Flashback to 'Mars!' Plus 'The Closer,' New Season Scoop and 'Psyched' Ratings

I wouldn't say that I never trusted Troy, but I will say that I didn't think he was right for our Veronica. I mean, the boy had too much of an edge and he just seemed to be a little too into her right off the top. I think Veronica likes (and deserves) more of a challenge. She's not used to things being easy for her, and Troy was, well, easy. He seemed perfect and sweet and not like the usual "jerk you around" guy. Dare I say that he was a little too... BORING for V? Well, all of that was about to change with the 5th episode of the series: "You Think You Know Somebody," and boy did we think we did. Troy's boring quality was all a facade, and by the end of this episode, it looked like his feelings for her were as well. Damn that Troy for playing with our Veronica's feelings! The only thing that made it all worth it, though, was the fact that in the end, she got the better of him and foiled his plan.


It all started with a trip to Tijuana (as all bad stories do), a pinata and a stolen expensive car. And much to nobody's surprise, the trip also involved our favorite bad boy Logan. Once Troy's father's BMW went missing, the boys turned to Veronica to help them locate it, but they neglected to tell her that there was a pinata filled with steroids that Luke was transporting across the border in the car for a local gym owner. Without the steroids, Luke's days were numbered. Veronica agreed to help, but only if Luke returned the drugs and got the money back to give to the gym owner. Things got more complicated when she wanted to turn the car's Lo-jack system on to find its GPS location because Troy's father was the only person authorized to have it turned on. In a classic scene, Veronica pulled her usual tactics to get the security company to turn it on, but she failed, much to her surprise. Keith stepped in and eventually got the system turned on, but it was a dead end as the system turned up on the collar of a neighborhood dog. Things picked up when Veronica and Keith engaged in a little tit-for-tat over each other's current dating partners. Veronica researched Rebecca (her guidance counselor at school) and Keith left an envelope with Troy's past on the kitchen counter. Veronica being Veronica couldn't help but read it and what she found blew the investigation wide open. Troy had a record for drug possession (along with his former girlfriend). When Veronica confronted him, he acted disappointed that she would do a background check on him. Then, his father shipped him off to boarding school for losing the car. Troy had the taxi drop him off at the same diner where the car went missing. He went to the restroom and removed a package from the ceiling, got in his father's "stolen" BMW and drove off smugly. A few minutes later, his cell rang and it was his former girlfriend Shauna, who wanted to know why Veronica called him. He opened the package he removed from the restroom and found the following (awesome!) note:

"Sorry we didn't get a chance to say goodbye, just wanted to wish you good luck at your new school and leave you something to remember me by. It took me a while to figure out where you stashed the steroids, but there was only one place you were alone, right? In case you're wondering, the former contents of the package are somewhere between my toilet and the Pacific Ocean. Say hi to Shauna for me. She sounds like a keeper."

If Veronica's note was the most awesome moment of the episode, then the closing scene was the most heart wrenching. Veronica had found a safety deposit box key among her mother's stuff and discovered that the contents contained surveillance photos of her, meaning that someone had been watching her and threatening her mother with the photos. So, maybe Lianne didn't leave for the reasons Veronica thought after all! She decided to send disposable cell phones to all of her mother's friends and family hoping that they would pass it on to her mom. In the last moments of the episode, Veronica laid on her bed listening to music through her headphones with her eyes closed as her cell phone lit up with a call. The scene cuts to Lianne standing outside somewhere calling her. She leaves her a message telling her that everything will make sense when the time is right. This fabulous episode, along with all of the first season outings, is available on the season 1 DVD set. To check it out for yourself, pick up your copy today. Or rent one through Netflix, or check your local library for a free borrowed copy. Veronica's second season is currently airing in reruns on UPN every Tuesday night. Tonight, you can catch 2 back-to-back episodes of this wonderful show. In the first hour, Veronica stumbles across her mother's permanent school record and begins to doubt whether she knew her mother at all. Check out the opening scene HERE! In the second hour, Veronica has to serve jury duty during her Christmas break. All of the screen caps in this edition are courtesy of VM-Caps.com.


You know what I love about The Closer? The fact that they can do a completely ridiculous storyline like last night's not- so- little white lie and make it work. It's because it infuses humor, the undeniably charming character of Brenda Leigh Johnson and the crazy situations that Priority Homicide gets itself into each week. On the surface, The Closer is no different than any other police drama: someone commits murder, the police investigate, the audience falls for the various red herrings throughout the hour and then the police solve the case and get their man/women with a tactic filled interrogation. But, this show has character and charm that separate it from the pack. This was certainly the case last night as Provenza and Flynn majorly screwed the pooch over box seats at a Dodger's game. The best scene of the episode happened in the women's restroom as Brenda tried to talk to Fritz about making her case a federal one. I laughed out loud when Provenza barged right in and tried to talk to her, and she leaned under the stall door and yelled at him to wait for her outside. So funny! I also had to laugh when Brenda "accidentally" put her purse over the intercom button, allowing the suspect to hear her say that she can't believe how people just say all sorts of things without requesting a lawyer. In all seriousness, what Provenza and Flynn did could have cost the entire division of Priority Homicide (with the exception of Sgt. Gabriel) their jobs and careers. I can't imagine any deputy chief in America covering it up like Brenda did, but if she hadn't, we never would have had the enormous entertainment value. And that ladies and gentlemen, is the unmistakable charm of The Closer.


QUICK CUTS

*NEW SEASON SCOOP!! Even though it's only July, there is some scoop leaking out about your favorite shows' upcoming seasons. We have a title and premiere date for the first episode of Veronica Mars courtesy of TV.com. The early title is "Welcome Wagon" and it's set to air September 19th on the new CW [Thanks to Ducky at Wait, What? Tube Views for the heads up!]. Dates/titles are subject to change. It looks like Cold Case will kick off its 4th season on September 24th with an episode entitled "Rampage" according to TV.com. It will also move to 9 p.m. (where it begins airing in reruns this Sunday). Information on both premieres is tight, but a source at the fan-run Look Again message board has uncovered some details about the Cold Case opener. According to the source, the case is from 1995 and involves two teenagers who opened fire on a crowded shopping mall before taking their own lives (I'm not sure where the unsolved part comes in, but we'll just have to watch to find out). Also, look for a mention (at least) of Lil's new beau Joseph, a continued cold shoulder from Stillman and a situation that has Lilly talking someone into giving her their gun. Sounds interesting! September can't come soon enough! Remember, dates/titles/subject matter are all subject to change.

*Actor Peter MacNicol is joining the cast of Fox's 24 next season. He'll play "a high-ranking government official" according to the network. Little else is being revealed about the character per usual with the intrigue show. MacNicol will continue his recurring role on CBS' Numb3rs next season as well. His professor character is only in a few scenes an episode, which will aide in his soon-to-be-hectic shooting schedules. 24 will return for a sixth season in January on Fox and Numb3rs will return for a third season this fall on CBS.

*And finally, USA network should be psyched about the ratings for last Friday's premiere of Psych. The network's latest comedy brought in more than 6 million viewers and firmly cemented itself as the most watched premiere of a NEW scripted show on basic cable this year. Psych's lead-in, the 5th season premiere of Monk, garnered more than 5 million viewers. If you missed the premiere of Psych, you can catch encore presentations this Thursday at 9 p.m. and this Friday at 12:30 a.m. on USA network. Can't wait until then? Click on over to the show's official site and watch the pilot for free.

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That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow as the summer-long countdown of PTR's Best Episodes of '05/'06 continues! We'll reveal the next three episodes on the list as we crack the top 20! Plus, all the latest television news!


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