'Veronica' Goes to College! Plus 'Lost' in a Locke-down, 'Idol' and 'Model'

We're back at square one with the bus crash on Veronica Mars. Admit it, you thought you were smarter than the show when you thought you had it all figured out. Sure, Terrence looked guilty with hidden explosives located in the same place where he keeps his expensive cars, but the hanger belongs to Woody Goodman! Woody must be responsible for the bus crash, mystery solved, case closed. Ah, but Veronica Mars is never that simple. Last night we learned that Woody has those explosives to implode the old stadium. Of course, this doesn't eliminate Woody or Terrence as suspects, but it does make me revisit the possibility of other suspects just when I thought I had it narrowed down. You've gotta love a show that toys with its audience by pulling us in different directions all the time and keeping us on our toes. Speaking of keeping us on our toes, what role did the Fitzpatricks play in the bus crash, if any? Perhaps Felix's death and the bus crash are more related than we realize. In addition to the brief, important revelation about the explosives, we also learned that Logan didn't have the best of intentions with Hannah when they first met, but his feelings have changed. I didn't realize how strongly he felt for her until the scene where her father broke them up and then the subsequent scene where Logan finds out that Hannah has been shipped off to a boarding school in Vermont. Logan's deep feelings for her should have come as no surprise to me since I remember him falling very hard for Veronica as well. The character is definitely intense. In other Logan news, a hooker ("Escort, hunny") swiped Cliff's briefcase for some "man." Bad news for Logan since his case files were in there, and I'm leaning toward Dr. Griffith as the thief. Cliff was at an Ob/Gyn convention, so Hannah's doctor father probably had easy access to it. I know he made that deal with Logan, but he has to get the Fitzpatricks off his back somehow. I think Logan is headed for some harsh times ahead.

We also got our first taste of Veronica at college last night. Did you notice that she never solved the serial rape case? Could this be an indicator of what to expect next season? Will Veronica go to Hearst and find that more rapes with the same M.O. are going on and then work to solve the case? Or maybe it's something that the show visits later this season. Very interesting. I also forsee an interesting relationship between Veronica and the frat with the scoring system. I loved how she easily handled all those college boys! I wonder if Troy is sincere when he says he's reformed. It's hard to tell with him because he seemed sincere when he was playing Veronica for a fool, so, like Veronica, I will never trust him again.I know we're all sad that Arrested Development is pretty much dead, but how awesome would it be if both Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat joined the cast of Mars next season! Alia's character certainly has more story left, considering that her rapist is still out there, and I can see Michael's character becoming an interesting ally with Veronica. See, this is why we must get a third season! This was an excellent episode that gave us plenty to chew on and set up some interesting prospects for the episodes to come this season and next.

RANDOM MARS MUSINGS

1) Madison and (gasp!) Lamb?! That's awesome!
2) As was Veronica's hysterical reaction to seeing the two of them on the hotel elevator security tape
3) Keith and Cliff's visit to Sheriff Lamb was pure comic gold. How great was that campaign flyer?
4) Veronica's reaction to Keith's escort was so great
5) The Emmy nomination line and scene was pure genius. But then, what else would I expect from television's best written show?


Lost has been stuck in the land of ho-hum episodes lately. It started off the season with a bang, but lost its way somewhere between there and last night's excellent outing. I can only hope that this episode is a foretelling of what's to come for the remainder of the season. Henry Gale isn't really Henry Gale - he's just the man that stole the real Mr. Gale's identity after he probably killed and buried him. Which begs the question, who is the man in the hatch with them? It seems that he is a member of the Others, which means he more than likely knows all about the hatch. Did he cause the strange malfunctions because he knew that Locke would enlist his help? We know from the flashbacks that Locke wants to trust people, even if he shouldn't, so it was only a matter of time before he began trusting "Henry Gale." If "Henry" did cause the hatch malfunctions and then stopped them, why reveal that weird island map only visible under UV light (see it HERE at Pink is the New Blog, courtesy of this SITE)? This just plays further into the idea that this entire island is some sort of weird social experiment and the "Others" are the ones conducting it. It seems that they are toying with the survivors' minds more and more. "Henry" went back for Locke, but more than likely because he still needs to establish trust with him. I'm sure he never counted on Jack and Kate finding that food drop courtesy of the Dharma Initiative. I'm sure he never assumed that Sayid would dig up the buried body at the "balloon" site either. Are we even sure that's a balloon and not another food drop parachute? And who was the real Henry Gale? Did he really crash his balloon on the island? So many questions! I need answers!

The Idol Moment
You guys know that I love Lisa, but her performance Tuesday night was definitely one of the worst along with Ace's ridiculously phony version of "Drops of Jupiter." I definitely wanted Ace to go, so I was happy to see him in the bottom three, but not so happy when Ryan sent him back over to safe land. I had resolved myself to the fact that Lisa was going home, and felt that she deserved to after Tuesday's performance. BUT, I will never be OK with the fact that Katharine McPhee was in the bottom two! Bottom two!!?? Really people? I wasn't the biggest fan of her Christina Aguilera impersonation, but my gawd! The girl has one bad performance and you send her to the bottom two? For Simon's sake, Ace makes ears everywhere bleed every week and he gets to stay! This is why I teeter between liking and loathing this show. I feel like it morphs into a teeny-bopper popularity contest somewhere along the way, and that's the point when I start to lose interest. I can only hope that the serious wrong of Katharine in the bottom two will be righted next week.


The Model Moment
Gina (left - photo courtesy UPN. Not for use on other sites/blogs) is a very pretty girl. She has the whole model-look going on, but she just doesn't have her stuff together emotionally to last in a competition. We've been not- so- slowly watching her self destruct these past few episodes, but last night's meltdown after dinner with Janice, and how she let that stay in her head, was cause enough to send her home. I feel bad for Gina because she seems like a lovely girl, but she just doesn't have the confidence to propel her shoots, poses or anything else to the next level. Jade is back on my loathe list. I can't stand the way she badgered Gina and wore her down so badly that she basically ensured her own elimination at the judges meeting. I'm still rooting for Leslie, Brooke and Danielle. Oh and guys, I'm thinking that Nnenna is now available after her hot photoshoot last night! Just a reminder, I'll be talking to Gina tonight via a teleconference. If you have any questions for her, drop me a comment and I'll try to get an answer.

About Last Night...NBC won the first hour of the night with Deal or No Deal, followed by Fox's Bones and CBS comedies Out of Practice and Courting Alex. At 9, Fox took over with its combination of the American Idol results show and Unan1mous, followed by ABC's Lost and CBS' Criminal Minds. UPN's Veronica Mars beat the premiere of The WB's Bedford Diaries to land in fifth place. The final hour of the night went to CBS' CSI: NY, followed by ABC's The Evidence and NBC's Heist. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Survivor is back on CBS, and tonight the tribes merge. Britney Spears guest stars on NBC's Will & Grace. Over on ABC, it's another Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (After the Storm) special. This time, the team travels to the storm effected areas of Florida.

@9 p.m. - A shocking confession throws a high profile murder trial for a loop on CBS' CSI. Over on NBC, Earl tries to cross off "made a kid scared of the boogyman" from his list on My Name is Earl. Julie Cooper gets engaged on Fox's The O.C.

@10 p.m. - Samantha works to uncover what's going on with Martin while the team searches for a missing bike messenger on CBS' Without a Trace. Over on NBC, police bring in two teenagers involved in an car accident, but all is not what it seems on ER.



QUICK CUTS

*20th Century Fox Television is now confirming that Arrested Development is over - for now. In a statement issued yesterday, the company says, "While there are no plans to resume production at this time, we know all too well from our experience with 'Family Guy' -- another brilliant comedy which didn't find its audience in its first network run -- that anything is possible." The statement follows the news from earlier this week that show runner Mitch Hurwitz would not continue with the show should cable outlet Showtime pick it up.

*And finally, you can now catch up on this season's episodes of NBC's Scrubs that you've missed! The hilarious hospital comedy is now available for download on Apple's popular iTunes music service. As usual, each episode will set you back $1.99. Scrubs, which is produced by ABC-affiliated Touchstone Television and airs on NBC, will be listed under the NBC storefront on iTunes, marking the first time that another studio's product will be listed under a different network's name. NBC is also releasing more shows on Comcast's Video On Demand service. To see a complete list, visit The Futon Critic.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on the return of CSI and Without a Trace. Plus Gina's thoughts on her Top Model experience, and as usual, all the latest television news!


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