Monday, January 28, 2008

We Used To Be Friends

You know, there's a lot of bad TV on. There's a lot of TV on also that I just flat out don't like, though not all of that is bad - it's just not my style.

What annoys me more is that there are plenty of television shows that, through either mismanagement, bad timing, or just sheer bloody-minded bad luck, got axed before their time. Shows like Firefly get a second chance, while shows like Freaks and Geeks never do. But, in a way, it doesn't matter. The shows get their ending, however abbreviated...and with the great ones, it really doesn't matter. They get an ending that is frequently stunning and emotional. They get what they need, if not what we want.

Still. What this is about. I finally got to the end of Veronica Mars. Like many great shows, for me it was too little too late - I didn't get into the show until the series was on its absolute last legs. I did buy seasons 1 and 2 after seeing only a couple episodes, and my lovely girlfriend recently got me season 3, the final season, for Christmas. But...I wish I could've done more to support the show while I still could have.

Veronica Mars...is one of the quickest, cleverest shows I've ever seen. The dialogue is some of the best in television, and the characters are wonderfully precise. It's just a damn good show. It's a little depressing, and ultimately, the show's message is very mixed: the finale, like the rest of the series, is 1-part hope, 1-part cynicism, and 2-parts revenge. The show alternately makes you revel in how the characters change and realize how harmful it is for them that they haven't changed more.

It was a little melancholy, to be honest, to reach disc 6 of season 3. Disc 5 had been the rest of the season, as the last 4 episodes of the series got cut by the CW and were never filmed. Instead, on disc 6, they give interviews, commentary, and one, very saddening, very awesome thing for me: a 'preview' of what's to come, should the series be allowed to continue. It wasn't, but I'm glad they let me see what they hoped for the future, even if more is, sadly, not to come.

Ultimately, Veronica Mars was a TV show that should have been here longer, but made better use of its 3 seasons than most shows that go on twice as long.

It's a show that I hope you all go out and see. Check it out of libraries. Download it illegally. If you like it...pick up a season. It's a worthwhile investment, both of time and money.

I wish my summary could've been more well-written. I tend to write these when I'm feeling a bit scattered, and I think it shows...still. Hope it doesn't put you off the show, or my thoughts.

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