Inspired by recent and rather amusing
Veronica Mars movie interviews given by
Director/Creator Rob Thomas...
Nancy Drew vs. Veronica Mars - Scene 1
Somewhere in River Heights, Nancy Drew and her best friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne stumble upon a new mystery - one more diabolical than ever before...
Bess Marvin: Watch out Nancy Drew! There's a new villain in town!
Nancy Drew: I always get my man, lead me to him. What's the sitch--is he a bootlegger, racketeer, swindler, kidnapper? Maybe a counterfeiter or an impersonator! To my roadster! I shall save the day!
Bess: Well, no, it's not anyone like Bushy Trott, Stumpy Dowd, or Foxy Felix! Definitely not Shorty Steele, Zany Shaw, or Benny the Slippery One Capputti! Hypers no, it's Rob Thomas!
George Fayne: Who the hell is this Rob Thomas person!? His name sounds...so normal!
Bess: Um, well OK, this new villain doesn't have quite the same ring as those dastardly villains we've tangled with before and he probably doesn't wear loud pantsuits, sport a foul scowl or have shifty eyes either! He's actually kind of dreamy. See, here's a note he chucked through your third floor window--you know the one that doesn't have the burglar alarm attached to it. Gee, you'd think you'd get that fixed by now! Anyhoo, it was wadded up around a Mars bar - which by the way was sure tasty! There goes my diet again!
George: Always thinking of food Bess!
Nancy: Give the me the note! Why, it's in cutout letters. Either that, or they really have bad penmanship! I'll dub him, the Mars Bar Villain. There's a fingerprint on here too, let me get my sleuth kit...
George: No need, Nancy I've hacked into his Facebook account. We have a "mug shot" of him now!
Source: Wikipedia
Bess: And here's a story from the paper, where he laid out his diabolical plan! Why, we didn't even have to interrogate it out of him! No tailing, eavesdropping, no finding random clues around the neighborhood, none of that sleuthing stuff. Check out these two paragraphs...
George: Well see, he's totally our villain--he's a snarler! Oooh, let me sic my judo moves on him!
Nancy: Down, George! Who's this Veronica Mars person?
Bess: Well, she's kind of like you Nancy, but maybe a bit edgier...
Nancy: When did he hatch this absurd plan to kill me?!
George: Sez here on Wikipedia that this Veronica Mars show was created in 2004. So like about 10 years ago.
Nancy: Ten years ago!? What's he waiting for!?
George: Well according to Wikipedia--a very reliable source you know--the Veronica Mars series was critically successful but low-rated. It battled low ratings until it was canceled after the third season in 2007. So much for those diabolical plans, eh Nancy!
Bess: But now they've made a major movie and it's now in theaters! I guess this Rob guy must think he's found his mojo again! He must have gone back and plucked out his old Nancy Drew-killing plan from his villain scrapbook! I mean, Veronica thinks that...
Nancy: Wait, hold up Bess! How do you know what this girl thinks?! You sound like you've been getting chummy with this Veronica chick, what gives!?
Bess: Well, (sheepishly), you see she and I share the same psychiatrist and we've bonded over a few things. No big deal, but she's kind of worried about this Rob guy. He's gotten kind of a big head lately. He actually thinks he can destroy you, that you've had a good run, that he'll replace you with more Veronica Mars movies, a book series, merchandising, frankly he's out to get you Nan! He's giving interviews that you've had a good 60 years...wait, then he said 70s years and then...well in another, he said like 80 years! But the point is, he thinks it's now Veronica's turn! She caught him cackling in his basement like Woody Woodpecker the other night, all crazy eyed, plotting. She's worried, she actually respects you--you paved the way for sleuths like her, you're a diva at sleuthing Nan. She could never replace you! She knows that...
Nancy: Well, let's go see this Veronica Mars and get to the bottom of this mystery!
George: Hold up, I can't seem to find her in a theater near us! I've hacked into every movie database within a 100 miles of here, I can't find her!
Nancy: Surely she can be located! Is there a theater in Timbuktu? To my roadster, I'll take us there now...
AAAAND...SCENE!
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Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars fans, forgive my little parody and my attempt at humor and snark here, but really, this was just way too delicious not to throw this out there on the blog! I've been giggling all evening reading about this so-called plot to kill Nancy Drew. Yes, seriously. As a Nancy Drew collector, researcher, and writer who knows a little something about the longevity of Nancy Drew and her legion of fans, I've been slightly inundated with my Google News alert on Nancy Drew with these interviews about the new Veronica Mars movie in which director and Veronica Mars creator, Rob Thomas, actually--and I kid you not--snarls about Nancy Drew and reveals his "diabolical" (my word yes but I just love that word!) plan to...eek!...kill her! As George might cheesily say, "Hypers!" Maybe Thomas doesn't realize that many Veronica Mars fans are also Nancy Drew fans. Hmmm...
I confess, I'm not a Veronica Mars fan HOWEVER, I'm not not a Veronica Mars fan either--truth is I've never seen the show. Not for lack of trying though at first - when the first season debuted, this native Texan was living in a rural area of the Texas Panhandle and couldn't get the show on our small cable offerings--we strangely didn't have the UPN network. So, I missed out. By the time I moved and had access, I'd missed the first couple seasons and I hate to jump into any show several seasons in--and then it was canceled. I'd probably be a fan if I'd ever watched the shows--because I'm usually always a fan of smart capable sleuths who save the day and right wrongs. I mean, who isn't?!
I've always heard Veronica Mars is like a modern Nancy Drew and quite a few of the Nancy Drew fans, collectors and scholars in my Nancy Drew Sleuths group enjoyed the show and a few have managed to see the movie somewhere or maybe online. It's apparently not in wide release--at least not right now. I live in the Phoenix AZ area now and it's not playing anywhere near me--nearest theater is 30 minutes from my home in the East Valley. Good luck with that "diabolical" plan Rob Thomas! Kidding! Sorta...
The real puzzler is that, I'm not sure if we should take Rob Thomas seriously--perhaps in these interviews, he was just being tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic or being witty in that Hollywood kind of way--although one interview claimed he snarled as he spoke about Nancy Drew. Ha! I laugh, because, frankly there's room for plenty of sleuths. Some have been around nearly 85 years and...ahem...some lasted 3 years on UPN. Snap! Kidding! Sorta...
One thing is for sure, while Warner Brothers (who owns the film rights to Nancy Drew) messed up the most recent attempt in 2007 at a successful Nancy Drew movie franchise, this new Veronica Mars venture by Thomas with fan backing through Kickstarter, shows the power of fans and in turn, supporting the fan base. After all, who is going to turn out for a popular character, but her fans?! When you alienate the fan base (I'm talking to you Warner Brothers!), you risk creating a flop. Hopefully the Veronica Mars movie will be successful and turn into a franchise for the cast and crew who have no doubt worked hard to make this a success. However, at the same time, there's plenty of room for success without having to "kill" off Veronica's competition!
Though, I'm not really sure if Veronica Mars is actually Nancy Drew's competition. That's kind of like a large dude who has his hand on a little guy's forehead and the little guy is taking swings and just can't get anywhere. Oh, but I jest! Then, Thomas waxed oh so nostalgically as he apparently snarled, that Nancy Drew "had her run." Um, yeah, she owned that marathon, ran circles around the other marathoners, and now apparently runs the Sleuth world. Grab your pitchforks and let's get her!
Seriously though, we're talking nearly 85 years of 200 million Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books sold and counting, movies, television, merchandise, spin-offs, over 500 books written since 1930, generations of fans. Whew! I'd say she owns the darn marathon now. Like a boss! Even Supreme Court Justices count Nancy Drew as their inspiration. Maybe in 30 more years Justice Sotomayor will wax nostalgic about her grand-daughter being a Veronica Mars fan. Just sayin'--it could happen! After all, there's plenty of room for Nancy Drew's sister sleuths!
Hey Rob Thomas, if you're out there and want to take time out from your "diabolical" Nancy Drew-killing plot, maybe you could send me a funny "warning" note (wrapped around a Mars bar please) or if you want to have a Veronica Mars vs. Nancy Drew chit chat, hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, or come to our Nancy Drew Convention this year in San Diego - June 2014!
Or if you dare, meet me at the flag pole, 2pm after school--be there or be square! ;-)
Jenn:)
