With the advent and increasing popularity of television networks placing episodes of shows online for consumers to view at their leisure. It has become increasingly easy to catch your favorite show whenever you want. Another great outgrowth from this new trend is the accessibility to shows which for whatever reason are no longer gracing the airwaves or that you’ve not had the chance to get into. So I figure a great way to introduce people to some shows that I have really enjoyed is to search these websites, like hulu or the new wb website and see what they have to offer in the way of catch up opportunities.

The first entry has to go to one of my all-time favorite shows: Veronica Mars. This show, which was on upn and later the cw for 3 years marries two of the more disparate genres of tv: noir detective procedural a la Law & Order and teen high school drama a la The O.C. No offense to either of those shows, but Mars does a better job at creating detetctive stories and better at controlling teen drama and creating a more realistic feel of high school. The strengths of the show lie in the writing and acting.

The show’s creator Rob Thomas cast the show wonderfully, with Kristen Bell as the title character and Enrico Colantoni as her father. Their relationship forms the central tentpole of the whole series and the two have palpable chemistry. As do Bell and her classmates, led by outstanding efforts from the the group of men who make up her circle of friends and occasional enemies (Teddy Dunn as Duncan Kane, Percy Daggs as Wallace Fennel, Jason Dohring as Logan Echolls, and Francis Capra as Weevil). The story of the first season, which is available in full at thewb.com, weaves an engrossing tale of murder, class warfare, and politics.

The story focuses on the Veronica’s investigation into the murder of Lily Kane, Veronica’s best friend. It also deals with the fallout from the police’s investigation which was led by Veronica’s father, who was the sheriff at the time. Since the investigation failed under Sheriff Mars, their family was cast out of the upper echelon of the town’s society. This factor plays throughout the show’s first season. The story is excellently told, with bends and twists befitting the best mysteries. Each episode focuses on a procedural “crime,” but builds on the other story arcs serially, and there are a few veins of tense storytelling which stretch over multiple episodes. One of the reasons for the show’s desmise was that people could not casually watch the show. And there is a bit of necessary intent when watching Veronica Mars, but I found that I couldn’t help myself from watching episode after episode on DVD, always saying “Just One More!”

The storytelling is excellent and so is the dialogue, this really goes to the cast’s performance again as well. Fans of the Gilmore Girls will find a wealth of similar pop culture references, spouted by this cast. Bell, Colantoni, and the rest of the gang are given great material to work with and the show has a great quality of comedy to it that must be underscored. Combining the comedy with the drama the subject matter often supplies really makes it a treat to watch, as you can do below.

Veronica Mars is excellent, no two ways about it. And since it is no longer on the air (UNFORTUNATELY) you now have ample time to catch up on what is easily in my top 5 series of all time. Do yourself a favor and check out the first season on The WB’s new website.

First Season Evaluation: 10/10.