Alyson Hannigan

Save One Show Results Are In!

Jason BatemanIf your name rhymes with Shason Shateman, you might want to sit down for this.

The results are in for this year’s Save One Show campaign, the E! Online poll where fans vote on which endangered series needs to be saved, and I must break the news that our own Party Girl Lara Morgenson couldn’t when she ran into "Shason," aka Jason Bateman, earlier this week at a PlayStation party.

"Did we win? Do you know?" was the second thing he asked. (The first? "Please say hi my favorite TV diva." Swoon.) "I’ve been on E! Online this week looking for the results of that poll. I think we actually need that win."

His words are like a renegade hand-hook through my heart. For little did Jason know that at that very moment, at that very party, the inconceivably adorable and perky young blonde standing—no, actually, no joke, robot dancing—right next to him was the very culprit who snatched his win.

Her name? Kristen Bell, aka Veronica Mars.

Kristen BellNow, it’s no secret I love this little UPN series so much it borders on requiring medical attention, but before we get all squeally and mushy-gushy, I can’t help but ask the fans of Arrested Development and other endangered shows: Where were you? For, as you will see from the numbers below, the size of the can of whoop-ass Veronica opened on the competition is astounding.

E! Online’s Fifth Annual Save One Show Poll Results:

Total number of votes: 686,323

15. The Wire (HBO): Less than 1%
14. Kevin Hill (UPN): Less than 1%
13. Medical Investigation (NBC): Less than 1%
12. The West Wing (NBC): Less than 1%
11. Jack & Bobby (WB): 1%
10. North Shore (Fox): 1%
9. Joan of Arcadia (CBS): 2%
8. Point Pleasant (Fox): 2.5%
7. Enterprise (UPN): 3%
6. Tru Calling (Fox): 5%
5. Life as We Know It (ABC): 5.5%
4. Charmed (WB): 6%
3. American Dreams (NBC): 7%
2. Arrested Development (Fox): 9%
1. Veronica Mars (UPN): 56%

No, that is not a misprint. UPN’s tiny little butt-kicking vixen has won this year’s SOS Campaign with 56 percent of the vote. Blows your mind, doesn’t it?

That said, it’s no wonder Veronica, er, Kristen, was busting a celebratory robotic move at the PlayStation soiree, because earlier that same night, I revealed the SOS results to the cast and producers at the Paley Television Festival.

"Son of a bitch!" Enrico Colantoni exclaimed while throwing his hands in a victorious overhead clasp. "That’s amazing!"

Enrico Colantoni"Holy smokes!" Kristen squealed. "Is that for real? West Wing? Arrested Development? Joan of Arcadia? Wow. Those are big shows."

And clearly, deserving of big attention from UPN president Dawn Ostroff, who will be deciding Veronica’s fate May 15. I’ll be sending her a letter, as promised. But you should know that UPN’s promo department is doing something even better: They’re running commercial spots with the results of this very SOS poll, counting down the top five winners to Veronica Mars as number one. How fantastic is that? No better place to reach Ostroff than on her own network.

Even better? Kristen tells me she feels strongly the show will survive. "I think the general consensus is that it’s a smart decision for everyone, and I think that will speak for itself at the end, you know?"

Executive producer Rob Thomas seconds that emotion. "I think we’re coming back," he tells me. "I really do. I get such positive feedback from the network, from the executives. Even the tiny amount of growth that we’ve had over the course of the season, they seem pretty happy with. I think they’re really proud of the show, and they knew that it was going to require patience. They’re trying to change the demo of the network, and they made it very clear that they didn’t expect that to happen overnight."

Sarah Michelle GellarYes, UPN is going after that other weblet’s viewers, and thanks to Veronica, many of us young-minded, former WB-die-hards are obsessing over Miss Mars like we did once upon a time about Miss Summers, Miss Potter and Miss Porter.

Which is why you fans will be thrilled to hear that starting Mar. 29, UPN delivers seven weeks of all new episodes. And if you haven’t yet seen this show, now is the time! The momentum is building (Warner Bros. Studios, which makes the show, is even launching a massive ad campaign for the final six), and the storylines will blow you away.

"Just thinking about it, I get chills," Enrico says of the last two scripts of the season, when we find out who violated Veronica at a party in the pilot. "I dropped my script. It’s soo, soooo good."

"Right! Right!" Kristen agrees with a little jump. "It’s almost hard for us to handle the last two episodes because there’s so many twists and turns. It is intense."

After looking over her shoulder for lurking producers, she adds in a whisper, "I will tell you this. There are a lot of flashbacks. You find out a lot of stuff and it will be acted out, like you’ll see the whole night of the party where I was raped. You’ll find out in the second-to-last episode who raped me and then the last episode, you’ll find out who killed Lilly."

A scene from Veronica MarsSpeaking of, you may remember that the castmembers were taking bets on the killer’s identity, and Kristen says she was right on the money. "I figured it out in October," she tells me. "You’ll be surprised, but it’s a really good surprised."

But not so good for the actor whose character is the culprit. Big boss Thomas tells me he or she won’t be back next season.

Meanwhile, after seeing the SOS results, Kristen and Enrico have a request. "You know," K.B. says, "I like the way these E! Online fans think. I think they should decide everything about how the show is run, like our salary, the food, the trailers, the location."

Amanda Seyfried plays Lilly Kane"Maybe now we can move up to Los Angeles," Enrico adds, referring to their San Diego set. "Or get vegetarian Friday!"

But their showrunner has other things on his mind—like how his series could have beaten out 14 other shows on bigger networks. "It’s unbelievable," Thomas tells me. "I never in a million years thought we’d win. And I certainly didn’t think we’d win by that much. The thing is, I voted 10 times...but they were all for Arrested Development."

Don’t suppose that’s any consolation, Shason?