Triumph and confusion

My pleasure at having correctly identified every single person involved in rapes or staged "rapes," without fingering anyone blameless, is diminished slightly by confusion about the Mexican arson alibi Logan provided for Mercer. Are we to assume that he was only in Mexico during one of the Lilith House "rapes"?

I eat crow and bow to you MWR who will now be known as "Rapist Spotter!" I wouldn't put it on a t-shirt or anything, but we'll know how special you are.

As much as I LoVe it when my favorite people get together I was happy to see Logan (whom I want to be my new nude housekeeper - TMI?) kick Veronica to the curb. It was a nice display of emotion from Logan. V of course is dead inside and instead of even offering up a weak "I'm sorry" she just stands there!? Grrr... I hate the standard shower crying scene - everyone who hides their true emotions to the outside world knows the best place to cry is in the car with Air Supply blasting.

Regarding the Logan/Mercer alibi I am of the opinion that their Mexican flaming motel incident occurred during one of the "fake rapes" which took him out of the running for Big Rapist on Campus - or so it seemed... daan da daaaa.

So far this season the only character that still has that ol' Neptune High charm is Dick. Lord love him, he's smarmy, he's a little evil, and he takes no crap from Veronica McJump-to-conclusions. He's getting the best lines this season.

The crying in the shower thing was so contrived. I was yelling at the TV that she had no right to cry because she'd treated Logan like dirt, and it's a miracle he didn't dump her sooner. Congrats to Logan for being very mature.

I also bow to MWR's superior wisdom. Moe was in on it. And boy is he Mercer's whipping boy!

I assume now that we are on holiday hiatus? Guess this means I can finally catch up on House.

Something is seriously wrong with the dynamic of the show

Last week's episode, "Lord of the Pi's", nicely illustrates what I think are significant structural problems with the show. Normally, I might start by criticizing the writers for the "greengrocer's apostrophe" in the title, but here I can understand their reasoning. It does remind me that I dislike all the episode titles that are feeble, inapposite plays on literary or pop-culture titles. In order to pull that off, the episode really should have something to do with a theme of the referenced work. If you want a clinic in episode titles, I suggest the original Star Trek. Now those were episode titles.

Anyway, I'm increasingly convinced that something is really wrong with the dynamic of the show. All the characters exist like little separate particles that occasionally bump into each other. As we've observed and bemoaned, multiple title-credited characters are absent from any given episode. Sometimes, when they do appear, it has the feel of complying with a contractual obligation or union rule of some sort. Lately, it seems like the writers have not just favored Veronica with plenty of fresh kills and her customary lion's share of the good lines—they have been actively running off the hyenas and vultures as well. When did Logan last have a memorable funny line? Has Weevil even been in two episodes? Served as anything more than a handy combination of red herring and passkey?

So that's kind of a problem. But maybe it's a really a symptom of a larger problem. Screen time is a zero-sum game, and this season more of it seems to be going to Keith than in the past. Normally, when you go to college, the parental contact drops off significantly. Not for Veronica. I think Rob Thomas and others have acknowledged that Keith's role and the Veronica-Keith dynamic were being emphasized this season because it's such a special relationship or whatever. Or, more likely, because parent-child banter is supposed to be what the Gilmore Girls viewers like to see. Unfortunately, the writers have beefed up Keith's role by just adding more of the little daddy-daughter interactions they think everyone loves. But a little goes a long way. That "full of information" bit last week was about the most painful daddy-daughter filler we've seen in 2-1/2 years. If anything, the Veronica-Keith relationship is less complex now than it has ever been.

Instead of manufacturing conflicts du jour between Veronica and Logan, how about setting up some believable ones centering on some of Keith's less attractive qualities? I cringed when he came running out and said "Maybe you'd better stop shouting at my daughter!" Logan handled it better than I would have. Now that Veronica is an adult, Keith needs to mellow out, or she needs to break away more, or both. And now that Veronica is in college, she needs to mellow out about whom Keith is involved with. She's never been keen on anyone he's dated (neutral, maybe, about Alicia), and I start to wonder if she even wants her father to be happy. Anyway, both of them need to learn to mind their own business a little more. Less screen time for Keith would help. I would be happy to have seen Keith as much as I've seen, say, Weevil and Mac combined so far this season.

Another problem that cuts across character and plot issues is that—either in Veronica's mind or objectively—no one is good enough for Veronica. Among the main characters, maybe Mac and Wallace are, if we could ever see them. But who else? And the adversaries, except, perhaps, the faceless rapist, aren't worthy of her. In the past, we've had Wiedman and a few others, but this season it's been like watching Sherlock Holmes nabbing pickpockets. Veronica needs her Moriarty. It would be nice to have some known malefactor who has the upper hand for multiple episodes, getting away with things that Veronica can't prove he/she did before eventually receiving a comeuppance. Think Luther Mahoney in Homicide.

Finally, both Veronica and Keith need to lose one now and then. Yes, Keith did blithely chauffeur Kendall's killer to her doorstep. Yes, Veronica could have stopped Parker's rape under some recrimination-based ex post theory, but, basically, Veronica and Keith always get their man. They always win in the end. The mysteries of the week are such inconsequential fluff anyway that it would be refreshing if sometimes it didn't all work out so neatly. I once read an interview with Roy Huggins, creator of The Rockford Files, who said it took a season or more to work out the right balance among the "up" and "down" episodes. Of course, Jim Rockford mostly came out ahead in the end, but many of his victories were, if not pyrrhic, at least unsatisfying in some way. He solves the case, but someone else gets the girl, or he loses the "Goodhew" detective award on a recount, or whatever. And, of course, he never managed to move out of the trailer. The main bad consequences Veronica ever suffers are to her relations with others. She makes enemies and burns bridges, but none of that ever seems to come back and bite her. Sometimes it nips her, maybe.

Maybe they are setting Veronica up for some bigger fall. She's kind of a mess. Her instincts have become so cynical that they've been leading her astray. She wears her unwillingness to change or adapt like a badge of honor. But I doubt they are going to lay Veronica really low, and there are fewer opportunities to do so than some shows have (as Buffy sang, "Hey I've died twice").

Yes to everything above. MWR and I were conversing on email about the lack of chemistry between the actors this season. And we know the actors have chemistry together; can we say Seasons 1 and 2? The show is just not working for me right now. I keep watching, because I remember Season 1 and how amazing it was. But I am coming really close to re-prioritizing my Tivo to "House", which has apparently been fantastic this year.

Veronica lacks passion
Logan lacks mirth
Mac lacks screen time
Wallace seems to have lost his BFF status
Keith is overbearing
Weevil doing an honest days work is just wrong -- he is a gang member for godsakes.

Here is an idea: how about an episode that centers around all the supporting characters who aren't getting any screen time with zero appearnces by Veronica. We can send her off for an FBI internship interview or something.

"She wears her unwillingness to change or adapt like a badge of honor." Exactly. She's getting on my nerves, too. There's a big difference between being a little prickly and overdefensive and afraid to let people in and just plain old being a jerk. Funny, I would normally think of that term as applying to men (like dick and prick--which wouldn't be that far off at characterizing her behavior here, either), but can't think of a good female equivalent. Bitch doesn't quite seem to fit. In any case, she's treating Logan like CRAP and it's pissing me off.

It occurs to me that at this point last season I was also feeling some frustration with structure and pacing, thinking they were dropping too many red herrings and making the mystery too complicated (and sending Wallace off to Chicago for what, six weeks or something? That was never explained well enough for me). They managed to bring it all around at the end, but they left more stuff hanging than in the first season (like, whatever was the deal with Cliff's briefcase? Talk about your SMPs). It looks like we'll be seeing Mac again next week, and also like Veronica might be getting some of the overconfidence (prickishness?) knocked out of her. So who's going to die?

Perhaps, the end of the beginning?

Oh, it's Patty Hearst on Tuesday. Here is a quick Venn diagram illustrating how the CW's target demographic (A) intersects with the group of people who know about Patty Hearst and her story (B):

Now that the full episode order for the show appears to be 20 instead of 22, they'd better get cracking on those two other mysteries. This had better be Mystery No. 1 Payoff Episode. Who would have thought they would spend this much time on the rape mystery? I thought it was just going to be a little palate-cleanser of a mystery.

It might be a spoiler to learn that Hearst plays a _________. I wonder if a _________ would be involved in a pivotal episode if either of my suspects were guilty . . . but if a certain other character were guilty, then maybe a _________ would get involved somehow.

By the way, some of you basically never post. Just thought I'd throw that out there. No pressure.

Eegad I am so phenomenally annoyed at Veronica. I told MWR recently that what was bugging me most about this season is how much I find I really don't like Veronica. Poor Logan. The thought actually went through my head, "Gee, Veronica really doesn't deserve a guy like Logan." For shame.

Unresolved question from last night -- Parker was in on the fake rapes? I didn't think she was connected with the feminists.

I sound like a broken record, but WHERE THE HELL IS MAC?!

I thought the Patty Hearst casting was amsuing. "Patty Hearst, heiress"; "Selma Hearst Rose, heiress." However, I am probably one of the few viewers in the right age demographic to get the joke. I would have been much more amused at the casting of Patty Hearst if she'd been any good. Man, was she wooden.

Best line from this Simpsons fan: "Brant is the Waylon Smithers to Rose's Mr. Burns."

Last chance

Well, I hope I'm right and it's your last chance to register your predictions. Because I'm definitely ready to move on to some other mystery that might involve more of the credited actors appearing on screen together. I have to think that the last-minute introduction of the dean into the mix was another red herring, mostly because the washed-up-adult-star-as-villain angle has been done twice in two seasons. I have two suspects:

• Nish and collaborators from Lilith House - She's a jerk we've been conditioned to dislike. This theory explains the lack of forensic evidence, Claire's "rape" and why Veronica was targeted in a departure from the normal M.O. Motive would be to apply pressure on frats, the Lampoon, Veronica and other instruments and abettors of male oppression. The Claire "rape" targeted the Lampoon people who had crossed Nish, and also conveniently provided Nish with an alibi. The attack on Veronica came after she had crossed and been threatened by Nish.


• That floor proctor guy - He's odd, offers people tea at the drop of a hat and has keys to all the rooms. He was in a position to intercept Parker.

No fair picking two, so I'm going to go with Nish.

Art imitates life

The Rise and Fall of the "Bus Plunge" Story

Spotted in downtown Seattle

Friday Night Lights

This is an amazingly good show. Totally different from VM, of course, but so far this year, episode-for-episode, it's been the best thing on TV.

Last Night's Missing Cast Members

So last night we got Wallace back; Piz was elsewhere as was Dick, and Mac has been MIA for, what, three weeks? But hey, we had an appearance by Backup, which as this dog lover will tell you, is always a treat. Good to see Wallace, but was he even in any scenes with his BFF? Seeing an email from him ("Snickerdoodleme?") isn't quite the same as actual interaction. I wonder if the three-mysteries structure isn't stretching the show a little thin on quality interactions among the main characters.

Best part of the episode was the opening wherein Weevil is addressing Veronica's class. Proof that Francis Capra gets good dialogue and is one of the better actors on the show. I think he and Enrico Colantoni rank at the tops for acting ability on VM. Not that the others aren't good, it's just these two stand out to me. Drywall dust notwithstanding, I thought it was out of character for V to immediately conclude Weevil did it. I need to watch the heist scene again, but it seemed that the necklace thief was obviously taller than Weevil.

Really really can't stand Ed Begley, Jr. I can't tell if it's the character, the writing, the directing, or the acting, but every scene he is in is just painful to watch. I felt like the whole B plot would normally have involved one-off random clients, but they had some contractual need to have EBJ in the episode. I could be wrong and what we have learned about him may pertain to something that happens later, but I'm not expecting that to happen.

And up next week, the long dreaded, but must happen Logan and Veronica have relationship troubles episode. I hope they can manage to have the conflict not seem forced, as some of their problems this season have struck me. I think whatever happened would seem less forced if we could just see a bit more of them in normal interactions, hanging with a group of friends, etc. We haven't seen them together enough yet to have them credibly pulled apart.