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.

Save Veronica Mars

It seems Veronica Mars fans aren’t quite ready to throw in the towel. At least not yet.

Last year’s attempt to save Veronica Mars worked, so why not try another “Save Veronica” campaign? Oh wait, they do have one going on. This year Veronica fanatics are sending a sweet message to the head of The CW, Dawn Ostroff. They are working together to ship Mars Bars and marshmallows to her office in California. Hopefully the reasoning behind the Mars Bars is pretty obvious, but you might wonder why marshmallows are included in the delicious demands for more Veronica Mars. In the pilot episode of the show there is a memorable line saying, “Veronica Mars, she’s a marshmallow.” Plus, marshmallows are lighter with cheaper shipping costs and can pile up pretty quickly to make a large shipment.

But how did this year’s campaign to save TV’s hottest detective start? The guys at Ain’t It Cool News came up with the bright idea to send Mars Bars to The CW. The Indian Food Store sells imported Mars Bars (from England) on Amazon. One day he woke to realize Veronica Mars fans had purchased more than 600 bars from him in under three hours. Jumping on the Save Veronica bandwagon, The Indian Food Store is now offering free shipping to the CW building. The store has also started a blog with information about the campaign to save Veronica Mars and how more folks can contribute.

Not only is the seller offering free shipping, but they’ve set it up where the code VERONICA will ensure your scrumptious purchase will be included in the delectable attempt to save Veronica Mars. Ain’t It Cool News has the shipping address for your convenience. So go on and save Veronica Mars, you know you want her.

Veronica Mars- My Big Fat Greek Rush Week

If you haven’t seen Veronica Mars, don’t think it is a modern Nancy Drew. Sure, both are teen girl detectives with a series of the same name. Veronica makes detective chicks more hip, more real, and a hell of a lot more entertaining than Nancy Drew could have imagined. Add the fact that Veronica Mars appeals to a smart audience requiring more than pretty pictures. However, unlike a more contemporary comparison to say, Buffy, Veronica is saving people from themselves. One mystery at a time. This year’s mystery is a rape.

Apparently when Veronica Mars snuck into Mac’s room last week, Parker wasn’t having a good time but was instead being raped. She’s the latest victim to wake up with a shaved head and no memories but knowing what happened. Sexual assault is one of those things I’d rather not be in forms of entertainment because usually it isn’t done tastefully. When someone is killed in a show, the audience knows it is fake and it is taken at face value. But when someone is raped, the damage goes far beyond the act into what can be one of the cruelest forms of emotional torture that it really isn’t entertaining. Ever. Add the stigma of blaming the victim for doing something wrong and you get a whole new dimension of why rape isn’t entertaining for me.

Keith Mars survived the mysterious shooting. Poor guy thought he was helping Kendall but all he did was lead her to harm’s way -- not to mention his own harm. When Keith leads the local police back to the scene of the crime, no evidence of Kendall is to be found – except some blood on a picture. A picture that will benefit a food bank.

Appropriately the relationship between guard and prisoner is the theme for a class both Logan and Wallace are taking – and the subject of a study in which both volunteer to participate (it is based on the Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment). According to the Resident Advisor the study is intense and life changing. Interestingly enough, Wallace and Logan are on opposite sides of the experiment. Guest star Rider Strong is taking his role as a guard seriously.

Logan comes up with some genius plan to help the prisoners out since the guards were relying on one guy to snap (Neal from Freaks and Geeks). Deception really is a recurring theme throughout Veronica Mars and it shows that it isn’t always a bad thing – sometimes it can save your skin. Unfortunately for the prisoners, Wallace also knows the value of false information. And yes, the professor is Homer Simpson, and yes you do hear someone say “d’oh!” during the experiment, glad you noticed it too.

Veronica has landed herself a new job – as a college paper’s photographer. Her first assignment, as luck would have it, has to do with Parker’s rape. Apparently the Theta Beta sorority might be involved. At least, a look behind the Greek curtain is her assignment but Veronica’s new boss knows how to pitch an assignment and Veronica Mars is on her way in a floral dress. So yeah Veronica Mars totally plays up the sorority stereotype – which is completely unrelated to my experience but who says Veronica Mars is based totally on reality? But Veronica does meet a girl that seems a bit more laid back.

Veronica gets invited to the special – read secret – party full of booze and boys. A sorority party also means Dick Casablancas is there “fulfilling [his] destiny” along with a few other folks from Veronica’s past. Veronica plays the drunken party girl until she gets asked to take a Safe Ride home. Her sober driver gives her a lecture about getting liquored up until she can’t say no and then crying about what happens. Who called the blame the victim card would be pulled – me! But the lecturing sober ride home leads Veronica Mars in a green direction.

Parker’s mom tries to pull her out of college but Mac tells her to stay. Overbearing parents aren’t ever fun to deal with so hopefully Parker will be saved from that horrible experience – or at least those hideous wigs. Figuring out who raped her will have to wait for the rest of the season to unfold.

So what do we know so far?

The Theta Beta’s could have easily had access to Parker’s room the night she was raped.

Parker took a Safe Ride home from the Resident Advisor, Moe, the night she was raped.

Other things to ponder:

Remember: Vomit is the new mace.

The writers of Veronica Mars have to be fans of Battlestar Galactica with all the use of “frack” in the show.

Superman is another fave with Dick mentioning kryptonite last week and Bizzaro World this week.

When will they ditch that stupid “Aerie” bit?

Why can’t Veronica Mars be on HBO where we could have seen a bit more of Logan’s streaking?

So far the only things really missing are a decent plot for Keith Mars and any plot for Weevil.