Jean: A Legend In My Own Mind (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zouzounaki) wrote2006-09-07 02:50 pm
zouzounaki) wrote2006-09-07 02:50 pm
Entry tags:
TV-related musings
There are tv shows I watch and like a lot, that really spark my imagination, to a lesser or greater degree, like Farscape, General Hospital or LOST, though admittedly very few at any given time. Then there are the shows that really affect me in different, more substantial ways, like Firefly and, probably the best example, Buffy TVS. They can rip my heart out any time (looking at you, Buffy!); I know all of the episodes by heart; every situation in the big bad real world reminds me of a quote. There are some that fall in to a more casual catergory, like Scrubs or Supernatural, though those are very, very few. After shelling out the moolah for the second season DVD set, I was surprised to find that Veronica Mars falls into the first.
Word of mouth got me hooked on it, the glowing reviews that it was the best thing on primetime nowadays, and I found out they weren't far from right. Trying to catch up on it in the second quarter of the second season proved to be a mistake, but it gave me enough of a taste for it, that I went out and bought the first season on DVD. I didn't watch it with bated breath, so to speak, but sneaked it on while my sister was taking a nap on the couch while watching the newly purchased Lois and Clark first season DVD set. I was taken instantly. My sister quietly began to wake up and started watching, kind of transfixed, before asking me, 'What the hell is this show?!'
And that was genuine surprise and shock because VM isn't like anything out there, or anything that's ever been out there, as a matter of fact! It's a natural progression from the post-modern heroism of Buffy, a new and sharper kind of heroine. Almost ten years on, Buffy's started showing her age quite a bit, and nothing can illustrate that more clearly than the fact that it's passed so far into pop culture that adults -far past an acceptable age for such judgement- have picked her up as the ultimate example of female characterization. People like Russell T. Davies name her when they explain their goal for their female characters, not realizing that, by doing so, they're basically admitting that it's a cliche, and one well past its prime.
Veronica's different. She doesn't need to build on the house that Buffy built; she is her own entity, and a complex, interesting one at that! She's got no superpowers to back her up, her pain and caustic attitude towards life comes from a very real source, one easily identifiable by the audience. She's allowed to make mistakes, some doozies too, and not ones that are always sympathetic. My sister once stated that she isn't always likeable, but she's always fascinating, and I think that sums it up perfectly.
But don't get me wrong, the show isn't merely a "girl power" trip; it populates its entire world with unusual, sometimes downright bizarre, and complex characters. Logan is a perfect match for Veronica, with his own powerful personality and twisted psychology. Even as a romantic couple, which is mind-bogglingly odd and equally enthralling, neither of then is ever degraded, both retain their unique edge.
And then there's Weevil, adeptly played by Francis Capra, great grandson of Frank Capra, a perfect irony as his great grandfather sought a kind of idealistic and idealistically white America and now his descendant is playing a role that really typifies a lot of the harsh and oft ethnically-related realities of our country today.
Duncan and Wallace work because they're so normal, off-setting a lot of the character eccentricity, though they still represent a fantasy to a lot of viewers for varying reasons, whether it's a romantic attraction to female viewers or wish fulfillment to male viewers- or vice versa! And, of course, Keith is completely unique in his close relationship with his daughter. In a TV landscape that often portrays single-parent families as the most common type, it's surprising to realize that very few of them actually understand it, especially one of a mixed gender parent/child- i.e. father/daughter, mother/son. But it's always real between the Mars, and always touching without being schamltzy or manipulative.
And that right there is a great summation of the show in general.
In a world that could very easily be seen as a fantastic creation, VM is brutally honest, such as the truth about Veronica's AWOL mother and her shocking exit in the first season finale. Colorful characters practically bounce through eye-poppingly chromatically bold noir set pieces without losing any of their believability. Veronica solves crimes that would confuse even Christie's greatest detectives and make Philip Marlowe weep openly, yet they're always emotionally grounded. Re-occuring characters, such as Cliff or Vinnie, are always a delight when they turn up -though my only, and I mean only, complaint would be that Sheriff Lamb is far too one-dimensional and in danger of becoming Neptune's sole infuriatingly simplistic resident.
So, congrats to Rob Thomas on making something so unique that it stands out of the crowd and dares you to watch it. Veronica goes to college in season three, beginning early next month; may it not lose any of the spark that keeps me glued to the TV set.
Peace, Ghani
Word of mouth got me hooked on it, the glowing reviews that it was the best thing on primetime nowadays, and I found out they weren't far from right. Trying to catch up on it in the second quarter of the second season proved to be a mistake, but it gave me enough of a taste for it, that I went out and bought the first season on DVD. I didn't watch it with bated breath, so to speak, but sneaked it on while my sister was taking a nap on the couch while watching the newly purchased Lois and Clark first season DVD set. I was taken instantly. My sister quietly began to wake up and started watching, kind of transfixed, before asking me, 'What the hell is this show?!'
And that was genuine surprise and shock because VM isn't like anything out there, or anything that's ever been out there, as a matter of fact! It's a natural progression from the post-modern heroism of Buffy, a new and sharper kind of heroine. Almost ten years on, Buffy's started showing her age quite a bit, and nothing can illustrate that more clearly than the fact that it's passed so far into pop culture that adults -far past an acceptable age for such judgement- have picked her up as the ultimate example of female characterization. People like Russell T. Davies name her when they explain their goal for their female characters, not realizing that, by doing so, they're basically admitting that it's a cliche, and one well past its prime.
Veronica's different. She doesn't need to build on the house that Buffy built; she is her own entity, and a complex, interesting one at that! She's got no superpowers to back her up, her pain and caustic attitude towards life comes from a very real source, one easily identifiable by the audience. She's allowed to make mistakes, some doozies too, and not ones that are always sympathetic. My sister once stated that she isn't always likeable, but she's always fascinating, and I think that sums it up perfectly.
But don't get me wrong, the show isn't merely a "girl power" trip; it populates its entire world with unusual, sometimes downright bizarre, and complex characters. Logan is a perfect match for Veronica, with his own powerful personality and twisted psychology. Even as a romantic couple, which is mind-bogglingly odd and equally enthralling, neither of then is ever degraded, both retain their unique edge.
And then there's Weevil, adeptly played by Francis Capra, great grandson of Frank Capra, a perfect irony as his great grandfather sought a kind of idealistic and idealistically white America and now his descendant is playing a role that really typifies a lot of the harsh and oft ethnically-related realities of our country today.
Duncan and Wallace work because they're so normal, off-setting a lot of the character eccentricity, though they still represent a fantasy to a lot of viewers for varying reasons, whether it's a romantic attraction to female viewers or wish fulfillment to male viewers- or vice versa! And, of course, Keith is completely unique in his close relationship with his daughter. In a TV landscape that often portrays single-parent families as the most common type, it's surprising to realize that very few of them actually understand it, especially one of a mixed gender parent/child- i.e. father/daughter, mother/son. But it's always real between the Mars, and always touching without being schamltzy or manipulative.
And that right there is a great summation of the show in general.
In a world that could very easily be seen as a fantastic creation, VM is brutally honest, such as the truth about Veronica's AWOL mother and her shocking exit in the first season finale. Colorful characters practically bounce through eye-poppingly chromatically bold noir set pieces without losing any of their believability. Veronica solves crimes that would confuse even Christie's greatest detectives and make Philip Marlowe weep openly, yet they're always emotionally grounded. Re-occuring characters, such as Cliff or Vinnie, are always a delight when they turn up -though my only, and I mean only, complaint would be that Sheriff Lamb is far too one-dimensional and in danger of becoming Neptune's sole infuriatingly simplistic resident.
So, congrats to Rob Thomas on making something so unique that it stands out of the crowd and dares you to watch it. Veronica goes to college in season three, beginning early next month; may it not lose any of the spark that keeps me glued to the TV set.
Peace, Ghani