I'm kind of enjoying parts of VMars, but I don't really trust in follow-through of the stuff that makes me blink, and it's not feeling emotionally true enough for me to be able to handwave and go along for the ride (see: AtS S4, Supernatural).

I liked that Logan was using his crafty I Can't Believe It's Not Sincerity charm with his fellow prisoners, and loved that Wallace outsmarted him, so I'll handwave the part where in our Cog Psych lectures a decade ago they often said, "Of course, you could never do an experiment like that today."

Dan Castallaneta has aged so much since I last saw him on screen that at first, I thought Armin Shimerman'd had some work done. Then I realized he was too tall to be Armin Shimerman.

Then, as they say, I had my D'OH! moment.

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It's not yet inspiring the full-on adoration that I had for the first season

It took until the 8th or 9th episode of season one before I really adored it, personally. At episode 2, I was still digging Lost more.

By episode 10, I had stopped watching Lost (which, based on what i'm hearing, I am SO thankful for), but hearted VM like whoa.

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quite possibly, but how is complaining about every little thing going to make people want to watch? i don't think most new viewers would have near as many nits to pick as the long-time viewers.

I agree with this. Have you found these first two episodes compelling? I know it's impossible for me to judge it objectively once you already love a show, so maybe I'm being harder on it there, than it deserves. Do you think, if you were just tuning in, that you'd keep tuning in?

I honestly think people remember season one with rose-colored glasses because there were some bad episodes and there were definitely things that were nit-picked at the time. yet it's still put up on a pedestal for what the show should strive to be. i don't necessarily disagree, but i really am tired of the constant whining that the show isn't what it used to be. a Joss quote comes to mind here...

I agree with this, too. I'm liking the premise of this mystery just fine (and liked the premise of last season, also). What's the Joss quote Need/want? Tale/teller? Stop watching and the pain will go away? I'm not getting it from the context.

I'll handwave the part where in our Cog Psych lectures a decade ago they often said, "Of course, you could never do an experiment like that today."

I know VM isn't into the sort of world building that Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction shows are. That said, I do think their 'verse differs just enough from reality that stuff like the above doesn't really bother me. Neptune is corrupt, and so a private college in Neptune doing a Stanfordesque experiment doesn't bother me.

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I'm willing to cop that this week's episode pinged my buttons in a very gross way that has less to do with VM and much more to do with me, my frame of mind, and the state of the sucktasticness of the world today.

I just have been reading about torture and rapes in the real world lots these days and I just wanted to cry when it was on my TV. It made me angry, tired, and sad...I vented in here...and I'm feeling more perspective-y today.

To make up for it, I will list several things I did like (some have already been mentioned):

• Logan not raising his hand when the teacher asked about torturing
  
• Mac/Parker interaction
  
• Veronica Mars's faux lesbian dancing VMVO (also the excellent butt chair dancing)
  
• VM desperately trying to disarm her enemies at the party (Chip and Dick)
  
• "Vomit is the new Mace"

See? I can be nice.

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Veronica Mars's faux lesbian dancing VMVO (also the excellent butt chair dancing)

Yeah, now this was quality television.

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Personally? I nitpick, therefore I am (a buffista). My biggest issue with the first two eps has been while I could sorta follow the whole thing with Keith, I really shouldn't have to do quite that much work on what seems to me a B story they are trying to wrap up quickly. Otherwise, I've been enjoying the eps.

But I can totally empathize with Nora's feeling of "don't we have enough of this in the real world?" Changing up Eureka for VM has definitely involved some mental gear shifting, in terms of dealing wit the dark.

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Personally? I nitpick, therefore I am (a buffista).

This, and because it is a show worth nitpicking.

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Just watched the show--I did love the Wallace/Logan thing, that even while the torture was making me very uncomfortable, I liked what both of them were doing. And I loved the VMVO of the "lesbian dancing". Hee! SO TRUE.

But agree that that was an awful lot of pot for one person, and I, too, was thinking "wouldn't she be able to get pot, in California??"

The Keith thing was kind of anticlimactic. And I"m confused--is Liam going to be coming after Keith now? Or does he not know Keith was all up in that? Is the police report going to boomerang back on that and get messy and be our second mystery if we get one?

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Is the police report going to boomerang back on that and get messy and be our second mystery if we get one?

It smells like it, doesn't it?

I loved Wallace and Logan. I loved Veronica having to play nice with Dick and Dick talking about the alternate universe. I thought Veronica's dilemma (sp?) was rich. This episode was much more entertaining for me than the first.

Mac and Veronica have a great TV friendship, don't they? I'm so glad Tina Majorino was made a regular.

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I thought Veronica's dilemma (sp?)

Yep.

Mac and Veronica have a great TV friendship, don't they?

Yeah, I love that they're friends and not business partners now.

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