Welcome Wagon (Veronica Mars)
"Welcome Wagon" | |
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Veronica Mars episode | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 1 |
Directed by | John Kretchmer |
Written by | Rob Thomas |
Production code | 3T5801 |
Original air date | October 3, 2006 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Welcome Wagon" is the
In this episode, Veronica transitions to life at Hearst College, meeting several new people and reconnecting with several acquaintances from Neptune High. Meanwhile, a student named
"Welcome Wagon" is the first episode of Veronica Mars to air on The CW as opposed to UPN. In order to attract new viewers, Thomas and the crew decided to make several changes to the show, including altering the theme song and the show's narrative structure, beginning with this episode. In contrast to previous seasons, which involved one major season-long mystery, the show's writers planned to have three consecutive mysteries play out over the course of the third season.
The episode also sees the introduction of series regulars
Plot synopsis
Veronica starts her criminology class. Veronica solves a mystery given out in the class in six minutes. Logan (
Veronica meets
Piz asks Veronica if Logan is her boyfriend. Keith and the bail-jumper go to Kendall's house, and Kendall is romantically involved with Cormac. They have dinner, but Keith learns that Vinnie is working for Liam Fitzpatrick. When Keith returns, it is too late—Cormac has already killed Kendall and leaves Keith for dead in the cold night air. A disheveled Dick shows up at Logan's door and cries. Veronica sleeps on Mac's couch one night, and the next morning, they awaken to find that Parker has been raped, her head shaved.
Production
Development
"Welcome Wagon" is the first episode of the series to air on The CW as opposed to UPN. Paul Maguire, the spokesman for The CW, said that the series was picked up because "the critics are behind it and our research has consistently shown that Gilmore shared more audience commonality with Veronica than with any other show from UPN, except Top Model".[3] Veronica Mars was placed on Tuesdays after Gilmore Girls, with the network hoping for the Gilmore Girls audience to stay tuned for Veronica Mars. Thomas stated that The CW had requested some changes to the show to fit in better with the Gilmore Girls audience: "The network really wants us to be a good companion piece to Gilmore Girls. They've had a couple of thoughts on storylines that are too dark."[4] "Welcome Wagon" also introduces a new title sequence for the show. The visuals of the theme song are different, and although "We Used to Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols was still employed as the theme song, a remix was used instead of the original. Regarding the changes, Thomas elaborated:
Alright, the main titles. Why the change? As you'll see here, the previous titles were such a high school aesthetic. It would have felt silly for me to go back to college with the same sort of look—the notebook paper. So it felt like we needed to change for college anyway. And in season one when we first did the titles, the network was very clear on wanting to sell it as a high school show rather than a noir show. But once we went to college and had a chance to redo the titles I wanted it to feel noir.[5]
For the new theme song, Thomas asked The Dandy Warhols to commission a remix of their original track, which Thomas reported enjoying upon first listening.[5]
Thomas and the crew also introduced several narrative changes to the show starting in the third season. Thomas wanted to "invite new viewers to the show" by "trying to start with a clean slate" and ridding the show of references to former plotlines and character development. With regards to "Welcome Wagon", Thomas stated that he "wanted episode one this year to not rely much on past knowledge." He also tried to make the episode "very sort of breezy, and chattery and funny."[6] The episode reintroduces the case of the Hearst serial rapist, a storyline presented in a second-season episode. In contrast to the previous seasons, which had several concurrent mysteries, Thomas planned for season 3 to have three consecutive mysteries, the first of which would be the serial rapist. "To service a 22-episode mystery, you have to have a large playing field. To service a 9-episode mystery, we can keep that tighter, more focused."[7] It was made available on MSN for the week leading up to broadcast. However, the episode was only available for Microsoft users and not for Apple users.[8]
Writing
"Welcome Wagon" was written by series creator Rob Thomas and directed by John T. Kretchmer, marking Thomas's seventh writing credit for the series[9] and Kretchmer's tenth directing credit for the show.[10] On September 26, 2006, a week before its broadcast on The CW.[11] "Welcome Wagon" features the final appearance by Charisma Carpenter as Kendall Casablancas, who appeared on a total of 11 episodes on the show. The previous summer, when asked about her role in season 3, Carpenter responded that she would be performing "a little more of the same, with a really, really interesting twist. And it starts the first episode; you've got to watch it. You miss the first episode, you're out of the loop. Gotta tune in right away."[12]
Casting
"Welcome Wagon" sees the promotion of four actors to
Muhney was told that he would be a series regular in season 3 the previous February, only a few days after his
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Welcome Wagon" received 3.36 million viewers, ranking 82nd of 91 in the weekly rankings.[19] This was an increase from both "Normal Is the Watchword", the second-season premiere, which received 3.29 million viewers[20] and the second-season finale, "Not Pictured", which garnered 2.42 million viewers.[21]
The episode received mixed to positive reviews. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode an 8 out of 10, indicating that it was "great." He wrote that although "Welcome Wagon" was designed to appeal to new viewers, that it was still a good episode. "'Welcome Wagon', written by Thomas, proves the show is as clever and witty as ever. […] The more exposition-heavy aspects of the premiere mean the episode isn't a true standout for the series, but that's understandable, given what it's trying to accomplish." He went on to state that the episode featured more "lighthearted" content before what he predicted would be a return to more dramatic elements.[1] Price Peterson, writing for TV.com, gave a positive review, stating, "Great first episode back…There was a lot to accomplish in setting up the new environment and characters, but it still felt really organic to the series as a whole." While criticizing the fact that the rape victims experienced a backlash against them, he enjoyed the characterization of Piz.[22]
Rowan Kaiser, of The A.V. Club, gave a mixed review of the episode, commenting on the show's increasing focus on rape. He wrote that "There are things that I appreciate about the focus on rape. […] It's fairly rare for a show to treat rape from the victim's perspective." However, he went on to state that he had "pretty significant issues" with the subject matter as well. He also disapproved of the killer's choice of victims, setting, and new characters, especially Piz.[2] Television Without Pity gave the episode a "B".[23] Reviewer Alan Sepinwall was fairly positive towards the episode. He was mixed towards the inclusion of the Kendall-Keith-Cormac storyline in the premiere, but he also praised the new cast members: "Piz and Parker both add new colors to the gang, though it's hard to say what Parker will be like post-rape." He eventually called the episode a "pretty good start".[24]
References
- ^ a b Goldman, Eric (October 2, 2006). "Veronica Mars: "Welcome Wagon" Advance Review". IGN. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^ a b Kaiser, Rowan (February 17, 2012). "Review: Veronica Mars: "Welcome Wagon"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^ Storm, Jonathan (May 20, 2006). "CW network sets its first fall lineup". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (July 23, 2006). "Comic-Con 2006: Kristen Bell and the Cast of Veronica Mars". IGN. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
- ^ Warner Home Video. 2007.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ Goldman, Eric (July 26, 2006). "Comic-Con 2006: IGN Interviews Veronica Mars Creator Rob Thomas". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c Goldman, Eric (July 18, 2006). "Veronica Mars Season 3: Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas Talk". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
- ^ "Watch the 'Veronica Mars' Season Premiere". The TV Addict. September 26, 2006. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
- ^ "Rob Thomas (II)". TV.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "John T. Kretchmer". TV.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ Skerry, Kath (September 26, 2006). "Watch Veronica Mars Season 3 Premiere Now!!". Give Me My Remote. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (August 31, 2006). "IGN Interviews: Charisma Carpenter". IGN. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
- ^ Skerry, Kath (May 10, 2006). "Veronica Mars Renewal Easter Egg(?) and Season 3 Info". Give Me My Remote. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ a b "Veronica Mars Press Conference Recap". The TV Addict. September 26, 2006. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (October 2, 2006). "IGN Interviews: Veronica Mars's Michael Muhney". IGN. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff (October 24, 2006). "The "Veronica Mars" Creator on his Recent Job Hunt". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (September 13, 2006). "Veronica Mars scoop?". TV Guide. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ^ "Interview with Rob Thomas". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 10, 2006. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
- ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 4, 2005. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 16, 2006. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
- ^ Peterson, Price (August 26, 2012). "The Veronica Mars Season 3 Dossier: Episodes 1–4". TV.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Veronica Mars Welcome Wagon Recap". Television Without Pity. October 2, 2006. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (October 3, 2006). "Veronica Mars: Boom Goes the Dynamite". What's Alan Watching?. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
External links
- "Welcome Wagon" at IMDb
- "Welcome Wagon" at Mars Investigations