"Doing you was like doing the Dew"

A mere two episodes in and I'm already madly in love with Veronica Mars. Let me clarify a bit. I am in love with Kristen Bell, and I like the show a whole lot. But just as a friend.

The show concerns a 17-year old girl who has recently found herself ceremoniously dumped from the popular clique at her high school. Typical, you say? What if I said Veronica's rift with her old friends springs from her best friend's murder, an event that led her Sheriff father to lose his job and his wife? Then it gets a bit more interesting. Veronica, using the resources of her dad's new private detective agency, is determined to solve the murder, as well as find out who date-raped her at her last party with the popular crowd. Her only allies are a put-upon yet plucky social outcast and the leader of a local motorcycle gang who has a heart of, well, not quite gold, exactly. It's a Twins Peak-esque hook, to be sure.

The show has an irritating voiceover which was particularly dire in the pilot, which mostly served to set up the elaborate backstory. It was much less prominent in the second episode, fortunately. The second episode's mystery isn't particularly compelling, but the acting, dialogue, and tone (quirky with more than a hint of darkness) more than carry the day. Plus there's some progress made in the over-arching mystery plot. Seriously, even the presence of Paris Hilton couldn't derail the episode, considering they did have the good sense to cast her more or less as herself. To balance out the odious casting, they added post pre-crisis Sidney Portier to the ensemble. Yes!

Seriously, check it out. It's on Tuesday nights on UPN.