VERONICA MARS (SERIES, THE) - DVD review

"Veronica Mars" is probably one of the best shows on TV you're not watching. Smart and savvy, fans know the series' strength resides in a myriad of aspects, from its heroic teenage sleuth, a colorful cast of supporting characters, and the topsy-turvy plot twists that are never quite what they seem. Factor in a healthy dose of sardonic banter with an added splash of Buffy style attitude and the result is an intelligent, fun filled hour of television.

Season Two begins at the onset of Veronica's (Kristen Bell) senior year. The episode ("Normal is the Watchword") runs with concurrent flashback bringing viewers up to speed with Veronica's current life situation, she's trying to lead a normal life after last year's events involving Harry Hamlin's actor turned murder, Aaron Echolls. Her then boy friend Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) has been accused of murdering a PCH gang member and her off again, on again boyfriend Duncan (Teddy Dunn) has come back into her life. Of course things can't remain all hunky dory in Neptune as it turns out that her best friend, Wallace (Percy Daggs III), is kicked off the basketball team, along with other star athletes, after testing positive on a drug test. Things take a turn for the worse when a field trip to visit Mayor Woody Goodman (Steve Guttenberg) ends in tragedy.

Needless to say, it's this bus crash mystery that's the driving force behind season two, leading Veronica to suspect local Irish gangsters, plastic surgeons and some of Neptune's more elite community members. Series creator, Rob Thomas has heightened the mystery element this season, adding an intricate web of lies, deception and reversals that keep you guessing until season's end. Plus there are also quite a few stand alone episodes, which work well on their own, but never lose site of the overarching mystery sustaining the second season's intrigue. Thomas demanded a lot from his viewers creating a myriad of concurrent story lines that end in a very rewarding end of season climax. While this may have been difficult to sustain over the course of the regular season, as collected here on DVD the plot threads aren't nearly as confusing.

The season also manages to effectively delve into the world of Neptune a bit more, offering viewers a glimpse into the lives of some the community's residents. Whether its Dick and Beaver's devious step mother played with sexy attitude by Charisma Carpenter, or the dealings of Weevil Navarro's (Francis Capra) biker gang, or the plight of Mayor Woody Goodman who hopes to go through with incorporation, essentially heightening the racial and class divides of the city, all of it is intriguing and gives a little more depth to the world in which "Veronica Mars" takes place.

A big part of the show's appeal, besides the clever writing, resides in the shows excellent cast. Enrico Colantoni is brilliant as Veronica's former Sheriff turned private-eye father, Keith Mars. He nicely blends old school tough guy bravado (along the lines of say Cagney or Bogart) with new school soft hearted parenting skills. Tina Majorino is great to watch in her beefier role as Veronica's gal pal and gadget guru Mac. Dohring lends his Logan a quiet and devilish charm with an air brooding anger bubbling up just under the surface. You'd have issues to if your dad slept with your girlfriend and was responsible for her murder. Daggs nicely rounds out the cast as Veronica's loyal and trustworthy best friend Wallace, Neptune High's star basketball player, acting as the perfect foil to Miss Mars' acerbic gifts.

Worth mentioning is the shows stamp of approval from the likes of Kevin Smith, who guest stars in an episode playing, conveniently enough, a store clerk. Plus there's a guest spot by Sunnydale's own papa, Joss Whedon, effectively handing over the torch of girl power proclivity prevalent in both shows. Fitting, considering "Veronica Mars" is always compared to Whedon's creation and often called "Whedon-esque" in spirit.

The set is broken up as follows:
Disc One: "Normal Is the Watchword," "Driver Ed," "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang," "Green-Eyed Monster," Disc Two: "Blast from the Past," "Rat Saw God," "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner," "Ahoy Mateys," Disc Three: "My Mother, the Fiend," "One Angry Veronica," "Donut Run," "Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle," Disc Four: "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough," "Versatile Toppings," "The Quick and the Wed," "The Rapes of Graff," Disc Five: "Plan B," "I Am God," "Nevermind the Buttocks," "Look Who's Stalking," Disc Six: "Happy Go Lucky," "Not Pictured"

Video:
As with the season one set the episodes are presented in 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio. The DVD transfer is very well done. Colors are rich and bright as they pop off the screen. The second season retains much of the pop-noir edge, with the colors and production design being put to great use. The transfer does a wonderful job of capturing the rich color tones and trapped in a dark corner sensibility often associated with the genre. Overall, this is a solid transfer. Spanish and French subtitles are also included, along closed captions.

Audio:
The audio is rather ordinary presented in a clear Dolby Digital 2.0 track. A dialogue and voice-over heavy show, music never overpowers any scenes. Everything, including ambient noises and effects, are well balanced.

Extras
As with the series' season one set, Warner Bros. has included a somewhat disappointing mix of extras, though they do give us a little more this time around. Spread over the first few discs are a plethora of deleted scenes; nothing spectacular but they offer a few more morsels for fans to chew on. Two featurettes are also included, the most promising being "A Day on the Set of Veronica Mars." The featurette has series star Kristin Bell tote around a camera for the day and give an inside look into the making of the film. This all sounds good but given the 7 minute running time it ends up being more of a let down than what it initially promises.

"Veronica Mars: Not Your Average Teen Detective" is a pretty standard electronic press kit style extra (running about five minutes) that features clips from episodes, none too deep interviews with Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell.

The highlight of the extras is an 8 minute gag reel that is rather hilarious. Bell is front and center providing most of the laughs as she fumbles lines here and there or reacts off of her co-stars' mistimed deliveries. It's a fun little piece that is sure to please fans (plus Joss Whedon's little riff is worth checking out on its own).

Film Value
While not as strong on the whole as season one "Veronica Mars: Season Two" still offers enough worth tuning in for. The show is smart, funny and full of reverence for the mystery/noir genre, and creates a world all its own. With season two the writer's demand a bit more from their viewers, handing out interweaving story lines like candy at Halloween. The strength is that it all manages to work, more so when viewers can watch episodes closer together or back to back rather than spread out over weeks. TV has yet another great drama definitely worth checking out.