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!
It's a Sunday in Neptune and Veronica is spending some quality time at her dad's office. He is in the midst of his campaign to get his sheriff job back and the Mars PI office is the war room. Veronica is minding her own business (sort of) when a woman named Julie comes in asking to investigate her boyfriend. She has plenty of money and is willing to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately Keith Mars isn't able to take on new cases because of the election and the book and the huge backlog he already has. But this woman is willing to drop $2000 or more for a week's worth of work, and that is money that Veronica could use in her quest to get to Stanford and more than she could earn at Java the Hut unless they "installed a pole."
If Veronica needs to make extra money, I would suggest starting up a webcam, but that is sooo 1999. These days, the young woman working her way though college works as an escort. There are plenty of women at USC and UCLA doing it right now, or at least that is what Mrs. Petrovka down the hall keeps telling me. I have this image of a hooker who is studying forensic anthropology, and I have to say, it's not that appealing. Call me a traditionalist - I prefer the massage parlors. Anyway, although her dad says no, Veronica decides she is going to take on the case herself and convinces Julie that this job would be perfect for a female investigator.
As happy as Veronica is to be getting some extra coin, Wallace is ten times as happy as he continues to get to know Jackie a whole lot better. He's going to help Jackie with her trig, and since Jackie's dad is often away, there's a good chance that study session will turn out into a makeout session, or as I like to say "heavy petting." I love that term, but I do wonder, why describe making out with a girl the same way they classify boxers? And is there anybody who would like "super flyweight petting"? I would figure everybody would want to go to ultra heavyweight instead. I guess all of this confusion is why they came up with the bases. I wish they all would just be as direct as Wallace's little brother and ask "Are you hitting it?" or alternatively "Are you tapping that shit?" Either one would work.
As Alicia is laughing at her two young boys and getting ready to send them off to school, she steps outside and sees that strange man from Chicago who called her Cher. The run-in in Chicago was bad enough, but now that he has followed her to Neptune, she decides she has to do something about it. Alicia's plan of action involves borrowing a gun from Keith. Now although he says that she fulfilled one of his fantasies by bringing him food (I find pastrami is the most sensual of the salted, cured meats), he is not about to let her take a gun into a house with a seven-year-old. When Alicia tells him that this guy she used to date followed her to California from Chicago, he offers himself up for guard duty. Keith will spend the night, but they just have to figure out some way to get all this done without the kids knowing.
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Comments (22)
Thanks for screen capping the pit stains. Love it! I noticed them while watching but had no one to share with.
You're very good J-Unit and Logan is very very bad.
1 of 22 | Posted by ktro | Posted on October 25, 2005 5:26 AM
The guy who plays the Chicago cop also played D'Shawn Hardell on 90210.
I liked that they put Lizzie in this episode in a way that shows she really cares about Meg. Last season she tried to screw her over.
2 of 22 | Posted by Erica | Posted on October 25, 2005 7:44 AM
Thank God you haven't fallen under the spell of Logan. The way some people wax poetic on the guy, you'd think the show was centered around him. Love that pit stain cap!
3 of 22 | Posted by rosjaq | Posted on October 25, 2005 8:37 AM
i like this show because they take a season to solve a mystery while having little side mystery help fill in pieces. in a lot of other shows, mainly the OC, the first two episodes cleared up all the major plot lines from the previous season. the early episodes are supposed to build up to the big finale at the end and reveal more about the characters along the way. i think on the OC the characters have digressed and they need to just kill of marisa because her character is annoying and she's a horrible actress.
4 of 22 | Posted by potvin | Posted on October 25, 2005 8:52 AM
Hey J-Unit,
I'm so glad you've started recapping VM. Thanks!!! FYI... hacker chick's name is Mac. She was prominently featured in some plotlines last season. You've really gotta catch the season 1 DVD. The first season is incredible and will fill in a lot of gaps with the characters for you.
5 of 22 | Posted by Amy | Posted on October 25, 2005 10:39 AM
The whole Veronica as sexpot thign really didnt work. Shes too cute by half for something like that.
Duncan is kind of a milwqutoast, but Logan is such a dueche. I say she just goes gay or something.
6 of 22 | Posted by EdHill | Posted on October 25, 2005 10:54 AM
More importantly Mac was the young star of the epic Waterworld.
7 of 22 | Posted by hmb1974 | Posted on October 25, 2005 10:56 AM
More importantly Mac was the love intrest of Napoleon Dynamite...
Two things as I sit here in my couldn't reists purchase of the "Donna Martin graduates" t-shirt Veronica did download the files from Meg's computer and also I love how they made so many people the possible suspects for the bus crash. I'm still convinced it was Logan, but we'll see... Also when is Veronica going to make out with Sheriff Lamb? I think you could cut the sexual tension with a knife...
8 of 22 | Posted by smithie | Posted on October 25, 2005 11:42 AM
Rob Thomas (the VM creator and exec. producer, not the singer) has said that Mac will be back for at least one episode besides this past week's and will play a more prominent role in the next one. Given that we haven't seen much of her despite her supposedly still being friends with Veronica, I guess she's dealt with the whole switched at birth thing okay.
9 of 22 | Posted by callygirl | Posted on October 25, 2005 1:58 PM
"Still in curling irons, she is about to storm in and stop this activity..."
This made me laugh, even though it was unintentional. She was in rollers. Curling irons are the long hot things you wrap your hair around for a few seconds. If she had them hanging off her head, she'd be in some pain.
10 of 22 | Posted by realityfan | Posted on October 25, 2005 2:03 PM
"Sorry, but in the five minutes he was on screen, the only layers of his personality I saw was of the douchebag variety. He still has a penis head and some terrible pit stains."
I'm sorry but you are to rude and superficial. He is a amazing actor.
11 of 22 | Posted by juliana | Posted on October 25, 2005 7:42 PM
I also think you are rude and superficial. Plus, a really bad and lazy reporter or recapper, whatever you refer yourself as being, for not taking the time to get caught up on a show that you are recapping. Veronica Mars is not a sitcom, you can't just jump in anywhere and feel like you know enough to actually recap this show. It is very disrespectful to the viewers and the makers of this very complex show.
P.S. I just want to ad that during shooting Logan's scene the crew was hours in the sun, shooting a Katrina victims ad plus doing their scene. They had them on clothes like it was fall in the middle of the summer. I'll like to see any of you handle that without pit-stains.
12 of 22 | Posted by Tiesha | Posted on October 26, 2005 10:38 AM
Hey Juliana / Tiesha
DON'T READ IT THEN!!!
13 of 22 | Posted by Murph | Posted on October 26, 2005 11:29 AM
whoa, whoa, whoa...
Tiesha, Juliana, seriously?
Don't get me wrong I am a serious Veronica fan, but relax...Get over your little crush and realize that Logan is written to be a douche. It's not a big deal. J-unit said he likes the show, just because he doesn't like your pretend boyfriened doesn't mean he's rude or superficial.
14 of 22 | Posted by smithie | Posted on October 26, 2005 11:33 AM
J-Unit, the majority of us are glad that you are recapping Veronica Mars and that you have enjoyed the show. I know that you know that, but I'm saying it for the sake of crazy people who come on here and put you down just because you aren't a Veronica Mars expert yet. The show needs new viewers to get on board if it's going to survive, so people who claim to love it yet act so arrogantly toward a new fan who is boosting the show's visibility with recaps are just idiots. That said, long live Veronica Mars!
15 of 22 | Posted by callygirl | Posted on October 26, 2005 11:55 AM
Next time you comment on your hate for a character, why don't you do yourself a favor an actually watch all the episodes that person appears in. Please watch EVERY episode before you decide to script an opinion. While I appreciate the exposure for VM, I don't appreciate the lack of journalistic integrity. Why don't you call this a blog instead of an article.
16 of 22 | Posted by Sherry | Posted on October 26, 2005 12:57 PM
Sherry, this is not USA Today or the Washington Post, it's a website that openly admits that its focus is humor and snark. Journalistic integrity? Come on. You're just being melodramatic with that one!
While I agree that an opinion on Logan is more informed after watching season 1 (and I urge everyone to watch season 1 because it just flat-out rocks), there's no higher moral rule that a recapper on a humorous website can't state his opinion based only on the episode he is recapping. It is just that, his opinion. If you disagree, ignore him, or explain why you disagree, or don't read his recaps again.
17 of 22 | Posted by callygirl | Posted on October 26, 2005 2:12 PM
USA Today - Journalistic Integrity? HAAAAAAAAAA Take this website for what it is. A brake from work. A very funny break from work. If you want journalistic integrity go and read - oh wait there aren't many publications with journalistic integrity left. Lighten up!!!
18 of 22 | Posted by Murph | Posted on October 26, 2005 2:24 PM
Murph, I see your point. Maybe USA Today wasn't such a good example! But in any event, it is still clear that this website needn't worry about the rules and standards that are supposed to apply to journalism.
19 of 22 | Posted by callygirl | Posted on October 26, 2005 2:44 PM
Why all the hate? Eveyone should be entitled to their own opinions.
I love the re-caps myself, J-Unit. And although I like Logan, it's not a problem if you don't. Hell, I didn't watch all of season 1 either!
And also: I didn't particularly like this episode either. There was no continuation with the Casablancas and that upsetted me :(
20 of 22 | Posted by Melanie | Posted on October 26, 2005 5:43 PM
Sorry Callygirl,
I didn't mean to single you out I was just making the point that journalistic integrity seems to be diminishing in a lot of publications. I totally agree with what you were saying.
21 of 22 | Posted by Murph | Posted on October 27, 2005 7:13 AM
When did this site claim to be anything other than a blog/opinion-oriented?
I think it's just fine. It's a decent recap of the VM ep, and not everyone has to love the character of "Logan" - and please, realize that (generally) when a TV recapper insults a character, they are not insulting the *actor*, just the *role*! Duh.
I agree it would have been better to continue the "Big Dick In Trouble" plot, but as good as this show is, I can't believe they won't find a way to pick it back up at some point. I mean Dick & Beaver are still in the credits; obviously that means something about regular appearances.
22 of 22 | Posted by Johnathan | Posted on October 28, 2005 1:51 PM