Good TV?!? Oh wait its old and cancelled...

Ever since the debacles that were Firefly (cancelled way too early) and Battlestar Galactica (jumped a shark being held in the air by a giant squid that was sitting on an aircraft carrier that itself was on fire... because fire is exciting like Battlestar was supposed to be) I don't watch TV anymore.

The funny part is TV doesn't even try to put up a fight. Its latest entries have been equally stupid as Battlestar or dumber. Lost the show where they make it up as they go, all the while claiming their so much smarter than the audience because they ARE making it up. Or Heroes the show which couldn't tell a story if not for time travel plot devices (I'd argue plot creating in fact... no time travel= no plot) to save its life. Sure I haven't actually watched more than a couple episodes of either, but I caught the trend and than had it confirmed by reviews I've read.

So it is nice to find a rare gem amongst this garbage. Mind you this show went the Firefly route. Cancelled. Fortunately 3 seasons afterward.


That show is Veronica Mars. Man is it good! Granted I just finished the first season, which by all accounts is the best. So it might go a little down hill from here. Still the first season was worth it alone.

The premise is in a very rich people town in California a software billionaire's daughter was murdered a year before the show. The murdered kid's best friend was Veronica, who herself is the daughter of the local sheriff. Veronica's dad is convinced that the billionaire was the killer, despite a worker at the software company confessing to the crime. Due to the billionaire being a local hero Veronica's dad is forced from being the Sheriff, and so he sets up in town as a PI with Veronica as his assistant. So throughout the show Veronica continues her own investigation into her best friends murder of course finding her father was right just not in a way either of them realize. All the while to make money Veronica takes on side cases from her fellow high school students and teachers.

I love it because it is a "real life" Buffy type show (in fact this is one of Joss Wheadon's favorite shows, and he makes an appearance in either season 2 or 3!), and it is written on that level. All the characters are believable and compelling. Even the bad ones.

Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect is how all the main high school students have regularly turning up parents and home lives. In Buffy the other characters home lives were alluded too, but rarely shown. In Veronica we get to see why every kid is the way they are through their home life.

Also the "real life" Batman aspect appeals to me. A big part of Veronica's high school life is seeing the bullies and asses have justice and revenge served on them. Yet at the same time she is just a teen, and makes plenty of big mistakes along the way.

Topping it off her father is played by Enrico Colantoni who is among my favourite actors.

So I guess TV still has a few diamonds in the rough. Now if only these guys would do a Sci-Fi show. Maybe it won't get cancelled till its second season too!