"We used to be friends a long time ago, but I haven't thought of you lately at all..."
Anyone familiar with the opening line of the show's theme-song will probably need no prompting that Veronica Mars is back on the case and heading to cinemas in 2014. For the uninitiated, Veronica Mars was the title - and heroine - of what can only be called teen-noir. Created by Rob Thomas, it ran for three series and detailed the trials and triumphs of Veronica (Kristen Bell) the daughter of the local police-detective Keith Mars ( Flashpoint/Person of Interest's Enrico Colantoni) who has inherited her father's interest in solving crimes but has her own way of doing so. Think Nancy Drew meets Ramond Chandler with more than a hint of an ironic 90210.
The first season of the show, in 2004, detailed Veronica's life in High School, with the backdrop of her investigating the murder of her best friend, socialite Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried). By the end of its first season it was a cult hit. Though the next two series received mixed reviews (especially the third which smacked of network retooling), they still gained the kind of attention and support given to the likes of other groundbreaking, female-led shows such as Buffy.
After the series' demise it was long suspected that the show or its characters would repappear in some form or another and there was even a teaser test-reel created to encourage the networks to pick up a 'sequel' show where the resourceful Veronica headed to the FBI.
That spin-off never happened, but last year's kickstarter campiagn to fund a movie was hugely successful - literally bringing in millions in a matter of weeks, becoming the most successful kickstarter campaign of its type and assuring Thomas and his team would get the support of Warner Bros. for their otherwise 'indepdendent' production. It wasn't without some controversy about the nature of using kickstarter to begin with, but no-one could deny that it was news-worthy and good news for Mars fans.
And so, Veronica Mars: The Movie is about to hit the big-screen (and the smaller screen if you were a kickstarter investor) with a majority of the main cast returning and we're getting our first proper look at what it will involve. Veronica's now on the fast-track to becoming a lawyer, but all that and more could be about to be thrown away when she gets a call from old frenemy/boyfriend Logan Echolls (Jason Doring) who has been accused of murder. As she heads back to her hometown of Neptune, California, to investigate and attend the school-reunion, she finds some old habits die-hard...
