Post by Forever Xena on Sept 27, 2005 9:21:29 GMT -6
The Plot Thickens for 'Veronica Mars'
(Monday, September 26 12:27 PM)
By Rick Porter
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) "Veronica Mars" solved one big mystery -- Who killed Lilly Kane? -- last season, and she'll tackle another one this year. But behind the scenes of the UPN series, creator Rob Thomas is facing a puzzle of his own.
Namely, how do you get viewers involved in a new case, keep the characters they love around, and stay away from post-Laura Palmer "Twin Peaks" territory -- all while airing in a brutally competitive hour opposite another show steeped in the mysterious?
"That's a good question," Thomas admits. He and his fellow writers are facing a challenge for season two of "Veronica Mars" that almost no other show has to consider, with the possible exception of "24." After finishing last year on a note of closure -- we found out that faded movie star Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin) killed Veronica's (Kristen Bell) best friend -- the show has to establish an entirely new story this year while simultaneously building on the relationships the characters established last season.
"It's a huge challenge. I have worked on many shows, and I think 'Veronica Mars' is the toughest show to break episodes of anything I've ever worked on," Thomas says. "Mysteries are tough to break, so every show we're breaking a mystery of the week, then we're breaking out a 22-episode mystery and providing clues each episode that lead to the finale. It kills us."
Although she's solved the Kane case, life hasn't exactly gone smoothly for Veronica in the months between Aaron Echolls' arrest and the season opener, which airs at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday (Sept. 28) on UPN. (It's a prime spot on the network's schedule, with "America's Next Top Model" as a lead-in, although it must also air against ABC's hit "Lost.")
The town of Neptune is still dealing with the fallout from the case -- and from Logan's (Jason Dohring) run-in with Weevil (Francis Capra) and his boys in the finale. Veronica, meanwhile, finds herself straddling the class line at Neptune High between the rich "09ers" and the outcasts she identified with last year. And that's before the new mystery -- "there's gonna be death," Thomas promises -- kicks in.
"In episode one we'll introduce the big mystery, and there won't be any doubt about it when it happens," he says. "If you're wondering [during the premiere], Is this the big mystery, it hasn't happened yet."
With the new story arc will come several new characters, including Steve Guttenberg as a wealthy Neptune resident who's running for mayor, Charisma Carpenter ("Angel") as the trophy-wife stepmom of Dick and Beaver Casablancas (Ryan Hansen and Kyle Gallner, who will be regulars this year), and Tessa Thompson as a new Neptune High student, the daughter of a big-league ballplayer (Jeffery Sams).
Teddy Dunn, Percy Daggs III and Enrico Colantoni return, as do Dohring and Capra, but the new mystery may mean some of them don't play as large a role this season as they did last.
"About midway through [last] year, we started having to think about the big mystery for season two," Thomas says. "It's not built to sustain -- because we have regular cast members, we can't bring back the Kanes and the Echollses and have them all be involved in the mystery. We need new blood for the show."
He hopes that "Veronica's" fiercely loyal cadre of fans will understand the shift and stay involved with the characters.
"You go through four years of development hell struggling to get your pilot ordered, struggling to get the show on the air. At that point I'm not thinking season two," Thomas says. "I really did conceive of the show as this one-year mystery.
"I didn't know if fans would gravitate toward it. I didn't know if in success, are we being driven by the mystery of the week, is that what people find the most fun, or is it the overarching story? The thing we certainly learned is that the fans of the show, I think they're cool with the mystery of the week, but I think what they come back for is the ongoing mystery."
(Monday, September 26 12:27 PM)
By Rick Porter
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) "Veronica Mars" solved one big mystery -- Who killed Lilly Kane? -- last season, and she'll tackle another one this year. But behind the scenes of the UPN series, creator Rob Thomas is facing a puzzle of his own.
Namely, how do you get viewers involved in a new case, keep the characters they love around, and stay away from post-Laura Palmer "Twin Peaks" territory -- all while airing in a brutally competitive hour opposite another show steeped in the mysterious?
"That's a good question," Thomas admits. He and his fellow writers are facing a challenge for season two of "Veronica Mars" that almost no other show has to consider, with the possible exception of "24." After finishing last year on a note of closure -- we found out that faded movie star Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin) killed Veronica's (Kristen Bell) best friend -- the show has to establish an entirely new story this year while simultaneously building on the relationships the characters established last season.
"It's a huge challenge. I have worked on many shows, and I think 'Veronica Mars' is the toughest show to break episodes of anything I've ever worked on," Thomas says. "Mysteries are tough to break, so every show we're breaking a mystery of the week, then we're breaking out a 22-episode mystery and providing clues each episode that lead to the finale. It kills us."
Although she's solved the Kane case, life hasn't exactly gone smoothly for Veronica in the months between Aaron Echolls' arrest and the season opener, which airs at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday (Sept. 28) on UPN. (It's a prime spot on the network's schedule, with "America's Next Top Model" as a lead-in, although it must also air against ABC's hit "Lost.")
The town of Neptune is still dealing with the fallout from the case -- and from Logan's (Jason Dohring) run-in with Weevil (Francis Capra) and his boys in the finale. Veronica, meanwhile, finds herself straddling the class line at Neptune High between the rich "09ers" and the outcasts she identified with last year. And that's before the new mystery -- "there's gonna be death," Thomas promises -- kicks in.
"In episode one we'll introduce the big mystery, and there won't be any doubt about it when it happens," he says. "If you're wondering [during the premiere], Is this the big mystery, it hasn't happened yet."
With the new story arc will come several new characters, including Steve Guttenberg as a wealthy Neptune resident who's running for mayor, Charisma Carpenter ("Angel") as the trophy-wife stepmom of Dick and Beaver Casablancas (Ryan Hansen and Kyle Gallner, who will be regulars this year), and Tessa Thompson as a new Neptune High student, the daughter of a big-league ballplayer (Jeffery Sams).
Teddy Dunn, Percy Daggs III and Enrico Colantoni return, as do Dohring and Capra, but the new mystery may mean some of them don't play as large a role this season as they did last.
"About midway through [last] year, we started having to think about the big mystery for season two," Thomas says. "It's not built to sustain -- because we have regular cast members, we can't bring back the Kanes and the Echollses and have them all be involved in the mystery. We need new blood for the show."
He hopes that "Veronica's" fiercely loyal cadre of fans will understand the shift and stay involved with the characters.
"You go through four years of development hell struggling to get your pilot ordered, struggling to get the show on the air. At that point I'm not thinking season two," Thomas says. "I really did conceive of the show as this one-year mystery.
"I didn't know if fans would gravitate toward it. I didn't know if in success, are we being driven by the mystery of the week, is that what people find the most fun, or is it the overarching story? The thing we certainly learned is that the fans of the show, I think they're cool with the mystery of the week, but I think what they come back for is the ongoing mystery."