Another TV recommendation you won't take.

So, Veronica Mars.

I've been hearing buzz about this show since it started last year but I never checked it out. I rented a couple discs from Netflix and--long story short--now I own the first season.

Veronica Mars takes place in Neptune, a California town where the ultra-rich and the barely scraping by attend the same public high school. Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) attends Neptune High, where she's just undergone a drastic change in status. Her best friend Lilly was murdered and Veronica's father Keith (Enrico Colantoni), the Neptune sheriff, remains convinced Lilly's father is her killer even after another man gives a full confession. Keith is run out of office and becomes a private detective, making a living from proving infidelities and tracking down bail-jumpers.

All this is bad enough, but for a high school student, it's even worse. Veronica loses all status; her old clique--the rich kids--hate her and the poor kids hate her for having been with the rich kids before. She is roofied and raped when she attends a party for her former crowd. The Veronica that we meet in the flashbacks is not around anymore. We've got a tougher, sardonic, witty Veronica. She's a Veronica that stakes out adulterers for her father with a Calc test yet to be studied for.

It's good stuff.

It's not all terrible dark things, and they've really done an excellent job of balancing lighter material with the seamy underbelly of affluent California. Laughs come pretty readily, mystery abounds, and there are some truly affecting moments. Most of the episodes are pretty self-contained, but each one has little tidbits that contribute to the yearlong story which is a great way to reward viewers (i.e. me).

Oh, and Kristen Bell? Rawr. If Kristen Bell were a dinosaur, she'd have existed in the cuteaceous period.

Veronica Mars : Wednesday, 8PM Central on UPN (wha?)