Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 14 1/2

Thanks to no Lost tonight, I will be running a rare Wednesday Toss Up, although since no Lost it’s basically just a Veronica Mars analysis, and what a lot to analyze from last night. Interesting enough, with all the interesting facts learned about the bus crash this episode, the show starts off with Veronica’s deposition for the Aaron Echolls trial and end with the discovery of Aaron’s award buried in the back yard with both Lily and Duncan DNA on it. I have a feeling that the trail will be a big part of next season. As for this season, the suspect list kept on growing and growing, and for those keeping track at home, here’s a scorecard:

Suspect: Weevil
Why: To get revenge on Logan (I think this is the first time anyone mentioned Logan was supposed to be on the bus) for beating the rap for the murder of Felix.
How: Built a bomb with his cookbook and called to detonate it while following on his bike.

Suspect: Not-Kendall Casablancas
Why: Stood to gain millions from the death of Little Dick and Beaver.
How: With the Fighting Fitzpatrick’s owing her a favor, she had Liam call her when the bus was close to the edge and she would set off the bomb from poolside.

So with only two episodes since I created my Oddsmakers, it’s really looking like I need to make some updates. First Lucky, who was conspicuously absent last night, could be added and even though they could fit in other groups, Not Kendall and Weevil could get their own lines that would have significantly lower odds than The PCH’ers and the Casablancas Clan. Also with the current odds, The Gay Mafia’s extremely high odds would be a steal after last week’s revelations. But in a show like Veronica Mars, The Field might be the best bet as Aaron came out of no where, at least for me, to turn out to be Lily’s killer.

Elsewhere Veronica was being stalked by someone who only turned out to want her services to find out who killed his dog. And much like every criminal activity this season, the Fitzpatrick’s were behind the wheel. The reason was to send a message to the dude’s brother, a PCH member who looked decidedly non-Hispanic. Apparently Thumper let just about anyone in the gang after Weevil’s untimely departure. I was a little disappointed to see the fake deer utilized (at right) in this story and you can read about that on my sister site, Scooter McGavin Takes Pictures, as it is the picture of the day over there.

Then the mystery of the week collided with the season mystery when Veronica followed the car to a house where a shadowy figure came out saying there was someone inside. It turned out that the dude was Keith and the house belonged to Not-Kendall. And since see was set up with a computer and all, it seemed like she has been there for a while and it wasn’t a house that her and Beaver bought for their company. But the biggest reveal was that Not-Kendall was connected to the Fitzpatrick’s. While in the house, it came to light that Liam is not necessarily the brains of the operation as he was more than ready to kill Keith in Not-Kendall’s house, linking them together and bringing to light her secret pad. Knowing this, Not-Kendall called off the guards when Liam wanted to go after the Mars. But I’m not entirely sold that Kendall is the brains either and whoever is pulling their strings may be the real person behind the crash. Is it Big Dick, Officer Mahoney, or someone else on the growing suspects list? Only three episodes until we find out.

Elsewhere we were treated to great scenes with the Butters and Mac coupling. I loved how Veronica casually forgot to let Mac in on how she was able to get into Clemmons’ office. Although isn’t Butters only a sophomore? He should have to worry about a prom date. Then there is what seems to be the throwaway storyline of Jackie getting a job at Java the Hut. But her financial trouble, which is why she got the job in the first place, could explain why she will not be heading off to Paris after graduation, instead she will most likely sticking in Neptune next year.

If you have not checked it out yet, be sure to catch the only Veronica Mars podcast over at Neptune Pirate Radio. The latest episode has an interview with Sheriff Lamb, but I have to question their interview skill after not his new campaign slogan, “18 - It’s Legal!” I even got sort of a shout out when they crowned their name Woody’s nickname question when they gave my suggestion of Officer Mahoney an honorable mention, even though they didn’t mention me by name. For those who organize your podcast threw iTunes like I do, I quietly added a “Podcasts I Listen To” section on my sidebar so if you want to subscribe to Neptune Pirate Radio threw the service, you can just click that link and it will take you to it’s page on iTunes..

Next week things continue to stay good as someone will capture Veronica and Gia and hold hostage. Interesting as these two were the people I originally thought could be the targets of the bus crash. And it looks like there will be no formal Toss Up next week either as Lost will be running clips show next week.

And with no Lost tonight, there is nothing for me to watch tonight. I can’t even catch the repeat of Veronica Mars as the final Cavs game of the regular season is on tonight, so thankfully the show moved to Tuesday so I didn’t have to wait until Saturday to watch it. Unfortunately I actually wanted to catch America's Next Top Model to see if they really ruined the contestant I most wanted to have dirty, dirty sex with by transforming her teeth to look like Austin Powers. Hopefully this is all a rouse to get back out Tyra’s fake collapse a couple weeks ago, but sadly I don’t think that’s the case. It would bad to see Joanie Dodds get the ax because someone messed up her mouth.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 14

It’s the first non head to head Toss Up, well unless you count the repeat of Veronica Mars that aired opposite of Lost (download S.O.S.). Not that Veronica Mars was a distant memory in my mind like with Lost when I’m forced to wait until Saturdays when the Cavs games are on UPN because I watched it a couple times. Upon one of the watching I finally cracked open the partial script (I know there is a fancy work for it, but I’m not hip to the lingo) that I have avoided reading as not to be any more spoiled. But it just sat on my coffee table for over a month as I stared at it trying not to open it like a junkie trying to quit would stare at a bag of crack someone left lying out. It was also hard holding on to the picture to the right which was one of the few things we were forbidden from posting. But now that the episode has aired, it was free game. And now it asked the question, if eight people died on the bus, why only six pictures on the board? But anyways. On to this week’s Toss Up:


Failed Experiment
Lost - Bernard tries to get people to help him build a sign that planes could see but couldn’t even get half an “S” done.
Veronica Mars - Logan and Wallace try to beat Angie at the “It’s not me it’s Wu” egg drop.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Interracial Lovin’
Lost: Bernard has some jungle love while in the jungle.
Veronica Mars: Dead gay dude had yellow fever for Mr. Wu.
Winner: Lost


Flashbacks
Lost: Rose and Bernard have flashbacks to the day they met.
Veronica Mars: Logan flashes back to making out with Veronica, oh and the first time she met Lucky.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Surprised to See
Lost: The dude from Angel gets his own flashback.
Veronica Mars: The chick from Cupid is back after getting unceremoniously dumped by Keith.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Let Down Ending
Lost: It’s Michael coming out of the woods.
Veronica Mars: I Am God is a band.
Winner: Lost


Best Line
Lost: Sometimes you don’t need the prettiest horse, just one that lets you ride bareback. (Okay Lost didn’t have any good lines; I just wanted to post both of these.)
Veronica Mars: Just because you wiggle your finger doesn’t mean Dick’s gonna come.
Winner: No Contest


Abbreviation
Lost: Bernard tries to spell S.O.S. in hopes to get rescued.
Veronica Mars: Veronica hopes she’s more PYT than PWT.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Help a Brother Out
Lost: Charlie helps Eko build a church.
Veronica Mars: Logan helps Wallace when he wants to stick it to Angie.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Hook Up
Lost: Rose and Bernard after he helps her car gets stuck.
Veronica Mars: Keith goes on two unsuccessful blind dates and one that went very well.
Winner: Lost


Remember two weeks ago when Lost had its episode with five can’t miss moments and it actually delivered? Everyone, including me, said that was the point where the show breaks its sophomore slump. But then last week came the sluggish Hurley-centric episode. Then Lost this week hit an all time low with the most boring first run character-centric episode focusing on the courtship of Rose and Bernard. The major twist is that Rose had less than a year to live, but this wasn’t too shocking because in the end she was cured by the island just like Locke. And what was supposed to be the other big shocker (and when I say shocker, I’m giving the Scout’s Honor sign) is that Rose knows that Locke was in the wheelchair. But what’s really shocking to me, like I mentioned after last year’s finale, was how doesn’t anyone remember and old dude being carried onto an airplane?

And much like every episode since he arrived, Not-Henry Gale was much more interesting that that week’s character-centric storyline. Not-Henry continued to screw with Locke’s head by ignoring him when Locke once again tried to get Not-Henry to admit he punched in the numbers in between trying to sketch the blacklight image.

Then after realizing he has gotten all that he’s going to get out of Not-Henry, Jack decides to cross the line that shall not be crossed in hopes of making a trade of Not-Henry for Walt. Apparently Jack didn’t get the memo that Earl Hickey kidnapped him. Naturally Zeke and the Gang have no interest. And in a surprise that surprised no one, Michael was the rusting in the woods.


Now I must disclose that I’m not the biggest fan of dream sequences. Mostly because there are always have deeper meanings with Freudian psychobabble that goes over my head. And there was plenty of this happening with Veronica’s conversations with dead people on her new night Tuesday. First, it is hard to decide it was all just a magnification of Veronica’s subconscious or were the dead really giving her hints. That wouldn’t be the first time the dead helped her as Lily saved her from the bus crash and also had a habit of showing up in her dreams during the first season.

If it was indeed the ghosts were really talking to her, they left some interesting hints that would change some suspects’ odds on my Oddsmakers game (click to participate). A lot of signs pointed to the Casablancas Clan. First, did the PWT succeed in her attempt of creating a Littler Dick and Little Dick and/or Big Dick wanted to avoid the child support? Then back in the real world, the massive insurance policy makes the elders of the clan look even guiltier. Back on the bus, could the outing of all outings be referring to the youngest Casablancas whose sexuality was put into question when he wouldn’t scan Mac’s hard drive? Although with that comment, the sexuality of every dude on the bus is in question. We already know Marcus played for both teams, does Dick also line up on both sides of the ball? As part of his condition mean multi-personalities for Duncan, one of which is a gay homosexual? Why was gay dude on the bus; was it to be close to someone on the field trip? Then of course there were the people they met at Shark’s Field. Woody grabbing Logan’s arm last week was certainly homoerotic. Or was the argument Terrence had with Woody that day about his underage jungle lovin’ boy toy there? If that’s the case, Terrence is a beef roid away from the baseball no-no triple crown if you add in gambling. All I know is the closer we get to the finale, the less certain I’m know who crashed the bus. And who is Lucky and do I need to add him to my list of subject too.

For those keeping track at home, that would be two jabs at former guest star Paris Hilton. Can we expect shots at Laguna Beach next season? If so, count me in.

Next week, no Lost because there is a two hours episode of Alias. Wait, that show is still on the air? Is this going to be a Will and Grace situation where ever year the Emmy’s come out with a nomination for the show even though I was convinced it got canceled two years ago? But when Lost does come back, Michael gets his regulator to mount up in hopes to get Walt back. And naturally it will doubtfully end well.

As for Veronica Mars, the previews were pretty cryptic, but it looks like Weevil will be back and Veronica will be inquiring about Thumper. And I’m sure it will add another bus crash subject or two before the episode ends. I can’t believe there are only four episodes left. Be sure to turn in next Tuesday.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 13

A wise man once said, “The waiting is the hardest part,” but finally my wait ended last night as the latest episode of Veronica Mars aired because the local UPN affiliate would rather had shown the Cavs lose to the hapless Kicks last Wednesday. Luckily now I only have to wait three more days until the next new one that happens to be the episode I was at, so make sure you tune in Tuesday even if you have never seen Veronica Mars because you just may see me. Now Rob Thomas has stated that this episode was his favorite of the season, which would be hard to believe after last week’s near perfect trip to college. Lost (download Dave here) also had a hard act to follow with it’s best outing of the season last week, but this week was a Hurley episode and those are always entertaining. So on to the Toss Up:


Letting Go
Lost: Hurley of his Id, Dave, twice.
Veronica Mars: Nothing says great time from breaking up like dances that’s where Beaver and Wallace dropped their respective chicks.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Tied Up
Lost: Not Henry Gale is tied up for another round of torture.
Veronica Mars: Thumper is chained up to a urinal at old Sharks stadium, or, well, was.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Talking to People that Aren’t There
Lost: Hurley talks to his imaginary friend.
Veronica Mars: Veronica talks to dead people (well next week).
Winner: Lost


Making Out
Lost: Proving that she’s crazy, Libby kisses Hurley.
Veronica Mars: Proving that he’s crazy, Wallace kisses Jackie when still dating Jane.
Winner: Lost


MIA
Lost: Even having episodes recently, Claire, Sun and Jin are conspicuously absent.
Veronica Mars: Without Dick around, Veronica was forced to deliver the Dirty Sanchez blast.
Winner: Lost


Plot Twist that Everyone Could See Coming
Lost: Libby was at the nut house.
Veronica Mars: Thumper killed Felix with an assist from the Fitzpatricks.
Winner: Lost


Signs of a Bad Boy
Veronica Mars: You get beat up by the gentle dude.
Lost: Your girlfriend’s dad ships her cross country to break you up.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Good Cop/Bad Cop
Lost: While interrogating Not Henry Gale, Ana Lucia was obviously playing good cop to Sayid’s bad cop.
Veronica Mars: Veronica as a good cop delivers Felix’s killer on a platter, but bad cop Lamb decides not to do anything about it, well until after Thumper goes kaboom.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Racist Statement That You Laughed at Anyways
Lost: Sawyer wonders if Sayid needs a job at his mini-mart.
Veronica Mars: Veronica gives Weevil the new nickname Dirty Sanchez.
Winner: Lost


Lived Up to the Hype
Lost: Even though it was a Hurley-centric episode after the best one of the season, this week drug on until the inevitable.
Veronica Mars: Rob Thomas said that this week and last’s were his favorite of the season and this one was better, but I preferred last week’s “18 - It’s Legal!” episode.
Winner: Push


Both shows were let downs from last week but both definitely had their moments. Unlike what seems like everyone else, I did like the “All in Hurley’s head” theory that his Id Dave suggested on Lost, but the episode fell into the same problem that the whole season had where the plot just slugged along to the point where I became as catatonic as Hurley may or may not be. And the big twist was one I predicted back when Hurley ask if they had met before, Libby was at the same mental hospital as Hurley although I was slightly off because I said she would be a doctor there not a patient. My revisionist theory now is that she took over the identity of her doctor because she wants to be the one to cure Hurley. I’m surprised how many people wondered how she could become a physiologist in between the time she was in the hospital and crashed. Um, she lied, she not really one.

But back in the hatch, the castaways were able to get some more interesting information out of Not Henry most notable the second mention of The Man (remember Zeke mentioned Him during Clair’s flashback to Ethan Rom). It’s still too soon to speculate who that it is, but it’s safe to assume we have already met him (or I would be surprised if it’s a her). Not Henry also continued to mess with Locke’s head by telling him, a man of faith, that God cannot see the island nor did he push the buttons and the clock reset by itself. Hopefully Locke is mobile again soon so he can start looking for more clues about the blacklight map.


As for Veronica Mars, I totally missed the boat on last night’s episode. How can an episode be great, let alone the best without Dick being involved? But anyways. I was surprised that Woody was surprised that Logan won the essay contest. I was thinking it was fixed because Woody has a plan for the younger Echolls. But then again it would be the first time he lied as it was obvious that he didn’t want the DVD of his house back so his gardener could destroy it. Although Logan’s, “Should I put this in the anti-incorporation pile” was classic. And the chick from America’s Next Top Model wasn’t half bad or at least better than the chick from last season and a certain chick from an MTV reality show. And it was nice to see Officer Mahoney give her some advice before debut during ANTM.

Then we get our first big mystery solved as it turns out that Thumper killed Felix. Not a big surprised as the two biggest suspects were him or the Fitzpatricks, with Logan as a small possibility, and it turned out to be both. Not that the mystery stops there as I’m sure Weevil will want to exact some revenge on the Fitzpatricks too. And what was with the laughing children at the end while Weevil was in confessional? Does that have to do with the little kid that saw Weevil knock out Thumper and steal the money?

There’s nothing like a dance to break couples up. Ironically at the last dance it was all about hook ups; Meg and Duncan and Veronica and Deputy Leo. First Jane gave Wallace the boot after he admits that it was him who kissed Jackie, who was continuing her image rehabilitation tour by taking the mentally challenged boy, who’s mom looked extremely young to the point I thought he had two dates, to the dance. Then Beaver ended with Mac when she pressured him to put out. I’m sensing a pattern here because he also passed up a chance to nail a passed out Veronica at the infamous Shelly Pomroy party. I’m not ready to say Beaver may be wearing a “I (Heart) Dick” shirt just yet, but I’m wondering if this setting up another mystery for next season.

Then there was what probably the reason why everyone was so over the moon about this episode, Veronica and Logan dancing. Ugh. I don’t get why everyone wants this to happen. Don’t they realize he had sex with what is basically a high price hooker while she was in the room next door? It doesn't get less classy that that. And this begs the question why was Logan there in the first place? He doesn’t volunteer for anything. And why was Gia stag? Why didn’t she ask Dick? And most importantly, where was Dick? And it’s safe to assume Madison’s new boy toy would pass up the opportunity to go to a high school dance, but why didn’t Veronica bring Madison up when she was with Lamb? You know Veronica would love to rub something like that in on the bad cop. But even though Rob Thomas demostrated it, I saw it in the previews a couple times, I love the Shocker/Scout's honor scene along with Veronica not being able to turn do Weevil's offer to help him even though he didn't have the $50. And if anyone was wondering the song that played during the dance, it was Sway by The Perishers.


Next week, Veronica Mars will be on it’s new night, Tuesday, with the episode that I was at on the Bloggers Press Day and I will say the lack of Dick in this episode will definitely be made up for in the next on. Also look for the scene with Veronica and Beaver in the courtyard as that was the scene I watched. Also make sure to check out the 9th Green Tuesday as I commemorate the move and my set visit with a very special post. Until then, you can check out the new, and only, Veronica Mars posdcast at Neptune Pirate Radio.

Then on Wednesday on Lost it looks like Jack will go deep in the jungle in hopes of trading Not Henry Gale with Walt. I think it’s safe to assume this will not end well. And even with Veronica Mars move, still expect my weekly Toss Up on Thursday for the reminder of the season well barring anymore Cavs games.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 12

Last night we had two highly anticipated episodes of Lost and Veronica Mars, which one lived up to the hype more than the other, well let’s just go to the Toss Up to see which one come out on top:

Fox Sitcom
Lost: Married... with Children, with Peggy Bundy, ran for decades before it wasn’t renewed without warning.
Veronica Mars: Arrested Development, with George Michael and Maeby, ran for three season of time slot moves and reduced episodes until, well, I guess it hasn’t technically been canceled yet.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Episode Title
Lost: Lockdown (click to dowload it)
Veronica Mars: The Raps of Graff
Winner: Veronica Mars

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Lost: Peggy tosses Locke aside when he chose his father over her.
Veronica Mars: Madison tosses Dick aside when she chose a more mature mate.
Winner: Lost

Hair
Lost: Locke has some in his flashbacks.
Veronica Mars: Maeby has about the same about.
Winner: Lost

Trustworthy?
Lost: Henry Gale
Veronica Mars - Troy Vandergraff
Winner: Veronica Mars

Male Dominance
Lost: Jack schools Sawyer in poker.
Veronica Mars: Dick schools Logan in Mortal Combat.
Winner: Lost

Lies
Lost: Henry Gale says he’s Henry Gale.
Veronica Mars: Veronica shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Ouch
Lost: Locke gets impaled by the hatch.
Veronica Mars: Troy gets punched trying to defend Veronica’s honor.
Winner: Lost

Welcome Back
Lost: Peggy Bundy
Veronica Mars: Troy Vandergraff
Winner: Veronica Mars

Did You See?
Lost: Walt was found on My Name Is Earl (ha-ha, he called Earl a butt-wad).
Veronica Mars: The helicopter in the building.
Winner: Veronica Mars

It’s Legal
Lost: Off-shore gambling with fruit.
Veronica Mars: Madison Sinclair.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Lived Up to the Hype
Lost: Said there were five can’t miss moments, let me count the ways; finding the balloon, the lockdown, Locke getting impaled, Peggy showing up at the motel, Henry Gale is black, and dead.
Veronica Mars: Rob Thomas said it was up there, but not as good, as A Trip to the Dentist. Five most see moments; Veronica pulling her hair in front of her face, Johnny Cash references, Veronica debating her worth, Cliff in handcuffs, “18-It's Legal; Re-Elect Don Lamb,” Veronica giving a different type of shocker to frat boy, “Dad, you’re hooker’s here, and of course anything with Dick.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Finally, of weeks of sluggish episodes Lost has it’s first episode to live up to the hype, even though any Locke-centric episode that doesn’t tell us why he was in the wheelchair is by definition disappointing. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought he was going to be paralyzed when the dudes who were looking for daddy shoot him. But by the end of the episode, Locke was still standing. But the big news of the flashback was Locke had yet another job. By my track you can add housing inspector to toy store and box company employee.

Back on the island, even though the trio found the balloon, I was convinced that Henry was still an Other, which turned out to be true. But something should be said that the Others gave the dude a proper burial even with a cross. It’s looks as if the group already accused not Henry of murder, but I’m not entirely sure. But not Henry didn’t run when he had the chance, but that may be because he didn’t expect Sayid to did up his not wife. Plus he also now has Locke’s word which will obviously come back to hurt Locke in the end.

Then there was the lockdown that came right before the voice of God, sounding like every drive thru speaker I’ve ever been to. The only thing I could decipher was “Leave the hatch now” followed by a countdown. I’m sure some uber-nerd has already figured out the whole warning by now, but I haven’t the time to search again. Then in a try to get out, Locke gets pinned under the door, symbolically crushing his legs. But with the clock running down he gets not Henry to crawl threw the vents to punch in the numbers, which not Henry seemed to memorize quite quickly as if he already knew them. This does beg the question, why didn’t Locke first try to crawl threw the vents first? Wouldn’t that have been easier than trying to lift those doors? But it did give Locke a chance to see the blacklight image, which again I’m sure some uber-nerd has translated by now, while not Henry punched in the numbers, or so he says. And it’s safe to say that the lockdown has something to do with the food that magically appeared outside the hatch.

But it was Veronica Mars that outshined allcomers last night. It totally lived up to Rob’s hype, although I may put the first episode of this season above this one too as of now. It really seemed as if all the actors tonight brought their A game and seemed to walk with a swagger. I loved how the show started off with Wallace and Veronica and she tries to get out of her college visit by pulling her hair across her face. Kristen Bell hasn’t been cuter since Emmy Idol. Of course she goes basically to get out of class for a couple days (who has a three day campus visit anyways). There she runs into Troy Vandergraff, her first bad boy boyfriend, long before Logan. The following conversation was great, drudging up everything bad in their past.

Also on campus we get George Michael, still in geeky George Michael mode except he shot a man in Reno, but it wasn’t to watch him die. Maeby on the other hand take a surprising dramatic turn as rape victim. I’m not sure I was ready to see her in that light just yet. This gets me wondering, as it’s pretty obvious that Veronica will be joining Wallace at Hearst next year, will we see more of George Michael and Maeby, or even Troy, in season three? And as Rob Thomas said at the Blogger’s Press Day, the observant viewer will see the seeds of season three’s mystery later in this season, I wonder if Veronica battling with the frat boys will be involved. I believe they never did find out who exactly was the rapist, just that it wasn’t Troy. Speaking of harebrain theories, I hope everyone noticed Veronica wondered if the bus crash and Felix’s murder were connected when she saw Danny Boyd at the construction site.

But there was much off-campus events in this episode too highlighted by “18-It's Legal; Re-Elect Don Lamb” flyer. May I also point out even Lamb would hook up with Madison Sinclair. But this all came about because Cliff got fooled by a hooker who stole his caseload, including his Logan information, and handcuffed him to the bedpost. And speaking of Logan, after spending a day with Dick, he quickly realizes that not what he wants his life to be, sending him back into the arms of Hannah, even though he had an agreement with pappa to stay away from her. And then she was promptly shipped off to Vermont. Oh Hanna, we hardly knew ya. But this is Veronica Mars, so don’t rule out her staying there, because I’d personally like to see more of her.

And the cool thing about the Blogger Press Day is seeing things that other people wouldn’t even think about like the helicopter in the building in the background during the break up scene of Logan and Hannah while they were walking to the parking lot. Not convinced that what I’m talking about is true, click on the picture at right to see the building in question better. Next to where Veronica Mars shoots, there is a place where the military trains troops in urban warfare in Iraq. Who knew Baghdad was a suburb of Neptune?

Next week, we finally get more of Hurley. Will Libby show up like I theorized earlier? What we do know is that Hurley will see a person from his past ala Jack with his father last season. While on Veronica Mars, someone wins a day with Woody Goodman which includes being able to blow up the former Sharks stadium, possible destroying evidence in the process. I get that sense. Oh and look out for another America’s Next Top Model cameo. Yippee.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 11

Well I finally got to see Veronica Mars last night thanks to it being preempted last week due to the Cavs game and as always it was worth the wait. At first I thought it was just going to be a recap episode after the massively long “Previously on” segment. For those keeping track at home, it clocked in at three minutes. Unfortunately by the time I saw it Lost (download The Whole Truth) had slowly slipped from my mind so the Toss Up this week may suffer creatively from it. It only furthers my assumption that I should re-watch Veronica Mars before or after Lost.

Good to See Again
Lost: The weird looking dude from the last Sun/Jin-centric episode and he apparently is no longer courting the American chick.
Veronica Mars: Cliff is back as Logan’s “If you can’t afford an attorney” attorney and apparently he will soon be in the market for an “I’m with Stupid” T-shirt (what, not an I (Heart) Beaver one).
Winner: Veronica Mars

MIA
Lost: Hurley, Claire, Eko, the crazy French Chick.
Veronica Mars: Jackie, Weevil, Madison
Winner: Veronica Mars

Wizard of Oz Reference
Lost: Dorothy’s uncle may or may not be evil (get it, Henry Gale).
Veronica Mars: Jane laments, “There’s no place like Heidi’s.”
Winner: Lost

Shady Character
Lost: We are not sure whether Henry is evil or not but his breakfast conversation makes it clearer.
Veronica Mars: Vinny VanLowe, back from Mexico got thrown out of yet another bar for stalking.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Bad Vegetables
Lost: When Sun doesn’t follow his command, Jin rips out her garden.
Veronica Mars: Dick assumes Aaron has slimmed down in prison thanks to all the tossed salad (okay Dick really crossed the line with that one).
Winner: Lost

Duped
Lost: Ana Lucia may or may not have been duped by Dorothy’ uncle by leading her into a trap.
Veronica Mars: Beaver may or may not have been duped by inverters eagerly willing to dump real estate that will fall outside of Woody’s proposed cooperation plan.
Winner: Lost

Assumptions
Lost: Jin assumes the kid I his.
Veronica Mars: Dr. Griffins assumes that Logan will stop seeing Hannah in exchange for repealing his testimony.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Rivalry
Lost: In the battle of not letting the other get the upper hand, they unknowingly let Ana Lucia go search for the balloon that could turn out to be a trap.
Veronica Mars: After competing against each other for years, Keith actually gives Lamb some information that hurt his client, Terrence Cook. Lamb then proceeds to gloat and presumable listen to more Big and Rich.
Winner: Lost

Miscommunication
Lost: When Sawyer and Bernard congratulates Jin on being a daddy, he for some reason hears them speak backwards (doesn’t creepy Walt speak backwards too?)
Veronica Mars: When Logan asks Hanna if she wanted to come over to the Neptune Grand all she hears is “Let’s have sex.”
Winner: Veronica Mars

The Downside of Thinking
Lost: Well nothing really, I just wanted to type…
Veronica Mars: Thinking makes Kendall’s breasts smaller.
Winner: No contest


The first new Toss Up in over a month is tainted due to the Cavs game. Both shows both had interesting storylines, but neither really holds up to the respective shows best episodes. On Lost it looks like we will have another baby on our hands. Although at the rate the show goes, it won’t be delivered until season eight. I find it interesting that almost everyone thinks the father is Jin and the island gave him some super-sperm. Granted we will have to wait a couple years to see if it’s actually a black baby, but here’s my theory; Sun, wanting a baby to help transition to her new life in America, got artificially inseminated and brought along a home pregnancy test to see if it worked. This would fall in with her telling Jin she’s never been with another dude (although is Jerry Spinger taught me anything, woman lie about who the daddy all the time) and would explain why she would think to ask Sawyer for the test because she knew there was one on the plane.

While down in the hatch, everyone’s ready to convict Dorothy’s uncle, but Ana Lucia gave him one last chance to repent and he did so by drawing a map to his balloon. But his “You’re lucky I’m not evil” speech pretty much confirms that he is indeed evil. Doesn’t it?


While on Veronica Mars yet another presumable throwaway character, Jane, pop ups again to be Wallace’s surprise girlfriend and now even got her own episode last night. It really these little things that makes the show great. I’m mean if Dick, who was originally brought in so Logan would have someone besides Duncan to talk to, can make it into the credits; you never know when a past supporting character will show. Hey there may just be one that shows up next week. Unfortunately Jane’s sister, run away bride reminded me of the Anthony Anderson episode from last season. But second rate mystery of the week aside, the writing made up for it. The tossed salad comment aside, I really loved how the oldest money in Neptune is from the eighties.

There were plenty of season long plot points addressed in the episode. First we saw the first on screen meeting of Aaron and Kendall who seem to joining up. In return for providing her more capital, it looks like Kendall will be setting up Duncan by taking some hair out of his shower drain. During the on-set visit, Rob Thomas mentioned there would be a crucial scene in the shower that didn’t involve people taking a shower. I thinking this may be it. And speaking of Aaron, am I the only one that believes him when he says he didn’t kill Lilly Kane? And while I’m asking question, does anyone else think Beaver may have join Big Dick in exclusion soon because his land trust may go south soon?

Now back to this season’s mystery, I’m still convinced Woody is behind the crash. He had the means to plant the explosives in his own hanger and his with incorporation plan; he still stands to profit from social segregation that the bus crash sparked. Also sparking social segregation was the murder of Felix and I beginning to wonder if the two big mysteries of the reason are connected. Chris Rock once theorized that George Bush sent the white girl to Kobe’s room and killed Lacy Peterson to keep people’s mind of the war. Could Woody be using this technique to keep the population’s mind off of the incorporation plan?

This week Veronica finally confronts Logan about his new girlfriend leading to the great, “You’re cute when you’re jealous” line. But even when Logan seems to get what he wants out of the relationship, her dad changing his testimony, he seems to be conflicted especially after Hannah “Logan’s a great guy” speech to her mother. But I still think Hannah will soon have a WWE type swerve to screw Logan over in the end.

Next week Lost promises not one, not two, but five, count ‘em five can’t miss moments and from the preview, some look to be Ana Lucia’s army finding a balloon and Locke getting caught behind the safety door. The question though is, after so many anemic episodes this season, why stuff all the can’t miss scenes in one episode? Then next week Veronica Mars goes back to campus where she may or may not run into someone from her past and some cousins who, like Dick and Beaver, know something about family members that make shady real estate investments. And if my memory is correct, I believe this is the episode where Rob Thomas said the show will start getting really, really good. Of course that’s opposed to the really good this season has been already.

Also, if you have some questions for Rob or Jason Dohring, you need to e-mail me (ScooterKSU@aol.com) by Tuesday at 8:00 EST and maybe I'll ask them your wquestion during my teleconference with them.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 10 3/4

Last night we had our first all new Veronica Mars in what seemed like forever, but at least now we have two straight months without a repeat leading up to the finale. The big news from last night was the guest appearance of Laguna Beach star Kristin Cavallari in her first ever acting role, well that’s if you don’t think the reality show is staged. But anyways. And wow was her acting bad. I’m talking Middle School production of Our Town bad. But much like Laguna Beach it was so bad it became entertaining. There was one look she had while in the bathroom that had me falling off the couch laughing it was so overdramatic. (By the way, both pictures in this post are courtesy of UPN/Warner Bros.)

Cavallari played a lesbian, The Attractive Nuisance pointed out for some reason didn’t wear an “I (Heart) Beaver” t-shirt, who is being blackmailed to stay in the closet along with other gay Neptune students. But it was the tricky Cavallari who plotted to out herself so she could walk down the hall hand in hand with her girlfriend while Dick ogled her.

One part of the whole online gay community that I found interesting was the dude who threatened to out people and disappeared was on the bus along with bi-curious Marcos, whixh makes two S.H.I.P.’ers who were on the bus. Being the conspiracy theorist that I am, I wonder if this is coincidental or could this have something to do with the bus crash. After last night you can also add the Indian casino owners to the long list of suspects. But the biggest bit of evidence found in this episode implicated already charged Terrence Cook when Veronica found explosives in the hanger where Terrence keeps his fleet of cars. But the hanger is own by my lead candidate, Woody Goodman.

Then there was Logan, who continued his fake courtship of the uber-cute Hanna who is so gullible she bought his line about why he didn’t want to be seen in public with her and that he didn’t know how her daddy was when he met her. Or Hannah just wants Logan to think she is gullible and she will pull a WWF type swerve when she is called as a witness at Logan’s trail for the defense supposable to sell out her dad only to pick up a steel chair and nail Logan in the back on the way to the stand, ripping off her sun dress to reveal an “I (Heart) Daddy” t-shirt. Oh, and what a classic look Veronica gave when Mac mentioned that Hannah’s dad was a plastic surgeon.

But the highlights for me were the scenes between Veronica and Dick. First Dick “nails” Veronica, “I remember you taller and less uppity.” Then Veronica walks into Dick fantasy by asking him “Could it help if I started making out with my girlfriend in the hallway.” Dick’s “Yeah, obviously” was priceless. Seriously, how long until Veronica sports an “I (Heart) Dick” shirt? Then we get the return of my favorite fringe character Madison. And Corny had a breakout line with “I’m what they call a master bait.” For some reason they brought back last year’s Popsicle Princess, Carmen for a small part. I wonder if this was just the beginning of something. (On a side note, is anyone else a little put off that the last gig this actress had was playing a teacher on Boston Public? So she went from playing a teacher to a high school junior in about three years. Um, okay.) And if there wasn’t already reason enough reason to hate Sheriff Lamb; he’s apparently a Big and Rich fan. Also props to Cavallari for using the pseudonym Rick Santorum to blackmail her gay pal even though it didn’t seem Veronica or the baseball pitcher (or was he a catcher) didn’t seem to get the joke (and if you didn’t either, Santorum is the Republican Senator from Pennsylvania). And there also seemed to be another Arrested Development reference with the Kissncuzn screen name. But the line of the night was Veronica asking the PCH wannabe, “Did you just call me lady?”

For those who wonder why this episode was titled Versatile Topping, here’s the explanation from creator Rob Thomas, “The title of that episode, Versatile Toppings, is an inside joke between myself and Dan Etheridge, one of the producers here. And he used the phrase a couple times around me ‘negotiable top’ or ‘negotiable bottom’ and I misheard him so I kept using the phrase ‘versatile top’ rather than ‘negotiable top’ (Ducky mentioned “it also works” followed by laughter). So when we had a story that combined pizza delivery guys and outing gay students, it became Versatile Toppings.”

Next week there is a potentially scene of the year candidate when Kendal visit Papa Echolls in jail. Conjugal visit possibly? And surely there will be fallout from the explosives and you can bet Veronica will have something to say to Logan about his new girl. And it looks like we will have a first new Toss Up with Lost next week too as it will be back with what looks to be a Jin and Sun-centric episode considering Sun asking for a pregnancy test, which I never leave at home when traveling, in the previews and the repeat last night of a previous Jin/Sun-centric episode. But I’ll leave you with a Veronica only Toss Up from last night’s episode:

Worst Love Life
Veronica: As Dick points out “you dated Logan, he’s nailed for murder, you dated Duncan, he’s wanted for kidnapping. You’re like rich dude kryptonite Veronica.”
Logan: He points out to Hannah that, “My first girlfriend was murdered, my last girlfriend nearly got shotgunned by a PCH’er drive-by. Color me crazy but I see a pattern.”
Winner: Logan

Toss Up Lost vs Veronica Mars week 10 2/3

Let me start this week’s Toss Up at the end of Lost: what was up with Eko’s beard trim? I’ve seen all the Lost faithful rave about last night’s episode yet none of them mentioned the whole scene. Lost has had a bunch of head scratching moments throughout its run, but the Eko scene wins the most odd award. So let me get this straight, Eko takes out his knife that makes us think he’s going to kill the Other (and yes he was an Other, more on that later), but then puts the knife to his own neck making us think he was going to repent by taking his own life, only just to chop of the weird goatee thing you would normally see at a Phish concert. Yeah right.

But beside that whole sequence last night was up there with the Hurley and Eko episodes, but then again that’s not saying much. Now back to Dorothy’s uncle (get it Henry Gale, oh never mind) it became obvious that he was an Other with the comment he made to Locke about Jack being the leader. This is you classic divide and conquer plan. I don’t think some random billionaire would think of this quickly after being torture or would even think that doing it would help him.

Speaking of the Others, it seemed my theory of two opposite tribes that habitated the island pre-crash, a group of Others and a group of Them (see it in depth: Toss Up). Basically it stated that Ethan was separate from Zeke but as we saw in the Claire flashback that the two are working together, and I didn’t even need to see Kate discover the fake beard to know that was Zeke who summoned Ethan because his voice was very distinctive. But this just begs the question why is Zeke, and presumable his homies, dressing up like an extra from Deliverance?

Then we have our very first flashbacks that took place exclusively on the island (and I’m not counting The Other 48 Days because that was a recap, not a flashback to get technical). They did a really good job with the first couple flashbacks making the audience wonder if it were in fact a flashback or just Claire’s mind playing tricks on her. They also made us assume that we also got our first glimpse of Alex, Rousseau’s kid, but I’m not to quick to assume that.

Back in present day, the chicks found, presumable, the third bunker mention in the orientation film. Although I was a little disappointed that we didn’t run into Michael or Desmond (remember them?) inside the bunker. And with the entire bunker stripped bare, why would Zeke leave the Deliverance outfit there. Since it’s only been a couple of days since the confrontation with Locke, Sawyer, and Jack, it means he’s been back there recently, so why take everything, but continue to stash you beard there? Just another question in the long list of questions that the show still needs to answer.

Veronica Mars aired its last repeat of the season yesterday and now we get all new ones starting March 15th (America's Next Top Model gets a two hour premier next week). Then we are moving into what Rob Thomas call the best stretch of episodes (this is paraphrased) in the show’s history capped off with episode 18 (the one we sat in on) which Rob said is up there with A Trip to the Dentist, his all time favorite episode not to mention the inaugural winner of the Best Episode awards at the Scooter Television Awards. I hope Rob wasn’t too disappointed that I didn’t have a trophy for him.

I’m hoping to have my picture problems solved by the weekend, and I’ll also sort through my taped interviews and transcribe a few of them this weekend too. Until then, for those interesting in what’s upcoming on the show, all I’ll say is I (heart) Dick. Stay tuned this weekend for more.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 10 1/2

Well last week I mentioned if last week's the promo where the clock reaches zero was a hoax I would never watch the show ever again (see Toss Up week 10). We got to see the clock hit quadruple zero. Then after about ten seconds and some Egyptian hieroglyphics (see below) Locke enters the code and the clock actually resets again. What crap. I would have been happier if absolutely nothing happened when the clock ran out, but to be able to reset the clock after it hit zero was cheap.



But the clock sequence wasn’t even the cheapest part of the whole episode. No that goes to the revisionist view of the original Iraq War. Not one American was killed do to enemy fire during the conflict and there was little to no contact between the Iraqis and the Americans, but Lost sought fit to change history with the Sayid flashback. Then to add salt to the wounds, they decided to throw in a big twist in that it was the American, not his countrymen, where he learned how to torture people. That was a straight up cheap move. And what really was irritating is Sayid has had the most entertaining flashback with all the military aspects. And this one was going good, and I was even ready to forgive the revisionist history, but they crossed the line making the American soldiers the bad guys.

But other than that, last night’s Lost was great. Oh wait, I forgot about the Sawyer storyline that was a complete rehash of him hunting the boar last season, except this season his opponent was a bull frog, and he traded Kate for Hurley as a companion. Yeah, that was worthless. The only redeemable part of the episode was following Sayid from the point Rousseau, making her first appearance this season, led him to the possible Other up to Sayid wailing on the dude. Personally I’m guessing hot air balloon guy is one of Them, which is not to be confused with an Other (see my theory on Them and Others here - Toss Up). For some reason next week is showing the two hour pilot and will return later finally realizes that she lost her memory weeks ago and tries to get it back. And for some reason does so by going into the jungle with Kate and Libby. Yeah, that will be a safe trip.


Veronica Mars, on the other hand has taken a slight hiatus with new episodes due to the amount of competition in February. In fact here’s the press release from UPN:



So two more weeks of repeats, then no more for the rest of the year, I can live with that. For the record, here’s the line up for the next couple weeks:

Wednesday, February 22 at 9:00PM - Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner

Wednesday, March 1 at 9:00PM - Ahoy, Mateys!

Wednesday, March 8 at 9:00PM - No Veronica Mars?

Then just in times for the Ides of March a new episode and here's the press release:


NEPTUNE HIGH'S CLOSETED GAY TEENS TURN TO VERONICA FOR HELP WHEN A BLACKMAILER THREATENS TO OUT THEM, ON "VERONICA MARS," WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15 ON UPN

UPN'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED Co-Host Kristin Cavallari ("Laguna Beach") Guest Stars as Veronica's Closeted Classmate Kylie,
Jeffrey Sams ("Soul Food") Guest Stars as Baseball Legend Terrence Cook, and Tina Majorino ("Napoleon Dynamite") Returns as Mac

"Versatile Toppings" -- Neptune High's closeted gay teens, including cheerleader Kylie (guest star Kristin Cavallari), turn to Veronica for help when a blackmailer cracks into a private online bulletin board and threatens to publicly out everyone associated with the site unless they pay $5,000 apiece, on VERONICA MARS, Wednesday, March 15 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on UPN. Sarah Pia Anderson directed the episode from a script written by Phil Klemmer. Tina Majorino guest stars as Mac.

Meanwhile, Keith continues to work on a case for Jackie's dad Terrance Cook (guest star Jeffery Sams), while looking into bus crash leads. Later, Logan romantically pursues sophomore Hannah, much to her father's distress.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 10

Not only did Lost and Veronica Mars do battle last night, it was turned into a triple threat match last night with the addition of the Grammy’s last night, which is the best award show of the year. Luckily for the scripted shows, the second hour of the Grammy’s was the weakest with performances by Kelly Clarkson, Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, and Keith Urban with Faith Hill. But the shows ended in time for possibly the weirdest performance I’ve ever seen, but I’ll go into that more during my Grammy review tomorrow. But now on to my weekly Toss Up debate:


Person Who Says Dude
Lost - Hurley averages about five dudes per episode.
Veronica Mars - Hannah tries to say dude, but can’t pull it off.
Winner - Lost


Same Sex Hook-Ups
Lost - Sawyer wants to see Kate and Sun in an oil wrestling match.
Veronica Mars - Dick unknowingly goes all Brokeback Mountain.
Winner - Veronica Mars


Defending a Significant Other
Lost - Jin wants to mount up and hunt down the Others for kidnapping Sun.
Veronica Mars - Beaver gets back at Dick for harassing Mac by making him go all Brokeback Mountain.
Winner - Veronica Mars


The Long Con
Lost - Sawyer cons everyone on the island for control of the guns.
Veronica Mars - Weevil takes the Senior Trip money then sets up Thumper to take the fall.
Winner - Lost

Scarier Arch-Nemesis
Lost - Charlie’s new goal is to make Locke look like a fool.
Veronica Mars - J.B. will destroy Veronica in order to win the Kane scholarship.
Winner - Lost


So it Ain’t So Joe
Lost - Charlie was the one who kidnapped Sun.
Veronica Mars - Terrence Cook admits to Keith he threw a game in the ACS.
Winner - Veronica Mars


Did You Notice?
Lost - Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s aunt served Sawyer coffee. Oh, and think she was also Kate’s mom.
Veronica Mars - Logan’s new friend’s dad just happened to be the dude who lied to the cops that he called in the Logan on the bridge incident.
Winner - Veronica Mars


Lost this week again followed recent trend of somewhat interesting island story paired up with flashbacks that brought nothing interesting to the story. Sawyer’s long con was brilliantly executed except were exactly did Sawyer hide all the guns where people will not be able to find them? There are two very skilled trackers in the tribe so I can’t image it will be that hard for them to find the stash. Not to mention how exactly was Locke able to move all the guns before Jack and his posse got there? In the end I have a feeling that the Others will end up finding the guns before Locke or Kate hunt them down.

In the flashback, Sawyer cons yet another woman starting out the con exactly like the last one we saw, but this chick is a little smarter and figures out he’s trying to get her money. But the recently divorced mark wants the rush of the con and is lured into Sawyer’s world. And if anyone thought Sawyer was actually falling for her obviously hasn’t been watching the same show because it wasn’t too shocking to me that he ended up conning her in the end. Oh, and also Sawyer ran into Kate’s mom too. But instead of Kate’s mom turning to the long con like I thought or ending up being in the car in the end as my second guess. No all she did was pour coffee. That had to be one of the biggest letdowns on Lost yet. Seriously, why bring back the actress just to have her pour coffee? Even if it is paid off later, it will still be too late.

But a show that never fails to pay off is Veronica Mars back with a solid effort after the lull of the post-Duncan leaving episode. This week Neptune was throwing its winter carnival to raise money for the senior trip. But just as the Tritons did their ritual naked mile, the trip money went missing under Veronica’s watch. Weevil, who has spent his time since being ousted as a gang leader by growing his hair out, ended admitting to Veronica to the theft after rolling to school in his new car. Not that anyone else would figure that out as Weevil planted enough on money in Thumper’s locker in addition to Mrs. Houser being caught skimming off the top.

And what better place to fall in love than the Winter Carnival as we get three new hook-ups. We get to see Wallace and Jane on their first date. Also Beaver and Mac quickly couple off after only one episode of flirting. But the most interesting is Logan’s courtship of the uber-cute (and Meg look-a-like) Hannah. But since to her lack of dating experience, I can’t imagine daddy will be too happy of her making out with the son of an alleged murder in front of him. Oh, and there’s that whole, he set up Logan by giving the police false information thing.

But it was Terrence Cook making an appearance at Mars Investigation that was the most interesting part of the episode. In it we learn what could be some very crucial facts about the bus crash. First it turned out that Ms. Dumass, you know that teacher on the bus, went all Fatal Attraction on Cook, ruining his impending nuptials. And she happened to overhear him talking to the Fitzpatrick’s about his extensive gambling debt that led to him throwing a playoff game. Oh, those Fitzpatrick are just showing up everywhere this season.


Next week could be the breaking point for Lost, I have theorized most of the season that the bunker clock will hit zero at the very last second of this season’s finale, but surprisingly, we may actually see what happens next week (granted I’m sure it will hit zero at the end of the episode and won’t se what will happen until the next wee, but anyways). If this turns out to be a dream sequence or something fake, I may never watch the show again. Also it looks like Sayid will be capturing an Other (I’m sure that’s not the case) and will be looking for answers.

As for Veronica Mars, next week will be as same as this week. Or at least that’s what the preview was the same as last week. But I have it on good authority that next week will feature Kristin from Laguna Beach as a lesbian cheerleader. There is nothing that says must see TV like “lesbian cheerleader.”

Speaking of Kristin from Laguna Beach, I didn’t watch her new show, Get This Party Started but wanted to talk about it anyways. From the previews, the premiere episode sent two girls from New Orleans to Vegas for a big party. But to get them there without ruining the surprise party, they told the girls they were going to some big talent show for their singing. Now here my problem with the show, the lie was better than the actual party. If someone told me I going to Vegas for a singing competition, I’d be let down to find out all I was getting was a party.

And as I mentioned a few times earlier, I will be having a huge announcement to make in the near future. Actually, I’ll just tell you right now. But first I need some mood music (cue up Going Back to Cali) At the end of the month, the good people over at UPN/Warner Bros. are flying me out to San Diego where I will get tour the set of Veronica Mars, meet the actors, and have lunch with creator, Rob Thomas (no not this Rob Thomas). I’ll pass along some more information as the time comes and of course I’ll have a complete wrap up when I get back including pictures and the like. I have a feeling this will be up there with the time I was on Letterman. And if any other TV shows are interested in flying me out to their set, just shout me a holla.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 9 1/2

Last week Veronica Mars blew Lost out of the water with one of the best hours on television this year while Lost once again was seen dragging its feet in revealing anything. This week Lost was on hiatus by showing one of the better episodes from last year in the lone Hurley-centric one. On the other hand, with little competition, Veronica Mars had its first drop off of the season.

The drop off could be attributed to how great last week’s episode was and this week things seemed to slow down a little. That’s not to say there weren’t a lot of great things about last night’s episode, I loved when the lead singer of Spoon serenaded Veronica with the Elvis Costello song appropriately called Veronica. Yeah, I never seem to find any Costello music at my local karaoke bar asides from (What’s So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding, (granted it's technically a cover of a Nike Drake song) but it was still a nice touch. Plus the best line of the night, “Do either of you have any experience being a horse’s ass?” was uttered during this scene.

Plus I’m having some timeline questions after watching the episode too. If my memory is correct, Sheriff Lamb closed the case and ruled it as a suicide by the bus driver. Then after the case was closed Curly Moran was found dead. So why would Lamb be questioning those didn’t take the bus home about him? Speaking about Curly, it was hinted at earlier this season, and we get video evidence that Weevil gave the dude a beat down before his death.

Earlier this season I suspected that Woody Goodman was the target of the bus crash going after his daughter but after Keith heard the tapes it turns out that Goodman may have been in on the bus crash after Gia told Lamb that her father insisted that she not get back on the bus. Also implicated was Terrence Cook who apparently was hooking up with Ms. Dumass (you know the one Dick wanted to call him Ree-chard). Apparently Lamb also has something on him because he brought him in for questioning about the now open bas crash case.

But as for the main storyline of the week, again there were some holes. First and foremost, if Rashard is the second coming of LeBron James, there is absolutely no why he would at a recruiting trip to UCLA because dude’s not going to college. Also having the returning Jackie in on the plan the whole time wasn’t as cool as finding out Veronica and Duncan had the whole thing planned out last week. But it was a nice turn to see Wallace has rebounded with Jane, the chick who had a crush on Wallace and was last seen on crutches.

Next week, due an extremely annoying scheduling decision, the Grammy’s will be on versus new episodes of Lost and Veronica Mars. I think I’ll watched the scripted shows on Wednesday and save the Grammy’s for later that way Toss Up will still be on Thursday and do a Grammy review on Friday, but schedule is subject to change. The Grammy’s should be really good this year and the U2 with Mary J. Blige duet should be worth the price of admission. Plus it should be interesting how the proposed duet between Madonna and the Gorillaz (yes the cartoon band) turn out. But I don’t know why the show isn’t on it’s usual Sunday when there’s nothing else worth watching on.

With this week’s Hurley-centric re-run I assume there will be another one coming up soon on Lost or possibly a Libby one to confirm my current theory (see it here - Toss Up… ). While on Veronica Mars Jackie learns how to cope with her dad being an accused murderer. Hey she should talk to Logan about that. Also Dick’s ex-flame, Madison Sinclair will make an appearance too. Here is the official press release from the good people at UPN/Warner Bros.:


MUCH TO HER SURPRISE, VERONICA IS MOVED TO HELP JACKIE AFTER SHE IS ACCUSED OF STEALING MONEY DURING THE WINTER CARNIVAL FOR THE SENIOR CLASS TRIP, ON "VERONICA MARS," WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8 ON UPN

Jeffery Sams ("Soul Food") Guest Stars as Jackie's Dad Terrence Cook [Scooter's note - they said this last week, but only pictures of Cook appeared in the episode], and Tina Majorino ("Napoleon Dynamite") Returns as Mac

"Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough" -- When all of the proceeds for the senior class trip disappear while in her possession during the Neptune High Winter Carnival, Veronica must identify the clever thief among them and surprisingly finds herself defending Jackie as accusations fly, on VERONICA MARS, Wednesday, Feb. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on UPN. Guy Bee directed the episode from a script written by Diane Ruggiero. Tina Majorino guest stars as Mac.

Meanwhile, Keith confronts his baseball idol and client Terrance Cook (guest star Jeffery Sams) with questions about his past and the bus crash. Later, Dick tries to humiliate Beaver in front of his carnival date as Logan sets his sights on a sophomore.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 9

For the first time since early December, Lost went head to head with Veronica Mars with new episodes. Who had the better one? Let’s play a little game I like to call Toss Up. (Picture to the right is courtesy of UPN/Warner. Used by permission)

Best Breakup
Lost – Claire kicks Charlie to the curb, and then slaps him when he tries to get back together.
Veronica Mars – Veronica and Duncan have a very public breakup with a lot of mud slinging only for it to be a whole set up.
Winner – Veronica Mars


Best Middle School Flashback
Lost – The cool kid tries to get the fat kid to ask out the hot chick.
Veronica Mars – Veronica puts on some horribly depressing music post break-up including How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? By Al Green from The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack.
Winner – Lost


Best Lie
Lost – Libby tells Hurley that he stepped on her foot when he boarded the plane yet she was supposedly in the back of the plane while he was in the middle.
Veronica Mars – Veronica fools everyone into thinking she’s not in cahoots with Duncan.
Winner – Veronica Mars


Best Baby Namesake
Lost – Charlie’s sister-in-law named his niece after his mother even though the father didn’t bother to show up.
Veronica Mars – Duncan names his daughter after his sister.
Winner – Veronica Mars


Good to See Again
Lost – Liam
Veronica Mars – Vinnie Van Lowe, Cliff, Sean, and Xena the Warrior Princess
Winner – Veronica Mars


Best Line(s)
Lost – Anna Lucia, “You hitting that?”
Veronica Mars – Dick, “He told me to go have sexual intercourse with myself.” Logan, “Doesn’t he know if you could do that you’d never leave the house?” Dick, “You know it.”


MIA
Lost – Michael’s still in the jungle.
Veronica Mars – Jackie hasn’t been seen since Homecoming. Plus no Beaver.
Winner - Lost


Worst Song
Lost – Charlie writes a song that in no way could get his band back on the charts.
Veronica Mars – While moping around Veronica listens to Paula Cole’s I Don’t Want to Wait (and didn’t make a Dawson's Creek joke) and The Hollies’ Air That I Breathe (to be honest, I do have this on my iPod).
Winner - Lost


Pep Talk
Lost – Sawyer tries to help Hurley out on how to hook up with Libby.
Veronica Mars – Dick tries help Veronica forget about Duncan by explaining why Duncan would hook up with Kendall in graphic detail.
Winner – Veronica Mars


4 8 15 16 23 42
Lost – Were nowhere to be found.
Veronica Mars – Were on the fortune cookie Duncan gave to Veronica in the season premiere with the words “True love stories never have endings.”
Winner – Veronica Mars


Worth the Wait
Lost – Comes back after a hiatus with a decent episode, a good one, and an absolutely boring one.
Veronica Mars – Comes back after a hiatus with one of the best hours this year on television.
Winner – Veronica Mars


This week’s toss up was no contest as Veronica Mars had one of the best episodes this year whereas Lost was one of the worst hours of television I’ve seen this year. I would rather watch an hour of Emily’s Reasons Why Not and Courting Alex than to see Fire+Water ever again.

Lost had a Charlie-centric episode but his flashbacks/dream sequences didn’t do much to help the storyline. I guess they were trying to convey that he has abandonment issues and doesn’t want to lose his new family (Claire and Aaron) like he did his real one. But much like Jack the episode before, they made him out to be such a tool that I really don’t feel sorry for him. Even Locke became more unlikeable and for some reason is keeping all the Virgin Mary’s around. ThenThrow in some weird piano and religious metaphors and you totally lose me. There are very few things more annoying than dream sequences.

The non Charlie segments were somewhat better with an exchange between Hurley and Libby that totally change my crack pot theory about the mysterious tailie. Last Week (See Toss Up… ) I theorized that she is whom Jack wife left him for. But when Hurley asked her if they had met before and she gave the obviously improbable lie I’m thinking that she worked at nut house where Hurley was at because she did mention that she was a psychologist. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is aware of the numbers too and was working with Leonard.

Then there was Veronica Mars who packed in more excitement before its theme song than Lost had all episode. The show starts off with a very public breakup followed by a great montage of depressed Veronica (personally I would have thrown on a little Anna Begins in this situation, but anyways). But this was all a part of a great plan Veronica and Duncan devised to get his baby from the Mannings. I have to admit I was completely fooled and didn’t suspect anything that grand until Veronica looked behind her when she was about to go into her apartment only to go next door.

There were a few things that bugged me with the whole plan though. First when Veronica brought Vinnie in, presumably in the “private” letter meant for Duncan, Vinnie’s the type a person whom would have turned around and seen if Celeste would have upped the offer. Also why would Celeste’s personal assistant, who she was putting through grad school, participate in all of this? Then there is the sequencing where Vinnie and the chick make the fake phone call in Big Bear, drive back to Neptune to pick up baby Lily, and drive to Mexico to use Veronica’s ATM all in the time allotted by the other thing that happened. But since the episode as a whole was great, it’s easy to overlook the holes.

Elsewhere in Neptune, Wallace has come back and he says it was to play basketball. But it turned out that was a lie and he was really getting away from being apart of a hit and run back in Chicago. Again a big plot hole in that most schools don’t people who transferred in the middle of the year play sports and Wallace was able to do it and then was able to transfer during the season to get back on the Pirate squad. I can’t imagine that the California and Illinois High School Association rules are that lax.

Then there was a small advancement of the Felix murder as Logan and Weevil continue to look for the real killer. The only real news here was that Felix was hooking up with one of the lady Fitzpatrick’s. But this whole storyline were enhanced by the involvement of Dick who is currently neck in neck with Barney from How I Met our Mother for the best character on television. Dick wasn’t the only one to get off some one-liners as Xena as an FBI agent had some great lines at the expense of Sheriff Lamb my favorite was when Lamb expressed interest in joining the FBI.

Next week Lost is already back to repeats while Veronica seems to be helping out Wallace in the little hit and run incident. For more on Veronica Mars, here is the official press release From UPN:


A DETERMINED VERONICA HELPS WALLACE CLEAR HIS NAME WHEN TROUBLE FOLLOWS HIM FROM CHICAGO, ON "VERONICA MARS," WEDNESDAY, FEB. 1 ON UPN

Jeffery Sams ("Soul Food") Returns as Baseball Legend Terrence Cook

"Rashard and Wallace Go To White Castle" -- Wallace is forced to turn to Veronica for help when a star player from his former Chicago high-school basketball team and his shady uncle falsely name Wallace as the driver in a tragic hit-and-run accident, on VERONICA MARS, Wednesday, Feb. 1 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on UPN. John Kretchmer directed the episode from a script written by John Enbom.

Meanwhile, Veronica and Keith stumble on evidence that links Jackie's dad Terrance Cook (guest star Jeffery Sams) with the teacher that died in the bus crash. Later, looking for solid proof that would tie his gang with the Fighting Fitzpatricks mob, Weevil asks Veronica to bug Father Patrick Fitzpatrick's confessional at the local church.