’Veronica Mars’: Intelligent life

Veronica Mars is so not the new Nancy Drew.

Kristin Bell’s Veronica Mars is more akin to Buffy the Vampire Slayer than to Nancy Drew.

Yes, both girls are teen detectives, an idea that’s no more or less preposterous now than it was in the days of Drew. But for Veronica, detective work isn’t a hobby - it’s a job that was forced upon her by tough times. (Related video: See a preview of Veronica Mars)

Think Buffy. Or better yet, imagine one of those hard-boiled detective movies with Lauren Bacall doing the sleuthing instead of Humphrey Bogart.

Luckily for Veronica, she has sharp wits, steely nerves and a wicked sense of humor - along with a big dog to keep the bad guys in line. Luckily for us, UPN has found a terrific young actress to play this terrifically engaging character: Kristen Bell. Whether you buy the idea of teen crime-solvers or not, there’s no questioning Bell’s credentials as a TV star.

Airing tonight as a special preview before moving next week to its regular Tuesday time slot, Veronica is set in the wealthy beach community of Neptune - in the same TV neighborhood as The O.C. Veronica was once the most popular girl in school, but her life changed forever when her father the sheriff (an enjoyably downtrodden Enrico Colantoni) accused the richest man in town of murder.

He lost his job; she lost her place in the teenage in-crowd. Now she helps out at her dad’s low-rent detective agency, just so they can earn enough money to "eat like the lower middle class to which we aspire."

The agency mostly takes on simple cases, but Veronica is interested in more complex crimes. She’s still investigating the death of the rich guy’s daughter, which may be linked to the disappearance of Veronica’s mother - who deserted her family when their fortunes turned.

Were work not hard enough, Veronica also must survive her high school’s complex social system. There are the rich, popular kids, led by her ex-boyfriend Duncan (Teddy Dunn). There are the outcasts like Veronica and the new kid she befriends (Percy Daggs III). And there’s the biker crowd that frightens them all, led by a guy named Weevil (Francis Capra). We don’t see much of the adults at school, but next week Veronica will gain an ally/mentor in Sidney Poitier’s daughter Sydney, who joins the cast as a teacher.

In its attempts to show the dangers Veronica already has overcome, the show may load too many traumas on its young heroine, including one that is brushed off without significant enough psychological repercussions. Still, given time, there’s more than enough talent here to flesh out that story. Now let’s hope UPN gives Veronica the time it needs.

This is one TV case we don’t want to see closed.