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Veronica Mars Season 3 (1 Viewer)

DaveF

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Jason Seaver said:
There was no cliffhanger. Thomas and company didn't spell it out, but is there really any doubt that Keith Mars lost the election? He sacrificed his career for his daughter's future when he erased those tapes
Depends on one's perspective of "cliffhanger". Without a doubt Keith Mars lost the election. But does he prove Vinny is connected with the Fitzpatricks' crime spree? Dick is verging on suicidal as he finally grapples with Beav's death. Piz & Veronica? Logan assaulted a Russian mafioso; does he live? Wallace off to Africa, really? Mac and Exam-Cheats Boyfriend? And it's only their Freshman year!
Emotionally, the season ended with more turmoil than it began. It was quite unsatisfying.
What's odd is the plotting feels like the creators knew they could go away at any moment, yet they didn't bother to actually conclude the season or series in a satisfying way.
It had some solid episodes. The final few I found very engaging, and enjoyed the "gettin' the band back together" aspects of throwing in everyone from previous seasons at the end (cheesy as it was). I don't want to bag on the show -- VM is some of the best TV I've ever seen. But that was a frustrating way to end.
As for future work: I guess it's wait and see.
 

Sean Bryan

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Just watched all three seasons over the past couple of weeks.
Loved seasons 1 and 2! What a great show!
I enjoyed season 3, but I'm very disappointed with what they did with the season overall.
The BEST way to do a serialized season of a TV show is to have an overall arc that is completely resolved by the end of the season. There can be larger "series arcs" that span the seasons, but each season should be essentially a self-contained story or chapter with a proper end.
Seasons one and two did this perfectly. Each season had one major story arc that developed over the season and was concluded in the finalie. So, even knowing that the show had been cancelled, I felt good going into season 3 because I assumed it would also be a nice, satisfying, self contained chapter. Instead, they did two "larger" mysteries that were resolved about half way and two thirds through the season, then the end was basically just mystery of the week episodes with some character drama and the election.
It seems to me that they always were on the bubble as far as getting a next season, but if it ended after season 1 or 2 it still would have left me completely satisfied because of the overall story arc and closure of each season. So why the hell did they change this format as far as the season arc, and then also end the season with lots of set-up for the next season? Sure, it's a given that Keith lost the election because of covering for veronica, but there were lots of other things that seemed to be set up that now go nowhere. I actually didn't realize that the last episode was the last episode. I thought there would be two more on the last disc. Imagine my surprise when I put the last disc in expecting a better wrap to the season and finding that it was just an "extras disc"!
At least the season 4 "jump ahead 3-4 years first year at the FBI" pitch to the network was interesting. But If they actually wound up doing that just to save the show I still would have been saying "where's Wallace, what happend to Logan, is Keith still a PI, etc ...?"
I like the idea of Veronica Mars becoming an FBI agent, but the DNA of this show is a "P.I. in the world of teenagers and young adults". You take her out of that environment, and she's still going to be the same awesome character, but it woudn't be the same show.
If they ever do get to do a movie, I hope they do the senior year in college instead of FBI. If they do a second movie, do it at the academy. Maybe a third movie would be appropriate to actually have her as a special agent, but this is all pipe dreams anyway.
 

Matt Hough

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I think they changed the format in season three as a last ditch effort to garner a larger audience. It didn't work (though the ratings are certainly better than most CW shows now generate). I would have been happy to see another year of veronica in college or her intership at the FBI or her as an agent jumping ahead a few years.

The time the actress spent on Heroes the year after Veronica Mars ended only reminded me how much I missed the show and wanted that character back.

I, too, went through the entire three season run during last year's holiday season, and I really enjoyed seeing those episodes again. It was a very underrated and undervalued series.
 

DaveF

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Now I want to rewatch S1.

Also, I'd completely forgotten about this thread and my comments and how S1 went. It's always amusing to re-read thoughts from a few years ago. :)
 

Greg_S_H

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It is utterly amazing that a Veronica Mars season 3 thread got to 25 pages. Amazing. Couldn't happen in the modern HTF, sadly.
 

mattCR

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Originally Posted by Greg_S_H /t/241511/veronica-mars-season-3/720#post_3943311
It is utterly amazing that a Veronica Mars season 3 thread got to 25 pages. Amazing. Couldn't happen in the modern HTF, sadly.

No, it wouldn't be possible today.
 

WaveCrest

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Is it likely a big screen film of Veronica Mars will get made? Hope this series doesn't get forgotten about.
 

Sean Bryan

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Probably not too likely, but the folks behind Veronica Mars are still hoping to be able to do it. See this article from January.
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/01/another-veronica-mars-movie-update-kristen-bell-still-on-board.html
 

Greg_S_H

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They only need a few million dollars? Kickstarter that sumbitch! ;)
Personally, the ship sailed a long time ago. This is no longer a series I care about. Others have trod similar ground since then, and better.
 

Ethan Riley

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Greg didn't even sound too enthusiastic about it. But It's 10:15 am as I write this....Veronica Mars has reached $600,000 of its stated $2,000,000 goal... in just over 2 hours! That's already a Kickstarter record: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project
 

Matt Hough

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It's so exciting that this kind of support is still around for a show that's been off the air for a few years now.
 

Greg_S_H

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Sorry for the downer post, even though it's old and I forgot I made it. If they need $2M in 30 days and are halfway there in one, it looks like it's going to make it. Anyone here buying a $10,000 movie role? :)
 

Joe_H

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I admit, I've never watched the show (I hear good things, though). But with this Kickstarter, nobody seems to be mentioning what my biggest concern would be. Namely... this Kickstarter is supposed to cover the costs of making and distributing the movie. Warner Bros owns the rights to the movie. So, clearly they're going to hit their Kickstarter target (and likely much more). I'm sure that any extra money in the Kickstarter will go into the movie. I mean, of course things like visual effects and actors salaries and all of that sort of stuff that usually goes into the movie. But then, they finish making the movie, and it gets released in theaters and Blu-ray... and Warner Bros still owns the rights, so they get all of the profit? Is that how it's really going to work? I mean, at least when studios usually profit on movies, it's after a lot of their own investment and risk. Here they are literally going to profit for doing nothing besides saying "okay, crowdsource the funding". Isn't that a little bit of a bad precedent?
 

Citizen87645

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Well, it's definitely uncharted territory, but WB owns the property already, so it's not like Thomas et al could have made the movie without the studio's consent. At least this way, in theory, everybody gets what they want. Time will only tell how it will shake out, but I feel like there's going to be more benefits than not.
 

Ethan Riley

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Joe_H said:
I admit, I've never watched the show (I hear good things, though). But with this Kickstarter, nobody seems to be mentioning what my biggest concern would be. Namely... this Kickstarter is supposed to cover the costs of making and distributing the movie. Warner Bros owns the rights to the movie. So, clearly they're going to hit their Kickstarter target (and likely much more). I'm sure that any extra money in the Kickstarter will go into the movie. I mean, of course things like visual effects and actors salaries and all of that sort of stuff that usually goes into the movie. But then, they finish making the movie, and it gets released in theaters and Blu-ray... and Warner Bros still owns the rights, so they get all of the profit? Is that how it's really going to work? I mean, at least when studios usually profit on movies, it's after a lot of their own investment and risk. Here they are literally going to profit for doing nothing besides saying "okay, crowdsource the funding". Isn't that a little bit of a bad precedent?
If Rob Thomas is raising the Kickstarter money, that makes him the producer, and Warners the distributor. He'll have to pay Warners for the characters and licensing and they'll pay for the distribution. Profits will probably be shared owing to whatever deals they're working out. Warners wins, but the fans are the real winners because they made something happen which Warners apparently had little faith in. Btw, they're now up to $1.7 million...!
 

DaveF

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This might be my first kickstarter participation. I need to read more. The trailer was awesome, but didn't give me warm fuzzies that they had a script or anything.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Joe_H said:
But with this Kickstarter, nobody seems to be mentioning what my biggest concern would be. Namely... this Kickstarter is supposed to cover the costs of making and distributing the movie. Warner Bros owns the rights to the movie. So, clearly they're going to hit their Kickstarter target (and likely much more). I'm sure that any extra money in the Kickstarter will go into the movie. I mean, of course things like visual effects and actors salaries and all of that sort of stuff that usually goes into the movie. But then, they finish making the movie, and it gets released in theaters and Blu-ray... and Warner Bros still owns the rights, so they get all of the profit? Is that how it's really going to work? I mean, at least when studios usually profit on movies, it's after a lot of their own investment and risk. Here they are literally going to profit for doing nothing besides saying "okay, crowdsource the funding". Isn't that a little bit of a bad precedent?
What Kickstarter's useful for is providing a mechanism for consumer investment to make something possible that otherwise would not be financially feasible. Warner Bros. owns Veronica Mars, but it ran the numbers and decided that producing a movie through the traditional production pipeline would not be a profitable venture. Obviously, if the production costs are shifted off Warner Bros.'s ledger, it becomes a different story entirely. And the other costs of releasing a movie (including distribution and marketing) are not insubstantial, so having a major studio behind the project is still a major asset and a major part of what makes it possible. The thing about Kickstarter is that the terms of investment in a given project are very clear. In this case, all investments from the Kickstarter campaign go into a Warner Bros. account earmarked exclusively for this project. Any investment above $35.00 entitles the investor to a digital copy of the film on or near the release date. That's it. Don't invest in this project to see a return. The only reason to invest is because you want a Veronica Mars movie.
 

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