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Hey y'all, before I get started, we're heading into the last hiatus. A lot of people in a lot of places are worried about the fate of the show, as critical acclaim is high, but ratings are not. I wouldn't normally bestir myself to do something about it, but this is the best, most interesting show I've ever recapped, which, thank the HoPs, is saying a lot. So: I know many of you don't read the forums, but a number of posters have gone to a lot of effort to demonstrate their support for the show, so if it's appointment TV for you, why not go on the boards and see how you can help?
We open at the exterior of Neptune High, where hangs a big banner upon which is written "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I guess right here is as good a time as any to tell you that, in keeping with the theme of the dance, this recap is going to contain copious '80s song references, so if that's not your thing? Turn around, bright eyes. We pan over kids gossiping (some of them about Mr. Rooks, actually) and eventually get to Logan and Veronica sitting at a table. I'd think the two of them hanging out is what the kids would be talking about, but maybe they don't want to start anything akin to blasphemous rumors. Veronica's got her hair teased, and is looking pretty in pink jacket and blue jeans. Also, there's a can of "Skist" in the foreground, so I guess the props department misunderstood what environmentalists mean when they urge people to recycle aluminum. Veronica tells Logan that since his mom disappeared, only her "no-limit platinum card" has been used. She adds that, of the fourteen cards she had, it's the only one still registered under her maiden name, "Lester." So I guess Lynn had plenty of money before she married Haaron. Logan speculates that she might be trying to hide, and Veronica smiles in agreement. She tells him that there's only been one charge on the card -- a rental car -- and adds that she ordered a copy of the signature, but that it might take a couple of weeks. Logan asks what car it is, and learns it's a Mercedes convertible, much like the one she left abandoned. She's gonna try to tame that little red love machine. Veronica tells Logan she'll let him know if the card's used again, and leaves. Logan quickly follows her...
...and inside, walks to her awkwardly. He swallows his pride, and if that action were manifested physically, it would be the rough equivalent of a garter snake sucking down a rhinoceros. He hesitantly but seemingly sincerely thanks her for "helping out with this," which is a marked shift in attitude from last episode. He even squeezes her arm. Veronica does not reply, "Oh, that'll have to come off now." Instead, she smiles somewhat mistily and says she knows what it's like. Logan smiles in return, and walks off. Veronica good-naturedly shakes her head, no doubt thinking it's a good day to buy a lottery ticket. We pan in the direction Veronica's walking in...
“ Honest to God, when I quit the band, I couldn't talk to women. I didn't know how anymore. If I couldn't invite them to the show and come down off the stage with swagger and alcohol, I had no idea. ”
CB: One other music question: in "Silence Of The Lamb," Deputy Leo tells Veronica his trick of inviting girls to see his band to see if they're into him. Is that anything you might have done at some point?
RT: That was pretty much straight out of my own life! It was the only way I could ask girls out [laughs]. Honest to God, when I quit the band, I couldn't talk to women. I didn't know how anymore. If I couldn't invite them to the show and come down off the stage with swagger and alcohol, I had no idea. Not to mention when I quit the band and moved to L.A. -- well, being broke in L.A. with a shitty job is not a good way to start dating.
CB: Well, you figured something out, obviously. Starting in 1990 or thereabouts, I believe, you taught high-school journalism for five years, and then you moved to L.A. and wrote Rats Saw God, which has a high-school setting.
RT: Well, just to clarify, I taught high school in San Antonio for two years, then advised the University of Texas student magazine for a year, and then taught high school again in Austin for two years. Then I moved to L.A. to work for Channel One, the teen news network, which got a lot of criticism, because some people thought we were just shoving Doritos down kids' throats. Not that there weren't a lot of great creative jobs at Channel One -- I just didn't have one of them. During that time I felt like I had no creative outlet at all, so I started writing a page a day, and Rats Saw God was the result. It all happened really quickly -- it only took me a couple months to get an agent.
CB: Wow, that's pretty impressive.
RT: Well, you look at it as that I paid my dues playing nine years in a less-than successful band.
CB: [laughs] Now, how much did your teaching period inform the work you've done since? There have been a fair number of high-school settings.
RT: It had a tremendous effect. Working with kids in journalism is different from teaching them Math or English. I worked with them after school, on yearbook, in a different setting than the classroom. They'd talk about their relationships and their lives, and those conversations stayed in my mind. The funny thing, though, is that although the protagonist of Rats Saw God is in high school, I meant for it to be an adult book. I was twenty-eight when I wrote it, and I felt the themes were mature. So I was a little surprised when it ended up being marketed to "young adults."
“ Originally, that walk was much longer, and when she gets to her car, the word 'SLUT' has been shoe-polished on, and on the back you see, 'Abel it should have been her.' And that was something the network made us throw out, thinking it was too dark. ”
CB: Yeah, so you're okay with the result. Now, do you see elements of any other shows in Veronica Mars? For example, were you a Twin Peaks fan?
RT: It's funny -- I was a big fan of Twin Peaks. I loved the first season. But as the show got stranger, and it became clear that they weren't really going to solve any of the mysteries, it frustrated me, and I stopped watching. I think a lot of people had that same experience. That's part of why I've stated clearly that the mysteries I laid out in the pilot are going to be solved by the end of the season. In some ways, I view Twin Peaks as a cautionary tale. But I certainly put a lot of elements of it into the pilot. In fact, as I said earlier, I originally thought Veronica Mars was going to be a cable show, so I was gearing the language and themes in the pilot toward that audience. Originally, Lilly's body was discovered in the ocean -- we even shot that. But the network freaked out about that and had us change it. Also, in the pilot when Veronica wakes up after she's been drugged and raped, she walks out of the party, and you see her walking down this path in her party dress. Originally, that walk was much longer, and when she gets to her car, the word "SLUT" has been shoe-polished on, and on the back you see, "Abel it should have been her." And that was something the network made us throw out, thinking it was too dark. But we're going to try to play that in the -to-last episode of the season as a flashback. We know that the network now has more faith in the show, so we're hoping they'll allow it.
CB: Now I notice sometimes that elements of your past work pop up here and there on Veronica Mars. For example, in "The Wrath Of Con," where the kids are playing "I Never" on the beach, Lilly says she's "never not had sex," which is an unusual construction lifted from Rats Saw God.
RT: You caught that! Ha ha ha! I didn't write that!
CB: Oh, seriously?
RT: Yeah, one of the other writers did.
CB: So it was like a little shout-out to you?
RT: Exactly. She put it in, and when I saw it I wasn't sure if I was going to leave it in, but I did.
“ [In] the - to-last episode of the season... Veronica figures out who roofied and raped her. We're trying to get as many people from the season together for that episode -- both people she's helped and people she's hurt, so we can get all their points of view so Veronica can solve the case. ”
CB: I also noticed that you used a Rashomon-type method of storytelling in your second book, Slave Day, and that popped up again in "An Echolls Family Christmas." Does that kind of reuse happen organically, or do you think, "I'd really like to use this idea again in another context"?
RT: Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't really going for a Rashomon-style story with "Echolls." There may have been a bit of an Agatha Christie feel to it, but I didn't think that mystery was big enough for a Rashomon-level episode. But, funnily enough, where we are using that idea again is in the episode I just mentioned, the -to-last episode of the season, where Veronica figures out who roofied and raped her. We're trying to get as many people from the season together for that episode -- both people she's helped and people she's hurt, so we can get all their points of view so Veronica can solve the case.
CB: Wow, that is awesome! I can't wait for that one now.
RT: We're looking forward to it. Of course, you have to be careful with theme episodes. We talk in the writer's room about how we'll know we've jumped the shark when we start having the characters acting out a version of Clue.
CB: [laughs] Speaking of the characters, let's talk about the casting for a minute. It's fairly well known, I think, that Jason Dohring originally auditioned for the role of Duncan. Am I right that Logan wasn't even supposed to be a main character?
RT: Actually, he was supposed to be a main character, but probably not with quite as big a role as he ended up with. But we love writing for him, because he's so dynamic. We cast Kristin first, so she read with all the male auditioners. We were down to three guys for the part of Logan, and after the first one read, we asked Kristen what she thought. She said she just didn't think he was intense enough. Knowing Jason was up , I said, "Wait 'til the guy."
CB: Well, yeah. There's a lot going on there.
RT: And Jason could have played Duncan. But the thing is, UPN's just like any other network in that they want pretty people. And Jason's a handsome guy, but when the network is looking for the romantic lead, the only headshots they want to see are male-model types. I think it worked out better this way.
“ I'm getting positive noise about a second season. UPN really likes the show, and Dawn Ostroff, the network president, has been telling me how every critic she talks to has told her that she can't cancel us. ”
CB: Well, he was so hated after the first couple of episodes. And it's partly the writing, but it's partly his acting ability -- I mean, his popularity rivals [Kristen's], and that's not easy to accomplish.
RT: We feel that way in the writer's room too.
CB: The whole cast seems really eager. Some of our posters have gone to the publicity events they've done around the country and met them, and have had nothing but good things to say about how pleasant and into it they are.
RT: And that's really a blessing. They're all great with the fans. And Kristen works so hard. She never gets any rest, and I'll see her at those things and know all she wants is a day off, but she just smiles and gets through it. The boys love those things, because 95% of the press on the show goes to Kristen. So they love getting on the plane and meeting the fans. And it's not that Kristen doesn't enjoy doing that too, but I just think she's exhausted and wouldn't mind lounging instead.
CB: What did you all do when you heard about the full-season order?
RT: We were pretty happy. I had gotten some very positive signals leading up to the announcement, so it wasn't a huge surprise. And I have to say, I'm getting positive noise about a second season. UPN really likes the show, and Dawn Ostroff, the network president, has been telling me how every critic she talks to has told her that she can't cancel us. Also, Diane Ruggiero [a Veronica Mars staff writer] and I rewrote a pilot for UPN, which they loved, but they're not going to make it season because they told us they don't want us to split our attention year, which indicates that we'll have Veronica Mars on the air.
CB: I've been optimistic too, although not everyone is.
RT: Well, there have been other signs. We recently beat our lead-in for the first time. Also, on nights that Kevin Hill didn't have a lead-in from America's Top Model, we've been spanking it.
CB: And UPN has been saying how much they want to be taken seriously and have good scripted dramas. Given that, now that they've canceled Enterprise, I don't really see how they can afford to cancel Veronica Mars, but we'll know when we know. When will you find out? May?
When will Rob find out? Tune in for the Part II of the interview and see.