Veronica Mars: The Complete Second Season

I think I should start things out by mentioning the sheer amount of crap I've taken from people for watching - and loving - Veronica Mars. It's important to note because there's a good chance that at least some of you reading this have had a similar reaction when hearing about the show; hell, even I wrote it off without watching it for nearly a year. So, trust me, I understand if you're less than thrilled about the very idea of this show; it does often sound lame when described - usually something along the lines of "high school girl detective solves crimes" - and therein lies it's continual ratings struggle, I think. You'd have to watch the show to "get" its addictive brilliance, but it's hard to convince people to watch it for a first time.

Series creator Rob Thomas, in a season two DVD extra on the making of the show, mentions that the best description of Veronica Mars that he's ever heard (via a Village Voice critic) is "a fusion of Chinatown and Heathers", and that's actually fairly accurate. Now, if that description doesn't draw you in - or convince you that we're not talking about Beverly Hills 90210 or Nancy Drew here - than I'm not sure what will. Like Chinatown, Roman Polanski's classic film noir from the 70s, Veronica Mars boasts a large amount of mystery, intrigue, and snappy dialogue. Like Heathers, it's set in a high school full of back-stabbing and heavy on "us vs. them" (in this case, often rich vs poor students).

In addition, and don't underestimate the importance of this, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) is hot. Smart, sassy, sarcastic, and cute, Veronica is the girl you wish you knew in high school, and the detective you wish you had on your side when the other kids screwed you over.

The show itself is set in the fictional California town of Neptune, where Veronica lives with her father Keith (Enrico Colantoni), a one-time town sheriff and current private investigator. Season One revolved mostly around the murder of Veronica's best friend, Lily Kane, which set off a chain reaction of events - Dad being fired as sheriff, Mom leaving Dad shortly after, among other things - that Veronica spent most of the season attempting to unravel (and, unlike endlessly teasing - and eventually annoying - shows like Lost or The X-Files, this show was smart and decent enough to resolve the mystery at season's end).

Season Two starts off on a much lighter note, though it quickly moves into darker waters as well. A Neptune school bus crash kick starts the plot at the end of the first episode, and eventually spirals outward into several different strands that Veronica must uncover in her quest to figure out the connection between the new town mayor, a retired pro baseball player, a family of drug-selling toughs, the Mexican street gangs, her ex-boyfriend Duncan, and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Logan. It's a complex story arc that continues to rachet up the stakes with every new episode - and gets especially interesting, as a whodunit and as a drama - by the final half of the season. Miss just one of these 22 episodes, and you might find yourself lost.

The key to a great show like Veronica Mars lies somewhere between the sharp, intelligent writing of each and every episode and the brilliant performance of Kristen Bell as Veronica. Take either of these aspects away, and you've got yourself a ho-hum show (and, probably, the very type of show most people who've never actually watched Veronica Mars expect it to be). The chemistry that Bell has with the rest of the cast is amazing (especially her father, Logan, and her friend Wallace), and half the fun lies in watching her interact and play off these various personalities. Bell, a 26 year old who has no problem playing a teenager, essentially carries the show on her shoulders - but she gets a lot of help from all the talent around her.

The extras on the DVD aren't much - a making of special, a behind the scenes look at a day on the set, and some bloopers/outtakes - but the real joy of watching the series on DVD is the ability to get through the whole thing in a short amount of time. Each hour long episode flies by and leaves you wanting more. As someone watching the show in real time on TV this year, I've come to appreciate how nice it was to be able to watch all of the season two episodes whenever I wanted, without having to wait a week to find out what happens next...