I first heard about Veronica Mars sometime during the first season of the show.  For whatever reason, I didn't watch the show then or at any point during the three season run.  Over the last year or so, I've read more about the show and started to get more interested.  I tracked down some episodes online to watch and then decided to pick up the DVD sets.  I just finished watching Veronica Mars - The Complete First Season.

Veronica Mars began to air in September of 2004 on UPN.  The first two seasons aired on that network and the final season aired on CW, the new network that formed when UPN and WB merged. All three seasons of the series are available on DVD.

Veronica Mars is set in the fictional southern California town of Neptune and follows seventeen year old Veronica Mars as she works on cases for her father's detective agency.  Neptune is home to some very wealthy families and the children of those families go to school with the children of the middle class or even the children of the household help.  At Neptune High School, where Veronica is a student, there is a definite class system between the haves and the have nots.  Veronica had been accepted by the popular kids because of her friendship with Lilly Kane and the fact that she was dating Lilly's brother Duncan.  All of that changed before the series begins, and Veronica now doesn't really fit in anywhere at school.

A year before the beginning of the first season, Lilly Kane is murdered.  Veronica's father Keith is the sheriff at the time, so he is in charge of the investigation.  Keith accuses Jake Kane, Lilly's father, of somehow being involved in the murder.  People are outraged and there is a recall election that removes Keith from his position.  After that, his wife Lianne leaves and he opens the detective agency, Mars Investigations.  All the popular students turned their back on Veronica.

The first episode of the series takes the time to share what happened with Lilly and how that impacted Veronica and Keith.  Despite the fact that the Lilly Kane murder case is officially closed, things tied to it continue to pop up every so often.  Veronica is convinced that the real killer hasn't been found and she works on her own investigation.  Keith also seems to feel that something isn't right with the case and he continues to look into things.  New things do come out every so often, which helps to move the story forward.  The series is very entertaining and I was quickly hooked once I started to watch it.  I was surprised by several things that happened and I didn't find things to be predictable.

The episodes of the first season of Veronica Mars have a small mystery or case that Veronica works on.  Some of her cases involve her helping a student try to track down a missing parent, helps another student who is conned, looks for a stolen car, looks into the school election, searches for a missing neighbor, and is hired by the principal - who really doesn't seem to like her much - to find the stolen bird mascot before the big basketball game.  A few of the cases she takes on are a bit more complicated and cause her to get into some dangerous situations.  All of those cases are resolved by the end of each episode. 

In addition to the smaller mysteries, there are a few season long mysteries that Veronica is trying to solve.  Obviously, one is the murder of Lilly.  As the season progresses, Veronica slowly uncovers more that reinforces her belief that the real killer hasn't been caught.  She is also trying to find her mother who left after the murder and Keith lost his job.  One more thing related to a night that Veronica can't remember comes up a few times before ultimately being figured out late in the season.  All three of the season long mysteries are sort of connected since Lilly's murder ultimately causes the other things.  All three of those things are resolved by the end of the first season.  I think the resolutions make sense while also adding a few surprising moments.  The very end of the last episode does set up a small cliff hanger that has me anxious to get started watching the second season.

The episodes of the first season of Veronica Mars build on each other, so it is best to watch the episodes in order.  If the episodes are watched out of order, some things won't make as much sense and there will be a few spoilers as well.  Some of the episodes do seem to be more self contained at first, but usually something tied to the overall story dealing with Lilly's murder comes out.  Some of the episodes pick up immediately after the end of the last one, while there seems to be more time between some of them.  Several of the episodes do end with small cliff hangers.  The later episodes do refer back to things that happened earlier in the season at times.  The beginning of all but the first episode has a short recap of previous events.  Veronica shares her thoughts and feelings about various things through a voice over narration in every episode that works well.

A little bit of action turns up every so often in the first season of Veronica Mars, with there being more in some of the later episodes.  Some scenes do involve some violence that could be upsetting to some viewers.  Even though Lilly's murder happens before the beginning of the series, her body is still shown a few times through pictures or flashbacks.  In addition to those things, some other potentially upsetting or disturbing things happen during the season as well.  Even though the show is about a teenager and set in a high school, the show really isn't for younger viewers.  A few more adult things, including date rape, are dealt with during the show.  Parents really should check out the show before letting children watch it.

Various relationships are very important to what is going on throughout the first season of Veronica Mars.  Veronica and her father have a very strong relationship even though they do have a few conflicts every so often.  Her relationship with her mother is mostly nonexistent since she left, but things tied to that do come up.  Veronica is very determined to find her mother and get her to come home so they can be a happy family again.  That does cause some tension with Keith at times since he is more willing to move on and he starts to date.  Not a lot about his two relationships are shown, though it seems clear that sex is involved in one of them.

When the season begins, Veronica doesn't have friends any more.  She helps Wallace Fennel, a new student, and the two become best friends.  He frequently does favors to help Veronica even though she doesn't explain why she wants certain things done.  The two of them do have a minor disagreement or two, but their friendship remains strong.  Wallace has a strong relationship with his mother.  He is protective of her and tries to act like the man of the family since his dad is gone.  I do like the friendship between Veronica and Wallace.  Some people may not find it as believable since there aren't any hints of romance between them.

As the season progresses, Veronica ends up with more friends.  Meg is one of the popular crowd who gets Veronica to help her a few times.  The two of them do develop a friendship.  Meg is a lot nicer than many of the other popular students.  Eli, or Weevil as everyone calls him, is a member of a biker gang and one of the more troubled students at Neptune High.  He and Veronica clash once or twice and then she ends up helping him, so they become friends as well.  Cindy, or Mac as she prefers to be called, is very good with computers.  She ends up helping Veronica with something she is investigating at one point.  Mac turns up a few more times and she ends up being a friend.

Romantic relationships turn up during the first season of Veronica Mars without being the main focus of what is happening.  The relationship that Veronica had with Duncan fell apart before Lilly's murder, but some things about it are shared over the course of the season.  Veronica ends up dating three other guys at different points in the season.  She and the guys she dates are shown kissing and making out, but nothing else is shown.  It doesn't seem like she has sex with any of them, though there are definite sexual situations once or twice.  Wallace is interested in a girl early in the season, but that ends up going nowhere.  A few other romantic relationships pop up every so often.  There aren't any actual sex scenes shown, though for a few of the relationships, it is clear that sex is involved.  There are a few sexual situations and discussions throughout the show, including a few that are slightly more graphic or suggestive.  

There are some soap opera elements to what is going on in Veronica Mars, but they are handled in a way that works.  Most of the characters that are featured are connected in some way, sometimes in a way that is more convoluted.  The relationships, including among families, friends, and romances are probably the biggest thing that remind me of soap operas.  The foundation for the show is stronger and those elements are handled in a better way, so it all works much better than it does in many of the soap operas.  There is drama to what is going on, but it doesn't go overboard into melodrama or the absurd.  I do think the show is very well done, so even people who don't usually like soap operas should give it a chance.

Veronica is intelligent and resourceful.  She has found a way to cope with the horrible way she is treated by most of the students at Neptune High.  She is very good at investigating, though she does resort to questionable ways to get information at times.  She does rush into situations without fully thinking things through at times.  I do think she is in a bit of denial about one thing, but considering what it is, it is understandable.  Veronica does have flaws that come out, so she isn't perfect.  That makes her a more believable character even when she does something stupid.  She can be sarcastic at times, but it works for the character.   Kristen Bell is really good in the part.

Keith Mars had been the sheriff, but all that changed with the way he handles the investigation into Lilly's murder.  He has a good relationship with Veronica and is very understanding with her about the things she does most of the time.  He is protective of her without being over protective.  Enrico Colantoni is great in the part.  Wallace becomes Veronica's best friend after he starts at Neptune High.  He does get frustrated with her a few times, but he remains a friend and keeps helping her.  Percy Daggs III does well with the part.  Wallace's mom is in a few scenes.  At one point, Wallace is shown to have a little brother, but the little brother seems to vanish.

Even though she is dead, Lilly is still around through flashbacks.  Those scenes help to show the type of person she was and how she impacted others.  Amanda Seyfried does well in her scenes.  Duncan is Lilly's brother.  I honestly can't remember if the age difference between them is ever given.  I thought that Lilly and Veronica were the same age, though Duncan seems to be in the same grade as Veronica too.  Duncan has some issues and he almost seems to be in some kind of trance or something in many scenes.  I'm not sure if that was just because of the way the character was written or if it is from the way Teddy Dunn plays the character.  Duncan's parents turn up every so often.  His mother Celeste is really nasty and I can't stand her.

Logan Echolls had been Lilly's on again/off again boyfriend before her murder.  He is the son of an actor who has grown up privileged.  Logan acts like a huge jerk at times, though every so often, he shows decency.  Jason Dohring does well with the part.  Logan's dad Aaron turns up several times, though his mom Lynn is only in a few episodes.  Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna do fine as the Echolls.  Alyson Hannigan is in a few episodes as Logan's older sister Trina.  Weevil is a tough guy in a biker gang who shows his softer side every so often.  He has issues, but he is an interesting character.  Other characters turn up briefly without them being developed.  Many of them are just sort of background characters in some of the scenes at the high school.  Paris Hilton is even in one episode as one of the stuck up popular kids.

Main Cast

Kristen Bell - Veronica Mars
Francis Capra - Eli Navarro/Weevil
Enrico Colantoni - Keith Mars
Percy Daggs III - Wallace Fennel
Jason Dohring - Logan Echolls
Teddy Dunn - Duncan Kane
Amanda Seyfried - Lilly Kane

DVD Information

Veronica Mars - The Complete First Season has twenty-two episodes on six discs.  The case unfolds to get to the discs.  There are three panels that hold two discs each, with one disc slightly higher and behind the other disc.  I don't like this type of a case because it is more awkward to get to the lower disc on each panel.  There is a booklet made to look like a school notebook that lists the episodes and has short plot summaries along with some pictures from the episodes.  The first two pages of the booklet have pictures of the main cast.

The main menu for each disc has an option to play all the episodes on the disc.  The option the episode list will show the title of each episode on the disc, allowing for the episodes to be selected one at a time.  When a title is selected, another screen comes up with the chapter list for that particular episode.  The main menu of every disc also lists special features even though only one disc has any special features.  The last disc has twenty minutes of deleted scenes.  Some of the scenes are just slightly different versions of scenes that made it into the episodes.  There are some deleted scenes that help to further explain things, especially where one of the storylines is concerned.  With some of the other deleted scenes, I can see why they were removed since they didn't add as much.

Veronica Mars is a wonderful series and I'm glad that I finally found it and started watching.  The show is definitely worth watching.  Even with the lack of extras, Veronica Mars - The Complete First Season is a great DVD set for fans of the show.

This review is part of CaptainD's Good Movie EpiGuide 3 Write Off.

Veronica Mars - The Complete First Season ~ Veronica Mars - The Complete Second Season ~ Veronica Mars - The Complete Third Season ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD