Kristy put me on to this earlier in the week, and usually I'm terrible at looking up things that people tell me to investigate. It usually takes me forever to get around to it, because I'm lazy and don't know what's good for me (Sorry, Keira and Sherlock, and anyone who told me to watch Doctor Who once Matt Smith joined. Also anyone who has told me to read Jasper Fforde. I'm still getting to that one. The Eyre Affair is sitting on my shelf.).
For those unfamiliar with Veronica Mars, it's basically a teenage drama show with a film-noir-ish overlay. The title character is a seventeen-year-old girl living in a prestigious zip-code with her Private Investigator father. Veronica has her father's talent and spends her time conducting her own detective work, all the while dealing with the trouble that has been following her since her best friend was mysteriously murdered a year ago.
Anyway! When other people refer me to things I'm hopeless, but when I get my own mind set on something I have to do it NOW. It's a curse, really. One time I unpacked my entire suitcase hours before out flight to Hawaii because I'd buried my book at the bottom and I needed to read it RIGHT AWAY. So I was looking up random things on the internet and on iTunes, and somehow came across Veronica Mars. I was still annoyed at the video store for not having the Orson Welles movies that I wanted to watch, and was desperate for something to chill over while my brother was out at bible study.
Well. Wouldn't you know it, I could purchase the pilot on iTunes for $2.99.
Unfortunately my account only held $2.74.
It's little things like that that get me. I'm so close to getting what I want and the tiniest thing (like 25 cents) gets in my way. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY. I searched Youtube for the episode, even dangerously googled "watch veronica mars free online" and prayed my computer wouldn't get spammed when I clicked a link, all to no avail. I wasn't having that. So I marched into my parents' room and begged my dad to let him use his credit card.
For what? he says.
For a TV show I know nothing about but I HAVE TO SEE NOW.
It took a bit of convincing. But once he figured it was only three dollars I got my way.
I waited the agonising twenty minutes for it to download and then settled down in bed with my headphones on to fulfil my random urge to watch this random show, thinking "THIS BETTER BE GOOD" (but I knew it would be, because Kristy recommended it. I forgot to mention that was the second selling point when I was asking dad for his credit card).
So, there's the backstory. That was probably totally unnecessary reading material, so sorry if you bothered through that. Right now I'm just really enjoying my fingers racing across the computer keys because I haven't typed so much in several days and I'm going a bit stir-crazy. So I'm actually making this blog post as long as possible on purpose. Feel free to skim, I only have like eleven readers anyway!
Actually no, if you haven't skimmed by now you've missed your chance, because we're finally getting to THE POINT. I'm here to talk about why Veronica Mars actually is a good show and why I didn't waste $2.99 (and later $10.00 downloading the rest of the season) purchasing it.
If you've known me for a while, or at least been reading past posts on this blog, you'd know I have a fascination with characters and more importantly what makes a good character. I like analysing story lines and characters and trying to work out why an audience likes them. What makes the story work? There's a lot that needs to be included (and a lot that needs to be left out) for a character to be really likeable.
The creators of Veronica Mars are (thus far) surprisingly good at this. I've only watched the first five episodes of this show but I'm rather amazed at how much character development we already have. I've bored you enough with short paragraphs and single lines, so I'm going to change pace now and work with bullet points (brace yourselves).
Why Veronica Mars Is A Good (but not perfect) Character,
And Why Her Show Allows Her To Be That:
- The show gives plenty of backstory - The pilot episode is, in fact, almost entirely backstory. This kind of annoyed me to begin with, but once the rest of the show went on I was grateful that the writers had spent so much time setting up the story, because it gave it, shall we say, meat to it. By episode two I was interested in the title character's "past life" and the connections it had to the life she was living now. It gave the story depth very quickly.
- The majority of recurring characters are introduced within the first two episodes - This may not seem like a big deal, but I've seen other TV shows where they take FOREVER to set up the recurring cast. It can be a little confusing. I was glad to get all the introductions out of the way so I could focus on the main character and what she was up to rather then trying to catch up on who was who.
- We are given ample opportunity to emotionally invest in the main character - The third episode is what really hooked me, because aside from the flashback moments, this episode is the first time we see present-day Veronica showing a true sign of weakness, which is, of course, a necessary step in creating a well-rounded character. It's perfect timing too because we know enough about the character now that when she is weak, we actually care.
- Veronica hasn't always been the underdog - The problem with most underdog characters is that they've never been on top, so they spend most of their time wimping out, wishing they were better and annoying the hell out of you. I'm exaggerating and stereotyping a little here, but I'm sure you can think of at least one character that fits that description (not going to taint this blog post by naming any names...). Veronica used to be one of the popular kids, so she isn't constantly wishing she was one of them. Neither does she give them the cold shoulder and say 'we don't need them' and huff off with her band of misfits. So, that's major bonus point for defeating both those cliches.
- Veronica is smart but an idiot - I'm not kidding here, I rejoice any time a character has a some real honest-to-goodness flaws. ESPECIALLY one I've already emotionally invested in. In the five episodes I've watched, Veronica is portrayed a very smart, intuitive girl who can be friendly and selfless when she wants to be, but also intentionally rude, bossy, intrusive and selfish. No human is perfect and therefore no character should be. What I hate more than a character who has no flaws is a character who passes off their "mistakes" for flaws. Therefore I love it when Veronica is aware that something is wrong, but does it anyway.
That's only a few points as to why I like this show and think it's worth my time. I could go on, and even include what I don't like, but I have other things to do (like watching episode 6) and I really ought to stop typing now. So I will leave you with that. I didn't intend for this to be a plug - I am in no way telling you GO WATCH THIS SHOW NOW, just writing about what I appreciate about character and story, and how this show is an example of that.
So thanks, Kristy, for knowing what's good for me.