RIP Ms. Mars...

I came to the Veronica Mars party a little late. Everybody loved that show, but I watched a couple of episodes and didn't care much for it. One day I went to Target and Season One was cheap. Because I am, in fact, the highly suggestible type, I decided to give it a go.

I was very, very wrong about Veronica Mars.

I devoured the first two season in time to start the third--now on the CW.

I loved Veronica Mars (the show) because the dialogue was smart. I loved it because Veronica (the character) was tough and vulnerable and honest and fair. I loved Wallace. I loved Duncan. And, against my better judgement, I loved Logan.

Enrico Colantoni, the guy who played Elliott on Just Shoot Me, played Veronica's dad. That was pretty awesome, too.

For me, though, the best thing about Veronica Mars (the show) was Tina Majorino. She played Mac--the brainy computer grrl who ended up being Veronica's friend and sorta sidekick. She was smart and funny and like-able, and was a more realistic teenager than Veronica.

Part of the reason that Veronica Mars (the show) worked so well is that there was an overarching mystery that kept me watching all season. Every week a little bit more was revealed and, by the end, we knew everything. There were also mini-mysteries each week that kept the plot moving. Mixing the easily-solvable mysteries with the One Big Mystery kept people watching weekly because it gave people instant gratification.

The other reason that Veronica Mars (the show) worked so well is the dialogue. One of my favorite TV shows starring young adults was Boy Meets World. Want to know why? Because it put words in its characters' mouths that teenagers would actually say. Dawson's Creek made its teenagers seem way older than they were. My So-Called Life made them seem more intellectual than real teenagers. And 90210? Well those kids were just unreal. Awesome, but unreal. What was so great about Veronica Mars (the show) is that its teenagers seemed normal, even as they were put in ridiculously unrealistic situations. It worked, though, because even as they were in over their heads, they talked like real teenagers.

I loved Veronica Mars because it was perfect. And, any imbalance of what made if perfect (cast, plot, dialogue) would kill it.

Then, Veronica Mars jumped the shark.

When the kids went to college, the perfect-ness disappeared. Why? Because the balance was thrown off. And, like I said two lines up, any imbalance of what made it perfect would kill it.

The addition of new characters (okay, I liked Piz a little bit), the disappearance of old characters, and a mess of contrived situations so convoluted that even I couldn't suspend my disbelief that much were the demise of Veronica Mars (the person and the show).

Rumor has it that Veronica Mars got the old heave-ho for the CW to make way for such gems as Gossip Girl and a dating show with a cowboy.

I will keep Veronica, Wallace, Mac, Keith, Logan and, okay, Piz in my heart forever. But, sometimes a show has a shelf-life. And, this one was over before it even began.