Even though it’s already been funded in the time it took me to write this, I would still hope my fellow marshmallows would fund the Veronica Mars Kickstarter because … Because.
I liked Veronica Mars. When it was new, I advocated people watch it. I speculated on it (I thought Lamb was the season two killer, I was wrong, but he went out with an awesome line of “I smell bread…”). I thought it said goodbye in the best way it could.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want to revisit it.
In 2004, it was a rarity: Smart TV with a female protagonist. Veronica was the outcast (a common trope I know), and she was raped (again, I know, and I hated that), but season one was brilliant. It blew my mind that we got a TV show that rarely talked down to us, that touched on the many challenges faced by Veronica (poor girl, rich boyfriend), who was best friends with the murdered sister of her boyfriend, who may or may not be her boyfriend’s sister (wasn’t), whose boyfriend’s pregnant ex-girlfriend was in a coma (and died, and he ran off with the baby), who ended up dating boyfriend’s best friend who just so happened to be the son of the dead best friend, whose father was fired as sheriff only to be rehired and fired again as the show ended…
The layers upon layers that Rob Thomas (not that one, the other one) put into his show was astounding. I don’t agree with all his choices for characters (Beaver in season two, rape AGAIN as a trope I dislike) but every character felt real and genuine. Rob Thomas was like Joss Whedon, without the fantasy/sci-fi aspects. In fact, Whedon guest-stared on the show! That’s a lot of love.
Before the show ended, many of us campaigned, sending Mars Bars to UPN. After the end, we hoped there would be a resurrection, maybe a movie… Nothing happened. It’s been six years, and like Firefly, if they said “Hey, we’re gonna make a movie!” I would drop everything and go watch.
They’re trying to make a movie!
At the time I posted this (and determined that my comic book money was going there instead of to comics), they went from $1,940,000ish to $1,972,206… And it’s climbing as you watch this. It’s crazy. I don’t know who they blackmailed in the WB to do this, but I’m excited. I mean … shit, it passed $2 million by 5:50pm Pacific today.
You should still donate. $1 to $100, or whatever you want. And go get the DVDs to watch three seasons of the only smart shown UPN (aka WB) ever aired. EVER.
If you’ve watched the show, you should also see the follow-up series that was pitched: Veronica Mars: FBI
Weird sidenote. The first time I posted about Veronica Mars was when I’d gotten back from my uncle’s funeral. My uncle bore a more than passing resemblance to Jeffery Tambor. Tambor looks freakishly like Pope Francis I (elected today).
Edited to add…
Look, I know, paying to make a movie is something WB should do, but they aren’t willing to take the risk, and honestly, I wanna see it. The WB is picking up the tab for marketing, promotion, and distribution. The $2mill is for all production costs. Yes, you can make an indie movie for way less, but by comparison, Firefly cost $39 million. We’re not making an indie movie, we’re making a big damn movie. It’s a gamble. There’s a risk/reward situation here. And it’s less about the money here, and more about proving a point. The point is this was a damn good show, it’ll be a damn good movie, and I look forward to seeing it next year. The point is that there is a fanbase for the movie, and it should make it. The point is that WB (and other companies) have not yet moved to understand their audiences, and if we can help them understand we’re here, we’re really, and we’re more than just Nielsens, then it’s worth $50 to me.
If it’s not worth it to you, don’t donate! It’s worth it to me.