Veronica Mars at Unlikeable U
Nov. 12th, 2006 09:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteA lot of people are carping about Lost. Not me. I liked the six episodes we got.
No, I'm bucking the trend and carping about Veronica Mars.
Why? First and foremost, I am getting really fed up with how utterly unlikeable and annoying everyone in Hearst College is. The professors are arrogant or self-centered. The newspaper editor is a total screw-up but thinks she's perfect. The anti-rape feminists are stereotypes. The bulk of the students seem to be willing to do whatever it takes. And the Dean is...well, only the fact that Ed Begley Jr. is a good actor saves him from being a total waste of script time.
Twice this season, I found myself cringing big time at the behavior of one character after another. It's not just that Veronica (or Logan) has a way of rubbing people the wrong way. It's these people are a pack of idiots. Unpleasant, unrealistic idiots. Or so it seems to me. I didn't go to a typical college, but I think that college life isn't supposed to be this hideous.
I have to wonder, where did Rob Thomas go to college when the only likeable students we've met are in a sorority and the most decent people are a football player and basketball coach?
Next, there is the odd cast problem. Look at the opening credits. Look at all those cast members. And then look for Mac, or Weevil, or Lamb. Due to the show's budget constraints, they apparently can't afford to use these actors that often. We saw that last season with Wallace. Indeed, I think we might be seeing that again. And it hurts the show. Veronica's two closest friends and her most cunning ally are absent, leaving her to rely on herself more and more. Which usually gets her in trouble, and usually gets a little repetitive. This show works best as an ensemble, even though Kristen Bell is clearly the star. Veronica needs Wallace and Mac to ground her. The "Veronica vs. the World" mindset gets dull after a while. I understand there are budget problems, but why then add Mac and Lamb (and two new characters who aren't that exciting so far) to the main cast?
So here I am, six weeks into the season, still engaged, but dreading the next angry student or arrogant teacher, wondering if maybe the writers are forgetting that Veronica is not a reliable narrator, and hoping that we see more of the cast we like. Rant over.
No, I'm bucking the trend and carping about Veronica Mars.
Why? First and foremost, I am getting really fed up with how utterly unlikeable and annoying everyone in Hearst College is. The professors are arrogant or self-centered. The newspaper editor is a total screw-up but thinks she's perfect. The anti-rape feminists are stereotypes. The bulk of the students seem to be willing to do whatever it takes. And the Dean is...well, only the fact that Ed Begley Jr. is a good actor saves him from being a total waste of script time.
Twice this season, I found myself cringing big time at the behavior of one character after another. It's not just that Veronica (or Logan) has a way of rubbing people the wrong way. It's these people are a pack of idiots. Unpleasant, unrealistic idiots. Or so it seems to me. I didn't go to a typical college, but I think that college life isn't supposed to be this hideous.
I have to wonder, where did Rob Thomas go to college when the only likeable students we've met are in a sorority and the most decent people are a football player and basketball coach?
Next, there is the odd cast problem. Look at the opening credits. Look at all those cast members. And then look for Mac, or Weevil, or Lamb. Due to the show's budget constraints, they apparently can't afford to use these actors that often. We saw that last season with Wallace. Indeed, I think we might be seeing that again. And it hurts the show. Veronica's two closest friends and her most cunning ally are absent, leaving her to rely on herself more and more. Which usually gets her in trouble, and usually gets a little repetitive. This show works best as an ensemble, even though Kristen Bell is clearly the star. Veronica needs Wallace and Mac to ground her. The "Veronica vs. the World" mindset gets dull after a while. I understand there are budget problems, but why then add Mac and Lamb (and two new characters who aren't that exciting so far) to the main cast?
So here I am, six weeks into the season, still engaged, but dreading the next angry student or arrogant teacher, wondering if maybe the writers are forgetting that Veronica is not a reliable narrator, and hoping that we see more of the cast we like. Rant over.
