Things Heat Up on 'Mars!' Plus the Scrubies, 'Chief' Pulled and More SOS Results

After watching last night's episode of Veronica Mars, I know one thing: next week's season finale is going to be jam packed! Last night's episode served mainly to set up the season finale. Things sure started out sordidly and quickly moved to an intense scene that ended with a bang - and that was all before the opening credits! No one will ever call this show boring or slow! This episode centered on the Aaron Echolls trial (the sordid), but it also dealt heavily with Lucky (the bang!) and his relationship with Woody Goodman. According to Aaron's testimony, he was excited to have a young girl that found him attractive because he had gotten older and had been relegated to playing the dad in 'tween movies. He said he and Lilly had a relationship where they "fooled around," but never actually slept together (a complete lie since we, like Veronica, have seen the tapes). Aaron claimed that he broke off his relationship with Lilly the day she died, and she left his house with his Oscar. He went to retrieve it, and ran into an "enraged" Duncan. When he left the Kane house, Lilly was alive and alone with Duncan. This testimony infuriated Veronica, but she had something more pressing to focus on - finals. Back at school, she tried to study, but everyone kept interrupting her, including Weevil who wanted her help to get a B in algebra so he could graduate and make his grandmother proud. Veronica was much too busy dealing with her own finals to help Weevil. Suddenly, gun fire erupted in the outside eating area where everyone had gathered. Lucky was standing on a table and shooting as the students fled under tables and behind walls. It seems he was fired (because of last week's stunt, I presume) and very angry about it. Jackie tried to call 9-1-1 on her cell, but he caught her and pointed the gun at her face. Wallace got up and charged at Lucky, knocking him to the ground, but Lucky got the better of Wallace and pointed the gun right at his chest. He fired the gun, but it was only blanks. He began to laugh, but then he was shot and killed himself. A Neptune High security guard had fired a real gun and killed Lucky. Cue the opening credits. Seriously, this show accomplishes more before the opening song rolls then most shows accomplish in an entire hour (I'm looking at you Lost! You guys know I love Lost even with all its slower moving episodes).



I'm going to break up my discussion of this episode into two parts: the trial and the bus crash develop- ments. First up, the bus crash developments. After Lucky's death, Keith was able to access his email accounts and he found where the former soldier had sent threatening emails to Woody, but he couldn't read them. He needed to access the Goodman's home POP email server, and luckily, Veronica was going over there to study with Gia anyway. While studying, she suggested that they take an online practice test and then pretended that her computer crashed. Now, Gia should have called foul right away because Veronica was clearly using a Mac, and there's no way one of those crashed (Can you tell I'm a Mac girl?)! In fact, it was the only unbelievable part of the episode (I'm exaggerating, of course). Moving along, Gia told Veronica that she could use the computer in the guest room. She did, and found some interesting emails from Lucky's various email addresses to Woody, one of which contained an audio file of two boys discussing how they needed to tell someone what Woody did to them when they were with the Sharks (Lucky was a bat boy when he was 15 years old). From the audio file, it sounded like Woody molested the boys. Veronica began sending the files to Keith, but Woody came home and found her on the computer. She explained that she was working on a practice test, but Woody seemed suspicious. Veronica got the email sent just in time, and she decided to cut her study session short. Back at home, she and Keith discussed the emails, but neither could make much sense of them. Veronica did remember that Lucky called roadside bombs presents, and Lucky had mentioned in his emails leaving presents for Woody. Keith assumed that Lucky had rigged Woody's house with bombs, so he went to Woody to warn him. Woody seemed unafraid, but he was angry to learn that Keith knew about the molestation allegations. He threatened Keith not to ruin him.


The next say at school, Veronica asked Logan some baseball questions about Lucky, and he told her that the only slightly baseball-related thing that happened was him walking into the janitor's office and seeing Lucky standing in a bucket wearing a catcher's mask. Later that night, Veronica told Keith and he re- watched the DVD he copied from Woody and noticed a huge picture of a catcher's mask hanging on the wall behind Woody's dining room table, so Keith assumed that Lucky had placed a bomb behind the painting. He called Sheriff Lamb to let him know while Veronica reviewed the DVD one more time. She discovered that Lucky had focused on some pictures hanging on the wall, and she wanted to know why. She froze the DVD, and noticed that it was a little league team called the Sharks. She stared at the picture and realized that more than just Lucky had been on the team. Once Keith got off the phone, she told him that two of the bus crash victims (Marcos Olivares and Peter Ferrer) were also on the team, and it turns out that the audio file from Woody's email had their voices on it, meaning that two of the victims in the crash were also victims of Woody's molestation. Keith and Veronica went to Lamb the next day, but he refused to listen. When he and his troops had gone over to Woody's last night to sweep for bombs, they found the same type of explosive device used in the bus crash under Woody's car. As far as Lamb was concerned, Lucky was responsible for both. Keith did some digging, and found that Lucky had spent the night in the VA hospital the day of the crash, thus making it impossible for him to have caused the crash. Lamb went to arrest Woody, but he had skipped out on his private plane without filing a flight plan. It seems that all signs are pointing to Woody at this point.


Meanwhile at the trial of the century, things were not looking good for a conviction. Veronica took the stand, but Aaron's attorney wiped the floor with her. He said that according to Aaron, Veronica offered to give Aaron the tapes back if he agreed to a certain arrangement. Veronica explained that she never said any of it, and the defense attorney countered by bringing up her recent STD diagnosis to the entire court. He painted Veronica as loose, and continued to do so when Keith took the stand. He brought up Veronica's relationship with Deputy Leo and how she used that relationship to gain access to the evidence room. He implied that Veronica had Leo steal the tapes so she could have them destroyed because there was nothing incriminating on them. He then implied that Veronica had all sorts of (air quotes) boyfriends and Keith lost it. He grabbed the attorney and told him that if he didn't stop using the air quotes, then he was going to break his fingers. Later, Logan took the stand and he testified to what he saw on the tapes before he destroyed them. The defense attorney asked him if he was granted immunity for the federal crime he committed (when he tampered with evidence) in exchange for his testimony, and Logan said yes. Veronica attempted to take her final at school, but just as she was about to begin the test, she got a text from her Dad that the verdict was in. She was going to stay, but she decided to leave for the courthouse. Once inside, the jury began reading the verdict, and they found Aaron NOT guilty on all charges. Everyone seemed crushed except Aaron.

Random Mars Musings

1) Wallace's last day of school was bittersweet. He was excited to be done with his exams, but he knew that it meant no more roaming the halls of Neptune High with Veronica, especially since she has her heart set on going to Stanford next year.

2) I thought that Jackie's Paris talk was just that - talk. She even called off the trip herself after her father was released. I was pretty shocked when Terrence told Wallace that Jackie had left already. Without saying goodbye to Wallace? Without attending her graduation? I call foul on this story. Terrence must have lied to protect Jackie.

3) Speaking of Jackie, she was very excited to have her father back. Too bad she doesn't know the truth behind his springing. Seems he belongs to the casino for a while. We're back to Terrence not having an alibi at the exact time of the crash, so I'm not ruling him out.

4) Weevil may have gotten a B on his algebra final to graduate (thanks to Mac), but it seems that his problems are only beginning. Those little boys saw him attack Thumper. Trouble looms for Weevil.

5) Loved the "Mac and Beaver help Weevil" scenes! I feel very fortunate to be getting so much of Mac this half of the season anyway.

6) And last, but certainly not least, check out this exclusive picture from next week's season finale courtesy of UPN/Warner Bros:

Can you believe it's graduation time? I think I'm going to miss Neptune High, but I'm definitely looking forward to the college years as well (Please bring this show back for another season CW. Please, please!). The good folks at UPN/Warner Bros. provided more pictures from next week's finale. I'll post some more as the episode gets closer. So, stay tuned to Pass the Remote for the latest.


There are two things that you can count on, on Tuesdays nights. One of them is the aforementioned Veronica Mars and the other is Scrubs. You know that the former came through as usual, but it's good to know that the latter did as well. How funny were all the antics in last night's episode? We had a doctor who requires all of his patients to remove their pants, a Pilgrim flashback, Donkey Boy, an orthopedic surgeon who was a little too emotional, the story behind JD and Turk's first hug (and yet another chapter in their epic love story), a group of people known as the "Sensies," another reference to Dr. Acula (for more on that, visit nbc.com for exclusive footage from the screen play), JD's discovery (again) that he doesn't like scotch and a hilarious parody of those NBC "The More You Know" ads (Yes, I know. The Office did it first, but this was just as hilarious). Here's a look at last night's best, funniest and overall awesome lines in this week's Scrubies.

The Scrubies
"Families that aren't from Connecticut, Elliot!" Carla (trying to rally the gang around Dr. Cox like a family) after Elliot said that when her brother came out of the closet, her parents sent him to hetero-camp

"Daddy drinks a lot." Perry and Jordan's son
"Great. First complete sentence." Jordan

"Is there another guy on this planet that's that sensitive?" Turk re: the over emotional orthopedic surgeon. Right after he asked the question, we see JD comforting and hugging the surgeon

"Why is there an intern in my bathroom? It's not my birthday." Jordan after finding Keith in her bathroom where he had been waiting for Elliot to finish her shift with Dr. Cox

"He's not a 'Sensi.' He's a nut job!" JD (narration) after deciding that the surgeon was just crazy

"JD, thank you." Dr. Cox after JD helped him through his depression over losing all three patients last week. I know it's not funny, but it was a very significant and touching line.

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.

Interested in reading thoughts about last night's Gilmore Girls? You can click over to TVGuide.com's Watercooler blogs to read what happened.

About Last Night...Fox won the first hour of the night with American Idol, followed by CBS' NCIS and ABC's According to Jim and Hope & Faith finales, but the WB's Gilmore Girls actually had more viewers than the ABC comedies landing it in third place with viewers. At 9, Fox stayed in front with House, followed by CBS' The Unit and ABC comedies Hope & Faith (a second episode) and Less Than Perfect. NBC's Scrubs and Teachers combined for fourth and UPN's Veronica Mars (getting its best showing in the 18-49 year old group since its move to Tuesdays) topped the WB's Pepper Dennis for fifth. The final hour of the night went to NBC's Law & Order: SVU, followed by ABC's Boston Legal and CBS' Dynasty reunion special. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Things turn even more tense as the final four teams compete for a spot in the final three, but will this be another non-elimination round on CBS' The Amazing Race? Over on ABC, Sloane is distressed to learn that Prophet Five’s cure for Nadia is just as likely to kill her on Alias. UPN's America's Next Top Model finds the remaining girls doing a photo shoot on top of an elephant and one girl is rushed to the emergency room. Fox airs the conclusion to last night's episode of House.

@9 p.m. - Jack and Kate bring an exhausted Michael back to the camp, and with him, news about “The Others” on the return of ABC's Lost (NOTE: episode runs until 10:02 p.m.). Remember, the Lost game launches its first clue during tonight's broadcast. Over on Fox, we learn which of the five remaining contestants is going home on American Idol.

@10 p.m. - Russell and Underlay try to uncover where Szura has hidden the hybrids as a storm approaches and realize they have to get their families out of Homestead on ABC's Invasion (NOTE: episode begins at 10:02 p.m.). Over on CBS, Mac and Stella investigate the murder of a man involved in a trinogamous relationship, while Lindsay struggles with a case that hits close to home on CSI: NY. NBC's Law & Order follows the trail of a murdered undercover police officer to a politician's chief of staff.

FINALES TONIGHT!!!
One Tree Hill (8 p.m. The WB) - 3rd season finale
South Park (10 p.m. Comedy Central) - 10th season spring finale

To see what else you can catch on television tonight and to get customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*ABC is pulling Commander In Chief for the remainder of May sweeps. The move leaves three unaired episodes that the network says it will burn off this summer. Newsmagazine Primetime will move back to its Thursday slot now that Chief is not airing episodes this month. Behind-the-scenes troubles and a change in focus plagued the show with low ratings, and the recent move to Thursday nights against CBS' Without a Trace and NBC's ER led to even lower numbers for the freshman series. ABC hasn't officially canceled the show, but things aren't looking good for another season after this latest decision. In better ABC news, the network is now confirming that Boston Legal will return for another season. TV Guide's Mike Ausiello and The Hollywood Reporter broke the story Friday and yesterday, respectively, but today is the first time the network has confirmed the pick up. ABC will make its full schedule announcement on May 16th.

*You guys like Scrubs, you really like Scrubs, and Veronica Mars for that matter. The results are in for USA Today's annual Save Our Shows campaign that you read about here last month, and it seems that Scrubs is the show that most viewers want to see return next year. Veronica Mars was second and Commander In Chief, Everwood, Invasion, Reba and King of Queens rounded out the list of shows that got more supporters than detractors. The newspaper will pass on all of your votes to the networks. We'll find out which shows actually make the cut when the nets make their schedule announcements beginning May 15th.

*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday! Once again, CBS won the week in total viewers, but Fox and ABC tied for the win in the 18-49 year olds crown. The Eye network was led by CSI (#3), CSI: Miami (#7), Without a Trace (#8) and Survivor (#9). American Idol (#1,2), House (#4), Grey's Anatomy (#5), Desperate Housewives (#6) and Deal or No Deal (#10) rounded out the top 10. To see a list of the top 20 shows from last week, click on over to USA Today.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for 2 for 1 Thursday with an early edition devoted to tonight's episode of The Amazing Race and the regular edition packed with thoughts on the return of Lost and the Idol and Model moments. Plus, all the latest television news!

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details