I know some of you are tiring of hearing me go on and on about TV shows for the last few days.
But, um, Veronica Mars was Tuesday night, so bear with me. In white text, as usual, to prevent spoilage. Highlight to see…
I LOVE LOGAN ECHOLLS.
It’s a pure love, a deep love, the type of love that I can no longer hide. Fortunately, Sailor Boy understands. He thinks that he might love him even more than I do. And SB’s parents also understand, and accept our love. And now that Logan is single, we can be together, at last. Darling Logan, call me soon! I know you’re like a decade younger than I am, but isn’t it time for you to get yourself a real woman, the type of woman who can appreciate you so much more than that ditz you’ve been dating? Logan, darling, don’t make me wait.
Baseball bat! Police car! Brilliant. My Logan, O Logan, O darling, you’re back to your bad boy, loyal, wonderful wonderful self. The way you flexed your hand in that jail cell made me swoon. My heart pounded the whole way home. Sailor Boy is so wrong about it being contrived and about how you’re going to be stuck in jail for a while now.
Okay. So that was thing number one I loved. Other things I loved: 1) Mac. Always. Mac being brilliant and wonderful and snarky and tossing out drinks and saying awful things and wearing a fabulous t-shirt. Why don’t they use her more? 2) Dick. Always. Dick being a dick. So much love. 3) The unicorns. Clearly Carrie is actually Harmony, from Buffy. 4) The Neil Diamond tribute band. 5) Parker, saving the day, and Parker’s Posse, backing her up (note to Veronica: this is how you handle confronting a rapist. You take a posse with you). 6) The dean. 7) Logan. 
Logan. 9) The fact that I totally called Moe. 10) Logan. 11) Deputy Sacks, getting schooled by both the junior cop and Keith. 12) Logan, I love you. I love you when you’re getting your heart broken. I love you when you’re beating someone’s face in. I love that you think the best pathway to personal revenge is getting yourself locked up. I love that you think nothing of taking a baseball bat to a cop car. Marry me, Logan Echolls. We can be DiLo. Or LoDi. Or something.
Things I hated: 1) Veronica, being a moron. Ws it GHB or stupid pills that she’s been taking? I have no idea why she thought that was the best recourse for dealing with her discovery of the rapist. Has she not realized over the course of her other near-death experiences, how bad an idea it is to go off, alone, to confront the villain? And where is her phone? She has her taser, but not her phone?
To quote Ally Carter, who is also a huge VM fan, and with whom yours truly dissected last night’s ep:
“But when is our 105 pound heroine going to learn that there are OTHER people who can stake out the dorm room where the rapists are going to be showing up? Call the cops and TELL them what’s going on. Call the campus cops. Call your dad. Call Logan and Wallace. Grab five random guys at the incredibly crowded party and say “hey, want to go wail on a pervert?” I’m betting she could get some backup. Hey, go get Backup–anything!”
Exactly, Ally. Exactly.
2) Mercer, monologuing. 3) Veronica, being a really unforgiveable moron. You run upstairs to get away from the wounded villain? Have you never seen a horror film? And where was your rape whistle then? And why the hell would you expect Piz or Wallace to be in their room when you know you left Piz at the party and Wallace went to the marina with Logan? 4) Mercer’s weird master/slave thing with Moe. WTF? See below. 5) Did I mention how Veronica was acting like an idjit? 6) The fake IDs. She hasn’t learned her lesson from season 1? 7) Wallace=Wasted.
But mostly, everything I disliked about the episode was redeemed by Baseball bat + Logan + police car = LOVE. Wow, was my heart pounding when I saw that scene.
Okay. Moving on. I also fianlly saw the series “finale” of Carnivale yesterday. Thumbs DOWN. But it was a good lesson for me, as a writer. In fact, the whole series was a great lesson in the following: 1) Do not let worldbuilding get in the way of the story. As interesting as carniers and the Depression were, they should serve as backdrop to the tale, not the other way around. 2) Yeah, make ‘em wait, but don’t make ‘em wait for longer than the payoff is worth.
3) Make sure there is a payoff. Sheesh. This, for the record, is why I gave up on Lost. I already went through this crap with The X-Files.
Updated to add: VeronicaMarsWhite Text: Thank the good people at Television Without Pity for pointing out to me what the dea was with Mercer “sir” and Moe “prisoner”: it was a reference to the prison experiment from the beginning of the season that Moe said “changed his life.” Ta da.
November 29th, 2006 at 8:47 am
I was also quite annoyed with VM and her TSTL moments. Running down the hallway without trying to call someone was ridiculous! It would have been better for her to find out her phone was dying or she dropped it in the girl’s dorm room when struggling with Mercer. That I could have believed. And then she could have discovered a phone in the room where she was locked up or something.
Logan was awesome. And the best part is that Veronica has NO IDEA what he is doing for her. I would have liked just one small moment of Logan finding out that Veronica was attacked, so we could see the pain on his face and the anger, but that look in the jail cell was priceless. Priceless! He’s gonna beat up the dudes that hurt his girl.
Oh, and if they *are* trying to tell us that Piz is the next guy in line for Veronica, could they at least have added a 3-second scene of Wallace telling him about the break-up and maybe a look of hope on his face or something? Or, they could have had him be the one to save the day and find Veronica in the dorm room almost unconscious? There were lost opportunities to show some sort of attraction between them….if that’s what they’re getting at.
I am guessing if Piz and Veronica do end up on some date, Piz will have to answer to Logan. Maybe he will get the same insults that Logan tossed at Duncan last year about not being any good in the sack. Ah, yes, angry Logan and his snappy comments. I can hardly wait.
Also, the promos for this episode were so misleading. It said that it would be “controversial.” Where was the controversy??? I was waiting for disturbing and creepy…and then it turned out to be Mercer after all? Sigh…
November 29th, 2006 at 9:09 am
I blogged about Veronica Mars this weekend because my husband and I watched the entire first half of the season in three days last week. We’d been recording it on DVR until we had time to watch.
I have much love for the first two seasons but this one? Not so much. I talked about how TSTL Veronica is in my blog post. It’s like there’s someone else writing the show. Frankly, I kind of strongly dislike Veronica this season. Everything you said about all the stupid things she’s done this episode? Kind of in keeping with all the stupid things she’s done this season.
As for Logan…yes, yes and YES. *swoon* But as my husband said last night, you know the show’s gone wrong when you’re agreeing that Logan’s in the right and Veronica’s the dipshit.
November 29th, 2006 at 10:19 am
sigh
November 29th, 2006 at 10:47 am
Aw, don’t give up on Lost! Sure, they had some incredibly boring, why-do-we-need-to-know-this episodes last year (do we care about Rose and Bernard?), but it’s all action again this year.
Plus, the Sawyer and Kate thing (with some Jack on the side) is hot, hot, hot.
Come back to the show, D.
(BTW, do agree with you about X-Files. Once Mulder left, ho hum.)
November 29th, 2006 at 11:05 am
Diana:
I tagged you with a Christmas tag!
http://writers-tale.blogspot.com/
You’re it!
November 29th, 2006 at 11:07 am
I was left disappointed by the last episode of Carnivale too…I think they intended it to be the season finale, with more to come, and then it got cancelled leaving a lot of unanswered stuff. Too bad, since there were some really spectacular episodes in that second season.
November 29th, 2006 at 11:51 am
Kristin: I guessed I missed the promo that said “controversy.” One of the glories of not watching TV commercials? LOL Unless they were talking about the controversy WITHIN the show?
Also, have we just forgotten about Kendall Casablancas and her painting? I wonder if that will be the third mystery this season. You know, after the dean.
I don’t know if we needed to see that look from Logan, It was all there in the jail cell, don’t you think?
I just really don’t see any future in V and Piz. Not even a date. She can be single and stuff, but I don’t see there being any chemistry between them at all. Though I will say that whole “stage left” thing made me chuckle.
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Angela, I don’t like how they’re handling Veronica this season, but it all seems to be a slide from first season anyway — I don’t think anything can top that. I mean, remember last year, when Beaver was all “call your dad?” I was SURE that Veronica would be calling Logan or the cops — but, sure enough, it was her dad, after all. So weird. She’s just lost some of her sneakiness and with-it ness. She used to be so strong and smart and erudite and able to manuever around people to get what she wants. We’ve seen it maybe — twice so far this season, and both times she’s flubbed it — in her lacrosse outfit, and again on the phone with Lamb. I guess it worked out well in the sorority episode, though. Maybe the idea is that tricking college students isn’t as easy as tricking high schoolers?
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Anonymous, I know. Logan makes me sigh, too.
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Robin, on Lost, I actually LIKED the bits about Rose. I was bored by everything else. and I gave up on XF long before Mulder left. I gave up when I realized that there WAS no truth out there. That it was all smoke and mirrors. Same shit with Lost. that show would have been good if it hadn’t been a hit and they hadn’t tried to stretch it out past a season.
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Susan, thanks! I’ll do it for Friday.
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Max, I know, but I still don’t get it. Especially since we’ve been taught that to bring back a DEAD person, we need to kill a live person. Who is Sophie killing? I watched all the DVD commentary and I STILL don’t get how the child of the evil avatar is also an evil avatar, since we had worked out before that that child of the evil avatar (scudder) was the good avatar (Ben) and the child of the good avatar (Management) was the evil avatar (Justin). Shouldn’t Justin’s child be a good avatar as well? And they never do explain what an omega is.
November 29th, 2006 at 11:51 am
I disagree that this season’s not good–it’s just different. I watched the other two seasons on DVD, so I had the entirety of the arc at my fingertips–it’s been weird, being on edge. I was so freaked out during the entire episode, and after, but I loved it. I thought that this episode redeemed a lot of the other ones we had this season. I’m going to be glad when we get back into a murder mystery. I totally called Dean O’Dell’s death, as well as Moe’s complicity in the rapes, but Mercer? Twisty and awesome. HOWever, Rob Thomas needs to revisit the ways in which Veronica catches the killer–these alone-on-a-rooftop situations are getting old. They show no common sense. I know that Veronica is all independent, but she’s always bagging on other people for being idiots, and then she’s one.
And, of course, LOVE LOGAN. I hope they get back together again, especially if the show doesn’t get picked up for a fourth season, but I like them angsty. They’re more fun that way.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
I actually didn’t catch last nights episode, precisely because of what you say about Veronica. Veronica Mars used to be my favorite thing about Veronica Mars, but not so much anymore.
Still, I think I’ll find a way of catching last night’s ep since you made some of it sound so good.
And I totally agree on Lost, I only watch it at this point because the bf still does. No payoff at all. And a love triangle between three attractive people is not the type of TV that keeps me on the edge of my seat…
November 29th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Crazy Chick, I like this season — I don’t love it as much as the others, but I am having a major problem with Veronica’s character. She’s not acting like herself. I love that you have the other ones on DVD. The Veronica Mars DVDs on are eternal loop at my house.
Eatrawfish, YAY! You checked in! I can’t BELIVE YOU DIDN’T SEE IT. I was sure I could count on you for insight. go! go now and watch!
November 29th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Okay, after reading all your white text (and of your love for the first season) and Vicki P.’s recommendation, I’m putting Veronica Mars on my netflix queue.
November 29th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
This is me going “doh, oooooh” to your update. Thanks for pointing that out, I didn’t get the reference either!
November 29th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Why does it have be 5 random ‘guys’ to wail on a pervert? Are you telling me that womenfolk don’t enjoy giving a good pervert wailing?
November 29th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
I think the problem was that most of the women who’d be beating up on the pervert weren’t AT the frat party…
November 29th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
I just watched the TiVo’d episode, and a big YES on most of what you said.
I have a question (not for you specifically, Diana, but in general). Do we KNOW that Piz is supposed to be a potential love interest for V? Did someone from the show say it’s a possibility? Or is it just fans making the assumption and ragging it to death? ‘Cause all I see is that he had a crush on her, and everything else is still about Logan.
I have a feeling that they have made a tactical error with Veronica’s character. Someone said maybe college students are harder to trick than high school students–I think they’re trying to show that V is as fallible as anyone who is taken out of her “world” and put into a new one where the rules are all different. It’s quite logical for her to be overly self-confident and fail. Unfortunately, they’ve gone about it the wrong way. She’s cocky, yeah, and failure is fine, but let her fail using her BRAIN instead. Let her miscalculate.
Not only did she have and not use her cell phone, there were phones in BOTH ROOMS she was in–the potential rape victim’s room and Moe’s room. She may not live in the dorms, but DUH.
Thanks for posting the info on the Mercer/Moe relationship. I didn’t get it, either, though now it seems obvious.
Despite its flaws I’ll keep watching the show, because the acting is still superb and I have hope for improvement.
November 29th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
have a question (not for you specifically, Diana, but in general). Do we KNOW that Piz is supposed to be a potential love interest for V? Did someone from the show say it’s a possibility? Or is it just fans making the assumption and ragging it to death?
Natalie, the only way I’ve seen it is as part of the show’s (CW’s) dedicated marketing machine. I actually don’t go to all the fan sites and read up on it. I only read the recaps on TWOP, and I haven’t even been doing that, except to scan anything to see if the recapper also thinks it’s bull.
But on the CW ads, I’ve seen it. Like with that ad they ran last week as part of the “aerie” campaign that was all LoVe/Piz=?
Also, they used to have a short description up on the character on the website, where they described him as “dreamy eyed” “seventies cool” that might just be something Veronica needs or something like that. (Hmmm, interesting that the description of him has now disappeared. Guess he lost in the poll, huh?)
I am, however, happy that Veronica nad Logan broke up. I LOOOOOOOOVE them angsty. It will make the coming-back-together-again so very, very sweet.
Oh, will Xmas come soon? I need my season two DVD!
November 30th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
Okay, Diana, that makes sense. I don’t see those promos, so I didn’t realize they were doing it.
HOWEVER–remember that promos are done by the NETWORK, not by the people who are actually making the show. In the first season of Lost, the writers were actually pissed a couple of times about the way ABC set up promos that gave away certain things, and they ALWAYS set them up to make us think something happened that didn’t. So ignore them.
And yes, I agree about the breakup and what it will mean when Veronica gets her brain back.