Veronica Mars
So, I've just finishd watching the entire first season and epsiodes 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6, courtesy of selenak and monanotlisa. (episodes 2.1 and 2.2 have eluded me for the time being, but I shall locate them forthwith)
Overall, I totally dig it. I got that Duncan was-but-wasn't Veronica's brother pretty early on, though, as I had a hunch that he was the one on the night of Shelley's party, and I didn't think that mainstream tv would give us sibling incest! The revelation that both were drugged was unexpected, though, and a (pleasant?) surprise - I really appreciated the grey area there. I believe that term is 'angel bed', but the whole idea makes me deeply uncomfortable, so - kudos.
Kudos also for Logan being a complete jerk and yet still making me like him. I find Duncan far too wishy-washy for Veronica (and way to angsty for me to have any patience with him), whereas Logan has the right amount of jerk-qualities for me to like him and still think that he's completely the wrong person for dear old V (I guess that would be Spike-ette in me coming to the fore, huh?). I'm not really that fond of guys that drug their dates / friends / whoever and think that 'they'll have a good time', but that could be personal prejudice talking. That's the bit I wouldn't forgive Logan for, not the videotaping thing which I bet you money is his dad's doing. OTOH, Veronica has run out on him twice? three times? and he was rather patient with her. It seems that he was also rather patient with Lilly, as he had suspicions that she was screwing around on him but he didn't actually do anything about it.
I absolutely adored Logan/Duncan's fight, as I thought that their respective stances needed to be made clear independent of what they think of the Veronica situation: they've been best friends forever, and then that whole time that Logan thought his best friend had killed his girlfriend - and to find out his dad's involvement - it's wonderfully messy emotionally. Duncan's reaction to being treated as a de facto pariah by those closest to him also needed to be worked out with Logan.
That said, I'm staking my claim to the Logan/Duncan/Veronica OT3 as my crack of choice. Logan/Veronica is just too pat, especially given how much of an asshole he is, and Duncan is, IMO, just too much of a weasel to hold my interest all by himself. Throw in VM, however, and all of a sudden you have unhappy families.
Which brings me to Lilly, who I dislike quite a bit. All we ever see Lilly do is screw around and call me crazy, but that does not 'characterisation' make. Why, precisely, was Lilly so beloved of everyone? We don't see her do anything that doesn't involve being flippant or self-involved. Her best friend is dumped and her reaction is incredibly flippant - it's only after she finds out the reason why that she has a reaction other than annoyance at the inconvenience.
So, yeah, I do feel that there was an opportunity missed to see Lilly fleshed out as a character other than a hell-raising spoiled teenager who liked to cheat on her boyfriend. Why did people (other than her mother) love her so much? For that matter, why did Veronica? I'd love to see some Veronica/Lilly slash that actually didn't make Lilly into a nympho and V into a boring little goody two shoes (what was up with that simpering almost-smile she wore throughout the flashbacks? Did it go with the ridiculously perfect too-long blonde wig?).
Also, while it occurs to me, Alyson Hannigan? I love her. I especially loved her relationship with Logan. Can we get some insight into what happens now that daddy dearest isn't around anymore to get her out of trouble?
I've just realised that I haven't actually talked about our heroine yet! I started off really liking Veronica but, oddly, got frustrated with her in S2. Part of it was her going back to Duncan which felt wrong for the character. That said, I would have said that same thing if she'd gone off with Logan - I wanted her to be on her own for a bit. I think that she works best as a single girl, and she was finally becoming defined by who she was, rather than what she was: Duncan's ex. (Why isn't she known as Lilly's best friend, btw? It's Duncan's ex, or Logan's girl, or Duncan's girl, or whatever.) Having her jump immediately back into a relationship and having all further discussions with Logan be about their (very) brief relationship was quite a frustrating. I was totally with Wallace - she isn't paying attention to him! She isn't being a good friend! She's focusing on having a happily-ever-after with her high school sweetheart. Safely out of high school, I can now gag.
Right. So. The big question - what ships do I, er, ship? Logan/Veronica/Duncan, S2 onwards, I think. Logan/Weevil, less so but still enough antagonism there. (By 'ship' I don't necessarily mean romantically, btw, although that's a big part - I'm more interested in the dynamic the characters have). Trina/Logan. (Yes, I like Logan! I suspect that this is going to make me join the majority, right? I'm ending up like the equivalent of a sark fan or something? Kill me now.) Lilly/Veronica. Please please please. Wallace/Veronica. Erm - I'm not that fussed about the parental figures here, they strike me as a bit Harry Potter-esque (I'm talking fando, not canon-wise). The abusive father, the perfect father, the absent mothers, the girl-everybody-wanted-that-married-the-nice-bloke - they strike me as a bit too sharply defined as this type or that type. I don't really like 'types'. But the kids are ok. :)
Overall, I like it. I'm interested in what they're doing to Veronica's character and why they're choosing to make her as gal-in-a-relationship again, but am willing to stand it for a little while until she comes to her senses and chucks Duncan and/or Logan.
In other news, athena25 got my beta-ed remix back to me with the verdict of, "it's fluff. You can do better." It felt like my english teacher had come to haunt me. Also, it's not precisely fluffy or anything, but the absence of plot upset her. So now I have to create plot. Damnit.
I am also down with a cold - again. Gosh, that didn't take long, did it? But I sound like sandpaper when I talk and/or breathe. So that's good. *cough*
Overall, I totally dig it. I got that Duncan was-but-wasn't Veronica's brother pretty early on, though, as I had a hunch that he was the one on the night of Shelley's party, and I didn't think that mainstream tv would give us sibling incest! The revelation that both were drugged was unexpected, though, and a (pleasant?) surprise - I really appreciated the grey area there. I believe that term is 'angel bed', but the whole idea makes me deeply uncomfortable, so - kudos.
Kudos also for Logan being a complete jerk and yet still making me like him. I find Duncan far too wishy-washy for Veronica (and way to angsty for me to have any patience with him), whereas Logan has the right amount of jerk-qualities for me to like him and still think that he's completely the wrong person for dear old V (I guess that would be Spike-ette in me coming to the fore, huh?). I'm not really that fond of guys that drug their dates / friends / whoever and think that 'they'll have a good time', but that could be personal prejudice talking. That's the bit I wouldn't forgive Logan for, not the videotaping thing which I bet you money is his dad's doing. OTOH, Veronica has run out on him twice? three times? and he was rather patient with her. It seems that he was also rather patient with Lilly, as he had suspicions that she was screwing around on him but he didn't actually do anything about it.
I absolutely adored Logan/Duncan's fight, as I thought that their respective stances needed to be made clear independent of what they think of the Veronica situation: they've been best friends forever, and then that whole time that Logan thought his best friend had killed his girlfriend - and to find out his dad's involvement - it's wonderfully messy emotionally. Duncan's reaction to being treated as a de facto pariah by those closest to him also needed to be worked out with Logan.
That said, I'm staking my claim to the Logan/Duncan/Veronica OT3 as my crack of choice. Logan/Veronica is just too pat, especially given how much of an asshole he is, and Duncan is, IMO, just too much of a weasel to hold my interest all by himself. Throw in VM, however, and all of a sudden you have unhappy families.
Which brings me to Lilly, who I dislike quite a bit. All we ever see Lilly do is screw around and call me crazy, but that does not 'characterisation' make. Why, precisely, was Lilly so beloved of everyone? We don't see her do anything that doesn't involve being flippant or self-involved. Her best friend is dumped and her reaction is incredibly flippant - it's only after she finds out the reason why that she has a reaction other than annoyance at the inconvenience.
So, yeah, I do feel that there was an opportunity missed to see Lilly fleshed out as a character other than a hell-raising spoiled teenager who liked to cheat on her boyfriend. Why did people (other than her mother) love her so much? For that matter, why did Veronica? I'd love to see some Veronica/Lilly slash that actually didn't make Lilly into a nympho and V into a boring little goody two shoes (what was up with that simpering almost-smile she wore throughout the flashbacks? Did it go with the ridiculously perfect too-long blonde wig?).
Also, while it occurs to me, Alyson Hannigan? I love her. I especially loved her relationship with Logan. Can we get some insight into what happens now that daddy dearest isn't around anymore to get her out of trouble?
I've just realised that I haven't actually talked about our heroine yet! I started off really liking Veronica but, oddly, got frustrated with her in S2. Part of it was her going back to Duncan which felt wrong for the character. That said, I would have said that same thing if she'd gone off with Logan - I wanted her to be on her own for a bit. I think that she works best as a single girl, and she was finally becoming defined by who she was, rather than what she was: Duncan's ex. (Why isn't she known as Lilly's best friend, btw? It's Duncan's ex, or Logan's girl, or Duncan's girl, or whatever.) Having her jump immediately back into a relationship and having all further discussions with Logan be about their (very) brief relationship was quite a frustrating. I was totally with Wallace - she isn't paying attention to him! She isn't being a good friend! She's focusing on having a happily-ever-after with her high school sweetheart. Safely out of high school, I can now gag.
Right. So. The big question - what ships do I, er, ship? Logan/Veronica/Duncan, S2 onwards, I think. Logan/Weevil, less so but still enough antagonism there. (By 'ship' I don't necessarily mean romantically, btw, although that's a big part - I'm more interested in the dynamic the characters have). Trina/Logan. (Yes, I like Logan! I suspect that this is going to make me join the majority, right? I'm ending up like the equivalent of a sark fan or something? Kill me now.) Lilly/Veronica. Please please please. Wallace/Veronica. Erm - I'm not that fussed about the parental figures here, they strike me as a bit Harry Potter-esque (I'm talking fando, not canon-wise). The abusive father, the perfect father, the absent mothers, the girl-everybody-wanted-that-married-the-nice-bloke - they strike me as a bit too sharply defined as this type or that type. I don't really like 'types'. But the kids are ok. :)
Overall, I like it. I'm interested in what they're doing to Veronica's character and why they're choosing to make her as gal-in-a-relationship again, but am willing to stand it for a little while until she comes to her senses and chucks Duncan and/or Logan.
In other news, athena25 got my beta-ed remix back to me with the verdict of, "it's fluff. You can do better." It felt like my english teacher had come to haunt me. Also, it's not precisely fluffy or anything, but the absence of plot upset her. So now I have to create plot. Damnit.
I am also down with a cold - again. Gosh, that didn't take long, did it? But I sound like sandpaper when I talk and/or breathe. So that's good. *cough*