VERONICA MARS

'''Veronica Mars''' is a critically-acclaimed teen drama/mystery neo-noir series. It premiered on UPN on September 22, 2004 and was cancelled on May 22, 2007, at the end of its third season, which aired on The CW Television Network. The show starred Kristen Bell as the title character: a student, progressing from high school to college during the series, who moonlights as a private investigator under the wing of her detective father. Said to be "a little bit ''Buffy'' and a little bit ''Bogart''",^[1]
the show balanced murder mystery, high school and college drama, and social commentary with sarcasm and off-beat humor.
The third season of ''Veronica Mars'' premiered in the United States and Canada on October 3, 2006, at 9 pm ET/PT on The CW and Sun TV (ET only) respectively, a time slot that remained unchanged throughout the season. The season featured two mystery arcs — one presented from its October season debut until the end of November, the other from late January 2007 until the end of February.
On March 6, 2007, ''Veronica Mars'' was put on hiatus for eight weeks in favor of the new reality show '', which aired in that time slot for its entire eight-episode run. ''Veronica Mars'' returned with the final five episodes on May 1, 2007.
When the CW Network announced its 2007–2008 fall schedule on May 17, 2007, ''Veronica Mars'' was not included. On June 11, 2007, series creator Rob Thomas confirmed that ''Veronica Mars'' had officially been cancelled by the CW.^[2]
Though talks had been reported between Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell and The CW's Dawn Ostroff about a new series, it is unclear if this would be related to ''Mars'' or not.^[3]^[4]
Thomas has stated that he is interested in writing a feature film based on the series, in the interests of providing closure to the storylines and character arcs. He created a trailer that takes place years after the third season ends, with the working title "Veronica in the FBI". It is due to be released on the ''Veronica Mars'' third season DVD.^[5]
As well as the feature film possibility, there have been talks of a ''Veronica Mars'' comic book series^[6] in the vein of Joss Whedon's ''Buffy Season Eight''.

Plot summary

Background events

The series revolves around Veronica Mars, a high-school student and amateur investigator in the fictional Southern California seaside town of Neptune. The first season's main storyline centers on the murder of Veronica's best friend, Lilly Kane, and Veronica's search for Lilly's killer.
The show begins with flashbacks of Veronica's life before the murder. As the daughter of well-respected County Sheriff, Keith Mars, she is living a fairly easy life, hanging out with the "09ers", wealthy students from the fictional 90909 ZIP code, and for a time dating Lilly's brother, Duncan Kane. Since Lilly's murder, however, things have fallen apart for Veronica. Keith Mars' accusation that Lilly's father, billionaire Jake Kane, is Lilly's killer leads to a recall election in which Keith loses his job as sheriff. Afterwards, Veronica's mother Lianne develops a drinking problem and leaves town for unknown reasons. As a result of all this, Veronica becomes ostracized by her former 09er friends.
After losing the recall election, Keith Mars opens "Mars Investigations", a detective agency, where Veronica works part-time. During the series, Veronica uses what she learns at the job to help solve crimes and conduct her own investigations.

Season One

In the course of other investigations, Veronica comes across two pieces of evidence about the Lilly Kane murder case that shatter the status quo. The first breaks the watertight alibi of almost everyone involved with Lilly, including the entire Kane family; the second suggests that Lilly's confessed killer, Abel Koontz, almost certainly did not commit the crime. Veronica resolves to find the true killer.
As Veronica investigates Lilly's murder, she also works on unrelated cases each week, which are introduced and resolved in each episode. Other important investigations that span the season include Veronica's search for her wayward mother and for the person who raped her at the 09er party.
Veronica is joined in her "non-09er" life by new allies: new Neptune High student Wallace Fennel; Eli “Weevil” Navarro, head of the Latino biker gang the PCHers; and Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie, Neptune High's resident computer genius. Using her friends' resources, as well as those provided by her father and his contacts, Veronica gains a reputation for sleuthing and receives an increasing number of requests for help from her schoolmates.
Her new friends also help Veronica deal with Logan Echolls, Lilly's boyfriend at the time of her death, whom Veronica terms the "obligatory psychotic jackass" of Neptune High. Logan indirectly blames Veronica for Lilly’s death and takes pleasure in making her life difficult. When he needs help with traumatic events in his own family, though, he ends up turning to Veronica for help, and near the end of the season they unexpectedly fall into a relationship, shocking both themselves and the other 09ers.

Season Two

The second season begins with the introduction of two ongoing mysteries. First, Logan, in a bout of drunkenness spurred by Veronica's readiness to believe the worst of him, picks a fight with Weevil and the PCHers and ends up accused of killing PCHer Felix Toombs, a charge he denies. The charges put Logan on the wrong side not only of the law, but also of Weevil and his gang. The pressures of the episode and its aftermath provoke Logan to revert to his former delinquent ways, which in turn causes Veronica to break up with him. Partway through the season, Weevil is finally convinced of Logan's innocence, and the two team up to find the real killer, with occasional help from Veronica.
The second mystery is introduced in the final minutes of the first episode, when a school bus full of Neptune High students careens off a cliff, killing almost everyone on board. Veronica, who was supposed to be on the bus, makes it her mission to discover why the bus crashed.
This season shows Veronica’s life returning to much the way it had been before Lilly’s death. After breaking up with Logan during the summer, she reunites with Duncan Kane and is again accepted, albeit begrudgingly, by the 09ers. However, her private-eye sideline and tough persona keep her from being truly assimilated back into the rich crowd, as is made evident in the ironically titled season opener "Normal Is the Watchword."
09ers Dick and Cassidy “Beaver” Casablancas become regulars, and the season shows them dealing with a gold-digging stepmother, Kendall Casablancas, with whom they are left when their father flees the country on the lam from the SEC. Wallace also discovers that his biological father is alive, and moves to Chicago to live with him briefly before returning halfway through the season.
In a slight departure from the format of the first season, the two main mysteries are solved at different times: the Felix Toombs murder five episodes before the end of the season (in "Plan B"), and the bus-crash mystery in the final episode ("Not Pictured"). Much emotional tension is resolved as well, with Veronica reuniting with Logan in the final minutes of "Not Pictured."

Season Three

The third season begins with Veronica and Logan starting their freshman year at Neptune's Hearst College, along with second-season regulars Wallace and Dick. Two new regulars are introduced: Stosh "Piz" Piznarski, Wallace’s roommate, and Parker Lee, Mac’s roommate. Mac and Sheriff Don Lamb also become regulars.
The season was initially designed to have three separate mysteries that would be introduced and resolved discretely instead of concurrently. The first mystery took place over the first nine episodes. Originally, the second mystery was to be seven episodes long and the third mystery was to occur over the last six episodes of the season. This was changed when The CW, the show's new carrier, ordered only a 20-episode season instead of the usual 22 episodes. The second mystery arc was shortened to six episodes,^[7]
and the third mystery was first changed from a six-episode arc to a five-episode arc and then, after an eight-week hiatus for the show was announced, to stand-alone episodes designed to be friendlier to new viewers.^[8]^[9]
The first mystery, introduced in the Season Two episode "The Rapes of Graff," follows Veronica’s attempts to identify the Hearst College rapist. This mystery is solved in the ninth episode, "Spit & Eggs." The next mystery, a murder, is introduced in the same episode.
The season chronicles Veronica and Logan’s failing attempts to maintain their relationship in the face of Veronica’s ingrained mistrust. Logan compounds the problem, first when, out of fear for Veronica's safety, he hires a bodyguard,^[10]
and then again when he has a sexual tryst with Veronica's high-school nemesis Madison Sinclair while his on-again/off-again relationship with Veronica is off. At the end of the second mystery arc, Logan has begun dating Mac's roommate, Parker.
Early on in the season, Keith adds to Veronica's cynicism by beginning an affair with a married client, Harmony Chase. Meanwhile, Wallace struggles to balance academics and sports, and his roommate, Piz, develops a crush on Veronica. Veronica and Piz become a couple after she and Logan have what appears to be a permanent split, in the middle of Season Three. Dick Casablancas, who lived with Logan until joining a fraternity house on campus, has a breakdown and appeals to Logan for help. Mac, meanwhile, despite having emotional scars from the previous year's incident with Beaver, takes up with a new love interest in "Show Me the Monkey." She later dates one of Veronica's contacts on campus.
Near the end of the second mystery arc, Sheriff Don Lamb is killed, and Keith Mars is appointed interim sheriff. Jake Kane reappears in the intended season finale as a leader of "The Castle," a secret order at Hearst College based on the The Order of the Skull and Bones. The fate of Mr. Mars's election campaign for sheriff (opposed by rival P.I. Vinnie Van Lowe) is unresolved at the end of the final episode. Though Veronica is still dating Piz, the possibility of yet another reconciliation with Logan emerges when Logan and Parker break up over his continuing love for Veronica, and Veronica responds less negatively than might be expected to Logan beating up the man who spread a sex video of Veronica on the internet.

Character histories

Main characters

Cast of season three

★ 'Veronica Mars' (Kristen Bell) — College student and skilled private detective.

★ 'Logan Echolls' (Jason Dohring) — "Bad-boy" 09er son of an A-list actor and Veronica's on/off boyfriend.

★ 'Wallace Fennel' (Percy Daggs III) — Veronica's best friend, frequent partner in mystery solving, and basketball team star.

★ 'Dick Casablancas' (Ryan Hansen) (Season 2–3) (recurring previously) — 09er friend of Logan, a womanizer and former high-school bully turned obnoxious frat boy.

★ 'Parker Lee' (Julie Gonzalo) (Season 3) — Mac's extroverted roommate at Hearst College.

★ 'Stosh "Piz" Piznarski' (Chris Lowell) (Season 3) — Wallace's roommate at Hearst College; a music lover with his own campus radio show.

★ 'Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie' (Tina Majorino) (Season 3) (recurring previously) — Computer expert befriended by Veronica; noted for her sarcasm.

★ 'Eli “Weevil” Navarro' (Francis Capra) — Former leader of the PCH Biker gang and current maintenance worker at Hearst College. Friend of Veronica, but often suspected by her of various crimes.

★ 'Keith Mars' (Enrico Colantoni) — Veronica's father, a private investigator and sometime Balboa County Sheriff.

★ Mallory Dent (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) (episodes 2, 5-7 of Season 1) — Journalism teacher at Neptune High.

★ Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn) (Seasons 1-2) — Lilly's brother and Veronica's ex-boyfriend.

★ Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas (Kyle Gallner) (Season 2) (recurring previously) — Dick's introverted younger brother.

★ Jackie Cook (Tessa Thompson) (Season 2) — Romantic interest of Wallace and daughter of a famous baseball player.

★ Don Lamb (Michael Muhney) (Season 3) (recurring previously) — Balboa County Sheriff, who won the office from Keith in the recall election spearheaded by Jake Kane. Is generally condescending and abrasive towards Veronica and Keith Mars.

Recurring characters

Family

★ Kendall Casablancas (Charisma Carpenter) — Beaver and Dick's gold-digging stepmother. Ostensibly an airhead, but revealed later to be a shrewd con woman. Has done time in jail to protect her lover, Cormac Fitzpatrick (Jason Beghe). However, Cormac apparently shoots her dead, nonetheless, at the behest of his brother, Liam (Rodney Rowland), in the Season Three premiere.

★ Richard Casablancas (David Starzyk) — Beaver and Dick's father; adoring toward Dick but neglectful of Beaver, the latter who exposes his real-estate fraud.

★ Terrence Cook (Jeffrey Sams) — Ex-major-league baseball player, gambler and Jackie's formerly estranged father.

★ Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin) — Oscar-winning A-list actor. Logan and Trina's father. Easily angered, he physically abuses Logan when Logan misbehaves, but tolerates Trina. He retired from acting in the middle of season one in order to spend more time with his family.

★ Lynn Echolls (Lisa Rinna) — Logan's mother and Trina's stepmother. An actress, she apparently committed suicide in season one by jumping off the Coronado Bridge after finding out her husband was chronically unfaithful and would leave her destitute if she sought a divorce. However, her body was never recovered.

★ Trina Echolls (Alyson Hannigan) — Logan's stepsister, Aaron's adopted daughter and Lynn's stepdaughter. An attention-seeking would-be actress.

★ Alicia Fennel (Erica Gimpel) — Wallace's mother; dated Keith Mars at the end of season one and the beginning of season two.

★ Celeste Kane (Lisa Thornhill) — Lilly and Duncan's mother. Loathed Veronica, partly out of the fear that Jake Kane was Veronica's biological father and partly because of Jake's relationship with Veronica's mother.

★ Jake Kane (Kyle Secor) — Lilly and Duncan's father, and a software billionaire. Lianne Mars's sweetheart in high school and beyond; was having an affair with her at the start of season one.

★ Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried) — Duncan's older sister, Veronica's best friend, and Logan's girlfriend. Had a secret sexual relationship with Eli Navarro and Aaron Echolls. The story of her murder is shown in flashback in the pilot episode.

★ Lianne Mars (Corinne Bohrer) — Veronica's estranged, alcoholic mother.

★ Nathan Woods (Cress Williams) — Wallace's biological father with a shady past as an undercover cop.

Residents of Neptune

★ Steve Batando (Richard Grieco) — Struggling actor and drug addict as well as Mindy O'Dell's ex-husband. Killed Lamb with a bat then was shot and killed by Sacks.

★ Lloyd Blankenship (Steve Rankin) — Newspaper reporter and ally of Keith.

★ Danny Boyd (Tayler Sheridan) — Liam Fitzpatrick's dim-witted cousin and accomplice.

★ Harmony Chase (Laura San Giacomo) — Married woman whose attraction to Keith leads him to commit adultery.

★ Leo D'Amato (Max Greenfield) — Former Sheriff's Deputy and Veronica's ex-boyfriend. Re-hired by Keith in season three.

★ Liam Fitzpatrick (Rodney Rowland) — Formidable Irish Catholic gangster and drug dealer.

★ Woody Goodman (Steve Guttenberg) — Owner of the Sharks baseball team and Balboa County Executive. More commonly known as the "Mayor of Neptune", although the position is actually "County Supervisor." Revealed at the end of season two to have molested boys through his involvement with Little League teams. Woody was killed when his private plane was blown up by explosives planted by Cassidy Casablancas.

★ Tom Griffith (Rick Peters) — Plastic surgeon and coke-addict who was asked by the Fitzpatricks to testify that Logan killed Felix. Logan retaliated by dating his daughter Hannah until he dropped his charges.

★ Abel Koontz (Christian Clemenson) — Lilly Kane's falsely confessed murderer.

★ Cliff McCormack (Daran Norris) — Public Defender and Mars family friend.

★ Mindy O'Dell (Jaime Ray Newman) — Dean O'Dell's wife (later his widow); is having an affair with Hearst professor Hank Landry in season three. Mindy is eventually killed by Landry, though he claims it was an accident.

★ Jerry Sacks (Brandon Hillock) — Sheriff Lamb's right-hand man.

★ Vinnie Van Lowe (Ken Marino) — Keith's rival private investigator. Announced his intentions to run for Sheriff against Keith in the special election.

★ Clarence Wiedman (Christopher B. Duncan) — Head of security at Kane Software. Kills Aaron Echolls at the end of season two on Duncan's orders.

Neptune High

★ Van Clemmons (Duane Daniels) — Vice Principal turned Principal of Neptune High. Enlists Veronica's help on various matters.

★ Vincent "Butters" Clemmons (Adam Hendershott) — A student at Neptune High; Van Clemmons' son.

★ Tommy "Lucky" Dohanic (James Jordan) — A janitor at Neptune High. Was wounded in Iraq. Previously acted as a bat boy for Woody Goodman's baseball team, the Sharks. Deceased.

★ Douglas "Corny" (Jonathan Chesner) — Stoner, occasional ally of Veronica's.

★ Molly Fitzpatrick (Annie Campbell) — Member of Fitzpatrick family and Felix's girlfriend until his death.

★ Sean Friedrich (Kevin Sheridan) — 09er with a penchant for thievery and drug dealing.

★ Gia Goodman (Krysten Ritter) — Woody Goodman's daughter, a student at Neptune High.

★ Hannah Griffith (Jessy Schram) — An 09er student at Neptune High and daughter of the false witness to Logan killing Felix Toombs; Logan's girlfriend for several episodes.

★ Deborah Hauser (Kari Coleman) — Divorced sex education teacher with a bitter approach to her students.

★ Rebecca James (Paula Marshall) — School guidance counselor; briefly dated Keith Mars.

★ Meg Manning (Alona Tal) — 09er cheerleader and the daughter of mentally abusive radical Christian parents; befriends Veronica halfway through season one. Dates Duncan late in season one, but is abandoned by him between seasons one and two. Survives the bus crash in the season two premiere, but is in a prolonged coma and later revealed to be pregnant with Duncan's child. Dies of a blood clot shortly after regaining consciousness. The child, a baby girl known at birth as Faith Manning and renamed Lilly Kane by Duncan after his sister, survives and Duncan flees to Australia with her to escape Meg's parents.

★ Eduardo "Thumper" Orozco (James Molina) — PCH biker who betrays Weevil and starts dealing for the Irish gang the Fitzpatricks. Murdered deliberately by the Fitzpatricks and indirectly by Weevil and inadvertently but directly by Logan.

★ Samuel Nelson Pope (Michael Kostroff) — Teacher of Future Business Leaders of America and one of the few ethical people of Neptune.

★ Madison Sinclair (Amanda Noret) — Dick's ex-girlfriend and Neptune High's resident bitch. Also has had an illicit affair with Sheriff Lamb. Claims in season three to have had a sexual liaison with Logan while he and Veronica were broken up.

★ Felix Toombs (Brad Bufanda) — Weevil's former right-hand man. Killed supposedly by Logan, but actually by Thumper, a fellow PCHer.

★ Troy Vandegraff (Aaron Ashmore) — Childhood friend of Duncan's; Veronica's boyfriend for the early stretch of season one. He betrays Veronica and leaves town, but he is somewhat reformed by the time they meet again later in the series.

Hearst College

★ Tom Barry (Matt McKenzie) — Wallace's basketball coach who was diagnosed with a terminal brain disease and allowed himself to be killed to save his family the suffering.

★ Fern Delgado (Cher Ferreyra) — Disgruntled feminist and member of the Take Back the Night program.

★ Chip Diller (David Tom) — President of the Pi Sig frat house. Veronica wrongly accuses him of rape in season two.

★ Tim Foyle (James Jordan) — Teaching Assistant in Professor Landry's class; Veronica's self-described rival. Killed Dean O'Dell to frame Prof. Landry.

★ Mason (Robert Ri'Chard) — Hot-tempered basketball jock and Wallace's new friend.

★ Max (Adam Rose) — Geeky student who provides test answers for cash and once fell for a prostitute. Is now dating Mac.

★ Mercer Hayes (Ryan Devlin) — Friend of Logan and Dick's, who runs an illegal casino out of his dorm room and has his own radio show. Uses GHB along with his associate Moe to rape Hearst girls.

★ Hank Landry (Patrick Fabian) — Veronica's Criminology professor and admirer of Veronica. Is having an affair with Dean O'Dell's wife Mindy O'Dell. Accidentally kills Mindy when he is framed for the murder of the Dean by his TA, Tim Foyle.

★ Claire Nordhouse (Krista Kalmus) — Feminist who tried to fake her own rape to help shut down the Pi Sig frat house.

★ Cyrus O'Dell (Ed Begley, Jr.) — Dean of Hearst College. Initially Veronica's adversary, gradually becoming her ally. Employs Keith to help him out on a few occasions. Discovers his wife's infidelity and confronts her. He is killed by Tim Foyle during the last episode of the first mystery arc. His body is discovered by Weevil the next day.

★ Bronson Pope (Michael Mitchell) — Animal rights activist and Mac's first post-Cassidy boyfriend.

★ Moe Slater (Andrew McClain) — R.A. of the Hearst College dorms. Helps Mercer rape Hearst girls by giving him an alibi and drugging the girls for him.

★ Nish Sweeney (Chastity Dotson) — Former Editor of the ''Hearst Free Press'' and feminist with a hatred of Dean O'Dell and the Pi Sigs.

★ David Winkler (Michael B. Silver) — Wallace's Mechanical Engineering professor.

Episodes and airings

Main articles: List of Veronica Mars episodes

United States

The third season of the show aired in the United States and Canada at 9/8c on The CW. Throughout the third season, the series served as a lead-out following ''Gilmore Girls'', a well-established series with a similar audience. Previous pairings, including those with first-run or encore episodes of ''America's Next Top Model'' and sitcoms during its UPN tenure, were thought to be less compatible.

U.S. television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of ''Veronica Mars'' on both UPN and The CW.
''Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.''

Season	Timeslot	Season Première	Season Finale	TV Season	Network	Rank	Rank Network	Viewers (in millions)
'1'	Tuesday 9:00 p.m.	September 22, 2004	May 10, 2005	2004-2005	'UPN'	'#148'	'#15/15'	'2.5^[11]'
'2'	Wednesday 9:00 p.m. ''(from September 28, 2005 to April 5, 2006)'' Tuesday 9:00 p.m. ''(as of April 11, 2006)	September 28, 2005	May 9, 2006	2005-2006	'UPN'	'#145'	'#11/15'	'2.3^[12]'
'3'	Tuesday 9:00 p.m. ''(from October 3, 2006 to May 15, 2007)'' Tuesday 8:00 p.m. ''(May 22, 2007)	October 3, 2006	May 22, 2007	2006-2007	'The CW'	'#138'	'#13/17'	'2.5' ^[13]'

''Veronica Mars'' was officially greenlit on May 20, 2004, with the announcement of UPN's 2004-2005 television schedule.^[14]
During the first season, the show aired Tuesdays at 9 pm ET and garnered low ratings, coming in consistently last in its time slot behind The WB's ''One Tree Hill''. However, the combination of its vocal fan base, strong critical praise, and the fact that it fit UPN's desired young female viewer demographic was enough to convince the network to renew the show for a second season. ''Veronica Mars'' is the only UPN drama series of the 2004–2005 season to survive into the 2005–2006 season, surviving the cancellation of higher-rated UPN shows ''Kevin Hill'' and ''. MTV presented an encore run of the series (only the first half of the first season); episodes aired about eight days later, on Wednesdays at 7pm ET.
In July and August 2005, UPN's corporate sibling CBS also aired repeats of the show on Fridays at 8pm ET, in an effort to increase exposure for the series. The show's pilot episode was originally tested at CBS and almost picked up by the television network. The ratings it scored during its summer 2005 run created more audience traction on its home network, which could be seen when the second season began on UPN the following September.
''Veronica Mars'' was officially renewed for a second season on May 19, 2005.^[15]
For the second season, the show was moved to Wednesdays at 9pm ET. Toward the end of the fifth cycle of ''Top Model'' in December 2005, the show garnered relatively high ratings, including one of its highest rated episodes of the season, "One Angry Veronica." However, the show's ratings fell in part because of the failure of ''South Beach'', which ended up losing viewers and giving ''Veronica Mars'' a weak lead-in. ''Lost'' on ABC and FOX's ''American Idol'', both scheduled in the same time slot, also contributed to ratings woes for the show. In addition, several UPN stations regularly carried weekday college and NBA basketball games over the winter, causing ''Veronica Mars'' to be pre-empted and moved to a weekend time slot that was inconvenient for its regular viewers.
On February 15, two days before the scheduled new episode "Versatile Toppings" was due to air, the episode was substituted with a rerun, and shortly afterward, UPN announced that the show would go on hiatus until the beginning of ''Top Model's new cycle in mid-March. This development was met with mixed reactions, with some afraid the show would lose momentum being pulled through February sweeps, and others thankful because the rest of the second season would air uninterrupted and with a much more solid lead-in. The show resumed on March 15, but still struggled in the ratings.
UPN had tested reruns on Tuesday night at 9pm ET for a few weeks before the show resumed new Wednesday episodes to see if ratings were stable in that slot. The former ''Mars'' time slot had been a disaster for the network since fall, with both ''Sex, Love & Secrets'' and ''Get This Party Started'' finishing dead last in the Nielsen season ratings chart for the 2005-2006 season.
UPN decided to return the show to its former Tuesday time slot on April 11, 2006 to avoid the ''Lost''/''American Idol'' juggernaut. Ratings dropped in the first week, but stabilized by the end of the season.
Overall, in its second season, the show ranked 145th out of 156 in the season ratings chart.
However, UPN renewed the show for another year. Some viewers believe they were given a heads-up during the season two finale when Duncan Kane, answering his phone, asks, "C.W.?" and is answered, "It's a done deal" — although this exchange also fits the plotline rationally in that the caller's name is Clarence Wiedman ("C.W.") and he has just completed an important job for Duncan.
Airing of the show was consistent on Tuesday nights at 9pm ET in the network's final summer, although several UPN affiliates dropped the network immediately after May sweeps (like Salt Lake City station KPNZ), pre-empted UPN programming often (as in the case of Green Bay's WACY, which pre-empted the network's second hour where possible), or moved it to a low-viewed slot in the late night hours (like WBQC in Cincinnati).
Individual ratings for original episode broadcasts for season two can be found on the individual episode pages.
On May 16, 2006 it was confirmed that ''Veronica Mars'' would be part of the new The CW's Fall 2006–2007 lineup once The WB and UPN ceased operations in fall 2006. The show was initially given a 13-episode order, with the option for more if it did well in the Nielsen ratings. On November 16, 2006 a full season order was confirmed for the third season, although the number of episodes was scaled back to 20 instead of the traditional 22.^[16] Although ''TV Guide'' suspected this was a sign that a fourth season was unlikely, the episode order of 20 more likely stemmed from the fact that The CW did not have enough money to produce 22.
In December 2006, ''Veronica Mars'' season three was added to the iTunes Store and landed in the top 10 of Season Pass subscriptions, ahead of such notable series as ''Lost'' season 3 and Scrubs season 6.
On January 19, 2007 CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff announced that, while she was pleased with the gradual improvement of ''Veronica Mars' ratings, the show would be put on hiatus after February sweeps to air a new reality series, '', in order to launch that show, and prevent the out-of-sweeps rerun erosion common to serialized dramas. The hiatus began March 6 and ended May 1, at which time ''Veronica Mars'' returned for the last five episodes of the season, which will have non-serialized plotlines. At the CW Upfront on May 17, 2007 Ostroff announced that ''Veronica Mars'' "is dead", but Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas may collaborate on another project for the CW network.^[4]
On June 11, 2007 Michael Ausiello broke the news that Veronica Mars has been officially cancelled by the CW, after receiving an email from Rob Thomas.^[18]
In July 2007 in preparation for closing the Veronica Mars forum on the CW website, a fan based forum Neptune Rising was established so fans could stay in touch and work on campaigns to save their favorite show. ^[19]

Merchandise

Soundtrack

The theme song for the show is The Dandy Warhols' hit single "We Used to Be Friends", from their 2003 album ''Welcome to the Monkey House''. Season three's theme song was remixed in a softer piano style with dark and vibrant electronic beats to reflect the more noir-influenced opening credits. The composer for the show, Josh Kramon, writes the original music heard in the background of most of the show. The sound, which is constructed to convey the film noir themes and hence is different from typical television scores, is highly reminiscent of Air and Zero 7.^[20] Air's music has been featured in certain episodes.
''Veronica Mars: Original Television Soundtrack'', a song compilation from the series' first and second seasons, was released by Nettwerk Records on September 27, 2005, containing the following 14 songs:
# "We Used to Be Friends" (theme song) - The Dandy Warhols
# "I Hear the Bells" - Mike Doughty
# "I Know I Know I Know" - Tegan and Sara
# "I Turn My Camera On" - Spoon
# "No Sleep Tonight" - The Faders
# "Dakota" - Stereophonics
# "Sway" - The Perishers
# "Long Time Coming" - Delays
# "On Your Porch" - The Format
# "Ocean City Girl" - Ivy
# "Momentary Thing" - Something Happens
# "The Way You Are" - 46bliss
# "Lost & Found" - Adrienne Pierce
# "Lily Dreams On" - Cotton Mather

Home video

Region 1 (USA/Canada)

'Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season'
'Set Details'		'Special Features'
★ 22 Episodes ★ 6-Disc Set ★ 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio ★ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) ★ Subtitles: English, Spanish and French		★ Extended Episode ★ ★ ''"Pilot"'' ★ Unaired Opening Sequence ★ Over 20 Minutes of Unaired Scenes
'Release Date'
	October 11, 2005

'Veronica Mars: The Complete Second Season'
'Set Details'		'Special Features'
★ 22 Episodes ★ 6-Disc Set ★ 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio ★ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) ★ Subtitles: Spanish and French		★ 2 Featurettes ★ ★ "A Day on the Set with Veronica Mars" ★ ★ "Veronica Mars: Not Your Average Teen Detective" ★ Gag Reel ★ Promo trailer for Season 3/The CW^[21] ★ Additional Scenes, including: ★ ★ Alternate Ending to ''"My Mother, the Fiend"'''Note:'' 'Episode recaps removed from all episodes.''
'Release Date'
	August 22, 2006

'Veronica Mars: The Complete Third Season'
'Set Details'		'Special Features'
★ 20 Episodes ★ 6-Disc Set ★ 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio ★ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) ★ Subtitles: Spanish and French		★ Featurettes ★ ★ Pitching Season 4 - An in-depth interview w/ Creator Rob Thomas discussing a new direction for the series presented to network executives that picks up years later, with Veronica as a rookie FBI agent. ★ ★ Going Undercover with Rob Thomas - Show Creator Rob Thomas walks us through some of the most memorable moments from Season 3 ★ ★ Webisode Gallery with cast interviews and various set tours ★ ★ Unaired Scenes with introductions by Rob Thomas ★ ★ Gag Reel 'Note:'' 'Episode recaps removed from all episodes.''
'Release Date'
	October 23, 2007

Region 2 (Europe, Italy)

The first season will be released in November 2007 in Italy by Warner Bros..

Region 4 (Australia)

Warner Bros. Australia have plans to release the show on DVD, but have encountered some legal problems caused by music licensing. The first season was originally slated for a 2006 release, but was postponed soon after. It is still unclear, at this stage, whether or not these legal issues will be resolved anytime soon. ''TV Week'' has stated that the DVD will not be released, and it be best to purchase it on Amazon.com.

Other

In addition to the DVD sets and soundtrack album released, a set of four collectible minibusts have been produced by CineQuest.^[22]

Reception

★ ''LA Weekly''
:"In this smart, engaging series about a former popular girl turned crime-solving high school outcast, the hard-boiled dialogue comes from its teen protagonist's mouth in a way that stabs any potential cutesiness in the heart with an ice pick."^[23]

★ ''Chicago Sun Times''
:"On Veronica Mars, wholesome is out; gritty reality is in. The show never soft-pedals the timeless, fundamental truth that high school is hell."^[24]

★ ''The Boston Phoenix''
:"Veronica Mars is a character study masquerading as a high-school drama."^[25]

★ ''The Village Voice''
:"Veronica Mars is a sharp teen noir in the making. Tinged with class resentment and nostalgia for Veronica's lost innocence, this series pulses with promise."^[26]

★ PopMatters
:"Equal parts intrigue, drama, and humor, Veronica Mars is also a lesson book for the disenfranchised. Few tv series aim so high; even fewer succeed so well."^[27]

★ ''Time'' magazine
:"One of the 6 best dramas on TV."^[28]

★ Joss Whedon
:"Best. Show. Ever. Seriously, I've never gotten more wrapped up in a show I wasn't making, and maybe even more than those. (...) These guys know what they're doing on a level that intimidates me. It's the Harry Potter of shows."^[29]

★ Kevin Smith
:"[Veronica Mars] is, hands-down, the best show on television right now, and proof that TV can be far better than cinema. Some of the best TV ever produced"^[30]

★ Stephen King
:"Nancy Drew meets Philip Marlowe, and the result is pure nitro. Why is Veronica Mars so good? It bears little resemblance to life as I know it, but I can't take my eyes off the damn thing."^[31]

★ Ed Brubaker
:"The best mystery show ever made in America."^[32]

★ Paul Cornell
:"''Veronica Mars'', ... my favourite ever tv show. Rob Thomas, I love you. The comic book continuation will rock."[1]

TV critics' Top Ten lists

'2005'^[33]

★ AFI's TV Programs Of The Year

★ Village Voice

★ Chicago Tribune

★ Entertainment Weekly #6

★ Newsday #5

★ People Weekly #7

★ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette #9

★ Pop Matters #5

★ San Jose Mercury-News #5

★ Time - Best Returning Shows #4

★ USA Today #6

★ Ain't It Cool News #2

★ MSN TV^[34]
'2006'^[35]

★ Chicago Tribune #1

★ Ain't It Cool News #1

★ Metacritic.com #6

Awards

'2005-2006 IV Awards'

★ Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kristen Bell (Won)

★ Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Enrico Colantoni (Nominated)

★ Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jason Dohring (Nominated)

★ Best Individual Episode of a Drama Series: 2x22 - Not Pictured (Won)
'American Film Institute Awards'

★ Television Programs of the Year - 2005 (Won)
'Family Television Awards'

★ Favorite Father/Daughter - 2006 - Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni (Won)
'International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards'

★ The Maxwell Weinberg Publicist Showmanship Award for Television - 2006 (Nominated)
'Satellite Awards'

★ Outstanding Actress in a Series, Drama - 2005 - Kristen Bell (Nominated)

★ Actress in a Series, Drama - 2006 - Kristen Bell (Nominated)
'Saturn Awards'

★ Best Actress on Television - 2005 - Kristen Bell (Nominated)

★ Best Network Television Series - 2006 (Nominated)

★ Best Actress on Television - 2006 - Kristen Bell (Won)

★ Best Actress on Television - 2007 - Kristen Bell (Nominated)
'Teen Choice Awards'

★ Choice TV Breakout Show - 2005 (Nominated)

★ Choice TV Breakout Performance, Female - 2005 - Kristen Bell (Nominated)

★ Choice TV Actress: Drama/Action Adventure - 2006 - Kristen Bell (Nominated)

★ Choice TV Sidekick - 2006 - Percy Daggs III (Nominated)

★ Choice TV Parental Unit - 2006 - Enrico Colantoni (Nominated)
'Television Critics Association Awards'

★ Outstanding New Program of the Year - 2005 (Nominated)

★ Individual Achievement in Drama - 2005 - Kristen Bell (Nominated)
'Writers Guild of America Awards'

★ On-Air Promotion (Radio or Television) - 2007 (Nominated)

★ Episodic Drama - 2006

★
★ Episode: 2x01 - Normal Is the Watchword - Rob Thomas (Writer) (Nominated)

Fan campaigns

''Veronica Mars'' has attracted a loyal and devoted fanbase that includes internet communities. Many of them have taken part in minor and major campaigns to bring more viewers and publicity to ''Veronica Mars'' in an effort to ensure the show's success.
Among the fanbase are a considerable number of influential television and movie writers, drawn by the show's noir edge and quip-filled writing. These include, notably, Joss Whedon (''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', ''Firefly''), who has called ''Veronica Mars'' "the best show ever" and who made a guest appearance on the Season Two episode "Rat Saw God"; and Kevin Smith (''Clerks'', ''Dogma''), who guest-starred in the Season Two episode "Driver Ed." Both men have directed their own adherents toward the show, with Whedon sending out calls to ''Firefly'' and ''Buffy'' fans on their various websites to save ''Veronica Mars'' when it was put on hiatus.
A group of devoted fans on LiveJournal who call themselves Cloud Watchers have been dedicated to this effort since the spring of 2006 in light of the then-approaching merger of UPN and The WB into The CW. On May 9, 2006, the group hired a plane to fly between the UPN offices in Los Angeles and the future site of The CW headquarters in Burbank, pulling a banner that read "RENEW VERONICA MARS! CW 2006!" to get the attention of network executives, the press, and anyone else in the Los Angeles area. They had previously sent future CW executives, those in charge at the new network's parent companies, and influential people in the entertainment media care packages including binoculars, information regarding the plane's flight plan, and ''Veronica Mars''-inspired gifts.^[36]
''Veronica Mars'' was officially renewed for a third season on May 18, 2006 to air on The CW Tuesdays at 9pm ET starting on October 3, 2006 but fans did not stop campaigning for the show.^[37] The Cloud Watchers started a new campaign, this one to bring a larger viewership to ''Veronica Mars'' by donating DVD sets of season one to libraries across the United States, with a goal of reaching the top 100 Nielsen markets and each of the 50 states. They reached both these goals as of August 14, 2006 and reached their new goal of 500 donated sets on September 5, 2006.^[38]
With the show's third season order cut from 22 episodes to 20 — a move that was met with much alarm and dismay — many of the show's diehard fans swung into action once more. Fans at the Television Without Pity website began organizing a flyer campaign to raise awareness of the show, and increase viewership in time for the show's return to The CW on May 1, 2007.
In early March 2007, Save Veronica Mars ^[39] — a fan-run website that was instrumental in spreading the word when fans campaigned successfully for a second season — returned with a new, two-pronged purpose: to ensure a fourth season renewal, and to make sure that the show stayed in production long enough to have a sufficient number of episodes for syndication. It has been reported that over 30,000 flyers were printed.
In late March 2007, several other fan campaigns were added to the save Veronica Mars effort, including the "Bars for Mars" campaign.^[40] The campaign asks for all fans of the show band together and flood the mailrooms of The CW with actual "Mars" chocolate bar wrappers to show their dedication and loyalty for "Veronica Mars." Hundreds of wrappers have already been sent to CW offices, and more are to follow.
In early June 2007, a mere eight days before an official decision was to be made by The CW on whether or not to bring Veronica Mars back as a mid-season replacement, Hercules — a columnist at the Ain't It Cool News website — posted an idea on that site that caught on. Instead of just sending wrappers, fans have now started ordering Mars bars themselves from a small, family-run business in Houston called TheIndianFoodStore.com[2]. After buying out all the Mars bars they could find, the store switched to Snickers Almond bars — the American replacement for the now defunct American Mars bar. Marshmallows were also added to the list, based on a quote from the show's pilot. In two days, fans ordered — and the store corralled, according to his blog[3] — around 10,000 candy bars and 350 pounds of marshmallows. The idea was to find enough candy bars and marshmallows to fill an 18-wheeler truck that would drive cross-country to The CW headquarters in Burbank to deliver its load prior to the network's June 15 deadline. The shipment was delivered and contained 1400 pounds of candy bars and marshmallows. The total donated from fans to buy the candy was $2942.56. Neither the total weight or contributions include anything purchased and sent by fans on their own.

Filming location

Much of the show's scenes are filmed at Stu Segall Productions in San Diego. The setting of Neptune High for the first and second seasons was located in Oceanside, California.
The show's third season setting of Hearst College is fictional, with scenes primarily filmed on the campus of San Diego State University, University of San Diego, and the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California.^[41] As of 2006, some scenes were filmed at the San Diego City College and at the private Academy of Our Lady of Peace, not far from the other filming locations.
Filming on the UCSD campus took place in the Tenaya residence hall located on the John Muir College within UCSD, in the Warren Mall in Earl Warren College, and near the Main Gym. Filming on the USD campus took place in the Camino/Founders residence halls in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Scenes from the final episode of season three were filmed at the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) at UCSD.

Notes and references

Complete Episode, Soundtrack, and Character Information
1. 'Veronica Mars': Intelligent life Robert Bianco
2. "Veronica Mars" Is Now "Officially Dead", ''TVGuide.com'', June 11, 2007
3. The CW cancels cult hit ''Veronica Mars'', ''Yahoo!'', May 17, 2007
4. CW Drops Several TV series
5. AR Ep 14: ''Veronica Mars'' FBI Scoop!
6. "Veronica Mars" Eyes Comic, Movie, ''Zap2It'', June 13, 2007
7. "Spoiler Chat: ''Grey's'' Death Looms; ''Brian'' Star Returns"
8. "Exclusive! ''Veronica Mars'' Creator Reveals New Plan, Answers ''You''!"
9. The Second Rob Thomas Interview
10. Veronica Mars: Lord of the Pi's
11. Hollywood Reporter: Final audience and ratings figures for 2004-05
12. Hollywood Reporter: 2005-06 primetime wrap
13. Hollywood Reporter: 2006-07 primetime wrap
14. UPN's 2004-2005 schedule
15. UPN unveils Fall 2005 schedule
16. THE CW TO KEEP 'MARS,' 'HILL' FOR (ALMOST) FULL SEASONS
17. CW Drops Several TV series
18. Veronica Mars Is Now "Officially Dead" Michael Ausiello
19. Neptune Rising Forum
20. Josh Kramon (Music Composer)
21. The trailer was promotional material for the newly formed The CW following the merger of UPN (which originally showed ''Veronica Mars'') and The WB.
22. ''Wizard Universe'' "Incoming: Veronica Mars"
23. Eyes of Veronica Mars
24. Weiser, Paige (March 29, 2007). Reasons to Love Mrs. Mars. ''Chicago Sun-Times.''
25. Smooth operators
26. Screen Gems
27. Veronica Mars Television Review
28. 6 Best Dramas On TV Now
29. Whedonesque
30. My Boring Ass Life
31. title=Confessions of a TV Slut
32. ''Marvel Spotlight: Ed Brubaker/Billy Tan'', Marvel Publishing, August 2006, p. 13.
33. Best of 2005
34. The Best & Worst Television '04
35. Best of 2006
36. About Cloud Watchers
37. The CW Network Announces Its Inaugural 2006-2007 Premiere Schedule
38. Veronica Mars Library DVD Drive Headquarters
39. ''Veronica Mars'' 2004 - ...2007???
40. Bars for Mars
41. Veronica Mars lands at SDSU

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