'Veronica' Makes Us Laugh, then Breaks Our Hearts! Plus the Scrubies, a 'Law' Exit and Nielsen Wednesday

You know a show is awesome when you start to get a little misty-eyed at the thought of it going on its dreaded summer break. You know a show is beyond awesome when you start to tear up at the sheer fact that the episode is about to end! Both of these statements reflect my love affair with Veronica Mars, which is why I honestly can't even fathom the thought of it not returning for another season. And it's also why last night's episode was one of the most amazing hours of television this season (as was last week's outing and others before it, but this show has so many good episodes that it's hard to keep track). What amazes me about this show, is its ability to easily weave between laugh-out-loud lines and teary-eyed moments all within the course of an episode. It just has the most amazing, brilliant writing! One of the funniest scenes last night took place in an elevator, hence the picture above, but let's start at the beginning. Gia asked Veronica to look into who was stalking her. She kept seeing a "non-descript" car following her, so Veronica borrowed Keith's rooftop video surveillance and with the help of Gia, found the vehicle and its license plate. Turns out it was registered to (former) deputy Leo. You know, the same Leo who Veronica dated first season and dumped for Logan. Veronica met him at Java-The-Hut, and found out that a) he's still harboring some feelings for her and b) he's now working for a private security firm and Woody hired him to keep an eye on Gia. When Gia confronted her father about the security detail, he told her that it was just a normal precaution right before a referendum (the incorporation plan was coming to a vote any day). Gia seemed satisfied until she found a DVD of her cheering for her little brother at his soccer game. It seemed that Gia had a real stalker, and not of the security firm kind.


On the new DVD, Veronica noticed a woman recording across from the person recording Gia, so she asked Gia if she could get a copy of that woman's footage because it might have a shot of the person filming Gia. Gia got the footage and Veronica found a man with a Neptune High letterman's jacket filming. She also noticed a red truck. The next day, she got a copy of the student parking permit list, but there were no red trucks listed. She searched the student parking lot anyway, but came up empty. Meanwhile, Keith agreed to help Woody after a "campaign staffer" (read call girl that Woody paid for with campaign dollars) had a little too much to drink and wound up passed out in Woody's hotel room bed at the Camelot, of course. Keith took the girl to the hospital, but warned Woody that he won't be doing favors like this very often. The next day, the story hit the press, except Woody lied and said that the woman was Keith's call girl, so Keith retaliated and told the press the real story, which hit the papers the next day. Gia got angry at Veronica about the call girl story, and decided that she didn't care about her stalker anymore. Veronica showed the DVD to Keith, and he showed her the other one that Logan found a few weeks back, but Keith told Veronica that he doesn't want her working on the stalker case anymore. She agreed, but that evening at school, she and Gia stayed late working on the Navigator. Veronica wanted to talk to Gia about her father, but Gia wasn't interested so Veronica left. She passed Lucky on her way out and when she got to the parking lot, she saw the same red truck from the video, and it was parked in the main -tenance spot. She called Keith, but only got his voicemail. She waited 15 minutes and then decided to check on Gia. She found her with Lucky in his office, and he was telling her about Iraq and his injury. Veronica noticed a letterman's jacket hanging, and she tried to get Gia's attention. It didn't work, and soon Lucky spotted Veronica. He decided to show his stolen Iraqi knife to both girls, but Keith barged in right in time. He tackled Lucky and cuffed him. Then, Sheriff Lamb came in and reminded Keith that he didn't need to come to the scene if the law was going to be there. Lamb wouldn't let Keith interrogate Lucky, so Keith handcuffed himself to Lucky and threw the key down the drain.


Veronica then jetted off to her "alternate prom." It seems that the 09ers had a little too much fun on their class trip, so the school canceled the prom, much to Mac's delight and Wallace and Jackie's chagrin. But there were no worries because those 09ers arranged for a private prom at Logan's hotel suite at the Neptune Grand. Logan invited Veronica, and she invited Wallace and Jackie and soon Butter found out, so Mac went as well. Most of the "prom" was filled with 09ers, including a massive beer container (dubbed the Hog) carried by Dick. Logan seemed excited to see Veronica, and he finally found her by herself. He decided to take the opportunity to tell her that he still has feelings for her. Only problem was that he was drunk, but he still seemed genuine. At the end of his diatribe, he tried to kiss Veronica, but she interrupted him by saying that she had to go. Meanwhile, Keith and Lucky sat in a jail cell handcuffed together. Keith tried to get information out of him, but he only got a little bit. Apparently, it was Lucky that had sent both DVDs because he was trying to scare Woody. It had nothing to do with Woody's policies (including incorporation), but the fact that Woody is not a good person. According to Lucky, we don't know what Woody's capable of. He was unable to tell him anything further because Lamb came in with the key and the news that Stuart Manning (Meg's father) posted Lucky's bail. Remember, Meg's parents were trying to set her up with Lucky, and he went to their church. And Lucky hates Woody, who is capable of terrible things, and Meg was on the bus...hmm.

The final scene of the episode was also the most heart -breaking. Veronica went to talk to Logan about trying to see each other over the summer and to apologize for just running out the night before, but he told her that the night was just a blur and he doesn't remember what he said. To make matters worse, Kendall appeared and the two obviously spent the night together. Veronica tried not to get too upset as she turned and walked to the elevator, but it was all a bit too much for her. Her sad face just broke my heart! When will Logan wake up and realize what a jerk he can be? Veronica doesn't need his wishy-washy feelings. I do think that he still wants to be with her, but he can't figure out how to not mess things up so that he can get there.

Random Mars Musings

1) Wallace and Jackie are sure approaching this relationship thing full force! I think they make a cute couple, and I've really grown to like Jackie over the course of the season. Her character has developed into a very likable person.

2) So I think it's very clear now that Kendall is not stupid. The first 3/4 of the season was part of her grifting act. I wonder what's on that hard drive that she wants back so badly?

3) Logan recognized the sketch that Veronica was folding to mail out. The sketch was of the man who hired the call girl to steal Cliff's briefcase (that contained the Logan Echolls' case files). Logan thought the sketch looked like his father's former cellmate.

4) It was good to see Woody's incorporation plan voted down. Me thinks that Woody isn't going to be too happy about it, though. And I think we all need to be afraid of Woody, be very afraid!

5) LOVED the Netflix reference, especially since Netflix is responsible for my love affair with this show. Because of my subscription, I was able to rent the entire first season and discover that I had been missing out on a wonderful show.

6) Lamb's huffing over Keith's key trick was HILARIOUS!!! I was laughing out loud at that scene. The Lamb/Keith scenes are always some of my favorites.

7) The elevator scene that I referenced above (and serves as the opening picture for today's entry) was classic! All of the "prom" guests crowded into that elevator discussing how this was the longest elevator ride ever just cracked me up. I loved all of the different facial expressions.

8) If you needed more proof that this is the most awesome show to ever awesome, then you're in luck because last night had a hysterical Tom Cruise ripping, complete with Veronica saying that she hopes he doesn't try to marry her. It all stemmed from Gia's assertion that Veronica's surveillance handiwork reminded her of Mission Impossible, and how she expected Tom Cruise to rappel down from the ceiling at any minute. To which Veronica replied: "Great! Now I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight!" CLASSIC, people!

9) One of the best scenes, though, happened at the prom. Veronica went up to Madison and started commenting on the law coming down on her and about being "on the Lamb," references to Madison's secret relationship with Sheriff Lamb. It was one of the cleverest scenes I have ever seen, and Kristen Bell was spot on! She was amazing. It was so good that I'm going to let you guys see it for yourselves if you missed it and again if you just want to have another good laugh. Yes, I captured the scene and uploaded it for your viewing pleasure.




Like Veronica, Scrubs blends the hysterical with the heavy effortlessly. Last night's episode contained an extra helping of heavy, but it allowed John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox) to show that he can do a lot more than comedy. Maybe this will finally earn him that Emmy nomination he so deserves (Yes, he's on my list of the most overlooked actors in television along with Kristen Bell and Kathryn Morris). On the funny side, we had JD getting his very own shoplifter alert, IV lunch, The Todd pretending to be gay to get chicks, JD trying to get Dr. Cox to go to lunch with him, "Vintage Cox," and JD without kidneys. As always, here's a look at last night's best, funniest and all around awesome lines.


The Scrubies
"Security, we've got a grazer!" Store clerk Rebecca regarding JD's snacking on the mixed nuts bar in the grocery store

"I would swear on my father's grave, but when I go there, I usually end up dancing on it." Dr. Cox to a patient in need of a transplant

"I might finally happen upon Hugh Jackman and be able to give him the present I've been holding for him...BAM!" Dr. Cox on why he gets up each day

"Don't you know I dole out compliments once a year? Like a squirrel, you must gather up these acorns of kind words to sustain you for the upcoming cold, sarcastic months." Dr. Cox to JD

"See, I knew this was going to come back to me." Turk after Carla and Elliot talk to The Todd about the fact that they think he's gay and then The Todd propositions Turk

"I've really gotta thank you gals for outing me. Chicks dig gay dudes!" The Todd

"I'm The Todd." The Todd after someone asks him who he is

That's this week's edition of the Scrubies. If you have a line that you would like to nominate for a Scrubie, drop me a comment and I'll publish it in a future edition. As always, if you would like to discuss last night's Scrubs or Veronica Mars episodes, leave me a comment with your thoughts. Remember that you can also help name Carla and Turk's baby through NBC's contest. Click HERE for the details. You can also check out exclusive footage from JD's "Dr. Acula" screen play at the NBC site.

About Last Night... Fox won the first hour of the night with American Idol, followed by CBS' NCIS and the WB's Gilmore Girls. At 9, Fox stayed in first with House, followed by CBS' The Unit and ABC comedies Hope & Faith and Less Than Perfect. NBC's Scrubs combined with Teachers to land in fourth and UPN's Veronica Mars got edged out of fifth place by the WB's Pepper Dennis. The final hour of the night was a tie between CBS' CSI: Miami (r) and ABC's Boston Legal. NBC's Law & Order: SVU (r) landed in third. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - ABC's Alias celebrates its 100th episode with special guest stars Bradley Cooper and Gina Torres. Over on CBS, the teams travel to Australia where a fierce rivalry between two teams heats up on The Amazing Race. UPN's America's Next Top Model teaches the girls how to handle tough interview questions and the girls head overseas. As usual, I've seen some advanced clips from this episode and Jade stalls a bit during a mock interview, Joanie has a little too much coffee before a difficult shoot and the girls try to learn the culture and language for their new destination.

@9 p.m. - Find out which contestant is the next to go and watch a special performance by Andrea Bocelli on Fox's American Idol. Over on ABC, catch up on all this season's happenings involving faith and love on the island on Lost. UPN airs a second episode of America's Next Top Model that recaps the season thus far.

@10 p.m. - Russell discovers that his job may be in jeopardy because of his investigation of the hybrids on ABC's Invasion. Over on CBS, Kid Rock guest stars as himself and Mac and Lindsay question him as he was the last person to see his limo driver alive.



QUICK CUTS

*Actress Annie Parisse will leave NBC's Law & Order at the end of the season according to sources. Parisse, who joined the series just over a year ago, plays Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia. NBC is not commenting on the report because "it is the producers' desire to keep the season finale of 'Law & Order' under wraps because of some surprising developments" according to a network spokesperson. No reason was given for the possible exit. Law & Order airs Wednesday nights on NBC.

*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday! Per usual, CBS won the week in total viewers and Fox won in the 18-49 year old group. CBS was led by CSI (#4), Without a Trace (#5), CSI: Miami (tie #6), Survivor (tie #6), NCIS (#8) and The Unit (#10). American Idol (#1, 2), House (#3) and Desperate Housewives (#9) rounded out the top 10. To see a list of the top 20 shows from last week, click on over to USA Today.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for 2 for 1 Thursday with a special early edition on The Amazing Race and the regular edition with thoughts on Alias and the Idol and Model moments. Plus, all the latest television news!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



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