The Pop Tart

A little secret about me. When I was a kid and longed for a more interesting name then 'Jane' I decided I wanted to be called Veronica. Much more intriguing, don't you think? Why Archie always preferred Betty to Veronica is a mystery to me. Veronica is, by far, the more interesting of the two. Even Elvis Costello thought so.

Which brings me to the newest Veronica who makes a part of me still long to be something a little more interesting then a Jane. She is Veronica Mars of the highly regarded but severely underwatched show of the same name.

Being a mystery buff I began watching the show last year when it debuted. I was hooked from the first powerful episode. In that first season Veronica is a junior in the very well-to-do town of Neptune, CA. She and her dad Keith are on their own after a scandal pushed her mom into decamping. The scandal centers around the death of Veronica's best friend Lily Kane and the fact that Keith accused Lily's dad, a very powerful man in Neptune, of the murder. Keith lost his job as sheriff and now works as a P.I. with Veronica helping out. Each episode has Veronica on a current case and also on her quest to find Lily's killer.

This show is so good I went out and bought the dvds of the first season today - a Pop Tart first. Run, don't walk, to get the first season for yourself. And watch the current season. Yeah, yeah, I know it's on at the same time as the all-powerful Lost, but that repeats all the time. This show puts DH and Lost to shame for clever writing and character angst and development.