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S01.E01: Pilot


Lisin
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From IMDB:

Meet Veronica Mars. Your typical high school student and private eye. A year ago, Veronica's best friend Lilly was murdered. Her father, Keith, then the town sheriff, accused Lilly's billionaire father of the murder. When another man confessed, Keith was booted from office. All of Veronica's friends stopped talking to her, and her mother left town. But as Veronica starts her junior year of high school, it becomes clear that nothing about her life is what it seems.

I'm posting this as no spoilers so that if people are watching for the first time the individual episode threads don't spoil the rest of the show. 

I watched this show all the way through when it aired, and started a re-watch back when it was still on Netflix a few years ago and I'm still struck by how good a pilot it is. The voiceover is not annoying and really helps move things along without feeling overly simple. It also lends a nod to the old film noir detective movies. All in all I think it's a great pilot. The phones really flip me out (FLIP! PUN!) because aside from the old tech this show could be on the air today easily but then Veronica or Logan goes into their phone to look up a number and I'm immediately reminded it's 2004. I had forgotten that the Kanes' fortune was grown by perfecting online video streaming which made me chuckle in a meta way since thanks to the Kanes I'm able to stream this on Amazon. 

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I just checked whether this was still on Netflix or anywhere like two weeks ago and was disappointed I wouldn't get to do a rewatch. Thanks for mentioning it was on Amazon on the podcast, gang. :) (For the record, not that anyone cares, I watched S1 and 2 on Netflix in 2011, hadn't seen any before that. Started S3 but got distracted by stuff and never felt the need to go back to it, so it should be good for me to see that before the movie.)

Pilot was pretty strong on the whole, but some of the exposition was a little clunky. I had forgotten what a dick Weevil was - they softened him up later on, yeah? Also, in my head Lily was some kind of perfectly-lovable angel, which she definitely wasn't in that flashback - she struck me as pretty annoying in that carwash scene. The main thing I remember from the early episodes in watch-through one was having trouble telling the rich California white boys apart (Duncan, Logan, and Troy), but I guess I still remember them enough (and also no Troy yet).

I don't know if I completely agree that the voiceover isn't at all annoying. It did help the pilot move and would have been hard to do without, but I guess I was a little frustrated by it because it was the main deliverer of the exposition clunkiness.

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HA! It is difficult to tell the difference between the rich white boys in the early episodes, especially Duncan and Troy! I had friends watching with me who had never seen it before and I kept having to tell them who was who in scenes where it was dark.

I guess the VO can be clunky, but I still like the way it moves the plot along. We don't wait around for weeks to find out things Veronica knows which I appreciate.

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I'm late to the party, but I'm trying to get caught up so I can more fully participate in this rewatch before the movie release.

Fun fact: I read somewhere that the producers worried that it was hard to keep the audience from mixing up Duncan and Logan, so they started dressing the characters in specific colors to help distinguish them.  Duncan often wore blues, and Logan wore earth tones.

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Fun fact: I read somewhere that the producers worried that it was hard to keep the audience from mixing up Duncan and Logan, so they started dressing the characters in specific colors to help distinguish them.  Duncan often wore blues, and Logan wore earth tones.
 

That's too funny. They must have forgotten by the second season because look. It's too funny. They're aware of it now and there's a picture from the movie set of Piz in the sweater again. 307278_la.jpg

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So I'm another late to the party.  Saw a bit of the movie on HBO and it looked good, but I thought I'd try and watch the series before the rest of the movie so I would understand a bit more.  Movie is saved on the DVR until I'm ready for it all.  So off to Netflix I go.  Have to get the discs, so it will be a little slower.

 

So far, looks real good, I can see why it got good press.  The over-arc mystery looks good and its fun seeing some actors from other shows I've watched in different roles. 

 

Also a bit amazed how they make VM's hair look so different throughout the episode.  And yes, all the white boys look the same.

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So I'm another late to the party.  Saw a bit of the movie on HBO and it looked good, but I thought I'd try and watch the series before the rest of the movie so I would understand a bit more.  Movie is saved on the DVR until I'm ready for it all.  So off to Netflix I go.  Have to get the discs, so it will be a little slower.

 

So far, looks real good, I can see why it got good press.  The over-arc mystery looks good and its fun seeing some actors from other shows I've watched in different roles. 

 

Also a bit amazed how they make VM's hair look so different throughout the episode.  And yes, all the white boys look the same.

If you have Amazon prime I believe it's streaming there.

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I just rewatched the first season again.  It's been 10 years!  Wow.  The tech mostly holds up although the desktop computer screens are massive!  Those fat Apple screens.  The fashions aren't too annoying either.  The show was of course trendy but I think an effort was made to make them look more real and less polished like One Tree Hill.

 

I miss Kristen Bell's short hair, but otherwise I'm impressed at how little she has aged.  The guest stars are great too (Jessica Chastain!).  And I still like the music. 

 

It was also one of the best daughter/father shows ever.  Such good chemistry

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I just watched the episode again and was so happy to notice something I had forgotten: Lianne leaves Veronica a unicorn music box, which Veronica leaves on her desk at the end of the episode when she takes off to the motel to find her. Yay, unicorns!

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I resisted this show for so many years. I think the Bell/Sheppard Samsung commercials were what made me give in...marathoned over a few days a week or so ago then followed it up with the movie and both books. Obsessed much? Yeah, like a 15 year old girl.

 

The Pilot had me at hello, as it were. 

 

Everything about this show is golden. I hated high school so commiserating with Veronica on Neptune High's suckitude was lovely.

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On ‎1‎/‎10‎/‎2014 at 10:19 AM, Lisin said:

From IMDB:

I'm posting this as no spoilers so that if people are watching for the first time the individual episode threads don't spoil the rest of the show. 

I watched this show all the way through when it aired, and started a re-watch back when it was still on Netflix a few years ago and I'm still struck by how good a pilot it is. The voiceover is not annoying and really helps move things along without feeling overly simple. It also lends a nod to the old film noir detective movies. All in all I think it's a great pilot. The phones really flip me out (FLIP! PUN!) because aside from the old tech this show could be on the air today easily but then Veronica or Logan goes into their phone to look up a number and I'm immediately reminded it's 2004. I had forgotten that the Kanes' fortune was grown by perfecting online video streaming which made me chuckle in a meta way since thanks to the Kanes I'm able to stream this on Amazon. 

Flip phones still exist, although the rich kids would all have had iphones.

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On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2014 at 0:49 PM, Lisin said:

 

That's too funny. They must have forgotten by the second season because look. It's too funny. They're aware of it now and there's a picture from the movie set of Piz in the sweater again. 307278_la.jpg

I never realized how much Piz looks like Duncan. I think these pictures are chosen for maximum resemblance, though.

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On 3/27/2017 at 7:06 PM, jeansheridan said:

That is one ugly sweater.  I do love Logan so.  He needs to be on a new show 

When VM crashed, they really should have some how done a Logan Echolls spin off (I'm fan girling hard over here, because I know if VM couldn't work, then this probably wouldn't either. But hey, a girl can dream).

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(edited)
On 3/31/2017 at 1:54 PM, marshmallows said:

they really should have some how done a Logan Echolls spin off

Spoiler

I love that the movie had him getting his act together.  Showing up in full navy dress whites was wonderful. 

Edited by Athena
added spoiler tags
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On 1/23/2014 at 3:50 PM, clemmyb said:

I'm late to the party, but I'm trying to get caught up so I can more fully participate in this rewatch before the movie release.

Fun fact: I read somewhere that the producers worried that it was hard to keep the audience from mixing up Duncan and Logan, so they started dressing the characters in specific colors to help distinguish them.  Duncan often wore blues, and Logan wore earth tones.

Even later to the party here (I swear I was going to finally watch VM when I heard about the movie and then, what, somehow another 10 years or so passed?!? 🤯) but this colour thing is hilarious. It’s not helping me either, I still can’t tell Duncan and Logan apart on sight, 13 episodes in! 

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On 8/6/2023 at 7:54 AM, rhiamon said:

Even later to the party here (I swear I was going to finally watch VM when I heard about the movie and then, what, somehow another 10 years or so passed?!? 🤯) but this colour thing is hilarious. It’s not helping me either, I still can’t tell Duncan and Logan apart on sight, 13 episodes in! 

The guy who plays Logan can act. The guy who plays Duncan ended up going to law school. 

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I went right into this, after finishing a Joan of Arcadia re-watch, and I’m feeling a bit old. This was twenty years ago. There’s a JOA actress in the show, starting in episode two. 

I like Veronica, and her dad.  I like the boy she helped, the new kid.  

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