My favorite TV show of all times, Veronica Mars suffered a tragic demise two years ago and took with it, my heart. My devotion to the show was steadfast. How much so? Let me show you the entry I wrote in my Livejournal the day it passed away:
5/20/2007The day had finally arrived. Veronica Mars was cancelled this past week. Three seasons of some of the highest quality story-telling you could ever enjoy and it's gone. After three years of struggling to stay on the tube, Dawn Ostroff, the president of The CW channel has cut the cord to this cult classic with a small group of intensely devoted fans (including me).
I could still remember the first time I sat down and watched Veronica Mars. The premise sounded so silly but just different enough that I was willing to spend the next hour watching the pilot. Afterwards, I remembered thinking, "This show's not bad. I think I'll stick around for the next couple of episodes and see how it plays out." And it only got better. Every episoded ended leaving me longing for more but still satisfied by the viewing experience I had just finished. I think I've devoted at least 5 blog entries encouraging people to watch the show. (Hey, that's a feat for me considering I update like once a month). It didn't matter if you were a tomboy, a macho man, a teenager or a girly-girl. If you even have any sense of loving the finer things in life, you would love this show.
Veronica Mars was so weird. I didn't like any of the characters the first time I saw them. Veronica always looked like she was cross-eyed and scowling. She still kind of looks like that to me but I would be her best friend in a heart beat. haha.. Logan Echolls, the bad-boy-turned-heartthrob of the show, was completely unattractive the first few episodes. I remembered thinking to myself, "why the HELL would they cast this dude? He's so....normal-looking and looked nothing at all like an evil guy." OOOoOOOOOH boy, by the end of the first season, he made my short-list of would-be husbands, right next to takeshi kaneshiro and jake gyllenhaal.
Not since The Power Rangers have their been a show that made me rearrange my schedule in order to accomodate it. It didn't matter where I was, if I had a TV nearby, I would have to watch it Tuesday nights at 9. I remember one time, I was visiting my grandpa in the hospital and it was 8:45. I started panicking because we were set to leave soon and I knew I wouldn't make Veronica Mars if we left then. So I begged my family to stay one more hour so I could watch the show. THAT was how obsessed I was.
Yes, it's true that Veronica Mars had been on the decline for the past season due to pressures to increase ratings and accomodate new viewers but the show is still better than 99% of stuff out there on TV. Don't let the general summary of the show fool you. Veronica MArs is not just about "a teenage girl detective." It's about the strength of an outcast, the strategies of manipulating systems, the discovery of love, the bonds of a father and daughter, the unforgettable quotes on pop culture and more. The show is comedic, is intelligent, is suspenseful, is juicy, is dramatic, is tragic, is EPIC.
I do not know what I will do now that the show is ending in two days. I suppose Ugly Betty, Scrubs and some other wannabes will have to fill its place for now. Oh yes...and I do have the DVDs. If I've raised your interest even a little bit in seeing my favorite show, feel free to ask me for the DVDs. They're even better because you don't have to wait a whole week to watch the next episode and you can pause at logan's hot self whenever you want for however long you want.
I'm going to miss you, Miss Mars.
I wouldn't just write about Veronica Mars, As explained above, I would have to watch the show the second it aired on TV, I would stalk fan forums right after an episode ended, I would buy the box sets at full value ($40 a season, extravagant purchase for an unemployed college student) the moment it came out, and once, a long long time ago, I was even an "aerie Girl" for Veronica Mars. Just what is an "aerie Girl?" Let's have American Eagle's press release explain:
American Eagle Outfitters and The CW Television Network Announce Groundbreaking Partnership for Tuesday Nights
'aerie Tuesdays on The CW' to Feature Real-life aerie Customers in Unscripted Chat Sessions Appearing During Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars
NEW YORK, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Eagle Outfitters (Nasdaq: AEOS) and The CW Television Network today announced that aerie by American Eagle will break into Tuesday night primetime on The CW during Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. aerie by American Eagle is a new line of intimates and dormwear designed for girls 15 to 25 years of age.
In the first partnership of its kind, American Eagle Outfitters will produce a series of 30-second interstitial episodes in which six real-life aerie customers take inspiration from the shows' themes, and discuss how they relate to and impact their own lives. Additionally, the segments will chronicle the actual experiences, dreams and emotions of these six girls throughout the season. The aerie girls will also discuss Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls plot lines and character development each week. Customers will be able to visit http://www.aerie.com for "aerie Tuesdays on The CW" exclusive content and activities, including weekly trivia contests in which winners receive AE shopping sprees, or even the chance to make a cameo appearance on one of the shows.
"American Eagle selected Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars because we believe they are among the most intriguing, well-written shows on television, as well as being provocative and inspirational for aerie girls everywhere," said Kathy Savitt, chief marketing officer of American Eagle Outfitters. "We're delighted to partner with The CW to develop this fresh and innovative way to introduce the aerie brand to Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls fans."
"aerie Tuesdays on The CW" will air between 8 and 10 p.m. beginning on Tuesday October 3rd and continuing through Tuesday December 5th. Concurrently, Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars will be promoted in 818 American Eagle stores across the country with in-store signage and exclusive footage from the two shows appearing on in-store video screens. Cast members of Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls will make surprise visits to AE stores to conduct impromptu autograph signing sessions. The shows will also be featured in AE and aerie shopping bag stuffers and customer e-mail campaigns.
"aerie Tuesdays on The CW is a TV first," said Rick Haskins, executive vice president, marketing and brand strategy, The CW. "This landmark partnership will introduce the CW's new Tuesday-night line-up to millions of new viewers, as well as strengthen the connection with existing viewers in a highly targeted way."
I was one of the six girls whose "experiences, dreams and emotions" they chronicled. Here are some pictures from my gig:
A fellow "aerie girl" Megan and I. She's a professional actress (and hilarious) and I was a professional tool because I stupidly stayed out in the sun too long that day and burned myself to pieces. I still looked like that after pounds of make up. Scary huh?
The gang. I think only gang in history who pal around in their pajamas and talk about a TV show. And yes, I blinked in the picture! See how much of a tool I was?
We got to meet Milo Ventimiglia, who went on to direct a web series for American Eagle. We got to chat for a bit, where I learned that he went to UCLA and actually had to drop out because he was auditioning and working so much and the school didn't like that. Now, they call him an alumn even though he never finished his degree. Who got the last laugh?
Ooh and P.S. Kristen Bell, star of Veronica Mars later on joined the cast of the show Milo starred in, Heroes. Small world.
Yea. I was that much of a Mars geek. Just ask my old roommate, Evelyn. I think she threw a little party after Veronica Mars got canceled because she no longer had to listen to me obsess about it.
Since then, I had been surfing the channels like an aimless nomad, unable to give my heart away to another new show. So even though I adore Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs, never again have I ever been able to stay up for three days straight re-watching an entire season for the fourth time, or hold fan board discussions about who killed Lily, or curse the gods because Veronica didn't end up with Logan.
I've moved on since then. Time does that to you; it makes you a little more distant, a little more detached. But I was jolted with a sharp flashback when it was recently announced that Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas has a new show on Starz Channel called Party Down. The show stars some actors who played minor characters on Veronica Mars and some of the leads from Mars also make appearances. (Daddy Enrico Colantoni! Epic boyfriend Jason Dohring! Even VMars herself, Kristen Bell! *fangirl squeal)
A fellow "aerie girl" Megan and I. She's a professional actress (and hilarious) and I was a professional tool because I stupidly stayed out in the sun too long that day and burned myself to pieces. I still looked like that after pounds of make up. Scary huh?
The gang. I think only gang in history who pal around in their pajamas and talk about a TV show. And yes, I blinked in the picture! See how much of a tool I was?
We got to meet Milo Ventimiglia, who went on to direct a web series for American Eagle. We got to chat for a bit, where I learned that he went to UCLA and actually had to drop out because he was auditioning and working so much and the school didn't like that. Now, they call him an alumn even though he never finished his degree. Who got the last laugh?Ooh and P.S. Kristen Bell, star of Veronica Mars later on joined the cast of the show Milo starred in, Heroes. Small world.
Yea. I was that much of a Mars geek. Just ask my old roommate, Evelyn. I think she threw a little party after Veronica Mars got canceled because she no longer had to listen to me obsess about it.
Since then, I had been surfing the channels like an aimless nomad, unable to give my heart away to another new show. So even though I adore Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs, never again have I ever been able to stay up for three days straight re-watching an entire season for the fourth time, or hold fan board discussions about who killed Lily, or curse the gods because Veronica didn't end up with Logan.
I've moved on since then. Time does that to you; it makes you a little more distant, a little more detached. But I was jolted with a sharp flashback when it was recently announced that Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas has a new show on Starz Channel called Party Down. The show stars some actors who played minor characters on Veronica Mars and some of the leads from Mars also make appearances. (Daddy Enrico Colantoni! Epic boyfriend Jason Dohring! Even VMars herself, Kristen Bell! *fangirl squeal)
I watched the first episode of Party Down and though it has potential, of course it has potential-Rob Thomas is a TV genius, but it hasn't grabbed me just yet. Perhaps the whole premise of wannabe actors, comedians, singers, etc. catering events and parties as they wait for their big break is too L.A.-hence too close to home- for me. But if there's anything that Veronica Mars has taught me, it's to not give up on something, no matter how low it is in ratings. And that if someone dares to cross your path, just tase their ass. I'll give one or two more episodes a try AND then we'll see.
P.S. Haha, guess we just can't let some things go. Instead of watching the new episode of Party Down, I just re-watched the entire second season of Veronica Mars again.
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