Quick Reviews: Veronica and Gilmore

Just some quick reviews for you here:

VERONICA MARS:

Overall, this was probably my favorite episode of the season to date. It was great to see Weevil back (even if he's apparently been hitting the donuts while in jail ...), and his presence made the episode feel a little more like classic Veronica Mars. Also, Ed Begley Jr. is always welcome on anything as far as I'm concerned, and he is a great addition to the cast as the Dean of Veronica's college and a great new foil for our main character. I agree with the fans who have complained about the changes to the show's formatting / editing style though - I miss the old format of having an extra-long cold open that drew you into the story before the old (good) theme song began to play and get you pumped up for the episode ahead. The newly remixed themesong is just so drab ... But, anyways, the dialogue here was just crackling, and there was a lot of good character interaction as well. Weevil had some great scenes with Keith Mars - it's too bad they didn't have more of a build up to his losing it and going ballistic on the crooks he was tailing - that would have been a cool scene if we had actually seen it after some build up, perhaps over a span of a few episodes. Well, I guess one thing you can't accuse this show of is Lost-style decompression. Also, I know that some people are critical of Logan acting like a jerk in this ep, which is supposedly out of character for him. I am fine with it though, as Logan has, mostly, been characterized as a jerk, and his recent star-crossed romance with Veronica has been an exception to his usually erratic behavior. Logan even said it in this ep - Veronica has a problem in falling for bad boys, so I think it's only natural for the real Logan to come out after theh oneymoon period of their relationship is over. So yeah - good episode, nice little mini mystery here as well as some good stuff that planted more seeds for plot threads to come. And hey, any show that repeats the "Larry, is this your homework?" scene from The Big Lebowski verbatim, yet does so totally in the context of the story, has attained a level of storytelling genious that you've gotta recognize. This still isn't hitting on the level of Season 1 or 2, but it's getting there.

My Grade: A -

GILMORE GIRLS:

Yes, this WAS easily the best episode's of Gilmore's season to date. After spending last weekend watching Edward Herrmann play a vampire mastermind in Lost Boys, I have a newfound respect for his acting range - but there's no denying that he completely owns as Grandpa Gilmore, and tonight he delivered yet another great performance. Kelly Bishop stole the show though as Emily Gilmore -- both her and Herrmann are so overdue for Emmy Awards it's not even funny. Overall, this ep felt by far the most natural of any ep since the move to the CW - the dialogue all felt on target, and the excahnges were practically overflowing with quotable lines. Paris was hilarious as always, and she even went on an extended rant about the Hartford Courant! Nice ... Also, I am probably in the very small minority of people who has grown to love Luke's daughter April. The young actress playing her is great, and I got a real kick out of her interactions with her hapless dad in last night's ep. Rory's encounter with the two artsy girls was pretty amusing as well ("genious!"). Excellent ep - good to see Gilmore getting back on track.

My Grade: A