Friday, January 26, 2007

3 ZONKS OF "VERONICA MARS"

'Veronica Mars' came back from its winter hiatus this week, and challenged Toobworld Central (without even being aware of our existence, no doubt) with three Zonk attempts in the episode "Show Me The Monkey!"

First up:

"What are we? On 'The View'?
Who am I, Rosie O'Donnell
?"
Dick Casablancas

When it comes to the game shows, talk shows, variety shows, news programs and reality programming of the real world, Toobworld has their (nearly) exact duplicates as well. So 'The View' as seen by us can also be viewed by TV characters like Dick. And for them, Rosie O'Donnell is now a member of 'The View' team.

"All that's missing is a big hole in the wall shaped like the Hulk."
Cindy "Mac" MacKenzie

From 1977 until 1990, TV America was terrorized by a misunderstood monster that was known as "The Hulk". The Hulk was actually a scientist named David Bruce Banner, who had given himself an accidental overdose of gamma radiation. And when he got really agitated or even angry, you wouldn't like him when he was angry. That's because the rise in such emotions would trigger his transformation into the Hulk.

The Hulk showed up all across the United States in Toobworld, from New York City to Oregon, so the whole country was aware of his existence. But for over fifteen years, he's not been seen or heard from. A generation is now growing up in Toobworld for whom "The Hulk" is nothing more than a boogeyman cited to get them to go to sleep or eat their beets.

And that's why Mac was able to joke about the Hulk, when for her parents the green-skinned behemoth was a real threat.

"All we need is one more angel and we've got a show!"
Veronica Mars

Charlie Townsend's detective agency exists in the same TV dimension as the Keith Mars detective agency; same state, in fact. So even though Veronica should be aware of "Charlie's Angels" as her Dad's professional rivals and from news reports about their exploits, she should NOT know them as a TV show.

The two theatrically-released movies based on the TV show (with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu as Charlie's latest angels) fall into the same category as "Maverick", the ten 'Star Trek' films, and the 1966 movie version of 'Batman'. They are films which extend the TV Universe into the realm of the movies, the "Cineverse".

Had the voice of Charlie Townsend been provided by anybody other than John Forsythe, or if the three actresses were recreating the roles of the originals, we could have just ignored the two movies as having no connection to Toobworld. Instead, they brilliantly went the sequel route and these three angels were just the latest in a long line of operatives working for Charlie.

And that means that Time marches on for them still. It's been almost four years since the last "Charlie's Angels" film, so what have they been up to during that time?

It's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that they subjected themselves to the scrutiny of a TV reality series.

Here in the real world we've seen "reality" shows about restaurants, airlines, funeral parlors, motorcycle repair shops, and even one about a bounty hunter. So why not one about a detective agency? And perhaps Charlie's reason to allow the intrusion is because it ties into a case that he's working on.

If so, it would be to this show that Veronica was referring, not the original 'Charlie's Angels' , nor to the movies.

Three Zonks averted! Neptune, California, is safe once more.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

2 comments:

Reel Fanatic said...

Veronica Mars is easily one of the best shows on TV, which is of course why it is always struggling to find a big audience .. With no big story arc for the end of this season, it looks like it will be the end, but it's sure been a fun ride

Toby O'B said...

Thanks for checking in, Keith.

You know, I've never had much faith in the audience; the ratings prove as much that they'll watch the stupidest piece of crap so long as they don't have to think too much.

So I think changing the format of 'Veronica Mars' at the end of the season might be beneficial. I'd still rather have the over-riding mystery arc, but if single episode mysteries will bring in the audience, then I'm down with it.

But I would like them use the old format at least once each season, should the show come back.