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- The CW
- Sep 22, 2004
- The CW
- Sep 22, 2004
Summary 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 aroun...
- The CW
- Sep 22, 2004
- The CW
- Sep 22, 2004
Summary 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 aroun...
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
81
80% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
20% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
81
80% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
20% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A wonderfully complex drama, with plenty of sly humor, that showcases slick performances from its two stars, and magically straddles the parallel universes of film noir and high school high jinks, while generously tossing out amusing asides. [22 Sept 2004, p.D1]
What makes Veronica so strangely touching is that on a larger scale, her quest mirrors the common teen conundrum: My family's screwed up, and I'm not cool enough. How can I fix it?
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 90 User Ratings
8.6
89% Positive
80 Ratings
80 Ratings
4% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
7% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 90 User Ratings
8.6
89% Positive
80 Ratings
80 Ratings
4% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
7% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
This show blew me away with how well it pulls you in and makes you want to keep watching until you've frittered away your whole weekend. 11 years after it first originally aired and this show is still relevant and impactful. Kristin Bell portrays many different sides of Veronica Mars' personality accurately and effectively. Screenwriter Rob Thomas explores many different alternative viewpoints very well in order to differentiate the show from the generic and formulaic majority that was on television in 2004 and is even more predominant in 2015. My hope is that more shows that are as unique as this show was will appear soon.
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SEASON 1
The writers do a good job of layering surprises and plot twists. It may not be Raymond Chandler, but Veronica Mars is nevertheless quite hard-boiled. [22 Sept 2004, p.E4]
Luckily for us, UPN has found a terrific young actress to play this terrifically engaging character: Kristen Bell. Whether you buy the idea of teen crime-solvers or not, there's no questioning Bell's credentials as a TV star.
As Veronica, Bell delightfully plays the clash between sarcasm and sweetness. The actress, who appeared in Deadwood, is one of the most valuable performers this fall. As her struggling detective father, Enrico Colantoni displays more charm than he ever did on Just Shoot Me. [22 Sept 2004, p.E1]
Bell is an attractive lead, but the show... starts out by taking itself too seriously and working too hard to establish an atmosphere of teen angst mixed with noir mystery. It wouldn't hurt if the student-sleuth lightened up.
The show wants to be hip and cool, and it often is, but it makes no pretensions that it doesn't have a heart beating underneath, much like its cool but caring lead character. [22 Sept 2004, p.D-6]
When I first started watching this show, I was VERY turned off by most of the writing and acting, but thanks to a few sharp one-liners and a fantastic performance by Kristen Bell, I stuck with the show. If you plan on watching this show from the beginning, know that it gets better. Much better. In the past week or so alone I've gotten through the first season and half of the second. It's that addicting. In addition, the writing and acting of the supporting cast has improved greatly, making a very interesting and compelling show.
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SEASON 1
A remarkable television series. It is intelligent, entertaining, and yes, it does have a heart. Unlike most programming, Veronica Mars does not talk down to its audience; the creator's assume we are keeping up.
The first season was remarkable, one of the best-written shows I've ever seen. The second and third seasons were still outstanding, although they weren't quite up to the stellar achievements of the first. One demeaning descriptor critics use when referring to Veronica Mars is "teen drama". It is, in that teen characters are front and center, it isn't, in that so much more is involved. Those who either didn't pay attention, couldn't follow the subtext, or simply love being snarky belittled the program as being simply a teen drama. It is akin to referring to Branaugh's version of Hamlet as "a period piece".
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SEASON 1
Witty, intelligent and entertaining, this show can appeal to all ages. It's unfortunate that it was billed as a teen drama thus minimizing it's potential audience that eventually led to the show being cancelled. I believe this show has a wonderful potential for a come-back as an adult FBI drama using the same actors, 5 years later, and I hope the producers take advantage of the opportunity to include new fans while maintaining the old fan base. The biggest let down of Series 1 was Paris Hilton's appearance. Thankfully the character only existed for 1 episode and Paris wasn't given many lines. The relationship between our main character and her father is well written and very unique, showing much respect between them through very adverse times. The references to cult classics and popular media culture are numerous through every episode and be highly appealling to 30-60 year old viewers but would likely go unrecognized by younger viewers.
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SEASON 1
