Veronica Mars

Yeah, yeah, so I'm a little late to this one. I had 5 kids and one of the things I gave up to do that was TV. So I'm catching up now.

What I loved:
1. Dad and daughter relationship. I think this was played just right. The father never took over the story, but he wasn't just window dressing, either. I liked that he sometimes made V's life more complicated and I liked that he sometimes got in her way when she thought she was all grown up. Very real.

2. Veronica and Logan. I suspect sometimes shows go in directions the writers didn't expect because things happen with the actors and there was just chemistry here where there wasn't so much elsewhere. I also liked that the relationship wasn't resolved. I kept rooting for Veronica and Logan even through season 3 when it was clear that there were major problems (of course!). I think it was smart not to give me what I wanted. It would have been too sappy.

3. The feel of high school. The nastiness, the cliques, the teachers. My teen daughters say that high school isn't like this for them. That makes me wonder if I've exaggerated how bad it was for me or if they simply have a better time because they're richer. I suspect the latter. I grew up in a very wealthy neighborhood (our neighbors were the Osmonds and some diamond dealers). We were 11 kids surviving on a college professor's salary. I rebelled by wearing sweats every day to school and sneakers to church. I couldn't see any other way to make a statement about how horrible it was that other kids wore thousand dollar outfits and got to pick any car on the planet for their sixteenth birthday. Yes, Porsche was on the list, and so was Lamborghini.

4. The feel of college. Just when you think you are out of high school, it turns out that college is just the same only more so, and you have to figure out how everything translates. The fraternities and sororities, real life vs. homework, the hierarchy, and the new games.

5. The character of Veronica as a tough girl who is still feminine, wants to fit in but isn't sure it is worth it. She was so complex. Strong, but not quite Buffy super power strong. Attracted to the bad guy because he lets her be strong and allows her to be her worst self, too. Friends with other strong girls, but a defender of the downtrodden. Prom-hungry. Smart.

What I didn't like:

1. I couldn't believe that anyone could do the kind of detective work on the side, with a job as a waitress and a boyfriend, and still end up getting good enough grades to be top of the school for scholarships. No one has that much time. And also, I just didn't see Veronica reading or studying that much. She quoted some fun stuff, though. I loved that.

2. The lack of cohesive storytelling after the first season. The third season, especially, fell apart. Mostly, as far as I can tell, because the network execs didn't know what they had on their hands and decided to try to make it into everything else that they thought they understood. And then killed it dead.

3. Lily. She was an interesting character, but I wasn't sure that Veronica's reaction to the revelations about her were right.

4. As with most TV shows about high school, the actors were somehow not quite young enough. There wasn't the physical awkwardness that is part of high school, especially for the guys who are still adding inches.

5. Some cliches in the plot turns. Evil dad turns out to be, well, evil.