I was actually a pretty casual watcher, until the Alterna-Prom episode in Season 2, where Logan gives his "epic" speech, and I was just like...WHAT?!? But...but...she hates him, and vice-versa! And then what happens the morning after? I was like, OMG, I HAVE to know what's up w/this. And then I just kinda had to watch it all from the very beginning. And a couple of episodes in and I was hooked!
Haha. That was a good episode. I think that, the reason I didn't watch season 1 was most likely because of the time slot. I think Buffy was still on, or maybe it was Angel. Either that, or one of the WB shows, Smallville or Gilmore Girls. In any case, I did half watch like the premiere ep, and for some reason, it didn't really snag me. I hadn't read anything about it, and since it was a WB show, and yes, I'm an ass for saying it, had a black actor on it, I thought it was going to be one of those lame ass comedies. Not that I'm racist or anything, well maybe slightly so, if it's being racist because I don't find
any of those other UPN 1/2 hour comedies funny, and they are all pretty much "black" shows. I say "black" because they seem to be steered towards a black demographic, but obviously you don't have to be black to like them, and you don't have to be... er... not black, to not like them. I hope that made sense.
FWIW, I also don't like any of those "white" 1/2 hour comedies on the WB either. AFAIC, the best 1/2 hour comedies are on the other networks, CBS, NBC, and ABC, but even then the majority of them just suck nowadays. I still don't
get My Name is Earl, and the Office only seems to have gotten better, and as much as I <3 Steve Carrell, no sir, he is no Ricky Gervais i.e. the original UK Office is and will always be the best version EVAH!!!111
Anyhew, getting back to Veronica Mars, I think the buzz was later, that it seemed very Buffyish meets Nancy Drew. So that semi sparked my interest, but still not enough to watch any of Season 1. I wasn't into Nancy Drew (or the Hardy Boys) when I was a kid. And although I totally love Buffy, a mystery type show with no girlfight ass kicking? I was still kinda meh. And I'm usually weary of getting into a show midseason, or in later seasons, when I feel like I've missed too much of the canon character development. But once Buffy got like an official endorsement by Joss, I just had to check it out. And by then, Buffy and Angel were gone. I think that maybe Lost was competing with Veronica? But then it eventually got moved to Tuesdays. I was actually putting up with the hassle of taping episodes of one show and watching the other. Heh, who uses VCRs nowadays? We've finally gotten a TiVO, so things should be much easier this time around, and with VM being back to back with GG, I probably won't have too much of a problem now.
I think the problem w/ the ratings is b/c the show is pretty cynical on top of being seriously dark. That's really what kept me from being a fan in the beginning. Esp. in Season 1, it just felt like it was the world against Veronica. But when you watch more and catch a lot of the softer scenes, it stops being overwhelmingly black vs. white and more a deliciously grey interpretation of the world. While I really do like the darker aspects now that I've a better understanding of the show, I really think VM would benefit from cheerier promos. Just to get pple watching, you know?
I don't think the cynical, seriously darkness is an issue. Because there have been plenty of cynical, dark shows on tv. Buffy and Angel for one. Felicity. Dawson's Creek to some extent. X-Files anyone? My So-Called Life (although that only lasted a season). Gilmore Girls, hello! Although that is somewhat less dark, but a good mix of cynical optimism if there ever was such a thing.
And then there are newer shows, Alias, Lost, Desperate Housewives, House M.D., Grey's Anatomy, Bones. I think a lot of shows lately have become darker. But then again, I never watched Season 1, so it might be very different. One of these days I'm eventually gonna watch the torrent I have.
I think one of the bigger problems was the fact that it was on the UPN. The UPN isn't as widley distributed as the other main networks. And then the fact that it is On the UPN, which the majority of its programming was geared towards a black audience, and yet Veronica Mars doesn't quite seem like a "black" show, despite actually having minorities and major supporting characters. Plus, include the other shows that it was up against in the time slot, and you have a pretty tough combination of factors to overcome ratings wise.
I must say, Season 1 is the better season. You really should watch. You get a lot of the character exposition in Season 1 too, so you understand the history and character motivations better. Anyways, what I heard about the S3 deal was that they did get picked up for a full 22 eps, but if ratings are sucky it can get dropped down to 13. I seriously hope it stays at 22 eps. And beyond, luck permitting.
Nowadays, it seems like a lot of shows are better Season 1. I think the sophmore years in shows, as with CDs, is the stereotypical clincher. You gotta get over that hump. First seasons can be flukey. But if you keep your audience hooked through season 2, and manage to build a bigger audience over time, you're probably good to go. Unless you change the show in a huge way that alienates your loyal fans (e.g. Alias, and to a lesser extent Desperate Housewives and Lost). I think I read in EW that the order was 13... with the option to order more if it goes well, not the other way around. I really hate when shows don't get a full season. But them's the breaks. I've read that the plan is to have 3 major story line arcs over the season. That there will be some overlapping, but the season will generally be broken down into 3 shorter arcs rather than one large arc. So hopefully the plot lines won't be as confusingly entangled.
Incidentally, a couple of yrs ago I think I got a thing in the mail asking us to do the Nielsen TV thing. They even sent us like a dollar along w/ the package. But it was this whole log to write down what you watched, and I didn't feel like the hassle, so I didn't do it. Now if they had sent it to me post-Veronica Mars obsession, maybe I'd have done it. Such bad timing!
Yeah, I've read tho, that people who do choose to do the Nielsent thing end up regretting it. They supposedly hook up a thing on Every TV, and you're supposed to report Everything. And people get sick of it, and some people are embarrassed to report some of the things they watch. I think the whole Nielsen's rating thing is crap anyways. Why should bumfuck middle American get to decide what is good TV first of all, and then what *I* get to watch on TV. Kind like voting for a President.
And I don't watch America's Next Top Model either, but I do read Rick's hilarious ANTM recaps (fourfour.typepad.com), so I am aware of what goes on. How else would I know that dead journalism teacher is named Naima?
Hehe. I only knew that red haired lesbian, who was working the car rental counter in the ep that Joss guested was from Top Model because my sister told me. She loves Top Model. But she swears it's only for the glam shots and Not the drama.
Hey, who am I to judge? I watch a
lot of crap on tv. And as similar as we are (my sister and I) we do have some differences in taste. Admittedly, from some of the shows that I have caught, the glam shots are pretty cool. The challenges can be interesting. But it just doesn't seem to be really about talent the way that Project Runway or American Idol is.
(Wow. My post is wordier than Syberspunk's. I didn't think that was possible.
)
Lol. That
is an accomplishment. Congratulations, but don't think you'll be wearing that victory crown for long. I am the queen of overly superfluously verbose posting.
Yeah, but only in this thread. Ste's been around a long while, and some of his posts on other forums are classics. His posts have gotten a lot shorter lately, actually.
Yeah. I have been somewhat lax in my posting length lately... haven't I?
I would be willing to bet my lousy paycheck that he's either an educator, or an education major. One of my professors is a double-doc, and just as eager to cross every i and dot every t
.
If you lose that bet, who get's your paycheck? Me? Lol. I was somewhat of an educator, but not really. I was a Gen Bio T.A. if that counts for anything. Right now, I'm kind of in limbo, considering what options I have left and I was thinking about it, but I don't think I could teach on the college level. As much as I loved to hate teaching
and actually miss it, I don't know if I could put up with younger brats. If it was at the high school level... maybe... but I couldn't teach any subject that required reading student's written work. I would just go insane with the grading. I know it's probably a lot to expect college freshmen how to properly write formal papers, much less formal
scientific papers
but if the grammar and general writing skills is atrocious even at that level, I don't even want to fathom what I'd have to deal with in high school. Maybe I'm just an elitest snob, because I never even realized just superior my high school was, but it really is a sad, and sorry, depressing state to see the kind of things students will turn in for their assignments. Don't get me wrong, I was a total slacker, in high school And college, And grad school, but I personally would be ashamed of the kinds of the "work" that I received from my students. If I end up teaching, maybe I could go back to my own high school... and maybe I'd have to focus on some scientific/mathematical/computational field, that doesn't require evaluating written work.
Ste
ETA: removed too many tonguey icons in last paragraph.
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