The Good

The Bad

Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season was one of those shows that really surprised me. I had no idea it was about a young super-sleuth. The commercials and everything else I had seen had led me to believe that this show was about some beaten down women, who was trying to solve various crime cases. Or, I think I actually confused this fresh show with that dredge they call “Cold Case.” Okay, now I am not being fair as I have never seen an episode of that show and to call it “dredge” isn’t fair, but I will say that that show looks like a lot of work.

Watching Kristen Bell, as Veronica, solve crimes (in Southern California no less!) was just a treat to see. Sure, you knew that at the end of each episode things were going to turn out okay for our heroine, but I just found that idea of putting a growing, young girl in the various situations that we find our main character in was very intriguing. Also, I think the acting from the entire cast was spot on without being too showy or melodramatic. My favorite aspect to this show is that Veronica is an outcast. Now, you might look at her and wonder, “How could that pretty blonde girl be an outcast?,” but with everybody in town seemingly against her and her father (for the way he handled the case of the death of her bestfriend), I was able to key into this show’s and this main character’s sensibility.

Features

Over 20 Minutes of Unaired Scenes and an Extended Version of the Pilot Episode with an Unaired Opening Sequence

I would much rather have had them give me an in-depth “making of” then these extra features. I am just a purist when it comes to certain kinds of TV. As I watched Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season (the episodes that played on TV and gave us all the information I needed) this extra stuff just didn’t seem that necessary. I am not going to give anything away, but I just didn’t think that the “Unaired Scenes” and the “Extended Pilot” really did much to illuminate different aspects about the show. I am sure that some people will glean information, and maybe if I was more of a “rabid fan” I would too. As it stands, I was fine with the “Complete First Season” as it was with out the help of these extras.

Video

Widescreen Version presented in a “matted” widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of it’s original television exhibition. Enhanced for Widescreen TVs. This show looks like a lot of the other shows on TV. Not so much in how it’s edited, I felt that it moved a tad slower, but just in it’s overall look. The widescreen, moody look was apparent here they also let enough “light” in so that I felt I was watching a TV show with a pulse. Oftentimes this isn’t the case and this can make for a dreadful viewing experience. I like how this show as able to capture a “beach town” without making everyone seem like “types.” Neptune has it’s own style and feel while still being a part of “anywhere USA.”

Audio

Dolby Digital - English: Dolby Surround Stereo. The actors on this show don’t deliver their lines like everything they are saying is supposed to be weighty or witty. Sure, there is a little bit of that as I think it is too ingrained in the TV language of today for there not to be, but it isn’t always like that with this show and this why I find myself returning to the word “refreshing.” While nothing about the sound design for Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season really stands out and will grab a viewers attention, there is enough happening here both with the look and the audio of the show to make it stand out for not being like the others.

Package

While the cover of this 6 disc DVD box set makes this show look a little gloomy (especially with the expressions that Veronica, Duncan and some of the other cast members have), overall this show isn’t mired in that. That back of this vinyl cardboard cover which houses all 6 DVDs in a fold out case, does well by simply letting a little bit of the sun come in. There is a critics quote, a very well written description of the shows subject matter, a Special Features listing, a cast list and some minor technical specs. The actual packaging that houses the DVDs are replete with critics quotes and more pictures from the show. There is a really neat episode listing (that looks like a school notebook) that indexes and describes all 22 episodes. While I wish they had found a way to do this artwork with a digipack, overall this packaging is really good.

Final Word

It was really refreshing watching this show. I went into it cold, knowing nothing about it except what I had read off the back cover of the DVD case. Even when I was doing that, I did my best to only glimpse at what I felt was the pertinent information. Truthfully, coming into this show cold would probably have been much better, because this was Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season. I wasn’t watching this show with 2 or 3 seasons that I hadn’t screened hanging over my head.

I had never thought anything about this show. I had seen commercials but it was never on my radar. After watching Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season, I am very excited to see where this show picks up when it returns. I am a bit leery, I will admit, simply because I have watched shows where the first season was great and then everything goes to hell after that. This doesn’t look like it is going to happen but you never know.

Thank you Warner Bros. for showing all the pretenders what great TV drama can be. You have done Angela Lansbury proud.

Veronica Mars was released .