DVD Review: Veronica Mars - The Complete Third Season

Veronica Mars came to a cruel fate. It was a great show, had a fan following, and received critics’ praises. Usually, that is a recipe for a long-running series, or so you would think. Not so much for Veronica Mars, which was canceled after only three seasons. Now people are hoping for something like Firefly/Serenity with a feature film version, or perhaps a made-for-TV movie and some comics.
For those who live under a rock in a cave and never saw Veronica Mars, you’re lame. Okay, in all seriousness it is worth checking out. Veronica is a teen girl who works for her dad, who happens to be a private investigator. He used to be the sheriff but some stuff went down so he was fired and then he gets to be sheriff again, and well, that’s a different story. Veronica has a knack for investigating things herself, which naturally gets her some side jobs, and some unwanted trouble. Each episode has its own contained mystery, and then there are arcs within the series that work out over anywhere from seven episodes to the entire season.

Season Three saw Veronica in college. She’s up to her same tricks, discovering who a campus rapist is, what really happened to cause the dean's death, there’s even a nerd in love with a prostitute he wants to save. While the third season wasn’t as strong as the first two, even the weakest episodes of Veronica Mars were heads above the best episodes of most TV shows on the major networks.

As far as the DVD set of Season Three is concerned, five discs are your typical bundle of episodes. None seem to have commentary tracks available. But the little booklet that comes with the DVDs is nice enough to include the original airdate, who wrote each episode, and who the director was .The true gem is the sixth disc – it is why any fan of Veronica Mars must get the third season DVDs right now.

The first special feature is one of the best features I’ve ever seen on any DVD set ... ever. It is called “Season 4 Presentation” and is a teaser of what the next season would have been if the show lived to tell the tale. Veronica is a special agent in the FBI and just as prickly as ever. The next featurette is “Pitching Season 4” with supervising producer Dan Etheridge and creator Rob Thomas (not the Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20). It discusses how the new direction of the next season came into being – from the concept of Veronica in the FBI to the color shift to give the show a new look.

Then there is a multi-part feature called “Going Undercover with Rob Thomas” and the sections are ‘Main Titles: Why the Change?’, ‘Rob’s Directing Experience,’ ‘Favorite Guest Star Moments,’ ‘Veronica Mars: Mean Girl,’ ‘The Politics of Veronica Mars,’ ‘Favorite Veronica and Logan Moments,’ ‘Favorite Veronica and Keith Moments,’ ‘Do-Overs?’, and ‘Highlights.’ Thomas and Dan Etheridge host this special feature as well. It sort of serves as the commentary that is lacking in any individual episodes on the other discs.

But wait, that’s not all. The next feature is the Webisode Gallery, which is more of a goofy look at some of the crew and actors on the show. Then there are some of your typical deleted scenes with an introduction from show creator Thomas. Finally, there is the Gag Reel.

Overall, the special features alone are reason to buy the third season of Veronica Mars. Add in the fact that Veronica Mars was a great show and there really is no reason it shouldn’t be part of your DVD library.