Matthew Yglesias (October 03, 2006) - A Long Time Ago (Media)

A Long Time Ago

03 Oct 2006 09:50 am

Tonight is the season premiere of Veronica Mars on the merger-born new CW network. It's not the best show on television, but it's pretty darn close. It's also, by most accounts, at imminent risk of being canceled. The network only ordered half a season, so if ratings for these early episodes don't show improvement, it'll almost certainly get the ax. The good news is that it's considerably more accessible that, say, The Wire and I'm fairly certain a person could just watch and enjoy tonight's episode without fully understanding the backstory. I myself just started watching it in the middle of season two before backtracking on DVD to the beginning of season one.

Nominally, the show's about Veronica Mars, teen detective, and her father, a former sherrif now working as a private eye. More deeply, though, it's about the class struggle in America -- one of the few elements of our popular culture that really deals with class per se.

Permalink :: Comments (37) ::

Comments (37)

Since the episode was already on MSN, I can tell you that while not knowing the backstory is ok you lose alot. Beaver's actions from last season and the resolution help explain Logan and Dick's falling out, Logan's pissier than usual attitude, Mac's problems, and why travelling cross country with a Fitzpatrick is really risky. Add to that there is no reintroduction of characters.

Posted by Rob | October 3, 2006 10:24 AM

I am quite grateful to Matthew Yglesias for turning me onto Veronica Mars, as I began watching season one on DVD a few months ago and fell in love with the show. (Added benefit: It's one of the few shows on TV that has male actors I find attractive playing characters I can also find attractive.)

I do have a bit of a dilemma though. Having been recently introduced, I've now seen the first season but not the second. I'm currently waiting for the second season to arrive on DVD, but it's taking forever. I don't really want to start watching the third season without having seen the second, but at the same time, given the cancellation threat Matthew notes, I feel obligated to watch the episode tonight!

What, oh, what, should I do?

Posted by flippantangel | October 3, 2006 10:34 AM

Mars, bitches! (It's so sad that I'm excited by what amounts to Nancy Drew By The Shore.) You could always record the show and watch it later, FA.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | October 3, 2006 10:41 AM

*cough* bittorrent *cough*

(Also helpful when the show is interrupted for NBA games)

Posted by Rob | October 3, 2006 10:44 AM

I'm pretty sure the show was picked up for a whole season, though if ratings don't improve it will probably get cut. Semantics, but slightly better.

Posted by Daniel Warren | October 3, 2006 10:51 AM

thanks matt!

the show was only picked up for 13 episodes and is really in extreme danger of not having a second-half pickup. so watch! WATCH!

Posted by catherine | October 3, 2006 11:01 AM

Kristen Bell = purty

Posted by JP | October 3, 2006 11:06 AM

While I would say that The Wire and Battlestar Galactica are better shows, this is the show with which I am obsessed. Really, really obsessed. No show since Homicide:Life on the Streets have I spent so much time on while not actually viewing episodes. The link, I think, is the great characterization. Anyway, since it seems to have so little competition in the desired demo tonight (thank you MLB), I am crossing my fingers we get a ratings boost. Also, if you haven't seen the show, you might want to check your local library for season 1 DVDs, over 500 sets were donated by fans this summer in all 50 states.

Posted by Karlyn | October 3, 2006 11:18 AM

As I said a few months ago, Veronica Mars is much better on DVD than over the course of a network season.

And not to get all British on you, but maybe the show shouldn't run for five seasons. Like a lot of these new high-risk-for-the-network serialized shows, Veronica Mars blew through at least two or three seasons of natural plot and character development in its first season. It was awesome. This year instead of a season-long big mystery, they're breaking it up into six-episode plots. Should be interesting.

Posted by Mike | October 3, 2006 11:33 AM

I disagree with your claim that this is not the best show on television. It's one of the best shows ever to appear on television. It's witty, well-written and has a central character who is absolutely brilliant. And on top of that there's a story line of real excitement.

Posted by David Blake | October 3, 2006 11:52 AM

Unless you are in a Nielsen household or if you have a Tivo, watching or not watching has no effect on the ratings.

That said, my wife and I love the show, we're half-way through the second season on DVD, and since I don't want to wait forever for season three I guess we'll need to tape it. So thanks, Matt, for the heads-up.

Posted by Joe Buck | October 3, 2006 12:24 PM

Mike raises an excellent point. We expect books and movies to end but TV shows to go on forever. Why should that be, especially when they are expressly developed to have finite timelines?

I watched the first season of Veronica Mars but I considered the series "done" and felt no urge to watch the second (or third) seasons.

Posted by justus | October 3, 2006 12:31 PM

Season 1 was killer. Season 2 meandered and got lost, even Veronica didn't seem to care about the bus crash until reminded with one bizarro dream sequence.

I'm watching because I want to see how Logan and Veronica fuck up their relationship again, and to see Dick. Love me some Dick (Casablancas). =)

Posted by Glenn | October 3, 2006 12:58 PM

I just wanted to say, in a tone of grand superiority, that I have been watching from day 1. Hah!

Posted by Robert Earle | October 3, 2006 1:38 PM

I like Veronica Mars, but its nowhere near as good as House (though I have found the early third season of House to be a tad disappointing). My primary criticism would be that VM is a spiritual successor to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but is not nearly as well acted or (especially) written. (Though its no shame to be Whedon's inferior.) Plus the smugness of Veronica the character is somewhat offputting.

Posted by Marlowe | October 3, 2006 2:28 PM

Matty hearts Veronica

Posted by leave my daughter alone | October 3, 2006 2:47 PM

Never have watched VM...

One show tonight I am going to watch is "Friday Night Lights." I thought the movie was excellent, and I have seen that TV Critics are raving about how good the initial epidose(s?) is.

Posted by zAmboni | October 3, 2006 3:38 PM

I'll watch it if Charisma Carpenter is still in the cast.

Otherwise, I'm with Marlowe -- very good show, not as good as House at its best. My main beef with VM is that the structure of the show -- very complex, season-long plot lines, huge cast of characters connected by an intricate network of relationships and an extensive back-story -- leads to a kind of audience cliquishness (ironic for a show that constantly satirizes the insider/outsider dynamic of high school). Meaning: the show is very unwelcoming to new joiners, and even insiders who slip and miss an episode have a terribly hard time getting back in. At least that's my experience, and I've been watching almost every week since season one, and still have trouble remembering how everyone's related.

Posted by Ryan | October 3, 2006 3:40 PM

LOVE this show. Got hooked on an episode during season 1 and downloaded all the previous eps that I'd missed, resulting in several near-sleepless nights as I blew through the entire first half of the season.

A friend called recently to say she'd decided to Netflix a disk since the show was being moved to the slot after her personal favorite, "Gilmore Girls," and she was curious whether it was any good. She ended up driving to various Blockbusters trying to find the rest of the season ... even though the next disk was already on its way.

Excellent, excellent show.

Posted by tmichv | October 3, 2006 3:41 PM

And P.S. -- I second what Karlyn said about Homicide: Life on the Streets. That show, though uneven in quality throughout its run, is still the standard against which all others are measured in my book.

Posted by Ryan | October 3, 2006 3:50 PM

One thing that puts me off is that I have not seen any explanation of the network's initials. Visiting the website suggests that it is a combination of CBS and Warner but the annoying use of initials makes it too "hip" for me. As long as they keep showing local sports on the weekends, they will keep me as a viewer but only then.

(Perhaps a personal apology and invitation to watch from the network head honcho could change my mind. Is that irony? I complain about a clique and refuse to enter it because I'm too snobby.)

Posted by John | October 3, 2006 4:05 PM

My main beef with VM is that the structure of the show -- very complex, season-long plot lines, huge cast of characters connected by an intricate network of relationships and an extensive back-story -- leads to a kind of audience cliquishness (ironic for a show that constantly satirizes the insider/outsider dynamic of high school).

Interesting--I'd say this is a large part of why it's so good, and more importantly the shift toward this kind of show is a large part of why television is so much better now than it was 20 or even 10 years ago (if you just focus on the good stuff and ignore the reality TV side of things).

Posted by djw | October 3, 2006 4:37 PM

I think it's smart of them to have one complex season long plot that ties into more self-contained plots in each episode. That way it offers something for both casual and serious episodes. Although, I'd reckon those who try casual watching soon become serious.

Posted by flippantangel | October 3, 2006 6:38 PM

Season 2 of Veronica Mars IS available on DVD - ISBN 1-4198-2869-X, if you have to order it. I paid $47.99 at TLA Video. It's been out since August, at least.

Buffy wasn't the same after she went to college -- but then, her skills were slaying, not intellectual. Veronica looks like the college freshman who should be bumped straight into graduate school.

Yes, everybody, please watch. Go do something else at 9pm Tuesdays if you like, but have the set on in case it's being counted.

Posted by mudduck | October 3, 2006 11:20 PM

the shift toward this kind of show is a large part of why television is so much better now than it was 20 or even 10 years ago -- djw

Stephen Johnson makes the same point in "Everything Bad is Good For You." DVD makes for a profitable channel, so complicated, must-rewatch programming suddenly has a better reputation.

The premier's credits just rolled here on the West Coast, and I thought it was a fine return to form. I'm actually kind of amazed they didn't wrench a lot more exposition out of the new cast additions. New viewers could have learned all the backstory along with Pizz as Wallace or whoever fills in the history of Veronica/Logan/the Cassablancas/etc for him and us. (It's a lot more satisfying as a narrative that they Didn't wedge that sort of device in, but that's just my perspective as a member of the insider clique.)

Posted by Louie | October 4, 2006 1:15 AM

I, too, have been watching from day one with my better half, who has a great knack for picking up on trends before they are trends (for instance, she knew about The Killers before they had ANY airplay.)

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