So as many of you know, I've been catching up on Veronica Mars on dvd. I like it a lot - most of the time. But I've got to say that as I finished off season 2 last night two things became abundantly clear: the show is painfully uneven, especially in season 2, and the writer are seemingly incapable of writing remotely credible season finales. I mean at the end of season 1 we had painfully silly drift (and ridiculous tone shift) into the horror genre (look in the back seat!) and as to the conclusion of season 2 ... well, ugh. That the big bad ended up being who it ended up being wasn't a shock. But the episode (and some of the season tied to it) was terribly overwritten (why undo a supposedly solved mystery from season 1? what's the deal with suddenly throwing in that completely new plot turn, that wasn't set up at all, in the Cook household?) and ... well, let's just say that the conclusion to the who blew up the bus mystery requires a few illogical choices to be believed. And as to the big confrontation at the end - well there's virtually nothing believeable about any part of that ordeal (ummm dealing with the plane then? the Scooby-Doo-ness of the entire confrontation ...), except perhaps the very last moments of it.
So I can't say I liked how season 2 ended - or some of the other parts of it (speaking of unbelieveable, there was the whole new LeBron James thing, and as to Aaron's trial ... well, let's just not discuss it). But on the whole the highs that come with that show are pretty damn high. And when it's at its best (which to me are its moments when Heathers meets Daria meets Agatha Christie with some added class warfare thrown in - so deliciously fun episodes like An Echolls Family Christmas, A Trip to the Dentist, and Aint No Magic Mountain High Enough) it is one of the best things on television. So even though it appears that the season 3 cast should be somewhat different than that which we've seen so far, and even though the writers sometimes have trouble wrapping up the mysteries they build the show around ... well, nontheless, I plan to keep watching.
Posted by armand at November 29, 2006 12:03 PM | TrackBack | Posted to CultureOn further reflection the above is likely too harsh. I liked much of season 2 - but I didn't really like episodes 2-5 of that season (even though #5 featured Mrs. Huber - as a psychic!). So given that it took me so long to get into the season - well, it took me some time to warm to it. But eventually it got back on track and returned to being the great show that it is.
My criticism of the finale still stands though. Well, mostly. I mean that final moment on the roof is great. But there's so much about the finale that's so wrong (the bacon thing? twice! and that second time is soooo lame). Yeah, I can't overlook that, even if it's generally a good show.
Posted by: Armand at November 30, 2006 01:56 PM | PERMALINK