THE STORY: The extras available here hardly need two discs to contain them. On disc one: a theatrical trailer and an embarrassing featurette about the “complexities” of the film’s production and the genius of Wolfgang Peterson. On disc two: a feature on the film’s set design that focuses specifically on how the Poseidon was flipped upside down, a film school intern’s diary of her experiences on the set, and a History Channel featurette about rogue waves and the film’s ostensibly groundbreaking special effects. I had more fun staring at the disc’s holographic cover art.
THE REVIEW: After years of mediocre teen shows, Veronica Mars gets it right with a compelling show that breaks the usual teen television show clichés. Well, there are some clichés—the sarcastic teen wit that came so natural to Buffy and other Joss Whedon productions.
Season two has plenty of twists and turns but it is the opening bus crash that dominates the season. Veronica tries to figure out who was behind the crash and comes across many different surly customers. All the way through her dealing with Irish gangs and more, Veronica must also deal with her personal life. This season also doubles the twists and the many narrative layers. Veronica gets in the middle of stories that cross and try to take her from the main plot but never succeeds.
Even with all of the lies and craziness the second season isn’t as good as the first. There is so much promise and expectations where very high. There are many middle episodes that lack steam and get off track—or perhaps the larger problem was that the bus crash should have been solved sooner so that it wasn’t constantly hanging in the air.
THE EXTRAS:
The deleted scenes are on different discs—which doesn’t make much sense. The deleted scenes are both deleted and extended scenes that were cut for either time or the lack of focus.
“A Day on the Set With Veronica Mars” – A feature about Kristen Bell who takes us on a tour for the day. The best part about the featurette is how much fun Bell has with her video camera.
“Veronica Mars: Not Your Average Teen Detective” – A featurette that is way too short.
Gag Reel – It’s sad when one of the best featurettes is a blooper reel.
FRANKLY: Veronica Mars is one of the best shows that nearly no one watches. It’s sad to think that this show might end simple because of a lack of viewers that never knew what they were missing. The second season isn’t as good as the first—but it’s still better than any other teen show on television today.
+ Charlie Craine
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.