Do Me a Favor, Season One?

Season One Stats

Dead Humans - 2

Backup Sighting - 10

Veronica Breaks In - 10

(Keith Breaks In - 1)

(Aaron Breaks In - 2)

Veronica Tases Someone - 1

(Mandy Tases Someone - 1)

Mac Hacks - 3

Who's Your Daddy? - 3

Wallace Does Veronica a Favor - 12

Weevil Does Veronica a Favor - 3

Leo Does Veronica a Favor - 3

Mac Does Veronica a Favor - 4

Veronica Wants a Pony - 1

Logan Punches Someone - 3

(Logan Hires Someone to Punch Someone Else - 1)

(Logan Smashes a Camera - 1)

(Aaron Beats the Shit out of Someone - 1)

Dick's Single Entendres - 4

Shenanigans Called - 7

VERONICA WAS RIGHT - 4

VERONICA WAS WRONG - 5

Additional Stats

Absences: 18 total (Wallace 2, Duncan 4, Logan 4, Weevil 5, Mallory Dent 3)

Recurring Characters: 47 (Vice Principal Van Clemmons, Deputy Jerry Sacks, Felix Toombs, Hector, Sheriff Don Lamb, Lianne Mars, Cliff McCormack, Celeste Kane, Lilly Kane, Jake Kane, Abel Koontz, Corny, Inga the receptionist, Troy Vandergraff, Veronica's "Office," Dick Casablancas, Rebecca James, Lilly's Fountain, Luke Halderman, Lynn Echolls, Aaron Echolls, Madison Sinclair, Mrs. Murphy, Meg Manning, Alicia Fennel, Darrell Fennel, Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie, Lizzie Manning, Clarence Wiedman, Casey Gant, Sean Friedrich, Harvey Greenblatt, Deputy Leo D'Amato, Carrie Bishop, Susan Knight, Trina Echolls, Vinnie Van Lowe, Jessica Fuller, Dawn, Caz Truman, Hotel Camelot, Mandy, Barry Randall, Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas, Carmen Ruiz, Cheyenne, Lloyd Blankenship)

Future Famous Person:  11 (Aaron Ashmore, Melissa Leo, Sam Huntington, Jane Lynch, Jessica Chastain, Bonita Friedericy, Steven Williams, Max Greenfield, Aaron Paul, Leighton Meester, Adam Scott)

Already/Past Famous Person: 8 (Paris Hilton, Harry Hamlin, Lisa Rinna, Jonathan Bennett, Anthony Anderson, Alyson Hannigan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Joey Lauren Adams)

Generally Known TV Face: 4 (Adam Wylie, Ken Marino, Theo Rossie, Michael McMillian)

Buffy Alum: 4 (Adam Kaufman (Parker Abrams), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Peter Nichols (Zachery Bryan), Steve Rankin (Mr. Maclay))

Logan's Nicknames: 6 (Nowhere Man/Fool on the Hill (Duncan), Tiny Blonde One (Veronica), Sugarpuss (Veronica), Jeeves (Hotel Receptionist), Jump Street (Ben), Paco (Weevil))

Veronica's Alias: 22 (Inga the Receptionist, Distressed Pregnant Girl, Lilly Kane (twice), Amber, Gamergirl, prospective freshman/"nerd hag" (with Wallace), personal assistant to Lawrence Vandergraff, Ellen White (from Abel Koontz's hometown), Veronica Mars at 22 years old, San Diego State student, licensed massage therapist, Melinda the Hospitality Hostess, Lisa the Sorority Girl, reporter for The National Instigator, Nasal Casting Director, Logan's fiancee, owner of a Catahoula Leopard dog named Lulu, Betty, Ellen Roush, Yorkshire Terrier-owning Bridget, Todd Russell's assistant at CAA, cater-waiter with kinky brown curls)

Keith's Alias: 5 (Distressed Pregnant Girl's Angry Dad, DEA Agent, Bill Smith (Admissions), James Anderson (head of security to L.T. Vandergraff), Sal from the County Water Department)

Logan's Inspirational Greeting: 2 ("The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt; "Adversity is the diamond dust with which heaven polishes its jewels.")

Zelda's Thoughts:

This is a pretty perfect first season of television (that homophobic episode aside). It knows from the beginning what kind of show it is, what style, aesthetic, what world view it has. Veronica herself is not as straightforward a hero as our Buffy was, but I do think these two scrappy blondes would get along. Veronica carries a lot of baggage, but she's pretty good at figuring out how to channel her anger and pain so that the splashback doesn't hurt too many innocents - and when she realizes it has hurt someone who didn't have it coming, as with Wallace, she does try to make amends. I like the depth of the cast on this - just look at how long the list of recurring characters is. Some recur frequently, some just once or twice, but it's a great acknowledgment that there's a whole town/school, and that you might see the same face more than once (like Buffy's Jonathan, but ... more than one person). And it's great payoff whenever someone we thought was a one-off returns, as in "A Trip to the Dentist." It also keeps more people in play as potential suspects in the Lilly Kane of it all. I like how smart the characters are (well, the non-Don Lamb characters anyway), I like the relationships built and the backstory we see to those relationships in the Lilly days. And man, are we lucky in our leads - Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni are just completely wonderful, and the show wouldn't work nearly as well if their chemistry and relationship didn't feel as real as it does. (Also god I love Jason Dohring. A great example of a character becoming more interesting in the writing, in response to the quality of the performer) I like the final reveal of who killed Lilly, because it's as awful as it needs to be, feels unexpected and yet - looking back - the clues were there. (fine, fine, I'm sure some of you figured it out. mysteries are not my forte) I know the show kind of peaked in Season One, so in a sense it's a bit downhill from here, but I'm still looking forward to the next step in our journey. Especially the Mac part of it. I love Mac!

Daniel's Thoughts:

Ditto.

Zelda's Follow Up:

You dork.