So, let me tell you all about a little show that I love. First off, let us imagine the best movie you've ever seen.
Can you see it? Good.
Now, this movie probably has deep characters, a great story, and a plot that keeps you into the story throughout, right?
Now, lets mess with this image a bit...what if this beloved movie of yours just happened to be 24 hours long? What if, each and every week for 24 weeks, you had the enormous pleasure of revisiting these characters, deepening the story, and consistantly being entertained? You'd tune in, right?
Well, sadly, you aren't.
No one really is.
This show does in fact exist, and it needs love.
It needs you.
Sadly, this world is governed by how successful you are, and not how good you are on the inside. Television shows like this go ignored often, for various reasons, but that doesn't make them any less than what they truly are.
Take "Firefly", a brilliant show, from the same mastermind behind "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer", Joss Whedon. This show was axed by the good folks at Fox (who, as it so happens have managed to kill more quality shows than any other network...But, in a sense, I can forgive them, cause they did bring back Family Guy), all too early into it's splendid run. The ratings sucked. Fox had no faith in the show. It got ignored. It got cancelled. But, as some of you may know, the story doesn't end there for "Firefly", because come September 30th, "Firefly" gets resurrected, in the form of Serenity. Be sure to check that out.
Anyway, sub-soapbox aside, television is a much more difficult wasteland for quality television. Even if a great movie doesn't do well at the Box Office, it'll still get awards. The same does not ring true for TV. If the show fails in the ratings, it won't get any recognition.
Every so often, you get a hit show, that's also very good, like "Lost" or "Gilmore Girls", but those shows don't need support. This one does.
So, without any further adieu, I present to you one of the best TV shows to come along in a quite a long time, and the BEST show, that you're not watching:
Veronica Mars
The inquisitive looks do not surprise me. This show, hands down, garnered the most critical praise this past season, even more than "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." And, like those two shows, the critics didn't get it wrong with "Veronica Mars." The show is dripping with genius, from the amazing, amazing writing, to the inpeccably acted characters, this show can't help but be great.
I mean, look at this snippet of dialogue from the show:
"You want to know how I lost my virginity? Yeah, so do I."
The show, on the outside, looks like every other teenage/high school show to grace our sets. Sure, I thought the same thing too. While I love a good juicy episode of "The O.C.", it took a lot for me to get into that show. It's easy to pass quick judgement on the show. In fact, its very easy, cause it airs on the UPN. Yes, the same network that brought us such classic entertainment as "The Parkers", "The Mullets", and "Jake 2.0." It's a shame, honestly, to see such brilliant entertainment be put on a network who's biggest hit is "America's Next Top Model." But, that shouldn't keep us from tuning in. Besides, both Roswell and Buffy made UPN their home after the WB got tired of them. But, those shows aren't enough to get an audience to an unwatched network.The show on the inside is a smart, funny, touching, thrilling story of teenage life and how its full of triumphs and tragedies. If anything, this show is an allegory for what we all go through. Just watch it, and you'll see what I mean.
"Veronica Mars" concerns a teenage girl, who in the past year of her life, has had to do a lot more growing up than any normal 17-year old should: Her best friend, and sister to her boyfriend, was brutally murdered. Her mother abandoned her and her father. She believes she was raped after waking up after being drugged, with her underwear off. Her father, the town sheriff, becomes the laughing stock of the town (Neptune, CA) in which she lives, after pinning the murder on the parents of the murdered girl, and with that, Veronica loses all the friends she once had. But, for most teenage shows, this would lead to just one angsty episode after another, but this is where "Veronica Mars" is unique: her father is a private investigator, and in a sense, so is she. She takes it upon herself, after her father closes her friend's murder case to find out the truth herself. She doesn't believe the man currently sitting on death row for her friend's death really did it, and she sets out to find out who did. Veronica doesn't let her angst drive her to whine and complain about how miserable her life is...She's taking control of it, and for sure, she speaks to millions of people who feel they're so picked on, but continue to believe that for the rest of their lifes. This story makes up the entire arc of season 1, but there's more to it. Veronica begins to gain a reputation around Neptune High, where she attends, for her knack at solving cases, from petty to big...So, that's the first season. Each episode is a new case for Veronica to solve, and each one is as compelling as the last. Each episode contains a bit of the puzzle in solving the mystery of her friend. The mystery is resolved in the season finale, and is quite a nail-biter.
But yeah, I've gone on long enough, I believe. I hope this little preview is enough to get you all to check it out starting Wednesday, September 28th, at 9/8c. Sadly, for all of you Losties, this may prove difficult, but remember, its for predicaments like this that TiVo was invented. Or, if you're cheap like me, make a FauxVo, with your VCR, a cable splitter, and and extra cable...Just attach one cable end to your TV to watch Lost or Veronica, and then record the other using the other cable. It should work.
Oh, and by the bye, The Complete First Season of "Veronica Mars" will be available on DVD October 11...Pre-order it here.
Anyway, I'll leave it at that. Don't miss this one. Don't let more great TV be thrown away because we just don't know where to find it. We're constantly saying there's nothing good on TV, but I just think we just don't know where to look.
ciao
parker
0 comments:
Post a Comment