The Clicker Wants Another Season Of Veronica Mars

I should start off by wishing the Clicker a happy birthday. One year ago Matt Norris wrote the very first Clicker. He discussed his extreme hatred of '7th Heaven,' a sentiment I happen to share with him. What is it about touchy feely shows like these that draw in the ratings? Honestly. And then we have great shows like 'Veronica Mars' dangerously close to being cancelled. Rumors and reports started popping up late last week that the series was in jeopardy and that 'Mars' creator Rob Thomas was working on a trailer for a re-imagined version of the show.

The new concept being that if/when 'Veronica Mars' returns in the fall, it would be four years later and she'd be working as an FBI agent. Why would it be a good idea for the ‘Veronica Mars’ to switch gears and completely change the format? Well, for one thing it’s probably the only way the show is going to stay on the air. Among the rumors about the series’ fate is the possibility that if the CW doesn’t like Thomas' trailer, they will indeed cancel the show. So at this point, we have to put our faith in Thomas’ abilities and pray that he manages to convince the network to give ‘Mars’ another chance.

If the network does allow the show to continue under the new format, would it be such a big deal for us to miss Veronica’s last three years of college? After all, “the college years” haven’t exactly made for great TV in previous drama series. Many would say that their least favorite season of 'Buffy' was the 4th season, which was her first year in college and then there's '90210,' which got drastically worse when the gang went to university. 'Saved By The Bell,' 'Boy Meets World,' the list, unfortunately, goes on and on. So what better time to jump a few years into the future? We’ve had one year of Veronica in college. Do we really need three more years of campus crimes? Deans getting murdered, girls getting raped and having their heads shaved. What's left? Probably a whole lot of the same, right?

Don’t get me wrong, I’d happily take another year or two of Veronica in college if it included the usual wit and charm that comes each new episode. However, I do think growing her up a few years could be just what the show needs to get itself back to the greatness that was season one. In a way, we could get to know her all over again.

So let's speculate on this idea for a bit. As of right now, Veronica is broken up with Logan. It’s possible that she will have remained broken up with him and perhaps even have lost touch with him over the years between seasons three and four. Years will have gone by and if/when they reconnect in the new season, they would be able to get to know each other all over again without recent history getting in the way. Both will have grown up a little bit and gotten over some of the personal issues they had that previously caused some major conflicts in their relationship. If they wanted to, the writers could re-do their whole story. It would be as though Logan had left the show for a few seasons except we wouldn’t have to go 3 or 4 years without getting to see Jason Dohring's adorable face and the great back-and-forth Veronica/Logan banter that we love so much.

Then there's the whole concept of Veronica as an FBI agent. The possibilities there are virtually endless. She will be professionally trained and working on serious cases. This is not to say that investigating the dean's murder wasn’t serious but at least now there would be a rational reason behind her involvement in some of the more dangerous cases she’s working on. Perhaps FBI-Veronica would be trained in combat, know how to speak another language and have all sorts of cool new FBI skills. She could be the next Sydney Bristow, except instead of being CIA, she'd be FBI and of course there would be a lot more sarcasm and quirky pop-culture references.

The more I consider this whole idea of Veronica's life four years from now, the more excited I get over it. Basically the writers could take everything that is so great about her character and the show and start over. We would probably have to accept that not all of the main characters would make it into the next season but finding out what’s become of them would make for an interesting season premiere.

I expect her father wouldn’t be around as much as he is now but I can’t imagine them writing him out of the show entirely. Parker was actually starting to grow on me but Piz I could take or leave and since it looks like Chris Lowell is involved in the big 'Grey's Anatomy' spinoff, its doubtful that he'd be around much, if at all in the 4th season of 'Mars.'

I would love for Mack to be around and given the fact that she's a computer wiz, it wouldn’t be that difficult for the writers to find a place for her. As for Wallace, Dick and Weevil, it would be a shame for them to leave the show but perhaps the writers would either find logical reasons for keeping them relevant to the new plot or otherwise write a few guest starring roles in for them once in a while.

I understand that some people might be disappointed that Veronica would be forced to grow up so fast but lets face it, she's already living a more grown-up life than most girls do at her age. I don’t think the time-jump will affect her personality all that much - at least, I hope it doesn’t. Veronica's smartass attitude and adorable sense of humor is what makes her character so lovable. So let's hope the writers don’t give our girl too much of a personality make-over, should this FBI concept come to fruition. One would expect that she would be affected by whatever experiences she had during the skipped-over years but I do believe Rob Thomas would be sure to keep Veronica as appealing to viewers as she already is.

So now I’m going to toss formality to the side and address The CW directly:

Based entirely on the reports of Rob Thomas’ idea of reimagining the series, I think its got major potential. I believe Thomas is the best young adult TV writer since Whedon, and that’s saying a lot. The show is well developed, compelling and funny. As a character, Veronica Mars is pretty much everything most girls would aspire to be. She’s confident, crafty, quick-witted and emotionally real, not to mention beautiful.

Quality TV shows geared towards teenagers and young adults are a rare commodity in this day and age. I understand that finding the next cash cow TV show is a big priority but so is delivering quality television, right? As a “new” network, the shows that fill the primetime timeslots will essentially help define The CW as a network. It is unlikely that you will find a show that could fill Veronica’s shoes. Give Thomas’ idea a chance and promote the hell out of it. Don’t just aim for the younger viewers; there are plenty of “grown-ups” who enjoy the show as well. This FBI angle could be just what you need to get some more of the mid to late 20 year olds on board with the series.

Well, I suppose I’ve said enough. I implore any of the ‘Mars’ fans out there to speak up with a comment whether or not they agree with me. Don’t let them cancel one of the best shows on television today.


What to Watch (3/18 to 3/24)



’Grease: You’re the One That I Want’ (NBC) 8:00 pm
(New!) – One Danny and one Sandy are eliminated. The remaining two Danny’s and Sandy’s compete one last time.

’Battlestar Galactica’ (SCIFI) 10:00 pm
Crossroads (Part 1 of 2) - (New!) – Baltar’s trial commences and Tigh and Roslin testify.




’How I Met Your Mother’ (CBS) 8:00 pm
Moving Day - (New!) – Ted prepares to move in with Robin. Barney hijacks the moving truck in an attempt to keep Ted from moving. Lily and Marshall deal with the adjustment of living without Ted.

’24’ (Fox) 9:00 pm
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm- (New!) – TV Guide says Jack will deal with some devastating news. Chances are, it’s the news that Assad is dead and Palmer was nearly assassinated because I cant imagine he’d be all that devastated to learn about Martha stabbing Logan.

’Black Donnellys’ (NBC) 10:00 pm
Lies- (New!) – Nicky sends a message to the Donnelly boys by threatening their mother. Ballsy, but probably not a good idea.



’American Idol’ (Fox) 8:00 pm
(New!) – The final 11 perform music from the 60’s British pop invasion. Idols butchering Beatles music? Cant wait.



’American Idol’ (FOX) 9:30 pm
(New!) – Another contestant is voted off. Will the voters finally cut Sanjaya loose?

”Lost” (ABC) 10:00 pm
A Man From Tallahassee (New!) – Another Locke flashback episode –supposedly the one where we finally learn how he got in the wheelchair. Kate finds out that Jack made a deal with The Others.



”Ugly Betty” (ABC) 8:00 pm
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (New!) – Betty helps Marc out when his family comes to town by posing as his girlfriend – apparently they haven’t figured out that he’s gay and he’s not ready to tell them.

”Scrubs” (NBC) 9:00 pm
My No Good Reason (New!) – The group argues over whether or not everything happens for a reason.

’Andy Barker, P.I. (NBC) 9:30 pm
Fairway My Lovely (New!) – Andy investigates a case involving the death of an overweight man who supposedly died of natural causes. Also, he gets an assistant.



Bring It On (ABC-Family) 8:00 pm
Ah-said Burrr, it’s cold in here! Kiersten Dunst stars in this flaky but entertaining movie about a bunch of high school cheerleaders who are determined to prove themselves in a competition.



Muriel’s Wedding (IFC) 7:10 pm
Toni Collette stars in this funny (and somewhat strange) movie about a geeky Australian girl who wants to prove to her family and friends that she’s as good as everyone else by finding the perfect man to marry.




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