Whedonesque : Comments on 13422 : Veronica Mars really is of a deadness most dead. Save your Mars bars

This site will work and look better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

June 12 2007

Veronica Mars really is of a deadness most dead. Save your Mars bars - or eat them for comfort. Joss loved it, and appeared in it to yell at Stacy who works at Lariat, we loved the feisty noir-ness of it all, whedon-verse alumni variously appeared, and now and finally the Ausiello Report tells us to hope no longer.

It seemed like a fait accompli already, but now it's from Rob Thomas' lips to your ears. Well, via Ausiello's mouth...

(Mods, if this seems like VM overkill, feel free to delete...)

QuoterGal | General | 03:12 CET | 42 comments total | tags: joss whedon, allyson hannigan, charisma carpenter, tv, deader than vaudeville, veronica mars

I come not to praise VM, but to bury it. Except for the part where I gush about what a fun, smart show (with interesting but flawed characters), and not want to see it pushing up daisies, singing with the choir invisible, etc.

"Deader than vaudeville?" I don't think I've seen that one before.

OneTeV | June 12, 03:20 CET

And before anyone starts up "boycott The CW", try to remember "the ratings have been this bad EVERY SEASON and she [Dawn Ostroff] has renewed it twice" and "at any other network, those numbers would have had it canceled after one or two episodes of season one".

The One True b!X | June 12, 03:24 CET

Waaah! Waaah! Like a baby I am crying.

I suppose I was still hoping something would happen, even though realistically Veronica Mars was dead before the finale aired.

Oh well.

bigsofty | June 12, 03:25 CET

The worst thing about the cancellation is that VM will leave TV a defeated and broken woman, walking in the rain, thinking she's ruined her father's life because she was a meddling kid. I just hope that a movie about her does happen, so that she can vindicate herself and get revenge on Neptune. Sure, she'll get kicked out of town again, but if she comes out on top, so much the better
Oh, and I think "deader than vaudeville" came from a riff on MST3K.

[ edited by impalergeneral on 2007-06-12 00:40 ]

impalergeneral | June 12, 03:39 CET

I liked that ending. The shot of her walking off in the rain was very Amazing Fantasy #15.

daylight | June 12, 03:45 CET

I've heard "deader than vaudeville" all my life, impaler. Can't say where or when I first heard it, but positive at least that I've read it in a piece by S. J. Perlman written in the 40's.

I think it's been around since vaudeville died... in the early thirties or so.

But MST3K does own my heart... forever...

As does the late Veronica Mars show, especially Season One, which is as good as it gets.

QuoterGal | June 12, 03:54 CET

Eh - we knew this already. Time to move on and see Kristen, Enrico, Teddy, Percy, Jason, Tina and all of the gang appear in new and better things. I hear that even that guy from the car rental place has a shot at a career in Hollywierd.

Kyrax | June 12, 03:55 CET

Boycott The CW? After they renewed the absolutely excellent Supernatural? Wouldn't dream of it.

Besides, I live in the UK so couldn't even if I wanted to. ;)

Not a shock about VM and frankly I was only just what you could call a fan of the first season. The second season lost my interest entirely and from everything I've read and heard about season three I can't see me going out of my way to watch it.

A shame for the VM fanbase (every last one of us here knows what it's like to lose a show we love far too soon, at least twice now) but this is one show that I won't personally miss. Although I will eat a Mars Bar out of respect.

Technopagan | June 12, 03:56 CET

somewhat ironically, vaudeville has acquired its immortality through its repeated use in the saying, "deader than vaudeville".

daylight | June 12, 04:06 CET

"But MST3K does own my heart...forever.."
As it should, QuoterGal, although in my case my heart is owned by several things: MST3K, Whedon, Dr. Who being the majority owners.
In any case, I just hope WM gets a better ending someday, with her dad by her side. That's all she needs...unless Logan wants to redeem himself, too.

impalergeneral | June 12, 04:09 CET

Eh - we knew this already.

No, actually, we didn't. It wasn't announced as part of the next sason lineup, but the "final axe" hadn't fallen because they still could have picked it up as a mid-season replacement or some other such arrangement.

The One True b!X | June 12, 04:12 CET

This makes me very sad. I was definitely holding out hope (as was Kristen Bell!) and it sucks that they completely got the axe. I know a lot of people didn't like this season, and no it wasn't as good as 1 or 2 but when you watch the eps back to back without the hiatus....it's really not as bad as people made it out to be. I'll keep hoping for a feature film.....Veronica needs a better end, there was no closure in that.

kballgetlost | June 12, 04:54 CET

QG, I think this will be last time we'll see it here on the black. Let's disgress those fine moments, including Joss sharing his love for it some time ago, in here.
Everyone is welcome to pour out comments over the white, when this fades from the front page cause that will be there for the for foreseeable future, I believe.

Too lazy to post something there now (I know, shame on me, I'm one of the moderators). I'll leave for tomorrow, cause I'm kind of tired, and I'm about to go to bed.

I'll miss VM, if its death was inevitable, I'd have preferred a "Angel" style killing, at least they and us knew it was going away. And they could've prepared a more satisfying ending for it. It wasn't a "we have work to do" ending, which left me with somewhat empty sorrow. For better of worse, Gilmore Girls had a well rounded satysfying ending (I even cried). VM deserved better. The most dedicated fans would fight for it of course, like we once did for Angel, for Firefly. It's time to say goodbye Veronica, for now.

And now The CW, will just fade further away from the spotlight, unless they can really stunt cast someone amazing to play Supergirl or Reaper happens to become the "New Buffy-esque show".

Numfar PTB | June 12, 05:39 CET

Forget Veronica Mars, Supernatural is the new Buffy-esque show. Yay to the CW for renewing the good show and getting rid of the one whose quality and ratings had diminished.

crossoverman | June 12, 05:48 CET

Technically Jericho was "officially dead" - but the fans revived it for 7 more episodes.
This is not real journalism, it's an opinion piece and should be treated as such.

BrownCoat_Tabz | June 12, 06:46 CET

It's sad, but we did pretty much already know this.

S3 wasn't too hot, but the last few eps were genius...and am I the only one who thought S2 was amazing and even better than the brilliant S1?!

UnpluggedCrazy | June 12, 08:25 CET

I've never seen this, but it can't be any fun to have your favourite show become moribund in this way.

ZodKneelsFirst | June 12, 11:35 CET

Boycott The CW? There's nothing to boycot on it anymore.

I think VM ended in the best possible way. Penultimate episode was great and the finale was certainly one of the best eps of the series. I don't really think there was much left to be added in another series anyway.

the Groosalugg | June 12, 12:50 CET

I don't know whether or not The CW will fade from the spotlight, Numfar PTB, but to be fair I don't think keeping Veronica Mars around for another season would have held off the fade at all. It certainly wasn't likely to get a major ratings boost at this point and at least a new show in the slot has that potential. No, I honestly believe that VM had long enough to prove itself and unfortunately didn't manage to do so.

I just wish Firefly had been offered half the episodes that VM was given. Imagine what Joss would have done with one and a half seasons to play with before they made the choice to axe or not. We'd be looking forward to season six right about now.

Technopagan | June 12, 13:43 CET

personally I think it's time. As much as I love VM I didn't think season 3 was that great. Not compared to seasons 1&2 anyway. If it had stayed on it would have been 'one of those' shows that stayed on longer than it should have. (*cough*7thheaven*cough*) I'd rather see it go out while it's still semi lukewarm.

death is my gift | June 12, 16:18 CET

Maybe it was time for it to go, as many say... but I'll miss Keith too much to care about that. Even lukewarm Keith Mars was better than most anything else on TV.

Kirochka | June 12, 16:51 CET

VM Season 4 comic please?

william_pratt | June 12, 18:01 CET

The hight of season 3 was the use of the word 'frak'.

Noclaf | June 12, 18:17 CET

"Who's your daddy?"
"Every town has its obligatory psychotic jackass...."
"Where's Weevil?"
"Annoy, tiny blonde one! Annoy like the wind!"
"Veronica Mars is smarter than me."
"Hi, everyone! Say 'repressed homosexuality'!"
"Are those...snickerdoodles?"
"A long time ago/we used to be friends"

Goodbye, Ronnie. Goodbye Keith, Wallace, Weevil, Logan, Mac. Goodbye Lily, Duncan and Jake Kane, Clarence Weidman, Vinnie Van Lowe and poor Sheriff Don (Sacrificial) Lamb. You were the best show out there, if only for a short time.

[ edited by cjl on 2007-06-12 19:36 ]

cjl | June 12, 22:26 CET

And to add insult to injury, we're being slagged off in the announcement thread by a Supernatural fan.

Craig Oxbrow | June 12, 22:57 CET

My sympathies go out to you guys. I'd always thought I'd get around to watching VM, but never did. Oh well, I suppose there's still DVD's.

deepgirl187 | June 12, 23:47 CET

I didn't see any slagging off going on anywhere in the thread, Craig, from Supernatural fans or otherwise, although I suspect there may well have been a little post deletion going on by the TV Guide mods. Don't let him/her fool you though. On the whole, we Supernatural fans are a polite lot and take no pleasure from seeing VM cancelled. ;)

I was slightly worried about the amount of VM fans that still seem to be in complete denial that a show with the ratings Veronica Mars was getting was incredibly fortunate to get a complete three season run and seem to be adamant in making out that The CW are the evil incarnate for not giving it yet another year to turn things around. This was a more than fair decision made by a network that absolutely needs to be looking at finding a new success story rather than hanging on to old series that are past their best. I think maybe this time the fans may be wrong to be quite so angry. Understandable but still a little unfair.

Technopagan | June 12, 23:58 CET

I'm not going to boycott the CW (I love Supernatural) and I love VM.. I just don't think it's wise to count anything out. Firefly fans got their movie... Buffy fans are getting a comic... nothing is ever truly dead anymore (in my opinion).

BrownCoat_Tabz | June 13, 00:05 CET

Well, it was nice while it lasted. I'll miss her bunches. But it is time to move on.

jenofthejungle | June 13, 00:10 CET

I want some marshmallows. *sniff*

Fitz | June 13, 00:41 CET

A long time ago, we used to be friends, But I haven't thought of you lately at all...this too shall pass.

I'm sad that it's over but I'm happy that I got the chance to explore the wonderful world of Neptune.

(Also worth a mention, I never (NEVER!) would have watched this show, which gave me much happiness, if not for some vocal Whedonesque fans--thanks to you too!)

alexreager | June 13, 00:53 CET

Dating back to the devastating Twin Peaks finale--and of course followed by a few more finales that came before their time...Objects in Space and Not Fade Away come to mind--I've been forgiving of show-ending episodes that don't wrap things up with a tidy bow (heck, even TP's jump to the big screen didn't try to do that). On the one hand, the downbeat ending to VM leaves many fans wanting to know that happier days are ahead for Veronica, Logan, Dad, et al, but on the other I found it to be a highly appropriate sendoff for a show so deeply rooted in the noir tradition, down to the crane shot of our hero walking dejectedly away in the rain that brought everything from "Chinatown" to, well, Not Fade Away to mind. Pretty good company there. Despite the sunshine, Neptune was always a pretty dark place, run by a corrupt network of men, and we do get to end our visit there with Veronica holding a lot of the powerful ones by the shorthairs. I'll take comfort in that, and not be ashamed for one second that I sent Dawn 3 Mars Bars--she really was as much of a champion of the show as she could be.

MrArg | June 13, 01:38 CET

am I the only one who thought S2 was amazing and even better than the brilliant S1?!

Nope. I've always thought that season two was better than season one. And I'm reserving judgment on S3 until I've given the DVDs a few spins. (Is it fall yet?)

I guess the one good thing about this is that there is no reason to rush the DVDs, so we might get some decent extras. Apparently the "Veronica in the FBI" trailer they used to try to interest the CW in a fourth season is going to be on it anyway.

bigsofty | June 13, 01:42 CET

I thought Season 1 had the best big mystery arcs, but Season 2 had better individual episodes. Season 3 started out mediocre and just got worse as it went on. I can't blame the CW for cancelling it, but I'm still sad to see it go. If only we could have had a real finale.

RaisedByMongrels | June 13, 02:00 CET

Hmm, perhaps all is not lost--that is, if you can buy into the concept of a t.v. show continuing in comic book form...http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/224125

MrArg | June 13, 02:30 CET

I was going to post a link to Kristin's column, but MrArg's link has the same stuff and more. Rob Thomas has met with DC, who are interested in a comic book VM, he's got a new show as showrunner on ABC, and he's made a new comedy pilot.

dreamlogic | June 13, 04:55 CET

Season 3 started out mediocre and just got worse as it went on. I can't blame the CW for cancelling it,

Yeah, but I got the impression that most of the things that made the season "mediocre" (by VM standards, still better than most tv) were "suggestions" by the CW in the first place. So I can blame them. :-)

OneTeV | June 13, 07:11 CET

I, too, blame the CW. While S3 wasn't as consistant as S1 and S2 it had some brilliant moments in spite of net tampering. If you didn't like VM (Joss's Best. Show. Ever.), and there are plenty here who don't, you will always have reality TV. Yes, the Batchlor will always be with you. So will Temptation Boot Camp and Deal or No Deal with a Praedator (You get the date with the 13 yr old, no, wait, the secret banker offers you $50K). I guess you can lower your expectations and gravel in the filth that is network TV.

The rest of us high brow types are left wanting for quality entertainment. Like FireFly and VM of course. About the end of VM Cap'm Mal said it best, "We're all just folk now."

RazorBlade | June 13, 15:24 CET

Like so many other Networks before it, The CW sucks. The WB sucked back in 2004, and The CW are still sucking now. It got three years, however, and that's a treasured length of time for a niche show like Veronica Mars.

Kinda seems like we're being gypped, though. Shouldn't the creators really have a say in how long a story goes on for? Shouldn't VM be on the air in the way it wants to, telling the story that needs to be told?

Of course. But then I'm thinking of a world in which Angel got his soul back at the end of Season Six...

Samwel Roberts | June 13, 16:11 CET

Of course. But then I'm thinking of a world in which Angel got his soul back at the end of Season Six...

His soul? Don't you mean his humanity?

electricspacegirl | June 13, 16:43 CET

Perhaps Samwel Roberts meant "a world in which Spike got his sould back at the end of Season Six..." ?

embers | June 13, 19:21 CET

"If you didn't like VM (Joss's Best. Show. Ever.), and there are plenty here who don't, you will always have reality TV.... The rest of us high brow types are left wanting for quality entertainment."

Well I've gotta call bullshit on that comment. If I don't like Veronica Mars, then I'm a stupid reality tv show lover? That's a load of crap.

Succatash | June 14, 00:06 CET

You need to log in to be able to post comments.
About membership.

« Older The Buffy musical at the Los Angel... | Screen Blogger Alex Epstein refere... Newer »