Plot: What’s it about?
Don’t ask me why and don’t ask me how, but “Veronica Mars” is a show that I actually sit down and watch on a routine basis (between my endless DVD watching, that is). It’s totally out of my area of interest as I tend to like some reality television and some edgier stuff like “Nip/Tuck”, but this quirky little series is really pretty well-made. And, of course, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a thing for Kristen Bell (and even more so after seeing her on the cover of “Maxim” a few months back). Whoa. Ok, all of that aside, this probably does play to a much younger audience than me, but as part of the new “CN” network (UPN and the WB merged) it survived the merge and found a spot and even as I type this, Season Three is only a couple of months away. Fans of the show will be familiar with the plot as it’s the same basic one as the first season. But for those of you who might just be turning in, here goes…
Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) lives in the Stepford-ish town of Neptune, California “A town without the middle class” as she puts it. Her father used to be the sheriff, but things happened and now he’s a private investigator. Veronica, still in high school, helps her father out with some cases on a regular basis and the show follows her and her odd and eccentric group of friends who don’t always get along. The second season delivered more of the goods and some pretty interesting episodes, notably the season opener “Normal is the Watchword” in which Wallace is kicked off the basketball team for testing positive for drugs and Vernica has spent the Summer trying to become normal again. As with all seasons of any show, there are some more light-hearted episodes and some with more serious undertones but “Veronica Mars” manages to find a great mix between humor and drama. I realize this review doesn’t necessarily tell all about the second season, but anyone who has seen the show and owns the first season will buy this anyway.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and have been enhanced for widescreen televisions. Depending on where you live in the country, this show might be shown in widescreen or even HD, but where I am its full-frame – so these episodes being shown in anamorphic widescreen was a real treat. The first season was as well, in case anyone was wondering. Colors are very bright and sharp, most likely to reflect the sunny life of Neptune. There is a bit of edge enhancement on a few of the episodes, but nothing too bad. Artifacting isn’t a problem and I found no pixellation or grain. A few of the scenes seem to be on the softer side, but aside from that this looks darn good and certainly better than when I’ve seen it on TV.
Audio: How does it sound?
“Veronica Mars” won’t really be remembered for its soundtrack, but the Dolby Digital 5.1 track is fairly decent at times. Naturally this is dialogue-driven and it sounds very clean and natural. On occasion, the surrounds come into play to give some added depth but for the most part all of the sound is relegated to the front stage. Not a whole lot to add here, if you own the first season – this is more of the same.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There’s not a whole lot to offer in terms of supplements, but the 20 some minutes of deleted scenes are interesting, though they don’t add a whole lot to the season. There are two featurettes included as well though “A Day in the Life of Kristen Bell” is fairly interesting. While the lack of an audio commentary on at least one episode is disappointing, it’s better than not having this on DVD at all.
