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Special Features
- 22 episodes on six discs, including an extended version of the pilot with an unaired opening sequence
- Over 20 minutes of unaired scenes
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| Veronica Mars Season 1 | - Available Formats |
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The smartest high school drama since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars is The O.C. as penned by Raymond Chandler. Veronica (Kristen Bell, Deadwood) is Nancy Drew by way of Lauren Bacall, while Neptune makes Peyton Place look like Mayberry. The first season begins in the aftermath of a dizzying array of cataclysmic events: Her best friend, Lilly (Amanda Seyfried), was murdered, her sheriff father was fired over his handling of the case, she was sexually assaulted, and her mother left. Since then, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni, Just Shoot Me) has become a private eye and drafted Veronica as his assistant. She may lack Buffy's physical prowess, but the "tiny blonde one" turns out to have a special talent for sleuthing. In the wake of her sophomore year, the popular crowd abandoned Veronica--even boyfriend Duncan (Teddy Dunn), Lilly's brother. (Hence the theme song: "We Used to Be Friends.") Veronica is on her own until she meets Wallace (Percy Daggs III), the only student unfamiliar with her past, unlike Duncan's sarcastic pal, Logan (Jason Dohring), one of her more ardent foes. He was Lilly's boyfriend and his father is movie star Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin). By the end of her junior year, Veronica and Logan will make their peace, but it won't be so easy to win over the school--let alone the town. Throughout the season, Veronica will solve several mysteries both big and small--including the murder of Lilly Kane. But a few questions remain. For instance, at the end of the season finale, Veronica opens the door to greet an unseen visitor with "I was hoping it would be you." So who was it? Fortunately, UPN renewed the critically acclaimed (if ratings challenged) teen noir and that tantalizing question will be answered in the second season premiere. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description
In the wealthy, seaside community of Neptune, California, the rich and powerful make the rules. Unfortunately for them, there's Veronica Mars, a smart, fearless 17-year-old apprentice private investigator dedicated to solving the town's toughest mysteries. Veronica used to be one of the popular girls, but it all came crumbling down around her after her best friend, Lilly, was murdered, and her then-sheriff father, Keith, was removed from office for naming Lilly's rich father as the lead suspect. During the day, Veronica must negotiate high school like any average teenage girl. But at night, she helps with her father's struggling, new private investigator business--and what she finds may tear the town of Neptune apart at the seams.
DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Extended takes
Gag Reel
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
430 of 450 people found the following review helpful
WARNING: SPOILERS!
The 2004-2005 will hopefully go down as one of the most important seasons in recent television history, not because there was such a plethora of great new series-there weren't-but because it was the beginning of the end of the dominance of reality programming and the rebirth of the scripted television show. The two shows that are getting most of the credit for the sudden demise of the reality show are the two mega-hits on ABC, LOST and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, but I hope that UPN's lovely VERONICA MARS will get at least some credit. If LOST and VERONICA MARS are the face of things to come, rather than WIFE SWAP or THE SWAN, then the future for TV could be very bright indeed.
Of all the series that were developed in the wake of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, VERONICA MARS hues most closely to the original (especially in Buffy's high school years) and is one of the best. [October 2005 addition: VERONICA MARS in its second season is highlighting the ties to BUFFY not merely by bringing BUFFY regular Alyson Hannigan back for a brief appearance, but having Charisma Carpenter as a semi-regular and BUFFY creator Joss Whedon as a guest star in one episode in November. Salon.com did its part by awarding this years Buffy Award, for the best show on TV neglected by the Emmys--and named for the Best Show ever ignored by the Emmys--to VERONICA MARS.] If we were to describe the original recipe for the show, it is about 50% BUFFY, 20% NANCY DREW, 15% BEVERLY HILLS 90210, and 15% TWIN PEAKS. In other words, the show is about a super cable blonde high school student who takes on do-badders and tilts the scales of justice, who is an amateur female sleuth, whose escapades all take play in her upper class high school with a contingent of working class students, and who in her spare time investigates the mystery of the death of her best friend Laura Palmer . . . er, ah, I mean Lily Kane.
At the start of the series, Veronica can look back at a very bad year. Her best friend died; her father, the former sheriff, was fired because of disapproval of his handling of the investigation; her boyfriend, Duncan Kane, and the brother of the deceased Lily, has broken up with her; because of her father's firing and the snubbing of her by Duncan and his friends, the formerly popular Veronica finds herself ostracized by her fellow students, especially after her drugging and rape at a party provide her with the label of being a party girl (all expressed by the superb theme song "We Used to Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols); and in the aftermath of her father's firing, her mother mysteriously disappeared and hasn't been seen or heard from in months. But Veronica is nothing if not resilient, and she is not one to passively take the misfortunes that life heaps upon one. In other words, she has spunk, as well as a quick and inventive wit and lifetime supply of street smarts. Upon being made ex-sheriff, her father sets up as a private detective, and Lily serves both as his receptionist and aide, and ends up having a bit of a practice at school once her reputation as one who can resolve awkward situations begins to spread. By the end of the season one might find Veronica struggling with three mysteries at once, the ongoing one of Lily's death, as well as whatever her father is working on, and some friend at school.
All in all, I found the first season to be thoroughly fascinating and persistently entertaining. The structure of the narrative is a bit of a blend of the long-story-arc episode and the stand-alone episode. Each episode will move the core story for that episode forward, while also taking up any of a number of the ongoing mysteries. And there are a host of mysteries. For instance, we wonder about who are the biological parents of who, whether the have been inadvertent incestuous relationships, and characters who run away to escape the difficulties. Through it all it the utterly unflappable Veronica, utterly determined to get at the truth of things. By the end of the season the big arc for that season-who killed Lily Kane-is solved, thanks to Veronica.
Veronica Mars is a great character who is more than aptly handled by the extraordinarily cute Kristen Bell, who is perfect for the role except for the fact that she is a bit too old to be playing a high school junior. She is so otherwise perfect for the role it is easy to overlook the age gaffe. Although Veronica is a transparent girl-power heroine in the tradition of BUFFY, she stands apart from other such heroines such as Max Guevara and Sydney Bristow in not having especial super powers or abilities, and has no special mystical destiny. What is Veronica's special power? Her quick wit. That's it! She just thinks faster than others. She emerges as both a great strategic and tactical thinker, always two or three steps ahead of everyone else, always anticipating what someone else's response is going to be. Very rarely is she surprised by someone, or unable to response instantly to a variation.
The rest of the characters form a nice and believable group of characters. They largely fall into the competent and outstanding categories. In fact, the only three I would not place merely into the competent category are Enrico Colantoni, who is superb as Veronica's dad Keith. Though they sometimes disagree on things, throughout the show they are obviously the greatest of friends, and when they need to be, great colleagues. Keith tries to protect his daughter, but he also knows that she is someone of rather prodigious abilities, so he doesn't always try to stand in her way. He has a great kid, and he knows it. The only other cast member I think deserves especial notice is Jason Dohring as the mercurial Logan Echolls, who at various times in the course of the season is sadistic, vulnerable, angry, magnanimous, courageous, cruel, tender, grateful, selfish, and romantic. If you don't like him one week, wait a couple of episodes and reevaluate. One bit of casting irony should be noted. Francisco Capra plays Weevil, the head of the local motorcycle gang. In fact, he is a member of one of the most thoroughly connected families in the history of Hollywood, his great grandfather being the great director Frank Capra, his grandfather one of the great power brokers in Hollywood, and he father nearly as active in a host of tinsel town activities. So much for his outsider cred. Nonetheless, Capra, despite being the ultimate Hollywood insider, does a good job as one of the school's bad boys.
All in all, this was a great first season, with a great series of storylines, one of the best season-long mysteries to be unraveled in ages, and a group of characters we come to care for. The show ended with most of the loose ends tied up, probably in part an instance of defensive writing on the part of the production team. With a bevy of rather shocking cancellations in recent years, a lot of writers decide to end a season as if they were ending the season. WONDERFALLS is a great example of this. We are sure to see more. Thankfully, UPN renewed VERONICA MARS, so we'll get to see the spunky, resourceful, irrepressible high school sleuth back in action for a least one more season, and hopefully for more. And maybe, just maybe the powers-that-be in Hollywood will realize that this kind of quality scripted television with long story arcs, and not forgettable, cheap, unrehearsed reality shows are what viewers really want.
The 2004-2005 will hopefully go down as one of the most important seasons in recent television history, not because there was such a plethora of great new series-there weren't-but because it was the beginning of the end of the dominance of reality programming and the rebirth of the scripted television show. The two shows that are getting most of the credit for the sudden demise of the reality show are the two mega-hits on ABC, LOST and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, but I hope that UPN's lovely VERONICA MARS will get at least some credit. If LOST and VERONICA MARS are the face of things to come, rather than WIFE SWAP or THE SWAN, then the future for TV could be very bright indeed.
Of all the series that were developed in the wake of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, VERONICA MARS hues most closely to the original (especially in Buffy's high school years) and is one of the best. [October 2005 addition: VERONICA MARS in its second season is highlighting the ties to BUFFY not merely by bringing BUFFY regular Alyson Hannigan back for a brief appearance, but having Charisma Carpenter as a semi-regular and BUFFY creator Joss Whedon as a guest star in one episode in November. Salon.com did its part by awarding this years Buffy Award, for the best show on TV neglected by the Emmys--and named for the Best Show ever ignored by the Emmys--to VERONICA MARS.] If we were to describe the original recipe for the show, it is about 50% BUFFY, 20% NANCY DREW, 15% BEVERLY HILLS 90210, and 15% TWIN PEAKS. In other words, the show is about a super cable blonde high school student who takes on do-badders and tilts the scales of justice, who is an amateur female sleuth, whose escapades all take play in her upper class high school with a contingent of working class students, and who in her spare time investigates the mystery of the death of her best friend Laura Palmer . . . er, ah, I mean Lily Kane.
At the start of the series, Veronica can look back at a very bad year. Her best friend died; her father, the former sheriff, was fired because of disapproval of his handling of the investigation; her boyfriend, Duncan Kane, and the brother of the deceased Lily, has broken up with her; because of her father's firing and the snubbing of her by Duncan and his friends, the formerly popular Veronica finds herself ostracized by her fellow students, especially after her drugging and rape at a party provide her with the label of being a party girl (all expressed by the superb theme song "We Used to Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols); and in the aftermath of her father's firing, her mother mysteriously disappeared and hasn't been seen or heard from in months. But Veronica is nothing if not resilient, and she is not one to passively take the misfortunes that life heaps upon one. In other words, she has spunk, as well as a quick and inventive wit and lifetime supply of street smarts. Upon being made ex-sheriff, her father sets up as a private detective, and Lily serves both as his receptionist and aide, and ends up having a bit of a practice at school once her reputation as one who can resolve awkward situations begins to spread. By the end of the season one might find Veronica struggling with three mysteries at once, the ongoing one of Lily's death, as well as whatever her father is working on, and some friend at school.
All in all, I found the first season to be thoroughly fascinating and persistently entertaining. The structure of the narrative is a bit of a blend of the long-story-arc episode and the stand-alone episode. Each episode will move the core story for that episode forward, while also taking up any of a number of the ongoing mysteries. And there are a host of mysteries. For instance, we wonder about who are the biological parents of who, whether the have been inadvertent incestuous relationships, and characters who run away to escape the difficulties. Through it all it the utterly unflappable Veronica, utterly determined to get at the truth of things. By the end of the season the big arc for that season-who killed Lily Kane-is solved, thanks to Veronica.
Veronica Mars is a great character who is more than aptly handled by the extraordinarily cute Kristen Bell, who is perfect for the role except for the fact that she is a bit too old to be playing a high school junior. She is so otherwise perfect for the role it is easy to overlook the age gaffe. Although Veronica is a transparent girl-power heroine in the tradition of BUFFY, she stands apart from other such heroines such as Max Guevara and Sydney Bristow in not having especial super powers or abilities, and has no special mystical destiny. What is Veronica's special power? Her quick wit. That's it! She just thinks faster than others. She emerges as both a great strategic and tactical thinker, always two or three steps ahead of everyone else, always anticipating what someone else's response is going to be. Very rarely is she surprised by someone, or unable to response instantly to a variation.
The rest of the characters form a nice and believable group of characters. They largely fall into the competent and outstanding categories. In fact, the only three I would not place merely into the competent category are Enrico Colantoni, who is superb as Veronica's dad Keith. Though they sometimes disagree on things, throughout the show they are obviously the greatest of friends, and when they need to be, great colleagues. Keith tries to protect his daughter, but he also knows that she is someone of rather prodigious abilities, so he doesn't always try to stand in her way. He has a great kid, and he knows it. The only other cast member I think deserves especial notice is Jason Dohring as the mercurial Logan Echolls, who at various times in the course of the season is sadistic, vulnerable, angry, magnanimous, courageous, cruel, tender, grateful, selfish, and romantic. If you don't like him one week, wait a couple of episodes and reevaluate. One bit of casting irony should be noted. Francisco Capra plays Weevil, the head of the local motorcycle gang. In fact, he is a member of one of the most thoroughly connected families in the history of Hollywood, his great grandfather being the great director Frank Capra, his grandfather one of the great power brokers in Hollywood, and he father nearly as active in a host of tinsel town activities. So much for his outsider cred. Nonetheless, Capra, despite being the ultimate Hollywood insider, does a good job as one of the school's bad boys.
All in all, this was a great first season, with a great series of storylines, one of the best season-long mysteries to be unraveled in ages, and a group of characters we come to care for. The show ended with most of the loose ends tied up, probably in part an instance of defensive writing on the part of the production team. With a bevy of rather shocking cancellations in recent years, a lot of writers decide to end a season as if they were ending the season. WONDERFALLS is a great example of this. We are sure to see more. Thankfully, UPN renewed VERONICA MARS, so we'll get to see the spunky, resourceful, irrepressible high school sleuth back in action for a least one more season, and hopefully for more. And maybe, just maybe the powers-that-be in Hollywood will realize that this kind of quality scripted television with long story arcs, and not forgettable, cheap, unrehearsed reality shows are what viewers really want.
174 of 190 people found the following review helpful
By Maggie
Amazon Verified Purchase
I got hooked on Veronica Mars during the pilot, which I tuned to on a whim. I thought it was one of the best written hours of television I'd ever seen. While some of the "mystery of the week" episodes were stronger than others, I was impressed that the threads of the over-arching story were kept going throughout the season. The last 4 episodes of the season, where everything started to come together were gripping. I really loved this show and was so glad to see it renewed. I hope it comes out on DVD!
40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
By G-Funk
Format:DVD
Forget the high school set up, this is the smartest, most mature and complex show to come out of network TV since the glory days of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", the early seasons of the "X-Files", "My So-Called Life" and the first season of "Twin Peaks". And sorry "Lost", you know I love you, but the Most Compelling Mystery On TV award goes to the cute-as-a-button petite blond with the smart mouth and the attitude. This is one of the few shows that are able to combine style and substance, drama and comedy and thrills, chills and character-driven stories successfully and intelligently.
Most every single episode is tightly packed with engaging storylines, crisp dialogue, fun mini-mysteries with outcomes that are hard to guess and tantalizing little clues that keep the viewer on the edge of their seat and intrigued by the season-long whodunit. There is no fat, there are no fillers and there so much going on that even the awesome songs carefully selected for each scene serve a clear purpose.
And every single episode reveals so much about the characters that you can't help but become emotionally attached. The writers and actors take great pains to make you care about all of the main people involved in Lilly's death and, in what may be one of the most brilliant moments in TV ever, in Lilly herself. Not one of them is your average, clichéd teen show character and you may even find yourself loving AND hating some of these folks. This is, after all, a gritty show that pushes the limit and never sugarcoats growing up, talks down to its viewers or romanticizes high school. The characters are real and flawed and their actions and motivations are not always noble or righteous. There's plenty of moral ambiguity, tough lessons and realism to go around.
Likewise, the main character isn't some unrealistic, unattainable fembot or a flawless, impervious superhero. She is, we are often reminded, a hurt, lonely, vulnerable, scrawny 17-year-old who's only strengths are her unflinching determination, resilience and smarts. Bell is outstanding and subtly yet effectively conveys all the conflicting emotions with an endearing mixture of vulnerability, panache, wit and bravado that are all of her own. She is never a victim and she never screams for attention, yet she can always command it. By the third episode, you don't just like Veronica, you love and understand her.
The relationship between Veronica and her dad is just beautiful and the chemistry between both actors undeniable. Jason Dohring is explosive as Logan Echolls and is another actor with great chemistry with Bell. Kudos are also in order to Francis Capra and the actress playing Lilly, who manages to steal every one of the few scenes she is in.
Veronica Mars isn't your average TV mystery. There's so much more there than meets the eye. You can watch and re-watch the first season and always enjoy it and discover something new. Further more, it is fun and exciting TV, the kind we hardly ever get anymore outside of Cable. I'll take this over moguls looking for apprentices and desperate 40-year-olds acting like crazed teenagers any day of the week.
Most every single episode is tightly packed with engaging storylines, crisp dialogue, fun mini-mysteries with outcomes that are hard to guess and tantalizing little clues that keep the viewer on the edge of their seat and intrigued by the season-long whodunit. There is no fat, there are no fillers and there so much going on that even the awesome songs carefully selected for each scene serve a clear purpose.
And every single episode reveals so much about the characters that you can't help but become emotionally attached. The writers and actors take great pains to make you care about all of the main people involved in Lilly's death and, in what may be one of the most brilliant moments in TV ever, in Lilly herself. Not one of them is your average, clichéd teen show character and you may even find yourself loving AND hating some of these folks. This is, after all, a gritty show that pushes the limit and never sugarcoats growing up, talks down to its viewers or romanticizes high school. The characters are real and flawed and their actions and motivations are not always noble or righteous. There's plenty of moral ambiguity, tough lessons and realism to go around.
Likewise, the main character isn't some unrealistic, unattainable fembot or a flawless, impervious superhero. She is, we are often reminded, a hurt, lonely, vulnerable, scrawny 17-year-old who's only strengths are her unflinching determination, resilience and smarts. Bell is outstanding and subtly yet effectively conveys all the conflicting emotions with an endearing mixture of vulnerability, panache, wit and bravado that are all of her own. She is never a victim and she never screams for attention, yet she can always command it. By the third episode, you don't just like Veronica, you love and understand her.
The relationship between Veronica and her dad is just beautiful and the chemistry between both actors undeniable. Jason Dohring is explosive as Logan Echolls and is another actor with great chemistry with Bell. Kudos are also in order to Francis Capra and the actress playing Lilly, who manages to steal every one of the few scenes she is in.
Veronica Mars isn't your average TV mystery. There's so much more there than meets the eye. You can watch and re-watch the first season and always enjoy it and discover something new. Further more, it is fun and exciting TV, the kind we hardly ever get anymore outside of Cable. I'll take this over moguls looking for apprentices and desperate 40-year-olds acting like crazed teenagers any day of the week.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great series.
A mystery every episode and a large mystery over the whole season. This is a great series if you like a little private eye work. Read more
Published 7 hours ago by M. Watne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Excellent series. It's a little goofy at times, but also gets very serious in others. I just enjoy the acting involved as well; there's nobody that I really recognize besides... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars
VMars is the best
This is one of my favorite shows of all time and I'm glad to own the 1st season with the movie coming out. I can't recommend this enough.
Published 6 days ago by Carrie Kintz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh Veronica, you are swell!
Yeah, yeah, it's been said before, but Veronica Mars is a modern day Nancy Drew. I wish VM had been around when I was a kid; my middle school years might have been different. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Kelly Collins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Throwback to adolecence
I passed some of my most trying years watching Veronica Mars. I knew that I loved it then, but I was a bit skeptical that I would still enjoy it. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Magnolia Swanson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love Veronica Mars.
I loved the series and wanted to be able to watch it in chronological order. The part of Veronica Mars was made for Kristen Bell or maybe Kristen made the role hers.
Published 16 days ago by Melanie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Best investment ever. Really miss this show, hope the movie is half as good. Too bad television has become all reality stff.
Published 16 days ago by Rebecca
5.0 out of 5 stars
Veronica Mars
I love this show and watched some of the episodes when it originally aired. I am so glad that I am able to watch this show again one episode after another.
Published 17 days ago by littleit
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
Nothing was wrong. The case and all the DVDs were in great condition. I had no complaints. Great show! Wish it was still on.
Published 21 days ago by Pen Name
5.0 out of 5 stars
perf
if you're not a VeronicaMars fan, you should be. Really the series is unbeatable and the price here is fantastic.
Published 21 days ago by Zmonster
