Slowly Going Bald

I'm so disillusioned with networks anymore, they have so little faith in quality programming and spend so much time developing muck like Pussycat Dolls and the fucking Geico Cavemen that I can't be bothered to even care. Gah. Arrested Development, Veronica, Firefly, Dead Like Me...loving a show is like adopting a puppy with a terminal disease. The heartbreak is inevitable. Hee. Melodrama is fun.

This isn't going to be popular here but...

The show's kind of sucked this season. CW (and, I suppose, the creators) decided to atomize the show, in essence making it much much stupider. While I understand the reasoning behind the decision, the show's seemed anchorless without the focusing energies of a big mystery. The past few episodes, leaving even the smaller mystery arcs behind, have really suffered, I think, for their lack of a bigger context.

They've more or less abandoned the supporting characters from the first two seasons. While it's been good to have Mac back of late (and where was she for the first 2/3 of the season?), Wallace seems to get one short scene an episode, more or less completely superfluous to the plot. I can't remember the last time we saw Weevil. The exception, I guess, would be Dick, who we’ve seen a ton of this season... but seriously, he's the one supporting character who could disappear and not be missed. At all.

These stand alone episodes have been preachy in the extreme, to make no mention of weirdly unfocused. I could hardly watch the 'what it means to be an American' one. The writing just doesn’t seem as sharp as it used to.

The first two seasons were really great, but given the surprising drop off in quality this year, I think the show's demise might well be for the best. We should celebrate what was great about the show, but let it rest now that it seems to have outlived its creative life.

I agree, Art School Guy. The network's decision to "atomize" the show (great term) was detrimental to its storytelling power, but that's because Dawn Ostroff wasn't too hot on the heavily serialized format and wanted something a little more standalone. And oh man, don't even get me started on this week's episode, which was A Very Special Episode of "Veronica Mars." What the hell was up with that Invisible Children plot? And the PSA at the end? When did the show decide to become preachy and socially responsible?

That said, I feel that if Rob Thomas had been allowed to do more of his own thing and not have to worry about outperforming a reality show about strippers comperting to be in a stripper troupe, "Veronica Mars" could have continued on the dark path laid by the first two years. But like I said, I'll have a longer wrap-up after Tuesday's finale.

All fair points Dan. Given the realistic options, however, I really feel that cancellation is probably preferable.

I was always skeptical of the proposed FBI reboot, something that just stank of desperation, but when I read that Thomas was selling it as something along the lines of 'grey's anatomy at the FBI' I threw up a little bit in my mouth.

As that seemed to be the likely renewal scenario, I think I'd rather keep my pleasant memories of the first two seasons and wait for Friday Night Lights' inevitable cancellation to break my heart.

All of those embarrassingly excellent points aside, it still sucks. Hard.

I totally get where you're coming from here.

Even despite this seasons weaknesses, it's still better than about 87% of the rest of what's on.

It will definitely be missed.

!d

sorry for the loss. I never actually saw it, though I did like the Pulp Fiction reference clip, "Say What Again, I double dare you." I also just heard that Battlestar Gallactica is calling it quits next season; this is terrible news.