Very, very good, apparently!
I’ve been so hypered into a frenzy about the Wednesday night debut of “Lost,” I nearly forgot about UPN’s “Veronica Mars,” which is also getting some of the best reviews of the season. Reviewers are evoking such touchstones as “Freaks and Geeks” and “The O.C.” UPN is so desperate for a hit it actually hired somebody with an overriding interest in storytelling!
Yes, it’s an hourlong from novelist Rob Thomas (“Rats Saw God,” “Slave Day,” “Green Thumb,” “Satellite Down”) about a teen who helps her estranged private-detective dad. It stars Kristen Bell (“Spartan”), Enrico Colantoni (“Just Shoot Me”), Jason Dohring (“Deep Impact”), Francis Capra (“SLC Punk!”) and Teddy Dunn (“The Manchurian Candidate”).
“We hope to be to UPN what ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ was to the WB,” says Thomas, who also helped create ABC’s “Cupid” long ago.
Variety says:
Yes, it’s an hourlong from novelist Rob Thomas (“Rats Saw God,” “Slave Day,” “Green Thumb,” “Satellite Down”) about a teen who helps her estranged private-detective dad. It stars Kristen Bell (“Spartan”), Enrico Colantoni (“Just Shoot Me”), Jason Dohring (“Deep Impact”), Francis Capra (“SLC Punk!”) and Teddy Dunn (“The Manchurian Candidate”).
“We hope to be to UPN what ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ was to the WB,” says Thomas, who also helped create ABC’s “Cupid” long ago.
Variety says:
Variety says:
"Veronica Mars" is the smartest teen-oriented drama since "Freaks and Geeks." A unique and inspired looked at teen angst shrouded in a P.I. show, the UPN drama features Kristen Bell in the lead role - as charismatic as she is tough and intelligent, giving a multilayered perf that touches on simple 17-year-old insecurity and convincingly incorporates deeper issues concerning family, love and disappointment. The rare UPN show with cinematic ambition … has the potential to draw in "The OC" crowd, especially with its enticing use of contempo rock music, and then build from there …
The Hollywood Reporter raves:
Many critics will stand up and applaud "Veronica Mars." I will too, but pilots like this one worry me. The premiere of this series is so cleverly constructed, the hero so engaging and complicated and the story so filled with great dialogue that I wonder how anyone can sustain this level of accomplishment. … If future episodes are half as good, this still will be one of TV's bright spots. … Creator/exec producer Rob Thomas … originally figured Veronica Mars to be the main character in a forthcoming book, which perhaps explains the complexity of the character. … Veronica has all the sass, strength, resolve and ingenuity of any of literature's classic detectives. The treat here is seeing these characteristics embodied in a high school student who daily faces the challenges of peer pressure, social hazing, romantic dreams and the rigors of academics. So what if no typical high school girl could hold her own against a gang of motorcycle bikers or the targeted cruelty of "in" crowd members? Bell is so convincing in the role that it all somehow makes perfect sense. The premiere, written by Thomas, has comedy, deathly serious drama, parody and danger, ingredients not typically mixed together. With "Veronica Mars," the resulting blend is a new TV flavor, and it's delicious. … if UPN can get viewers into the tent, they're likely to come back for more.
Entertainment Weekly says:
… We think it may be to UPN what Karen Sisco was to ABC: a smartly cast drama, with a female hero who’s too tough for young women to identity with and too soft for your average 18-24 male. And those two demos have probably gotten hooked on a new-generation WB show, the competing One Tree Hill. …
TV Guide says:
… teen noir with a moody blend of adolescent angst, family drama and mystery. … You’ll root for her … Has “cult favorite” written all over it - if UPN gives it time to catch on.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… The show's writing is clever. The resourceful and fearless Veronica, no namby-pamby Nancy Drew, describes her ex-boyfriend's best friend Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) as her high school's "obligatory psychotic jackass." …Bell does such a good job playing the world-weary Veronica that she manages to get away with voice-over lines like "I'm no longer that girl" and "The detective in me knew something was wrong" without sounding silly. She channels the charisma, smarts and frustration of Angela Chase, Claire Danes' character in "My So-Called Life."
USA Today gives it three and a half stars (out of four) and says:
… Think Buffy. … Luckily for Veronica, she has sharp wits, steely nerves and a wicked sense of humor — along with a big dog to keep the bad guys in line. 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. … Now let's hope UPN gives Veronica the time it needs.
This is one TV case we don't want to see closed.
9 p.m. Wednesday. UPN.
