Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Question:

I want to hear your opinion on the new development between Veronica and Logan on Veronica Mars. I have always been a fan of Logan and am thrilled that the sparkage between these two characters finally paid off. But do you think the nice girl-bad boy scenario is just a setup for failure? Many shows use it to spice things up, but always with the intention of reuniting nice girl with nice boy in the end, in this case, Duncan. On Buffy, Spike always played second fiddle to Angel, even though he was the fan favorite. Kate on Lost, who has great chemistry with Sawyer and has been flirting with him for weeks, will inevitably end up with Jack. And speaking of another Jack (on 24), looks like his gal Audrey is reverting back to playing it safe (with Paul). Has there ever been a show where the writers haven’t succumbed to this typical relationship setup? - Kate

Matt:

How about American Dreams, which ended with Meg actually taking off with bad-boy Chris (played by the guy who once played bad-boy Jess on Gilmore Girls) and motoring cross-country with him? Yes, it’s a well-worn cliché for an ingénue to be swept off her feet by a cad, but Veronica’s a smart cookie and Logan very much a work in progress. I liked the twist, and the kiss. It’s no Buffy-Spike grand passion yet, but there’s always next season.

Question:

OK, Matt, I’ve really tried to get into Veronica Mars. As a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I was very interested in checking out the show that everyone keeps calling Buffy’s heir apparent, especially now that Alyson Hannigan is making regular appearances. I’m not seeing the comparisons. The show is very slow-moving, the plotlines feel very contrived, and it has nowhere near the same quality of character development or witty banter that were Buffy’s trademarks. If you ask me, the real heir apparent to the Buffy legacy was already on the air before Buffy left: Gilmore Girls. - David C.

Matt:

Good point, but I’m glad there’s room on Tuesdays for both. Veronica Mars is being likened to Buffy primarily on the strength of its lead character and actress (Kristen Bell, who’s also one of the best things about Showtime’s Reefer Madness musical movie), and the way it tweaks a genre (private-eye mystery) and makes it relevant to a high-school setting. It’s not an allegorical fantasy like Buffy, though, so I can see where it might not knock you out. But its charms are real, just more subtle. Veronica’s an original, and I’m very pleased that UPN is giving it a second year to (I hope) grow.