Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season

It would be easy to dismiss this smart, well-produced teen drama as a Nancy Drew updated for the WB set, but UPN's Veronica Mars is more substantive than that. Veronica, played superbly by Kristen Bell, is an extremely appealing heroine with a lot going for her…and a lot going against her. Set in the upscale California community of Neptune, the series gets off to a jarring start with the murder of her best friend Lilly, the firing of her sheriff father (Enrico Colantoni) over his handling of the case, and Veronica herself being sexually assaulted. When her dad becomes a private investigator, Veronica elects to help him—a decision that doesn't exactly endear her to her high-school classmates, whose family members will come under his scrutiny with clocklike regularity as the show progresses through the 22 episodes from the 2004-05 season collected here. Even her boyfriend Duncan (Teddy Dunn)—brother of her murdered friend—abandons her, and Veronica finds herself an outsider, with only new student Wallace (Percy Daggs III) willing to help her out. This “teen noir” reflects the influence of shows as diverse as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks, not to mention innumerable soap operas, but it's no mere imitation: Veronica Mars is a genuinely compelling original. DVD extras include deleted scenes. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)