps, they were too busy putting a bunch of twists and "gotchas" into the episodes that the wonderful mystery of all the conspiracies would come tumbling down because there wasn't enough to keep them all going at once. Oh how very wrong I was. It looks like the writers had a great plan, and the only thing I am worried about now is whether I'll feel worse having to wait three more episodes for it all to wrap up, or the fact that after those three episodes, I will have to wait another four or five months for them to get started again. But enough about that because I have already taken too much away from this week's episode, which was, as I used to say when I was a kid (and to be honest still do), so f-ing dope.

When I recommend that people watch Veronica Mars, I always tell them to start with the Season One DVD. It's very difficult to explain for somebody who hasn't lived through the experience, but the final three or four episodes pull together so many parts of the mystery and bring forth so many different emotions, it becomes more than just a TV show; it's an experience. Laugh at me if you want to, because I did the same thing last year, but it really is true. I was lucky to have it on DVD because the only thing interrupting my need for more Veronica Mars was sleep and hygiene, and it is KILLING me to have to wait an entire week to get my fix. If I haven't gushed enough already, you can probably tell that I loved this episode. Mystery, romance, intrigue, antibiotics; this episode had something for everybody. And since things are really getting complicated, I have to warn you that the recap is long, but oh was this episode worth it.

We have almost wrapped up our second season of Veronica Mars and I have to say that I nearly died several times last night. I can only imagine the difficulty that I am going to have during the season finale, which of course is going to be nothing compared to the agony of waiting a whole summer to figure out what's happening next. And heaven help the folks at Paramount and Warner Brothers if they can't find a way to get this show picked up for another season. After nearly a year of waiting around, it's time for Aaron Echolls to face the jury in the murder of Lily Kane. And would it be too much to hope that Woody Goodman gets put behind bars for a long time? He's got a number of things the cops should be able to lock him up for. Oh, and don't some of these people need to graduate soon?

So obviously I watched Veronica Mars last night.

BEST. SEASON FINALE. EVER.

There were so many moments during the episode where my jaw just dropped. It's easy to shoot a couple of people in the last few minutes of an episode and get all of your viewers to gasp. It takes skill to pull that off for an entire hour. The writers of Veronica Mars have that skill, and it was on display last night. There were parts that seemed a little chopped together, but I think the writers realized that they might not be picked up next year. They had to tie up a lot of loose ends in order to bring closure for the fans, but I think they left us plenty of questions for the opening of the next season. Warner Bros produces the show and has a hand in the new network that it's on, so let's hope they let them continue with Veronica Mars and hold off an creating another Joey.

Last night was the premiere of Veronica Mars and there is really a lot of pressure on the show. Although the critics love it and the fans are willing to go to great lengths in order to convince other people just how much they love it, enthusiasm for a show does not always translate into ratings. While it was on UPN, the quirky adventures of our favorite cute as a button private investigator could afford to languish in the ratings. Now on a new network, Veronica Mars is going to have to hold it's own in the ratings wars, and the network has not yet committed to a full season. All of this means little to the people who have come to love Veronica Mars and half a season is better than none, no? There were a lot of questions left over from last season, and we got a lot of answers, but in true Veronica Mars form, they introduced just a few more twists to get us thinking again.

Although very exciting, the premiere of Veronica Mars raised a lot more questions than it actually answered. Last week I complained that it was a little dense and didn't give enough answers, but I think I simply let my V-mars geekery get the best of me. While I still think that the Keith story line did add some confusion, I shouldn't act like it was the end of the world. Besides, there were plenty of good things happening in the first episode and this second episode finally tied up one of the loose ends from last year. And is it just me, or is Veronica actually making more friends than enemies? Let's see how long she can keep this up.

By Loula

Previously: Dick is a dick. Professor Landry is cuckolding the Dean. Logan alibis Mercer for one of the rapes but doesn’t run into burning buildings often enough for Veronica’s taste. And in a scene pulled straight from my worst nightmares, Logan and his shiny-eyed sad puppy face actually watch Veronica avoiding his calls. Seriously, I already think about that every time I press the “ignore” button on my phone, but thanks for reinforcing that paranoia, show. Patty Hearst is about to vote the Greeks off campus, and it’s all so meta and awesome that it doesn’t matter that she’s a terrible actress. Also, hey, did you hear? Hearst has its very own serial rapist.

By Zoobabe

This episode concludes the first arc of the mini-mystery season and we start at the Pi Sig house. We see Piz and Mac looking for V and then cut to her running like a bat out of hell looking for some help in the dorm and slumping down on the floor to see a mystery pair of male legs next to her.  Is Veronica doomed? Could it be just a dream? HELL NO because we then see the next scene headlined "2 days before", so foreshadowing it is indeed!

Recently, we posted the two finalists for the Veronica Mars writing contest. It came down to Zoobabe vs. Loula competing to be the lucky person to alternate with Flipit on the Veronica Mars recaps. To paraphrase Tyra Banks, each girl has what the other girl needs (okay, they don't really need anything. I just felt like paraphrasing Tyra). So who goes home? The girl who emphasizes short but sweet recaps, or the girl who finds gold in the details?

BUT FIRST: some minor housekeeping to take care of. We still want more writers for the following shows:

• Amazing Race All-Stars!
• The Apprentice
• You're The One That I Want
• Beauty & The Geek
• Criminal Minds
• One Tree Hill
• Gilmore Girls

As always, email submissions and questions to me at bside@tvgasm.com!

And now, onto the winner of the Veronica Mars edition of America's Next Top TVgasm Writer...

I was so excited for the return of Veronica Mars that I watched the episode LIVE. My Tivo was hurt, but sometimes you have to hurt those you love to get what you need. I learned that lesson when my best friend Brent joined AA. I hope my Tivo forgives me sooner than I forgave Brent. Traitor.

At the end of the last arc, Vero caught the tag-team Fantastic Sam's rapists, but that was about the only piece of good news around Neptune. Daddy Keith had to break up with Harmony, which was like watching Just Shoot Me get cancelled all over again. Vero got dumped by Logan, and Mac's libido was suffering from Beaver depression. It's starting to look like Mack will follow in the footsteps of my sweet, spinster Great Aunt LuLu. I am sure there are worse fates than playing Go Fish and wandering the aisles of Big Lots alone forever, but I can't think of any right now. Did I mention I'm single? And of course the most heart wrenching news of all was in the Neptune Press's obit section. Dean Begley-O'Dell died of a (self-inflicted?) bullet to the head. Why God, why? He saved so many lives on St. Elsewhere, he just didn't deserve this. Damn you, ruthless Veronica Mars! Stop killing my loved ones! Brent! I need you!

Last week's episode of Veronica Mars ended with a teaser of Veronica saying "I'm pregnant!" I've thought of nothing but abortion all week long. Thanks, Veronica Mars. Teen pregnancy happens. I get it. I wouldn't be here without it. But please don't let it happen to my girl! I know I should have faith, but I've been burned before. Is this gonna be like when Facts Of Life turned the girls' house into a candy store with no Mrs. G? I can't take it! Finally, Tuesday night arrives. Tivo, you can have the night off. Don't get all mopey on me, you're looking haggard. Rest up. No, wait, sorry I need you again. I have to go to 7-11 for some ice cream. If Veronica gets pregnant, I'll get fatter. I'm loyal like that.

I was psyched for tonight's episode of Veronica Mars because it was a Veronica goes to jail storyline and I have always been fascinated by women on the inside. I like how they buzz their hair and hold cigarette packs in their rolled up sleeves and girl-rape each other. Unfortunately, this is the NEW CW and not HBO, so there was no bitch slapping or dyke drama. There is also no room in the show's budget to hire a cellmate for Vero, so she's stuck alone with Sheriff Workout, Barney Fife, and a cute jailhouse hairdo. <><>
There was lot to get to tonight, and the writers rocked it out. Did Coach Barry's son kill him? Did Dean O'Begley's son kill him? (If I was a parent, this episode would have had me seriously worried.) Will Veronica finally forgive the guy we all know she's gonna end up with? And why isn't Logan pouting?