EXPLORING "MARS"?

I was quite surprised as I went through my morning routine (no, not that one!) of my usual checking online TV news sources - there appeared to be no mention of last night's episode of 'Veronica Mars'.

I thought surely that after the resolution of the yearlong mystery regarding the murder of Lily Kane, there would immediately be articles to capitalize on the buzz. Instead, it wasn't until later in the day before I could find links to the story via my favorite clearing house, TVtattle.com.

In the first two years of 'The Sopranos', David Bianculli of the New York Daily News wrote about the season finales in such detail that it almost made no sense for me to watch the episode on tape once I got home from work the following morning. (Yes, I know I could have refrained from reading his column, but he's too good a writer and I am weak of spirit. Just shoot me.)

Perhaps the evolving nature of the TV tradition known as "water cooler shows" is responsible for changing the priorities in reporting developments in TV shows. Apparently, many people are now using TiVo or other DVR services to record their favorite shows and then watching them much later.

Personally, I would have thought this alteration in mindset would have been just as prevalent during the age of videotape (especially since that's what I have to do, what with working an overnight shift and sleeping during prime time). But with a TiVo, I guess you can get hundreds of hours stored up before a need to clear the system, whereas with a videotape, at best you get only eight hours and a home clogged with piles of cartridges.

And if people aren't going to read your column if there's a chance you might blab about the big secrets, then maybe your editor might think nobody's reading you at all. And that would be detrimental to a regular paycheck.

(Not that Paige Wiser of the Chicago Sun-Times had such concerns. After spilling the beans in the headline itself, she then wrote, "Sorry. I meant to write "spoiler ahead" for those of you on a TiVo delay, but the watercooler can't wait. ")

I haven't been watching 'Veronica Mars'. I taped the first two episodes and then never found the time to watch them; so I figured I was going to fall too far behind to ever keep up. With all the work I put in to Toobworld research (for other upcoming projects as well as this blog) - not to mention my job and the minuscule semblance of a Life! - I end up reading more about TV than I actually watch it.

I depend on the TV Guide entries and websites like TV Tome and epguides.com to keep me abreast of the weekly happenings on many TV shows, just in case there might be something of interest for Toobworld. So many series nowadays are multi-episodic in their story arcs (like '24' and 'NYPD Blue'), that I really have to decide from the beginning whether or not I can make the guarantee to hang in there for the full season.

There are very few shows I can do that for anymore: 'The West Wing', 'Entourage', and my rave fave of this season, 'Lost'. I couldn't do it for 'Deadwood' or 'Joan of Arcadia' in their sophomore seasons, and I only came back to 'Enterprise' because Manny Coto brought it back to the roots of its mythology this year.

So here's my question for those who were faithful to 'Veronica Mars':

Since I do know the Big Secret to this season's mystery, should I bother to watch the entire run of the series once it comes out on DVD? (I'll admit that knowing the resolutions never stops me from watching 'Columbo' reruns over and over and over again.)

I'm not sure how many people are out there who actually read my ramblings, but I hope to hear from some of you regarding this.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby