And the season 4 also set up a new love triangle in the first 12 minutes, bleeh. I love the direction the movie took Veronica. Lawyering was unexpected (for me) but made perfect sense upon reflection.

And here is that review if anyone wants to check it out! http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/veronica-mars-2...
This HitFix one is also fair and accurate http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-vero...
And though I can't find links right now, EW and Time were positive too. AND it has a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. :)

I had no idea you were reading this book! It's one of the favorites of my childhood, and still the book I mainly credit with my intense love for retellings of fairy tales. Brb, going back to read all of these reviews now!!!!

MY FAVORITE EPISODE!!!! I can't even fully explain why, but everything just always falls together really nicely for me. I've watched this one more than any other episode of VM, and I never get tired of it. I want to give Weevil and Logan all the hugs to make them feel better, and give Veronica and Wallace all the hugs for being awesome and adorable. And THAT SONG! So perfect.
Point of confusion for me: Did the Tritons really do the drink-a-thon thing? Because I was under the impression that Rick just blamed that on the Tritons to take the heat off of him. The Tritons are strange and elitist and willing to lock a classmate in her trunk, but it doesn't seem to me that a pub crawl is really their m.o.

I LOVE THIS EPISODE. Such Christmas, much mystery, wow! (damn the doge meme to hell) The character development is really really excellent, and I love how this is the first time we really see Logan called out for his asshole attitudes. I am definitely a fan of Logan, but it probably took me until about this episode to start warming up to him. Weevil, as ever, is wonderful, and it was cool to see him in such an unexpected place with unexpected company. And this episode has so many great lines--though I realize you can say that about 75% of this show's episodes.
The only thing about this episode that kinda irks me (and it is something I really only noticed on my 5th or 6th viewing) is that the whole "Oh no people might read Duncan's diary!!!!" motivation for Veronica seemed pretty flimsy. I mean, how many dirty details could there really be about their relationship???? I know Veronica is a private person who wouldn't want the mushiness getting out, but I didn't really see it as something that would affect her too much. Also, the way Duncan presented her with that information was downright douchey.

That post is a masterpiece. A masterpiece, I say!!!!!!

I am so happy you're starting Veronica Mars at last!!!!!!!!!!! My journey to finding this show was so random--I had seen people comparing it to BtVS, I knew it was one of those too-soon cancellations, and I knew Kristen Bell was in it. Then, I happened to see that the first season DVD was on sale for 10 bucks on the WB's website, so, without knowing anything about the show beyond what I've stated, I bought it. I watched the Pilot and was really really unimpressed (something I can't fathom now, since I've watched it several times since and think it's great) and thought that I'd made a huge mistake. But, since I'd just blown 10 bucks on the gamble, I watched the next episode. And the next one. By episode 4, I had already ordered the DVDs of seasons 2 and 3 (thank goodness for that sale, man). I consider Veronica Mars one of the best overall viewing experiences I've ever had, and that decision to buy the DVDs one of the greatest I've ever made. I love this show so frakking much, and I'm glad you're embarking on this journey!
As a side note, did you watch the aired pilot or the extended version on the DVD? Because the pilot that aired took out dialogue at the beginning that I really liked and consider a great introduction to Veronica's character.

I would approve. Not only is it accurate, it would also be a great way to stick it to Sorkin's asshole attitude in this episode.

I teared up just READING THIS REVIEW, so that should give you some idea of what this episode does to me. Madison Burge is absolutely incredible in it, and the scenes she has with Connie Britton are knocked out of the part, thanks to the extraordinary combination of the writing and the acting. A serious question: is there any show out there that handles a teen pregnancy/abortion storyline this well? I certainly can't think of one (Parenthood, Jason Katims's current show, does a good job with it too, but it's not nearly as detailed and nuanced with it as in FNL).
One of the standout scenes of the entire show for me is Vince's, though. God. Michael B. Jordan is absolutely freaking incredible, and, as much as I want him on my screen on a weekly basis, I'm glad he's getting movie roles, because the whole world needs to see how talented this man is. Seriously.

You know how the five stages of grief are Something, Something, Something, Something, Acceptance? It's been 4 years and I think I'm still at the fourth Something.
As I said when these reviews started, I consider Pushing Daisies my first real show. And it was a cruel lesson in the ways of American network television that I had to learn about episode dumps and schedule changes and, of course, cancellation with my first TV love. I understand that the ratings weren't great and that it was expensive, but that excuses nothing. We got the equivalent of a mere single season. And that still hurts.
I like this episode--the mystery is cute, the character moments are great, and we also got synchronized swimming costumes!!! The ending is rushed and indeed feels tacked on, but I'm glad it's there. I miss this show.
I don't know how I feel about Bryan Fuller's interest in Kickstarting a PD movie. I feel like the nature of this show is such that an episodic format suits it far better--maybe a Netflix revival would be cool. Or a webseries. Of course, both would be immensely different, since the budget will be nowhere near what it was for the show. And the look is very important.
I've heard talk of a Pushing Daisies musical, and I think that's what I'm hoping for the most. How PERFECT would that be???
Anyway, it's been fun . I'm really glad you decided to watch this show, Mark, ad even more glad that you loved it so much! Huzzah!