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Highlights

Chris Ellis (Reverend Ted Capistrano) - The casting of guest stars on Veronica Mars tends to be as uneven as it gets. We have certainly seen our share of "lowlights" in the guest appearance department. However, this week we were fortunate to have a surprising, understated, layered performance from Chris Ellis as Reverend Ted Capistrano. In the episode that felt off in terms of so many acting choices, he stands out as a welcome respite.

And it wasn't an easy fit to pull. The part, as written, could have come off as cliched to the extreme. A preacher with a very specific agenda, he defies Veronica's expectations -- and ours -- and brings a message of hope and forgiveness. Chris Ellis takes this potentially hokey material and presents it with a meaningful and touching delivery. At no time is he over the top, at no time do we -- as the audience -- doubt his sincerity and authenticity. What we see is a man of faith in the best sense of the term. We believe his devotion, as we believe his grief and his compassion. Great job by a seasoned actor with an extensive list of television and film roles to his credit.

Scene One: A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Ironically enough, the beginning of Veronica's dream -- while lying in bed with Logan, is one of the sweetest, most intimate scenes we've had of the two in the entire series' run. The way their hands were connected as she lay so closely in his arms, the music playing over them, the warmth of the lighting enveloping the two. Their smiles were of happiness, peace and contentment, matched by the tone and sentiment of their voices. And then of course, like a preview of their relationship itself in this arc, it all went cold and then ghastly with the sound of Madison's laughter, the sight of another woman in Veronica's place.

Ah, but for those few moments in the beginning, it was beautiful and it actually promised that this storyline -- as abhorrent as it appeared on paper -- would be told with beauty ... a heartbreaking one, but one of beauty none-the-less.

Too bad, those few moments were all that we got.

Scene Two: Veronica, Don't Ever Change ... Not.

And that lack began to peer through when Veronica woke up with the ringing of her phone. The sweet softness was completely gone from her, although we did witness a Logan on the other end of the line as happy and as content as he'd been in her dream. Complimentary, affectionately teasing and then telling her the one thing that is on the face of it so sweet, so wonderful but below the surface is so, so the one thing that Veronica Mars desperately needs to do. He told her not to change.

Sigh. Oh Logan.

Veronica's expression and subsequent voice-over then appeared to clue us in as to what we had to expect for the rest of the episode. Heartbreak, but one in which we saw both sides clearly and fully. Logan had done nothing wrong in theory, but the actuality of it so haunted Veronica and she hurt so deeply that she couldn't be rational about it. She couldn't ignore it; couldn't make it go away.

Sigh. "Appeared" is the key word. Double sigh.

Veronica's working the library counter trying desperately not to think about the Logan/Madison plotline from hell when a fellow student approaches looking for some help -- the P.I. kind, not the dead Russian writers kind. This student looks familiar and after a moment's pause, Veronica recognizes her as Bonnie "another frat boy, what the hell?" Capistrano. You know, CrazyTim's ex that was gettin' freaky with Dick at the Pi Sig party?

Bonnie tells Veronica that she recently found herself in the family way -- which, right off the bat has me going "TMI, crazy slut girl. Keep your crazy Tim/Dick germs away from me." But Veronica is desperate for a distraction from the chaos of her own love life so she lets Bonnie continue. In one of the more disturbing mysteries ever investigated on this show, Bonnie reveals that she had a miscarriage because someone slipped her RU486 a.k.a. the morning after pill. She desperately needs Veronica's help to figure out who drugged her and essentially killed her unborn child. Now that is definitely one I've never heard before and I'm guessing it's new to Veronica too.

Bonnie explains that she wasn't sure what caused the miscarriage at first. But then when she visited her doctor, he noticed she had developed a strange rash. When paired with the numbness she'd been experiencing in her hands and feet, the doc determined that it was likely she was suffering an allergic reaction to the RU486. The doc did a blood test to be sure and voila: Medical tests prove she had it in her system. And since she didn't take the pill herself ....

Veronica leads Bonnie away from the counter and over into the shelved area so they can have a little more privacy while Veronica figures out a tactful way to ask Bonnie which of the numerous studs she'd been gettin' busy with was actually the Babydaddy. She fails and so just goes with the no frills, straight out method. Bonnie's narrowed down the suspects to the two you might expect: Tim ... or Dick. Initially Bonnie was a wee bit spooked by the prospect of early motherhood and so she went to Dick and asked him to pay for an abortion. Dick, naturallement, demanded a paternity test first. Veronica correctly labels Dick as a klassy guy, but in this particular instance, I can't say that I blame him.

Apparently things with Tim went much, much better. It seems that despite his crazy demeanor, Tim's really good under pressure and has done a lot to take care of Bonnie. Despite the rumble at the Pi-Sig party, Tim and Bonnie did reunite after Bonnie ditched Dick and did a lot of begging. Veronica's momentarily distracted from the mystery at hand because there's another mystery she needs Bonnie's help to solve: Why the hell would she date Tim? According to Bonnie he's a good guy who takes care of her, kind of like her dad. We won't bother touching on the Freudian issues there.

Considering how nutso she's seen Tim go over other stress-inducing situations, Veronica wonders how he took the news of the pregnancy. Surprisingly well, in my estimation, considering he found out from a surprise bouquet of "Congratulations!" balloons sent to Bonnie by her parents. It seems Bonnie's doctor was in the same ethics class as the doc that shared Veronica's medical history and sexual past with Aaron Echolls' attorney. Either that or he was absent that year they went over that "doctor/patient" confidentiality thing, because he decided to share Bonnie's good news with her parents before she could.

Anyway, despite the less than ideal way he learned about Bonnie's bundle of joy, Tim stepped up to the plate. Tim didn't ask for paternity tests or confirmation or anything -- he just proposed. Bonnie, as Veronica will tell you, the good guy is the one that stays so I can't argue too strenuously with that choice. Needless to say, the fact that Tim wanted to keep the baby paired with the fact that her "pretty religious" parents now knew of her pregnancy changed Bonnie's plans just a smidge. When all was said and done, she had decided to keep and raise the baby, had started planning for the future. But those dreams have been ripped away because someone slipped her one terrible mickey. Now the baby and that dream for her future are no more and she is desperate to find out who did it. Bonnie begs Veronica not to let Tim know she's looking into it because she couldn't bear the thought that he would think she didn't trust him.

Veronica's first stop on the baby trail? A one-on-one chat with her old pal Dick. She reminds Dick about his history with Bonnie and wonders about that thing where he knocked Bonnie up and then blew her off. Dick, as you might expect, doesn't seem to care much and I'm not sure why Veronica was expecting anything different. He did ask for a paternity test (and again, I can't really blame him) but that was apparently the beginning and end of that discussion and Bonnie never approached him again. Veronica tries to draw him into conversation about his Antichrist behavior, but Dick would rather give Veronica a little crap about her score for breaking rich dudes' hearts. Veronica, as you might imagine, is not biting. They part ways in their standard less-than-amicable fashion so Dick can mack on some red-headed chick named Nadia.

Veronica gives the Dick angle a rest and goes to pay a visit on Bonnie in her dorm room. When she arrives, Bonnie's not home but her roommate Phyllis is. Veronica steps into Raiders of the Lost Dorm room to chat with Phyllis while she waits for Bonnie to return. Veronica learns that Phyllis and Bonnie have been best friends since the seventh grade and know almost everything there is to know about one another's lives -- you know, like the fact that Bonnie is just dying to be the female Indiana Jones. (It's funny what you can't tell about a person when you only see them screwing around with frat boys and consuming copious amounts of alcohol because I never in a million years would have pegged Bonnie as a future archaeologist.) As you might imagine, Veronica is very curious about the BFF's opinion of crazy Tim.

Although Phyllis clearly hated the "arrogant little toad" with the fire of one thousand suns upon their first introduction, she's been beyond impressed with his behavior since he found out about the baby. It seems Tim has gone above and beyond the call, picking up What to Expect When You're Expecting and prenatal vitamins. Veronica wonders if he could have slipped a pill into the vitamin mix -- and that does seem like a reasonable suggestion -- but Phyllis assures Veronica that Tim wouldn't have done that. He was serious about marrying Bonnie and was even going to talk to her dad, which we learn is a pretty scary prospect.

Veronica is clearly as in the dark as we are about what is so scary about Bonnie's dad, aside from the fact that he's "pretty religious." Phyllis flips on the TV and scrolls through the channels until she stops upon what appears to be a cable-access show entitled "Capistrano Ministries." In a rather Footloose-esque twist, it seems our Bonnie is a preacher's daughter. Based on what we see on the TV, I'm going to go out on a limb and call Bonnie's parents more than just "pretty religious." More like uber religious.

Despite Phyllis' defense of Tim, Veronica is still fairly certain that he's the culprit. Although very icky and utterly over the line, it does seem like the perfectly horrible revenge that might make Tim feel like he and Bonnie were actually even in their little lovers war. And let's be honest here: Letting bygones be bygones and, oh, I don't know, trusting your S.O. just isn't Veronica's speed. Evil revenge? Now you're speaking Veronica's language.

Seeing as how it's unlikely that Tim convinced an OB/GYN that he was a pregnant female, one can only assume that he ordered the drugs off the Internet. Veronica pays a late night visit to Tim's office to snoop around his PC, but discovers that the paranoid wanna-be criminologist locked his door. Imagine! Since there's a janitor in the hall working the floors, picking the lock is a little out of the question. Dammit! Where the hell is Weevil and his ring of keys when you need it? Veronica comes up with a new strategy and pulls out one of the most powerful weapons in a gal's arsenal: The hissy fit. She throws a spectacular one and drums up a sob story about how she's experiencing the worst day of her life for the janitor, and he caves. Not sure if it was because he believed her, because the eye-roll he gave as he was leaving Tim's now unlocked office seems to allude to the fact that he just wanted the crazy girl out of the hallway. Either way, mission accomplished. Veronica takes a seat behind Tim's desk and prepares to search through his browser to find out what sites -- perhaps ones that sell RU486 illegally? -- he's been visiting. It's crazy, but Veronica is actually surprised to discover that Tim has password protected his desktop. I'm not, seeing as how he probably has people's grades on there and stuff, but either way Veronica realizes that now it's on to Plan B so she plants a little bug near the keyboard.

Plan B, I remember those days. Do you Veronica? The days when you and Logan "Sway"ed together at the Sadie Hawkins dance? Where he forgave you -- even if only for the three minutes of that song -- for abandoning him and his case when his life was literally on the line? When you saved him from his own big mouth and Gia's clueless nature? When despite all the crap between you you could both see that the only place you were meant to be was in each other's arms? I miss those days, Veronica. I miss them a lot. Ahem.

The next day Veronica corners Tim in the hallway near his office. Since she can't allude to anything with Bonnie's case, she quite cleverly uses their history together as an in. She tells Tim that she checked her grade online and instead of an "A", he gave her a "B." She accuses him of screwing with her intentionally, or of being a total incompetent who can't enter grades correctly. In an effort to get Veronica off his back as quickly as possible, Tim takes them on a detour where they can check out the grade he entered for her. While Tim logs on and pulls up Veronica's records, Veronica sits on the other side of the desk winding some electrical tape around her fingers. Tim finds the record he's looking for and see? He did give her an "A". "Huh," says Veronica with a twinkle in her eye. "I must have been looking at someone else's grade." Or, you know, lying to get into your office and have you log on in front of the pretty little camera she installed.

That night Veronica removes the tape she planted earlier on the door latch as she eases into Tim's office. She checks her handy dandy bugging device and learns that Tim's password is "Dick Tracy." Awww. Logging in, Veronica snoops through his browser history to her heart's content until she spies something interesting. Seems Tim's paid a visit to the Neptune Women's Clinic, at least online, in the last couple of weeks. A clue!

So, Veronica being Veronica, she makes an appointment at the clinic to "discuss her options" or perhaps "interrogate the staff." Hard to say. En route, she decides to make a little pit stop to visit Papa Capistrano in person and get a read on the preacher. Her first impression? Not so good. Based on the swanky car sitting outside his "humble" ministry, Veronica immediately expects to discover a smarmy faux man of the cloth taking his flock for every penny. Heading inside, she runs into another smarmy middle-aged dude who clearly has some power in the organization. She starts to tell him some sob story about how she's in trouble, but it's clear that he doesn't think this is a good time for her to see Papa Capistrano. Luckily for our plucky heroine, Papa Capistrano doesn't agree. He comes over to chat with Veronica -- who introduces herself as "Hester" (which, hee!) -- and takes her back to his office.

Veronica tells him her tale of woe, how she got knocked-up and now she doesn't know what to do. He tells her, of course, that the only course of action he can advise is for her to keep it. She bemoans the fact that her parents will go crazy and disown her, but sweet Papa Capistrano counters that Mom and Dad might surprise her -- the lure of a grandchild, after all, is very powerful. Veronica very sneakily retorts "I'm sure you'd be thrilled if your teenage daughter came home pregnant."

In a surprising turn of events, the good Reverend reveals that his teenage daughter did come home pregnant (you don't say!) and he was thrilled. Instead of worrying about all the hard stuff that comes with being a young, unwed mother, he and his wife celebrated the new life about to come into the family. He goes on to explain that their excitement over getting to meet their new grandchild far outweighed any regrets they might have had over the circumstances of the pregnancy. Reverend Ted gets a little emotional as he tells her that her parent's might surprise her. Papa Capistrano looks away for a moment, nearly on the verge of tears. He apologizes to Veronica for his behavior and explains that they just learned that his daughter lost her baby. He's clearly very torn up about this, and Veronica, feeling true sympathy for this very nice man, takes his hand and offers whatever comfort she can. I gotta say, this man seems remarkably nice and very genuine. It's hard not to like the Reverend Capistrano and equally hard to think that there is any possible way he could have been involved with Bonnie's miscarriage.

Veronica's next stop takes her to The Neptune Women's Clinic, which we learn is the only place to get RU486 locally. The doctor in charge of the clinic is very sympathetic when she hears Bonnie's story, but can't be of much help. No guy, regardless of his story, would ever be given that drug at their clinic. If a woman comes in and requests RU486 she has to consume the pills in the presence of a doctor while at the clinic. Veronica wonders if it's possible that a girl could palm the pills or hide them under her tongue to get them out the door and the doc agrees that although unlikely, it's entirely possible. And now we're getting somewhere! What chick that Dick (hee! rhymes!) or Tim knows would have done such a thing to help them score the drugs? And how do we find out if any of the girls seen at the clinic in the last three weeks are likely suspects? Not by asking to see the records -- Veronica clearly knows the confidentiality rule but has to ask anyway. Guess she'll have to come up with a Plan B for this scenario too.

Later that afternoon at Chez Mars, Veronica is all excited to share her latest discovery in the Dean's case but Keith doesn't really want to talk about that. What he'd rather talk about was his latest discovery in the mailbox -- an envelope containing pictures that show Veronica leaving the Neptune Women's Clinic and a letter that warns him that the clinic is the kind of establishment that performs abortions. Understandably, in light of Veronica's recent break-up with Logan, he's a wee bit concerned that perhaps there is something his rather secretive daughter hasn't shared.

Veronica is too outraged initially to pay dad's heightened sense of panic any mind. She's so livid that people would sit up on a roof and take pictures of peoples most private moments without their consent. It's just disgusting! Keith gently reminds his progeny that they often do precisely the same thing to pay the bills. Veronica grumbles because that's totally different, Keith. It's on that same sliding scale of morality Veronica is so fond of using -- you know the one that makes her a righter of wrongs but makes others, you know, evil and stuff. It's a fine distinction.

At any rate, Veronica assures Keith that she is not now, nor has she ever been, pregnant. Whew! Veronica is just dying to know who perpetrated these crimes against her and since there's no return address on the envelope, they are forced to browse through the other "helpful" materials enclosed: Brochures on everything from "Does everyone go to heaven" to the power of abstinence, and a special bookmark in case you find that reading too challenging and you need to pause during your period of enlightenment. Veronica and Keith note that the publisher of these fine materials is the "Good Word Press" and the dynamic duo agree that they are gonna get all up in 'der bidness.'

The next day Keith and Veronica pay a visit to the people at "Good Word" posing as detectives named -- and this is witty -- Carson and Nancy Drew. Seriously, people -- I mean, that is pretty funny but who hasn't heard of Nancy freaking Drew?! Maybe the Carson thing doesn't mean anything to ya, but surely you've heard of good old Nancy. Of course, perhaps the young man at "Good Word" has only read, you know, the good word and so he's not familiar. But really, what are the odds?

Keith and Veronica do a song and dance about a client being deceived by a girlfriend who may have had a pregnancy terminated and they are hoping this guy can point them in the direction of the person who took the incriminating photos at the clinic. The dude sighs, totally sympathetic to the cause, and tells them that he's got all the photos. In fact, their in binders over on the shelf in chronological order. He offers to let "Nancy" take a peek.

While Veronica is searching through the book looking for a likely suspect (and spots one in the form of Nadia, Dick's redheaded gal pal from the other day on campus) someone else pays a visit to "Good Words." This is definitely not Veronica's lucky day because it's that same smarmy guy she met when she went to talk to Papa Capistrano, and as you might remember, he knows her only as the troubled teen "Hester". Ruh-roh! He does recognize Veronica, and the jig is up so Keith scoots them out of there as quickly as possible. But at least they managed a lead before they got busted!

Veronica corners Dick at the food court where she notes he's studying hard for his Modern Breast "class" (hee!). She asks him for the last name of his redheaded companion Nadia. Without looking up from his skin mag, and with absolutely no guile, he informs her that Nadia's last name is Comaneci. Since Veronica's pretty sure Dick's Nadia isn't a Romanian Olympic gymnast, she thinks he ought to try telling her the truth. Oh, Veronica. Do you really think Dick pays enough attention to a detail like that? She probably could have told him her name was Big Bird and she lived on Sesame Street and as long as she was willing to put out, he probably would have taken her at her word. It's been said that Dick's an uncomplicated guy ... and it's been said for good reason.

Anyhoo, Veronica thinks that it is just too coincidental that a week after finding out that Bonnie is pregnant Dick's new playmate Nadia paid a visit to the Neptune Women's Clinic. She speculates that perhaps Dick had her pick something up for him? Dick pauses for a moment before retorting that whatever she picked up, he hoped it was a box of sponges. He clearly doesn't know what Veronica is talking about, nor does he care. In fact, if their not going to engage in some meaningless sexual act, he's got stuff to do. Yeah, stuff -- I'm sure there's a blunt and a game of Volleyball Babes calling his name right this minute.

Having struck out with Dick, Veronica plays stalker on Nadia and tracks her down after class. As you might expect, her last name isn't Comaneci. Veronica tries to quiz her about her "friend" Dick, but Nadia's totally clueless. Veronica tells Nadia that she knows that she and Dick know each other because she saw them together after class the other day, and then she shares the details (like the Comaneci thing) of her conversation with Dick at lunch. The light bulb goes off and Nadia does realize that she knows Dick. She just doesn't know him very well. Apparently she got really drunk at a party one night and made out with him for, like, five seconds before coming to her senses. So, of course, she gave him a fake name because she had no desire to have him call and track her down. Smart girl, but a dead end for our investigation.

The next morning over breakfast Keith points out that the guy they ran into at the press the day before is in the paper. According to the article, that guy is the CFO of the ministry, which is getting ready to make the jump from cable access to prime time. Veronica's wheels start to turn but Keith's not convinced because, let's face it, the guy did seem pretty "aggressively pro life." But Veronica is wondering if perhaps good old fashioned greed motivated him to make an exception because really, how well would a preacher with a pregnant, unmarried daughter play to the masses? Veronica makes a quick call to Bonnie to give her an update and pick her brain on CFO Thurman. Bonnie doesn't know him well, just knows that he works for her dad. Veronica wonders if she trusts the guy, and the answer, unsurprisingly, is no. Veronica asks for Bonnie's help in doing a little snooping. She wants to get into Thurman's office during the service that morning and take a look around. Bonnie can help as long as Veronica and her church clothes can make it to Bonnie's dorm room in fifteen.

Upon arrival, Veronica bumps into Reverend Capistrano on Bonnie's doorstep. Awk-ward. As they step inside the room, Papa Capistrano comments that he didn't know that Bonnie and "Hester" knew each other. Sweetheart that he is, he wonders how she's been doing, how she's been feeling. Before Veronica has to come up with a suitable lie, or try to figure out a good way to reveal her true identity, Phyllis enters the room momentarily shifting the good Reverend's focus as he greets his "other daughter."

While Reverend Ted chats with his girls and gets caught up, Veronica is wandering around the room. She spots a stack of books and notices the bookmark sticking out of the one on top. The book? Tim's gift of What to Expect When You're Expecting. The bookmark? One of the "Good Word" pro-life giveaways. She calls out to Bonnie that she thinks it was Tim that slipped her the RU486 and shows off the bookmark and the book it was housed in. She explains about the clinic and the mailers from the pro-life group (and tosses out there to the Reverend that his CFO is involved with the same group, you know, just in case it might get the creep in trouble.)

While Reverend Capistrano is reeling from the revelation that his daughter's miscarriage was not an accident or an act of God, Bonnie is reeling from a completely different revelation. It seems that Phyllis lied to Veronica -- Tim didn't buy Bonnie What to Expect, Phyllis did. Phyllis tries to explain that her motives were good, that she was trying to preserve Bonnie's dreams and her future. That she didn't want to see her friend end up divorced with a baby to raise, particularly when she knew that Bonnie didn't really want to keep the baby in the first place.

Okay, disturbing much? "Gee, BFF, I know you don't really want this baby even though you've made the conscious decision to keep it and so I'm just going to lie to you and drug you and kill your unborn fetus -- but I'm doing it for you, so that's cool right?" What kind of crazy ass logic is that?! In what universe does that seem like the kind of thing one friend would do to another?!

Bonnie, as you might imagine, is furious and hurt and incredulous and starts screaming at her friend to get out because she can't bear to look at her. Phyllis runs into the other room and collapses on her bed in tears, while Papa Capistrano comforts his daughter and tries to make her remember that Phyllis is her friend who never meant to hurt her. You know, the whole, "hate the sin not the sinner" philosophy, but coming from him it sounds surprisingly comforting. He reminds Bonnie that anger only hurts us and forgiveness, as trite as it may sound, is divine.

Veronica takes the reverend's words to heart but applies them where pretty much no one on the planet (but one) would want her to. That's right: Madison gets the pass, not Logan. I suppose it's too much to expect Veronica to do a little deep thinking and perhaps apply this newfound sense of forgiveness to the one person in her life who truly deserves it.

- Our story opens with Logan and Veronica all adorable and snuggly in crisp white sheets at the Neptune Grand. If you're like me, you're remembering that Logan's sheets are not white, but orange, and maybe you've figured out what's off about this scene. Or maybe you're thinking the orange sheets are in the wash. Veronica gets out of the bed trying not to wake Logan, but he quickly notices her absence and tells her he doesn't want her to go. If you're like me, you're thinking that there's no way in hell that Veronica would stand bare-breasted towards an open door, leading out into the living room of a suite shared with Dick Casablancas, and maybe now you've figured out what's off about this scene. Or maybe you think Veronica's just a little kinky. Veronica finishes dressing and turns her face towards Logan, replying that she wishes she didn't have to go.

Veronica hears the wind howling outside, and steps out on the balcony to investigate. Outside is a winter wonderland and, you got it, it's a dream sequence. Veronica hears a feminine giggle coming from Logan's room and goes back to find Madison in bed with Logan. Dream Veronica stairs blankly at the scene for a moment before a cell phone goes off and we find Veronica asleep on her couch. She answers her phone, and it's Logan with her morning wake up call. She says she's running late for work and he asks about their fancy date'. Veronica plays along, eager to get off the phone. Logan tells her not to go changing' and Veronica hangs up, voice-overing that she hasn't been getting much sleep since Madison dropped the bomb on her last week about hooking with Logan during the breakup.

Later that night, Logan is buttoning his cuffs when Veronica lets herself into the hotel. So, she did keep the room key after the first breakup? Logan attempts light conversation by commenting on her not-so fancy attire, and Veronica cuts to the chase. She asks him about Madison, which I suppose is progress. She didn't run away or blow him off like she did in the previous seasons. I'm not sure she would have believed him if he really hadn't slept with Madison and told her as much, but it's nice that she at least asked him instead of just dumping on the spot. Much like Round 1 of last week's Great Hooker Inquisition, Veronica takes Logan's silence as an affirmation. And here's where this scene goes downhill. Veronica says she asked him point blank (which she didn't), and Logan says he lied point blank (which he didn't). Logan says it wasn't information Veronica had a right to know (which is wasn't) and that he knew she wouldn't be able to deal with the Madison thing (which she couldn't). Veronica asks which "thing" he's referring to; that Madison roofied her (which she so totally didn't), or that she wrote "SLUT" on her car after Veronica was raped (which, yeah, I'll give her that one). Veronica accuses Logan of hooking up with Madison to hurt her, and Logan says he so totally did not. Veronica tells Logan she can't get the images out of her head, and Logan weighs the options of either telling her all the sordid, completely unromantic details of the miserable, drunken hookup, or just keeping his mouth shut. He goes with option B, even as Veronica throws around big words like "Never" and storms out. Woe.

The following night, Veronica is still not sleeping, still having nightmares of Logan and Madison. She hears Keith at the door and gets out of bed. He tries to rope her into some shop-talk, but she breathes out that her and Logan broke up again. Her idea this time. Keith says he's sorry and asks if she's doing okay. She says she not, and Keith kisses her forehead. Veronica bids him goodnight and gives that sleep thing another shot.

Veronica tries innovative new methods of sleep therapy by following Madison Sinclair around town for a while. Veronica's voice-over explains that Madison "wins" if Veronica can't get any sleep, and I don't really get the impression that Madison even knows she's in the game. Veronica puts on a season one-esque hat and busts out some season one-esque snark on her old nemesis. Veronica is empowered by seeing Madison bringing her laundry home from USC over the weekend. Well, at least Madison brings the laundry to her mother and not the other way around. How much did it empower you, Veronica, when your billionaire ex-boyfriend's mom drove to all the way from Napa with the housekeeper to do his laundry for him? Not at all? Because you were temporarily replaced with a pod person? Alright, then. Snark away, Crazy Veronica.

Veronica sees Madison's parents direct her to the drive way, where a brand new Mercedes is backing out of the garage. Veronica, ever looking to the bright side, remarks that at least this reminded her to get Mac a birthday present. Maybe she could give Mac some candid shots of her real family if she's just going to sit over there in her crazy mobile spying on them. Wait -- is that too creepy? Veronica notes that Madison's new plates say "GOTZMINE", and you can almost see the little light bulb going off over her head.

Logan's sitting in the dark on his bed, and honestly, the scene almost reads like a (Really Bad Taste) punch line about depression. He's still wearing the same outfit from the breakup (two nights ago?), yet there are random articles of clothing tossed about his room. A pizza box and multiple (multiple!) newspapers rest at the edge of the bed, because just because you're depressed and can't be bothered to change your clothes, doesn't mean you stop reading up on current events. Or maybe the director just wanted to clarify that a few days have passed. Either way, it's kind of cheesy in effect. Dick walks in and asks Logan about Madison. Logan admits to hooking up with her, saying that he didn't think Dick still cared about her. Dick is upset with Logan for not adhering to the guy code, and calls him pathetic for sitting in the dark. Aw, Dick, come on. You know Logan didn't mean to hurt your feeling.

After Veronica finishes questioning Anthony about her case, she sees the back of a giggling blonde's head, and her brain starts an impromptu replay of the Madison Show. She catches a glimpse of the girl's face and breathes a small sigh of relief that it's not Madison. Reminded of her sleep therapy plan, she approaches Weevil who is working conveniently down the hall. Veronica brings up Weevil's car-crushing story from her earlier presentation in Landry's Profiling class and asks if he feels up to committing a felony for her. Weevil divines that she must have broken up with Logan, because it's not like Veronica gets her vengeance on every single week or anything. He says he would be happy to crush Logan's car, and if it means we get the X-Terra back, I almost want her to take him up on it. She gives him Madison's address and describes the car to him. He agrees to steal the car because apparently he was never a Madison fan either, and takes a little pleasure in charging her $500 for the "job".

Logan finally gets out of bed to get a drink and gaze off into his cardboard balcony view. Resolute, he picks up the phone and calls Veronica's cell. Just like old times (Woe), he gets her voicemail and chuckles heartbreakingly. He slurs his way through a few awkward accusations, suggesting that maybe Veronica can't come to the phone right now because she's out digging through someone's trash, interrogating a friend, or beating out a confession. Silly, Logan, despite popular opinion, you really can't beat the truth out of someone. Blackmail, on the other hand He gives himself a mental slap and gets to what he really wants to say to her; that he's sorry he caused her pain, sorry the thing with Madison happened, and that he loves her.

The following morning, Veronica sees that she has a message and calls her voicemail. She hears the intro to Logan's message, enough to realize he's drunk and calling her out on her issues. It must be an even number day -- I do so prefer the odd number days when she admits she's fallible rather than dismissing Logan's brooding comments as "old crap". Keith pops out of the bathroom and sees Veronica listening to the voicemail. When he asks her if anything's wrong, she brushes him off and deletes the rest of Logan's message.

Weevil calls Veronica to let her know he's got Madison's car in line for The Crusher. Veronica has to wrap up Bonnie's case, but tells Weevil she'll be by for the demolition as soon as church lets out. Weevil is skeptical about Veronica going to church, and that joke was already old the last (first) time they pulled it in Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle.

Undue religious cynicism aside, Veronica gets a few anvilicious proverbs thrown at her by Reverend Capistrano and they leave her in a bit of a conundrum. Veronica had a bad dream and can't sleep and it's all Madison's fault but the Bible says that people who are ruled by anger appear foolish. Whatever shall she do? She decides to forgive Madison for her sins and bestow mercy on the Mercedes. At Weevil's objection, she suggests that he could maybe settle for putting an open can of tuna in the A/C vent and then returning the car. Weevil protests that Veronica is getting soft and Veronica smirks her way into the credits.

- Keith is out for a stroll (with Backup! Hey, boy -- don't be a stranger, okay?) as well as little detective-ing. After all, any good private investigator knows how to multi-task. He stops by Mindy's house -- apparently they live only ten blocks away from each other -- with news of a discrepancy in the police report for her husband's death. Keith says it could be a mistake, what with the geniuses working down at the sheriff's department. According to the report, though, a minivan was parked in Cyrus' spot the night he was killed. But Veronica told him that the dean normally drove an old Volvo. Mindy explains that the minivan is hers; she and her husband traded vehicles for the weekend because of her business trip in Sacramento. And Cyrus was using the van to haul their son's drum kit around. Ah! But notice how as she tells Keith all this, she's looking down and scratching her neck. Obvious, much? Keith nods but his expression says it all: He knows she's lying, or hiding something. Mindy invites him in for coffee, but Keith declines, claiming that Backup's going to tear his arm off if they don't get moving soon. But he thanks her and says he'll keep her posted.

Keith comes home that evening as a sleepless Veronica shuffles into the kitchen. He tells her that he has a little conundrum -- Nish claims that she egged the dean's Volvo at Hearst the night he died, but Mindy says the Volvo was parked at the Grand all night. So, who's lying? Mindy came back from her trip the night before her husband was murdered -- that's plenty of time for them to trade back their keys. Then again, you can almost depend on Nish to lie. Veronica shrugs, not really caring at the moment, and guesses, "Both of them?" Keith asks her what's wrong and the conversation moves away from the dean's murder case. And now I'm gonna sigh in relief because Keith and Veronica managed to make it through that scene without making any inappropriate pelvic gestures or breaking into song. Phew.

The next day, as Veronica is poking through Tim's computer files she sees a folder on his desktop labeled "O'Dell Suicide." So Tim is investigating the dean's death, too. Wow, if Keith really needs help at Mars Investigations, maybe he should consider hiring Tim. The folder is organized into sub-folders labeled "Forensics," "Suspects," and "Witnesses." Veronica clicks on witnesses and of course Weevil is in there, but there's also this guy Anthony Martin that is listed as an "earwitness." He heard a shot while walking home drunk from the Pi Sig party, but he couldn't determine at what time.

Veronica tries Anthony's dorm room at Hearst but he doesn't answer, so she leaves a message on his dry-erase board: "For a good time, call ..."

And call he does, just as Veronica is leaving the women's clinic. She assures him that she is absolutely a good time, but then we cut to her grilling him about what he heard. Heh, poor kid ... Veronica asks him why he didn't report the gunshot, and he says that he didn't think much of it until he read about it in the paper the next day. Besides, it's not like he needed another alcohol infraction on his record. Ah, the real reason ... Veronica wonders how Tim found out, and Anthony says he told some people about it. It must have gotten back to him that way, and then Tim approached him. Veronica is about to leave when Anthony remembers that he turned on Space Ghost when he got back to his room. Terry Jones was the guest and they were going on about spam.

Veronica checks the program's website, and apparently they re-run the show at 2:30 AM. She supposes that it probably takes around ten minutes to drunkenly stagger from the admin building to the dorm, so the dean could have been shot around 2:20.

That evening, Keith receives a phone call from Mindy, who's sure that there's an intruder in the downstairs of her house. When he asks her if she's called the police, she reasons that he's closer and actually, you know, competent. She pleads with Keith to hurry. He heads over there and stealthily makes his way to the front of the house, his gun ready. The front door is open and the intruder walks out ... carrying a frozen turkey? So it's a thief, and a poor one at that. Keith knocks him to the ground and the turkey goes rolling. He turns the guy over and it's ... Mindy's ex-husband, Steve.

Inside, Keith smacks Steve awake and tells Mindy to call the cops. Steve (who's not looking so hot, and not just from being knocked unconscious) warns them that if they call the cops, he'll just tell them about the kidnapping and the stealing of his bone marrow. Keith doesn't understand; per the settlement, Mindy gave him money as well as her Porsche. Steve says that Mindy's payments to him have stopped, and the car was repo'ed. He was just stealing what was owed to him (... like a turkey?). Mindy explains that she hasn't been able to afford the payments since her husband died. Just then, Jason, the recipient of the aforementioned bone marrow, comes down the stairs and goes over to his father. Steve tells his son that he and his mom were just going over some things. Mindy's other son, Gram, comes down the steps also, but doesn't stick around to chat. Steve says that he should get going, but that maybe they (he and his son) can go to a Lakers game next week. Please, you can't even provide for yourself -- how are you planning to pay for Lakers tickets? On his way out, he removes a bunch of flowers from a vase -- mind you, his son is standing right there -- and takes it with him. Random? Maybe just a little. Mindy leaves the room to put her son into bed, but Keith continues staring at the door, something in his mind clicking.

A bit later, Keith goes upstairs to check on Gram, who is in a rather gothically decorated bedroom, listening to loud music through his headphones. Keith asks him if everything's okay, and Gram snarks that everything is just peachy. Man, what's his issue?

Downstairs, Mindy later explains to Keith that Cyrus had wanted to send Gram to a teen-discipline school, but she's not sure if it would even do him any good. Keith says that he should get home, and he advises her to really call the cops if her ex-husband comes around again. He says that people with his problem can be more dangerous than you might think. He saw his share of meth heads back when he was sheriff. Mindy reveals that Steve has been in and out of rehab. Keith nods and bids Mindy goodnight, but she asks him if he can stay a little while longer -- her nerves are shot. Keith agrees and lies that his nerves are a little frayed, too, and asks her if he can pour himself a drink. She gratefully tells him that he can have whatever he finds (though hopefully not in a thieving ex-husband kind of way).

Once inside the kitchen, Keith makes like he's going to pour himself a glass of water from the tap, but then he sets the glass down and heads for the garage door. He shuts the door and begins examining the Volvo. He lifts up one of the wipers and removes something small and white -- what appears to be a piece of egg shell. So Nish did egg the Volvo, which couldn't have been parked at the Grand, then. Mindy is hiding something. The lights to the garage turn on suddenly and Mindy calls out his name. Keith lies easily that, growing up, his parents would keep the booze in a fridge in the garage. Mindy, clearly tense, gestures to the kitchen and tells him that that's where she keeps theirs. You know, if she's going to lie to Keith, she could at least do a better job of it.

"Western Meadowlark" (Brown Recluse Sings)

Scene: Let's just ignore the last part of this scene and simply remember this song as one that played over the sweetly intimate opening moments of Logan and Veronica lying in bed together, hands and hearts clasped in love.

"I'll Take Care Of You" (Mark Lanegan)

Scene: Dick informs Logan -- contrary to almost every other pairing on the show, suggested or otherwise -- that it was so "not cool" that Logan hooked up with his ex. Yeah, Logan! It's not as if Dick offered to do the same with your ex in this very episode. Sheesh!

"No Direction" (Longwave)

Scene: Drunk-dialing a girl to get her back is one thing ... drunk-dialing a girl to get her back and berating her ass before getting to the mushy stuff? Yeah, needs work.

LoVe Lines

(Dream) Logan: (Lounging sexily in bed.) I don't want you to go.
(Dream) Veronica: (Sweetly, regretfully.) I wish I didn't have to.

---

Veronica: (Sleepily answers phone.) Hello?
Logan: Either your affecting a sexy phone voice or you even make 'hello' sound good.
Veronica: What time is it? (Sits up and looks at the clock.) Ugh. I've gotta go -- I'm late for work.
Logan: Work. Right. You sure you're not getting a body wrap and a blow-out for our fancy date tonight?
Veronica: You got me. I better haul ass if I wanna fit in that brow shaping.
Logan: Hey, Veronica?
Veronica: Yeah?
Logan: (Smiles.) Don't go changing.

---

Logan: (Taking in Veronica's less than fancy attire.) Jeans: Bold choice. Hope the Maitre d' is fashion forward.

---

Logan: What do you want me to do? (Voice thickening.) What can I do??
Veronica: Make it not true. (Beginning to cry.) Get it out of my head and never let me think about it again. 'Cause unless you can do that, this is something I'm never getting past. (She runs away leaving a tearful and heartsick Logan in her wake.)

---

Veronica's Voicemail: It's Veronica. Leave a message.
Logan: (Slurring.) Ah! Veronica's voice mail! (Offering a dry chuckle.) So where are you, Veronica? Out digging through someone's trash, maybe? Interrogating one of your friends? Beating out a confession? You know, if you dig deep enough, you're gonna find that everyone's a sinner. Judge not, Veronica. Et cetera, et cetera. Ugh. Alright, stay on message, Logan. (Logan sitting down.) Okay, honestly, it's encouraging that someone still has such high expectations of me. (Taking a deep breath.) Veronica, I would give anything if I could take back that night in Aspen. I'm sorry I caused you so much pain, I'm sorry it happened. And I really love you, Veronica.

Quotable Quotes

Veronica Mars Voiceover: Oh, I've changed. From a girl who slept, to one who doesn't. Closing my eyes means popping in the Madison tape and pressing play.

---

Veronica Mars Voiceover: The best way to forget about your own problems? Dive into someone else's.
Veronica: So! Bonnie Capistrano tells me you knocked her up and blew her off.
Dick: (Utterly unconcerned.) Yeah. Whatever happened with that?
Veronica: You do your hair like that to cover-up the three six's on your scalp, right?
Dick: I told her to get a paternity test. I'm not here to help her turn a profit.
Veronica: I just feel like you have this wadded-up Maxim magazine where your heart is supposed to be.
Dick: Oh, I'm heartless? First Duncan, now Logan. You're running out of rich bachelors' heads to mess with. Is it some kind of weird sport for you? You know, breakin' dudes hearts? What, you put another notch in your lipstick case?
Veronica: (Vindictively.) Logan slept with Madison when you guys were in Aspen.
Dick: (Clearly upset by this news but trying to act indifferently.) And?
Veronica: (Belatedly recognizing her asshattery.) Sorry Dick. Probably shouldn't have ...
Dick: What, me worry? Can we be done? I've got things to do. Redheaded things.

---

Veronica Mars Voiceover: It must be a liberating thing not to be cursed with a moral compass.

---

Veronica: Wow. Raiders of the lost dorm room.
Phyllis: Oh, yeah. God, Bonnie would love that. Her dream is to be the female Indiana Jones.

---

Veronica: What do you think about Bonnie getting back with Tim?
Phyllis: I hated the arrogant little toad from the first time she introduced him.
Veronica: Don't hold back, Phyllis.

---

Tim: Veronica?
Veronica: Yes?
Tim: (Indicating the space in front of his desk.) My space. (Indicated the space behind his desk.) Your space.

---

Veronica Mars Voiceover:His password is Dick Tracy? Aw. That is adorable.

---

Veronica: They sit up in a building with their telephoto lens and take pictures of people in their most private, personal moments. That's disgusting.
Keith: Uh, honey, that's how we pay the rent.
Veronica: It's different.
Keith: I like to think so.

---

Keith: (Reading the religious pamphlet aloud.) "Does everyone go to heaven?"
Veronica: Actually, what does it say? I've got intro to theology next semester.

---

Veronica: That red-head from the other day, Nadia ... she have a last name?
Dick: Comaneci (At Veronica's look.) What?
Veronica: Dick, do you think I'm an idiot? Nadia Comaneci is an Olympic gymnast from Romania.
Dick: You sure? I mean, she doesn't have an accent.

---

Veronica: I wanted to talk to you, but your pal Dick wouldn't give me your real name.
Nadia: I have a pal named Dick?

---

Veronica: When I asked about you, he told me your last name was Comaneci. (Nadia starts laughing.) I just want to know --
Nadia: Okay, that Dick. Yeah, um, I got drunk at a party and I made out with him for like five seconds, and then I gave him the fake name. (Beat.) What? Would you want him calling you?

---

Keith: Did you call the cops?
Mindy: You're closer and you're competent.

---

Keith: Should a ministry have a CFO?

There's Got to be a Morning After ... (Referenced by the episode title.)

"The Song from The Poseidon Adventure" as "The Morning After" is officially named, was written for ... wait for it ... The Poseidon Adveture, one of the epic disaster films of the 1970's. It was written March 1972 by songwriters Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. The finished product was a tad too much of a downer for TPTB, so tweaking was "suggested" and a note of optimism was added (as in the refrain "There's got to be a morning after!"). In the film, the song is performed early on by a character entertaining at a New Year's Eve party, but the song was meant to encapsulate the story of the survivors of the capsized SS Poseidon who are struggling to survive another day. The head of 20th Century Records, Russ Regan, suggested a then-working secretary, Maureen McGovern, who had sent him a demo tape, to perform the track. He financed the recording with his own money and signed her to his lable. A good move on Russ' part as the film won the Academy Award for Best Song, debuting at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 a few months later. Eventually it rose to number one spot seven weeks later where it stuck for two weeks.

The lyrics (of what, in my opinion, is an inspiring song):

There's got to be a morning after
If we can hold on through the night
We have a chance to find the sunshine
Let's keep on lookin' for the light

Oh, can't you see the morning after?
It's waiting right outside the storm
Why don't we cross the bridge together
And find a place that's safe and warm?

It's not too late, we should be giving
Only with love can we climb
It's not too late, not while we're living
Let's put our hands out in time

There's got to be a morning after
We're moving closer to the shore
I know we'll be there by tomorrow
And we'll escape the darkness
We won't be searchin' any more

There's got to be a morning after
(There's got to be a morning after)
(Repeat 4x then Fade)

Morning After Pill ... (Referenced by the episode title.)

The Morning After Pill, also known as Emergency Contraception (EC) or Emergency Birth Control (EBC), is a higher dosage of the birth control pill. Recommended to be used after intercourse over a period of seventy-two hours in order to achieve the goal of preventing or ending a potential pregnancy. Most ECs come in three different kinds: progesterone alone, estrogen alone (both are hormones), or two of them together. They are the same hormones found in the typical birth control pill. Another kind of EC is mifepristone, but it's considered an anti-hormonal drug and does not contain estrogen or progestins.

EC works in three possible ways: inhibiting ovulation (thus preventing fertilization), altering normal menstrual cycle (delaying ovulation); or irritating the uterus lining (preventing implantation of an embryo). In that EC is different from medical abortion methods that act after implantation.

Progestin-only EC is available as dedicated emergency contraceptive under many names worldwide. It's called Plan B (yeah, I know, memories!) in U.S., Canada, and Honduras. It's called Levonelle in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Italy. It has several other names in various other countries.

The FDA-approved U.S. product labeling states that EC treatment can reduce the risk of pregnancy by at least seventy-five percent. The effectiveness of EC is highest when taken within twelve hours of intercourse and declines over time. The limit of seventy-two hours, but a study done by the World Health Organization has suggested that reasonable effectiveness continues for up to one hundred and twenty hours (five days). However, many doctors (particularly in the U.K.) advise use of an IUD rather than ECs for emergency contraception between seventy-two and one hundred and twenty hours.

As far as safety goes, the benefits of ECs generally outweigh the risks. The American Academy of Pediatrics and experts on emergency contraception say progestin-only pills may be preferable to combined ECs containing estrogen in women with a history of blood clots, stroke, or migraine. The herbal supplement St John's Wort and some enzyme-inducing drugs (anticonvulsants or rifampicin) may reduce the effectiveness of ECs, and a larger dose may be required.

The side effects may include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, dizziness and breast tenderness. Those normally subside within 24 hours. Delayed or temporary disrupted menstrual cycle is also common.

RU486 ... (Referenced by Bonnie to Veronica about what someone slipped her to cause a miscarriage.)

RU-486 -- NOT a Morning After pill (thank you, Veronica Mars, for perpetuating that confusion) -- is a synthetic steroid (mifepristone) compound used as an abortifacient in the first two months of pregnancy (though it can sometimes be used in smaller doses as an emergency contraceptive). First made available in France, it is now marketed and distributed (amidst constant controversy) in the United States by Danco Laboratories under the trademark Mifeprex. Though RU-486 was its designation at the Roussel Uclaf Company that first developed the drug, it's still largely referred to by this rather than it's trademark name.

The drug is a nineteen-nortestosterone steroid compound. It has anti-progestagenic and anti-glucocorticoid effects, meaning it counters the effects of those hormones on the body. It's a synthetic compound resembling the natural anabolic steroid, nandrolone. It's highly soluble inn methanol, but not in water.

Mifepristone has its principal effect on the uterus: the endometrium and decidua. This leads to degeneration and shedding of the endometrial lining. In addition, it sensitizes the myometrium to the contraction-inducing activity of prostaglandins. It is also an inhibitor of glucocorticoid action and has weak effects at the androgen receptor.

It is FDA-approved in the U.S. to terminate pregnancy up to forty-nine days after the beginning of the latest menstrual cycle. A six hundred mg dose is administered by a medical professional following a counceling session. Two days later, a four hunred mg of another medicine, misoprostol, is administered to induce contractions. The method is successful in terminating pregnancies in about ninety-two percent of the cases. An observation period of several hours is offered and strongly recommended after the medicine is administered, though it isn't required in the U.S. This is advisable in case of excessive bleeding and incomplete termination of pregnancy, which needs to be followed by intervention by a doctor (such as vacuum aspiration or, in some cases, surgical procedure).

Abdominal pain, uterine cramping and vaginal bleeding or spotting are common after using the pill for an average of nine to sixteen days. A few women experience some type of bleeding for thirty days or longer. Less common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue and fever. A rare but serious complication is pelvic inflammation (PID). All abortions carry risk of sepsis, septic shock or death.

There's no data on how the drug acts in women that are thirty-five years of age and older and also smoke ten or more cigarettes a day, primarily because these women were not included in clinical trials. Since the drug was approved by FDA in 2000, eight women in the U.S. have died following mifepristone abortions. (I wonder if Phyllis considered any of it when she oh so casually slipped the pill to her bestest friend since 7th grade.)

So, Rob Thomas, it's not like this is a sensitive, complex subject requiring a lot of research, careful consideration and intelligent handling. You didn't get any perturbed letters by any chance, did you? Just asking.

Roofied ... (Referenced by Veronica to Logan about things Madison had done to her.)

To be roofied means an individual is slipped a roofie, ie., Flunitrazepam -- marketed under the trade name Rohypnol -- is manufactured worldwide, particularly in Europe and Latin America. Its most common street name is roofie, and it generally sells for below $5.00 per small white tablet. It is ten times more potent than valium and can be habit forming, one of the reasons that it is illegal to own in the U.S. Rohypnol is one of the drugs most commonly implicated in drug-facilitated rape and due to its high usage, blue dye was added to it in 1999 so that it would no longer be clear in liquid. Common effects from usage are memory impairment, drowsiness, visual disturbances, dizziness, confusion, excitability or aggressive behavior and it can mentally and physically paralyze an individual. Effects of the drug are of particular concern in combination with alcohol and can lead to amnesia, where events that occurred during the time the drug was in effect are forgotten.

In response to Rohypnol abuse and use of the drug to facilitate sexual assaults, the U.S. Congress passed the Drug Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act, effective October 13, 1996. The law provides for harsher penalties regarding the distribution of a controlled substance to an individual without the individual's consent and with the intent to commit a crime of violence, including rape. The law imposes a penalty of up to twenty years in prison and a fine for the importation and distribution of one gram or more of Rohypnol. Simple possession is punishable by three years in prison and a fine.

Volvo ... (Referenced by Keith to Mrs. O'Dell about the car she drove.)

Did you know that volvo is Latin for "I roll" or "I turn?" Well it is, not that the origin of the word has anything to do with the vehicle, instead it has to do with the original product of SKF (for Svenska Kullagerfabriken AB), which had registered as their trademark of a special series of ball bearing. That was the original plan, but they instead decided to go with SKF, but then decided it was a nifty name for their automotive company. The Volvo, or Aktiebolaget Volvo, is a leading Swedish Manufacturer of vehicles, drive systems for marin and industrial applications, as well as aerospace components and financial services. Volvo is basically a spin-off of the SKF and was founded on August 10, 1926 in Gothenburg. In 1999, Ford Motor Company bought Volvo cars.

The first series produced Volvo automobile, called 'V4' (ppen vagn (Open wagon)-4 cylinders) left the factory on April 14, 1927. Just nine hundred and ninety-six cars were produced between 1927-1929. 'V4' was replaced by model PV651 in April 1929. Volvo's first success in the automobile production came with the PV444 that was introduced in september 1944. The Volvo Group today has more than 81,000 employees, with manufacturing in twenty-five countries and sales in more than one hundred and eighty-five markets. The group provides complete solutions for financing and service.



Three Sixes (Devil Sign)/The Omen ... (Referenced by Veronica to Dick about a potential tattoo his hair hides.)

Damien Thorn, the bastard child of Satan, is the shaggy-haired villain of the 1976 thriller, The Omen. The child is adopted into the family of Robert and Katherine Thorn when a fallen priest kills their child at birth and gives them Damien to raise.

A string of bizarre incidents follow Damien. His nanny hangs herself at his fifth birthday party, making way for the sinister Mrs. Baylock, who eventually throws Katherine Thorn out the window of the hospital (where she was recovering after Damien 'accidentally' knocked her off a two-story landing while riding his bike through the house). A priest who was trying to warn Robert about Damien ends up dead in a freak accident, and Robert suspects that something's not quite right about the kid. With the help of a photographer, Robert begins to investigate Damien's heritage, and he is eventually told by another priest that he has to kill his not!son using seven special daggers to prevent the end of the world. Robert is less than thrilled at the prospect, so the priest tells him that if Damien really is the son of Satan, he will have the mark of "666" on his flesh. Robert protests that he raised Damien, bathed him as an infant, and has never seen the mark, so the priest suggest that it is hidden under the boy's hair. Robert returns home and cuts away at Damien's hair while the boy sleeps and finds the mark.

The movie is loosely based on the endtimes prophecy of the Christian faith, mainly the contents of the book of Revelations. The 'mark of the beast', or the three sixes, comes from Revelations 13:16-18:

he (the Antichrist) causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Non-Hollywood Christianity does not teach that some man will be born with a birthmark of three sixes, but rather that the number would somehow be representative of the man, or that his name could be calculated to equal the number. The 'mark of the beast' is actually a mark meant to be put on people in order to buy or sell during the end times. The concept of putting the mark on the hand or forehead is a biblical covenant tradition. Accepting the mark is essentially making a covenant with Satan, so the Bible holds that anyone who takes the mark would not be allowed into heaven. Christians believe that God will provide for those who have faith and refuse the mark.

Maxim ... (Referenced by Veronica to Dick about what he has in place of a heart.)

Maxim is an international 'lad mag' based in the United Kingdom (UK) which features revealing photos of popular actresses, singers and models. The first UK edition was issued in May 1995, followed by the American debut in April 1997.

Kristen Bell on the March 2006 cover
Unlike the UK edition, the American magazine does not allow depiction of the parts where the bathing suit covers, so Maxim is readily available from most newsstands or retailers (with the notable exception of Wal-Mart). In addition to the pictures, the magazine includes short articles on any number of subjects that appeal to its target demo -- males between the ages of 21 and 45 -- such as sports, movies, television, video games, fashion, relationships, cars, crime and alcohol.

Radiers of the Lost Dorm Room (Ark) ... (Referenced by Veronica to Phyllis about her and Bonnie's dorm room.)

Raiders of the Lost Ark, also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, is a 1981 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by sci-fi god George Lucas. It is the first installment of the Indiana Jones series which also includes Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Raiders introduces archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), who is hired by the U.S. government to go on a quest for the mystical lost Ark of the Covenant. Indy (as he is often called) must retrieve the ark before the Nazis and rival archaeologist Rene Bellog do. On the journey, Indy is accompanied by his old friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and ex-flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).


At the time of it's release, the film was a tremendous success. Earning $383 million worldwide, it was easily the highest-grossing film of 1981 and one of the highest-grossing films ever made. According to the 2005 edition of The World Almanac (from Variety data), the first two Star Wars films are the only pictures released prior to 1981 that have out-earned Raiders. Raiders of the Lost Ark was nominated for eight Academy Awards -- including Best Picture -- in 1982 and won four (Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration).

In 1998, the American Film Institute placed the film at number sixty on its top 100 films of the first century of cinema. In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Indiana Jones ...
(Referenced by Veronica to Phyllis about her and Bonnie's dorm room.)

Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (also known as Indy), is a fictional professor, archaeologist, and adventurer who is the main protagonist of three adventure films by film god Steven Spielberg: Raiders of the Lost Ark, its prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dom, and sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Jones is notable for his trademark bullwhip, fedora, and extreme fear of snakes.


"Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?"
The character is most famously played by Harrison Ford; however he has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a young Indy), Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles). In addition to his film and television appearances, the character has featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. A fourth film has recently been announced (once again starring Ford), and is expected to be released May of 2008, with filming taking place throughout 2007.

What to Expect When You're Expecting ... (Referenced by Phyllis about what Tim got Bonnie when he found out she was pregnant.)

Written by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee E. Hathaway, BSN, this popular pregnancy guide (now in a revised third edition) offers the authoritative yet reassuring advice that parents have come to rely on from all the titles in the What to Expect series. The book is arranged by month, from pregnancy test through labor and delivery. Each section offers answers to frequently asked questions, along with features such as "What You May Be Feeling" and "What You May Be Concerned About." Every imaginable issue is addressed, including the small but nagging subjects that women may not want to discuss with their doctors, such as how their bodies will look at seven months, or why some pregnant women "glow" while others have acne.


Let's just hope that whatever you are expecting isn't Dick, Jr.
Responding to many queries and letters received from readers, the revised third edition addresses new health issues and medical questions as well as lifestyle concerns. The new volume offers a number of excellent expanded sections and illustrations, including a more detailed discussion of postpartum depression and advice on working while pregnant. There is more in-depth coverage of complementary and alternative birthing and showcases an expanded chapter for dads-to-be as well. There are also new illustrations and more text on breast-feeding, with diagrams showing different feeding positions. The travel section offers specific suggestions for "jettisoning jet lag" in addition to standard advice on traveling while pregnant. This book remains an indispensable guide for pregnant women and their partners.

Footloose ... (Referenced by Veronica regarding Bonnie as a preacher's daughter.)

Footloose is the 1984 story that tells how free-thinking Chicago teen Ren McCormick (Kevin Bacon) brings his mad dancing skills and independent spirit to a small Midwestern town and teaches his fellow teens that the best way to fight the power, beat oppression and have a bangin' time is to throw a dance in a town that has forbidden both dancing and rock music (and by rock music I mean the hard-hitting sounds of Kenny Loggins). The man behind the ridiculous law is local preacher Reverend Shaw (John Lithgow). In a completely non-predictable way, Ren falls in love with the Reverend's wild-child, rebellious daughter who helps him rally the teens to "kick off their Sunday shoes" and "cut Footloose" in an 80's style dance riot on the other side of the railroad tracks. Believe it or not, the movie was loosely based on events that took place in the tiny, rural farming community of Elmore City, Oklahoma.


Despite mixed critical reviews, the film was a huge box-office hit, grossing rougly $80 million in the U.S. alone. It instantly became a culturally iconic film with many of its songs remaining perennial favorites today. Kevin Bacon became a star largely based on this film, which also helped to launch the careers of Chris Penn and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Two of the songs from the movie -- the titular "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" by Denice Williams -- both hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received 1985 Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. "Footloose" was also nominated for a 1985 Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The film's soundtrack, which also includes another track from Loggins, "Dancing In the Sheets" by Shalamar and the love theme "Almost Paradise" by Loverboy's Mike Reno and Heart's Ann Wilson, went on to sell more than nine million copies in the U.S.

USC ... (Referenced by Veronica regarding from where Madison brings home her laundry.)

The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly as Southern Cal), located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA, was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university. It was founded in 1880 as a Methodist university, on land donated by three wealthy Los Angeles residents. Los Angeles was a frontier town in the early 1870's, when a group of citizens led by Judge Robert Maclay Widney first conceived of establishing a university in the region. It took nearly a decade for this idea to become a reality, but in 1879 Widney formed a board of trustees and secured a donation of a little over three hundred lots of land from three prominent members of the community: Ozro W. Childs, a Protestant horticulturist; former California governor John G. Downey, an Irish-Roman Catholic pharmacist and businessman; and Isaias W. Hellman, a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist. The gift provided land for a campus as well as a source of endowment, the seeds of financial support for the nascent institution.


When USC first opened its doors with an enrollment of fifty-three students and a faculty of ten in 1880, the "city" still lacked paved streets, electric lights, telephones, and a reliable fire alarm system. Its first graduating class in 1884 was a class of three -- two males and a female valedictorian. Though USC started out as a religious institution, the university is no longer affiliated with the Methodist Church having severed formal ties many decades ago. USC has grown substantially in the one hundred and twenty-five years since its founding.

USC is one of the most selective universities in the United States. An example of this selectivity can be found in their admission for freshmens in 2006; the school admitted only 25% the almost 34,000 who applied. USC was also named "College of the Year 2000" by the editors of Time magazine and the Princeton Review for the university's extensive community-service programs. In its 2007 ranking of "America's Best Colleges," U.S. News & World Report ranked USC twenty-seventh among all universities in the United States. Residing in the heart of a global city, USC has established one of the most diverse institutions in the world, with students from all fifty states as well as over one hundred and fifteen countries. It is home to Nobel Prize winning Chemistry Professor George Olah. USC hosts two Engineering Research Centers funded by the National Science Foundation -- the Integrated Media Systems Center and the Center for Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems. It ranks among the top ten private universities receiving federal funds for research and development.

The university is the largest private employer in Los Angeles and is responsible for $four billion in economic output in Los Angeles County; USC students spend $406 million yearly in the local economy and visitors to the campus add another $12.3 million. USC and its partner institutions have recently completed or soon will be constructing twenty-seven new buildings, which will provide nearly 8.1 million square feet of new space for research, teaching, patient care, and student life enrichment.


The Widney Alumni House (welcoming the Trojans!), built in 1880, is USC's first original building
and has been physically relocated twice.
USC's official mascot is a white horse named Traveler, but many people have come to identify the Trojan Shrine, or "Tommy Trojan" as the symbol of the university. Until 1912, USC students (especially athletes) were known as Fighting Methodists or Wesleyans, though neither name was approved by the university. During a fateful track and field meet with Stanford University, the USC team was beaten early and seemingly conclusively. After only the first few events, it was statistically impossible for USC to win; however, the team fought back, winning many of the later events, to lose only by a slight margin. After this contest, Los Angeles Times sportswriter Owen Bird reported that the USC athletes "fought on like Trojans," and the president of the university at the time, George F. Bovard, approved the name officially.

There is a life-size bronze statue in the center of the USC campus inscribed with the five attributes of the ideal Trojan: "Faithful, Scholarly, Skillful, Courageous, and Ambitious." The statue is often vandalized by USC's cross-town rival during the week of the annual USC-UCLA football game. The university has taken to covering the statue with duct tape to protect it from vandalism, and members of the Trojan Knights maintain an all-night vigil during the rivalry week. The Trojan Knights are the "Guardians of Tradition" at USC. The Knights were founded in 1921 as an organization which would espouse the traditions of USC and embody the five attributes of a Trojan.

Due to the university's relative approximation to Hollywood, the campus has been used in thousands of movies, television shows, commercials, and music videos. Some movies the campus has been used in are Forrest Gump, Legally Blonde, Road Trip, The Girl Next Door, Ghostbusters, and The Graduate. Some televisions shows it appeared in are The O.C., Beverly Hills 90210, Saved By the Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Alias.

Mercedes(-Benz) ... (Referenced by Veronica regarding Madison's birthday present.)

Mercedes-Benz is a German brand name of automobiles, as well as buses, coaches, and trucks, owned by DaimlerChrysler AG. Starting production 1871, Mercedes-Benz is the world's most continuously produced automobile line. The Daimler-Benz company was founded through a 1926 merger between Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz. Benz automobiles are available in over 130 countries.

The CLK Cabriolet Convertibles range between $55,00 and $64,000, and feature 5.5 L V-8 engines, 7-speed automatic transmission, and 17-inch alloy wheels. Well, sure, it's a nice replacement for the Viper she abandoned on the Coronado Bridge, but it's not exactly inconspicuous for a woman on the run.


Dick Tracy ... (Referenced by Veronica when voice-overing Tim's password.)

Dick Tracy is a legendary cartoon character that was created in 1931 by cartoonist Chester Gould. Tracy is a dashing, daring detective who assumed his career after witnessing the murder of his fiance Tess Trueheart's father by mobster Big Boy. Tracy was renowned as an innovative detective who used modern technology and gadgets like a two way wrist TV, to track down villains and rogues while keeping the streets safe for democracy. This delayed his marriage to Tess for over twenty years as he toiled in his profession. Wait a minute -- twenty years? twenty years? Rob please tell us you don't plan to keep Veronica and Logan apart that long.

And while Veronica is a detective who loves her electronic gadgets, she doesn't really seem a shining example of the old-fashioned values Dick Tracy stood for. Tracy is considered one of America's most famous detectives, but it is really the villains that gave the comic strip flavor and character.

Hester (Prynne) ... (Referenced by Veronica when giving a fake name at the Capistrano ministry.)

The lead character from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850. The novel is set in Puritan New England, and tells the story of Hester Prynne. Hester journeys to America by herself, and her husband is meant to follow soon after. When he doesn't show up, he is presumed lost at sea and Hester eventually falls in love and has an affair with a minister, Author Dimmesdale. Hester becomes pregnant, and with her husband still out of the picture, her adultery is exposed, and she is shunned by the town and forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" over her clothes. She gives birth to a girl, Pearl, but refuses to reveal the father's name.

Hester's husband eventually arrives in the town, now calling himself Roger Chillingsworth and practicing medicine; he is intent on revenge for Hester's infidelity. Meanwhile, Hester works as a seamstress and Dimmesdale develops a mysterious heart trouble, due to psychological distress. Chillingsworth senses a connection between his estranged wife and the minister, and eventually moves in with Dimmesdale to provide him medicinal care and look for evidence to confirm his suspicions.

Dimmesdale and Hester make plans to take Pearl to Europe to start over, but as soon as Dimmesdale reveals himself as Pearl's father, he falls down dead. Hester and Prynne leave Boston alone, and Hester return several years later to live out the rest of her life. She is buried next to an older grave, which Hawthorne ambiguously suggested was either Dimmesdale or Chillingsworth. The two graves shared a marker, which was decorated with a jeweled letter "A."

Space Ghost ... (Referenced by Anthony to Veronica about his alibi.)

Space Ghost Coast to Coast was an animated show on the Cartoon Network that spoofed talk shows. The show aired from 1993 through 1994. The titular character (Tad Chostal) originated in Hanna Barbera cartoon by the same name from the 1960's (and again in early 1980's). His voice was provided by George Lowe. Space Ghost, who looked back on his past superhero status as his glory days, wasn't terribly thrilled by his status as a run-or-the-mill late night talk show host. His super powers included invisibility (he had an Inviso-Belt), flight, and the ability to shoot powerful beams from the Power Bands on his wrists. His remarkable ego was rivaled only by his equally remarkable idiocy, and he was as little concerned with the well-being of others as he was oblivious to his surroundings. His "charming" hosting style consisted of constantly demeaning his sidekicks and his guests.

The talk show was broadcast from a studio on the Ghost Planet. The guests were various real life celebrities who appeared on the TV screen and were not animated.


The talk show format was used subversively. Space Ghost, apparently, believed that his guests were superheroes as well, and kept asking them about their superpowers, his questions awkward, hostile and also often not matching the answers given by the guests. It was hard to tell if the guests were even aware of the nature of the program, because the questions were changed after the interview.

Space Ghost's interactions with those who work for him were even more hostile and inexplicable. His bandleader Zorak (another character from the original cartoon), voiced by C. Martin Croker, was a mantis-like alien. He was extremely evil, a virgin -- because he didn't want to be killed by his mate (and somewhere Logan nods his head in understanding) -- once ate his own nephew (clearly, the family had issues) and felt no pity. The Ghost's producer was Moltar (also voiced by C. Martin Croker), a red-helmet lava man wearing a full-body containment suit. A rather competent, level-headed character, he has attempted to escape the Ghost Planet on several occasions. Both Zorak and Moltar worked on the program as punishment for their past crimes and openly hated Space Ghost.

Each episode of the program lasted only fifteen minutes. Cartoon Network showed two of them back to back as a part of its Adult Swim. What gave the show a rather surreal feel was the disjointed nature of the guests' responses to Space Ghost's questions. This was done intentionally for the comedic effect. Before an episode was written, the guests were interviewed by a writer/producer. Often such interviews were conducted with the guest being alone in the studio and the interviewer asking questions through the speaker phone. The room was all black and the guests were given general instructions on where to look and in which direction to talk. It's no wonder the guests often appeared somewhat bewildered. (I've got to say that sometimes it feels like this practice is espoused by the VM producers, as well). The questions asked often revealed a hidden New World agenda. After the interview was completed, the writers went over it and took pieces out of context and order and reassembled them into "responses" to Space Ghost's questions.

The show is now on "permanent hiatus." It seems like in VM universe the show still goes on, at least in reruns, which simply isn't happening in our world (if the TV Guide and Yahoo listings are to be believed). Either that, or the "ear-witness" has totally deceived Veronica and his "alibi" is, well, a ghost.

Terry Jones ... (Referenced by Anthony to Veronica about his alibi.)

Terrence Graham Parry Jones (yes, it's all just one person) -- a British comedian, actor, screenwriter, director, historian, political commentator and TV documentary host (yes, folk, he does all this. And for an encore he will do a little dance) -- was born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, on February 1, 1942. Documentary hosting is swell and all, but he is still best known for being a member of the Monty Python comedy team.


Jones received a good education, starting at the Royal Grammar School in Guilford, where he was head boy (no, I am not even touching this one!), and eventually getting a degree in English from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. While there he performed in the Oxford Revue with another future Pythonian Michael Palin. Jones is married with two children.

Besides his work with Monty Python, Jones's appearances include such BBC comedy series as Twice a Fortnight, The Complete and Utter History of Britain, and Do Not Adjust Your Set. As a member of Monty Python troop, Jones participated in writing and performing in Monty Python's Flying Circus.. His most memorable Python characters were middle-aged women and the "man in the street" in a bowler hat. Finally, he achieved an almost iconic status as Mr. Creosote from The Meaning of Life.


What is the meaning of life, Mr. Creosote?
Always seeking new and fresh formats for the Python TV shows, Jones abandoned punchlines in favor of seamless movement of one sketch into another while the jokes got cross-referenced. This allowed the Python's conceptual humor to fit the one-line ideas that otherwise would have lost something to conventional formulas.

As a director, Jones worked on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and The Meaning of Life. Outside of Python projects, he directed Eric the Viking and The Wind and the Willows. His distinct directorial style complemented the humor of the films and influenced many comedians in television to break away from slapstick and studio shooting styles.

Jones' work as a writer includes co-writing Ripping Yarns with fellow Python member Michael Palin, the screenplay for Labyrinth, as well as various children books, such as Fantastic Stories and The Beast with a Thousand Teeth. His other writings include numerous political editorials for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and The Observer. He has also written books and filmed documentaries on medieval and ancient history, such as Terry Jones' Medieval Lives and Terry Jones' Barbarians. Both of those challenge the accepted ideas about certain historical periods. All in all, a fitting job for a comedian: Challenging history.

Spam ... (Referenced by Anthony to Veronica about his alibi.)

This meat product, sold in cans, is a registered trademark of Hormel Foods Corporation. It is made of chopped pork shoulder, ham, salt water and sugar. Spam's name was chosen in a contest with the winning entry being submitted by the brother of a Hormel executive. It was very popular all over the world during World War II because of rationing that caused fresh meat to be hard to come by.

Hormel sold 20,000 cans in the four years of the war and by 1993 five billion cans had been sold. SPAM is currently made in two US States, Minnesota and Nebraska, and in seven other countries. Today there are several different types of Spam sold including the original Spam, SPAM Lite, SPAM Smoke Flavored, SPAM Less Sodium and SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey.

San Diego ... (Referenced by Keith when quoting the anti-abortion bookmark.)

It is believed that the first humans settled in the San Diego area some 20,000 years ago, along the coast, and 12,000 years ago in the desert area. However, it was in 1542 that Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed from Mexico into the Bay and claimed the area for Spain, naming it San Miguel. At the time, there were 20-30 thousand of the Kumeyaay tribe living there. In 1602, explorer Sebastian Vizcaino arrived on his ship, San Diego, and named the area for the Spanish Catholic saint, San Diego de Alcal. Then, in 1769, the first of a chain of twenty-one missions along the California coast was founded by Father Junipero Serra and the California Governor Gaspar de Portola. It was built on Presidio Hill and named Mission San Diego de Alcal. The first colonists arrived in 1774, and San Diego came under Mexican rule in 1821 when Mexico won its independence from Spain. Following that, in 1848, a treaty ending the war between the U.S. and Mexico set the official international border and declared San Diego an American city. Two years later, San Diego County was created and the City of San Diego was incorporated.

Today, with a population of around 1.25 million, San Diego is the second largest city in California and the seventh largest in the nation. According to the San Diego city website, more than 96 percent of the residents are employed, with a median family income of almost $40,000. The top industries are manufacturing, defense, tourism, and agriculture, with an additional focus on biotechnology/biosciences, electronics manufacturing, software, telecommunications, financial and business services, and defense and space manufacturing.

Located only seventeen miles from the Mexican border, with seventy miles of coastline and an overall land area of 342.4 square miles, San Diego is also home to many popular tourist attractions, such as Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Legoland California, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Races. Professional sports teams include the San Diego Chargers (football), the Padres (baseball), and the Gulls (hockey). In addition to ten community colleges located throughout the county, the city is also home to San Diego State, the largest California State University campus, and the University of California, San Diego.

Nancy (Drew) ... (Referenced by Keith with fake names, his being Carson "Drew" and Veronica's being "Nancy.")

The teenage heroine of almost three hundred and fifty books written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. There have been several TV shows, movies and new books over the years introducing Nancy to each new generation of readers. Drew has been consistently courageous, intelligent, resourceful and caring while only aging from sixteen to eighteen. With her best friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne and her boyfriend Ned Nickerson she has delighted readers of all ages for over seventy years.

Nadia Comaneci ... (Referenced by Dick and Veronica as to the name of the girl Dick briefly hooked up with.)

Nadia Elena Comaneci (the 'i' is silent) is, as Veronica said, a Romanian gymnast who won five Olympic gold medals and is one of the most prominent gymnasts in the world. She, along with contemporary Olga Korbut, is credited with popularizing the sport around the world.


Born in November of 1961, Nadia began practicing gymnastics after a couch spotted her doing cartwheels with a friend at the age of six. At the age of fourteen, she won her first Olympic gold medal after earning the first ever perfect score (10.0) on the uneven-bars routine. Currently, Comaneci is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Special Olympics, as well as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She personally funded Nadia Comaneci's Children's Clinic in Bucharest, which provides low-cost medicinal and social support to Romanian children.

Facebook ... (Referenced when Veronica tracks down Nadia.)

A facebook is a pictorial directory or electronic database with the photographs and names of students, put together by the administration at some universities. They are distributed at the start of the year, usually during freshman orientation or move-in-week (rather than at the end of term like a yearbook), with the goal of helping students get to know each other.

A 1997 model similar to Batando's (no longer owned) car.

- In Veronica's dream, Logan's sheets are white (instead of orangey-red) and the ugly fish thing over the bed is red (instead of blue). Plus, her subconscious added yet another ocean-themed accessory -- the red coral on the nightstand. Weirdest. Set. Ever.

- Weird, we're seeing Veronica in sleepwear and she's wearing pants, like she always wears ... except when she's spending overnight in a boy's dorm room who isn't her boyfriend.

- Bonnie gave Tim an alibi for the Dean's murder -- she said she was trying to woo him back after the Pi Sig party, so that's two people potentially cleared for this mystery.

- Not only is Logan's room covered in a plethora of empty pizza boxes and newspapers, but some clothing type is hanging over one of the fish behind his head and there is a sock slung over a lampshade. Yes. A sock slung over the lampshade. Because really what better way is there to express one's heartbreak than to sling socks around the room?

- Hester? Carson and Nancy Drew? ... Today's lesson: Use less obvious aliases if you don't want to be called out on your spy games. Honestly, at least Keith should have known better.

- And at the risk of sounding like a broken record: Where art thou, Wallace? Honestly, at this point I hope you are in your dorm room sitting on Piz so the guy doesn't follow Veronica around.

- How did Tim and Bonnie meet? They don't really seem to have anything in common -- maybe her dad introduced them since Bonnie said he was 'like her dad' (Um ...). Religious dads love Lucky/Tim.

- Tim Foyle, clearly, is more forgiving than Veronica. He took Bonnie back and wanted to raise the child with her, knowing that she screwed around on him left and right. And we are supposed to sympathize with Veronica when they are in a scene together and think Tim is a schmuck? All righty then, just checking.

- Dean O'Dell lived ten blocks away from the Mars residence? In a low rent neighborhood? I know the Dean was no snob, but I am surprised the wife didn't insist on the 09er zip.

- Does Veronica use the same doctor as Bonnie? Their lax Doctor/Patient confidentiality policy would explain how Aaron's lawyers got a hold of Veronica's medical records.

- Is Veronica seriously convinced Madison drugged her on purpose? Or is she just someone who doesn't let facts interfere with a good story.

- So ... when did Veronica tell Logan about Madison? She didn't find out how she got the drugs until after their big talk, and she was ready to move onto the make-out portion of the evening after talking to Madison. Maybe this conversation happened sometime during the summer when Logan and Duncan supposedly dealt with the whole Logan drugging Duncan thing (per an interview with Rob Thomas) ... even though they weren't speaking that summer, but ... um ... yeah. I'm so confused. Whatever you say, Rob.

- Did Anthony let Veronica use his computer to check the website for the airing of Space Ghost? She had a voice-over about checking the website immediately after leaving Anthony's room.

- So explain why it was okay for Logan to date Duncan's ex and for Duncan to date Logan's ex and for Dick to hit on Logan and Duncan's ex in both season two's Look Who's Stalking and in tonight's episode for a hookup, but it's not "cool" for Logan to hook up with Dick's ex?

- When Veronica is talking to Reverend Capistrano and pretending to be pregnant, he says that of course he's not going to tell her anything other than to keep the baby. Why does television always seem to present abortion or keeping the baby as the only two options? What about adoption? That's a perfectly valid choice that never seems to get any consideration. There are probably hundreds of thousands of loving couples out there who would be wonderful parents but can't have children of their own, and who are just waiting for the opportunity to adopt a baby in need of a loving home. You'd think a religious leader, especially, who would consider abortion to be wrong, would acknowledge that raising the baby might not be the right choice for everyone, and would at least mention adoption.

- What is up with Weevil's persistent and inexplicable hatred of Logan? Didn't they sort of make peace with each other last season? I wouldn't expect them go cruising together, but why such gleeful joy at Logan's misery?

- Does Veronica care that Weevil may get caught and arrested when she asks him to steal Madison's car? The guy is on parole, for goodness sake! It would be his second strike in the "three strikes" state! I know she mostly considers Weevil not so much a friend as a convenient errand boy, but come on! Show some consideration, Veronica!

- And while we are at it, does Weevil have amnesia? Isn't he even a little bit concerned with his future? I get that he has no love for Madison, but is it really worth the idiotic and tremendous risk?

- Why did Phyllis bother to lie about who gave Bonnie the copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting? There is no way she could have possibly known that the book would be the clue that revealed her as the culprit. However, if she did, why on earth wouldn't she have at least taken out the incriminating book mark?

- And we're back to Veronica thinking revenge is swell, especially vandalism, when it's her doing it? Didn't she dump Logan for getting involved in revenge attacks with/against Weevil last season? Wasn't it all very not cool back then? So it's okay when you vandalize other people's property for petty, jealous reasons but not okay when you do it while fighting against people trying to prove you're a murderer and/or blow a hole through your head? Mmmkay, Ronnie, that's nice; it's your world ... we just watch it.

- Why is it that the "profound" epiphanies Veronica has with remarkable and disturbing regularity never benefit Logan? She embraces forgiveness, and the one she forgives is Madison? The girl she only recently claimed was the embodiment of everything she loathes? But not the guy she claims to love, for something that isn't even, strictly speaking, an offense?

- Supposedly, Logan DID lie during his pillow talk with Veronica in last week's episode. The reference to the girl he hooked up with was in regards to the surfer skank and not Madison. (Personally, I still don't buy it. See

Quote:

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Father Fitzpatrick: Vengeance is mine. I will repay, sayeth the Lord ... Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19; 2.12, Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle)

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Quote:

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Reverend Capistrano: He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he who rules his spirit can capture a city. He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly. (Proverbs 16:32 & 14:29; 3.12, There's Got to be a Morning After Pill)

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- Rob Thomas did an interview with

Quote:

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The interesting thing in my mind is that Veronica and Logan have been broken up for six weeks when [Logan and Madison's hookup] happens. It's a fleeting thing one night when they're drunk in Aspen together. Veronica can't get past that. This gets into a whole debate we have in the writers' room. There is a contingent, of which [producer] Diane [Ruggiero] and I are a part who experience this overpowering sexual jealousy, the kind so nicely illustrated in Chasing Amy: "I can't get past what you did when we weren't together." It's something that I've struggled with in my life -- I'm interested in that phenomenon. There are others, like John Enbom, who don't really get it: "Why are you jealous of something that happened when you weren't in a committed relationship with someone?" Fair enough, that's a logical response, but emotions, for those of us who aren't Vulcan, aren't dictated by logic. I'm certainly not proud of my own jealousy, nor is Veronica proud of hers, though I find hers much more excusable. She's seen so much unfaithfulness. She does everything she can to protect her own heart. She hates being vulnerable. On a side note, I eventually got over mine. Not sure whether to ascribe it to years of therapy or finding the right person.

I'll be curious to hear fan reaction with regard to Logan. There are two diametrically opposed factors in play. Fans tend to react badly to people who do Veronica wrong, but they've been mostly quick to forgive Logan his many lapses in judgment, morality, etc. Where will this one land? Sleeping with Madison is certainly gross. But a guy getting drunk on vacation in the middle of a heartbreak? I can forgive Logan. I just don't know whether this particular audience will.

I'll tell you this the level of "bad behavior" I would accept from Logan today is smaller today that it was in Season 1 -- I would never have Logan organize a bumfight today. But sleep with a girl on vacation when he's heartbroken? I'm interested in testing that water.

Here's another thing that I think is so absolutely true-to-life that I think people may harp on -- I think the false relationship breakup/restart thing happens more often than it doesn't. I'm afraid that the audience will think I'm jerking them around, trying to have it both ways, which I'm absolutely not -- I'm trying to play the reality of relationships, and it's funny, because Logan and Veronica do have that moment of bliss when they get back together, where it's like, okay, we've realized how badly we need each other, but then this news drops, and Veronica can't process it. I wouldn't be able to process it. Or at least twenty-year-old Rob wouldn't be able to. Who am I kidding? Thirty-year-old Rob wouldn't handle it well, either.

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Quote:

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Aired Veronica Mars Voice-Over: The best way to forget about your own problems? Dive into someone else's.

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Closed Caption Veronica Mars Voice-Over: I don't know when I figured out Dick's leering schedule, but I'm disturbed to have this information taking up space in my brain.

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