Charlie Don't Surf (Veronica Mars)
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"Charlie Don't Surf" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...
television series ''
Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...
'', and the forty-eighth episode overall. Co-written by executive producer
Diane Ruggiero Diane Ruggiero-Wright is an American television writer and producer. Her credits include '' That's Life'', ''Veronica Mars'', '' Free Agents'', '' Dirty Sexy Money'', '' Big Shots'', the ''Mythological X'' remake '' The Ex List'' and '' iZombie' ...
and Jason Elen and directed by Jason Bloom, the episode premiered on
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
on October 24, 2006. The series depicts the adventures of
Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...
(
Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...
) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a
private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...
. In this episode, Veronica and her father, Keith (
Enrico Colantoni Enrico Colantoni (born February 14, 1963) is a Canadian-American actor and director, best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom '' Just Shoot Me!'', Keith Mars on the television series ''Veronica Mars'', Louis Utz on the short-lived ...
) take on three cases—they figure out who is taking Logan's ( Jason Dohring) trust fund money while Veronica gets involved in the accusing of the Pi Sigma fraternity in the rapist case and Keith helps a woman, Harmony Chase (
Laura San Giacomo Laura San Giacomo (born November 14, 1961 or 1962) is an American actress. She played Cynthia in the film ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Kit De Luca in the film ''Pre ...
) track down her possibly cheating husband. "Charlie Don't Surf" featured several notable guest stars, including
Matt Czuchry Matthew Charles Czuchry (; born May 20, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Logan Huntzberger on the WB television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2005–2007), Cary Agos on the CBS television drama ''The Good Wife'' (2009–2016 ...
,
Ryan Eggold Ryan James Eggold is an American actor known for roles such as Ryan Matthews (90210), Ryan Matthews on ''90210 (TV series), 90210'' (2008–11), List of The Blacklist characters#Tom Keen, Tom Keen on ''The Blacklist'' (2013–17) and its spin-of ...
, and
Laura San Giacomo Laura San Giacomo (born November 14, 1961 or 1962) is an American actress. She played Cynthia in the film ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Kit De Luca in the film ''Pre ...
, who plays Harmony Chase, a romantic interest for Keith. Actor Enrico Colantoni, who plays Keith, wanted San Giacomo to play the role of Harmony because of the actors' ongoing friendship since their show ''
Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series originally aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons, including 3 episodes aired on syndication. The show, cre ...
'' Both actors enjoyed the guest appearance so much that they lobbied the show's production team to continue the characters' romantic storyline in the future. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics.


Synopsis

Logan comes over for dinner at Veronica's house, and Keith becomes increasingly annoyed when Logan refuses to answer some questions. Veronica goes into Parker Lee's (
Julie Gonzalo Julieta Susana Gonzalo (; born September 9, 1981) is an American and Argentine actress. On television, she has played Parker Lee on ''Veronica Mars'' (2006–2007; 2019), Maggie Dekker on ''Eli Stone'' (2008–2009), Pamela Rebecca Barnes on the ...
) room, where Veronica reveals that she was
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
d as well. A journalist interviews Parker, while Logan discusses finances with his accountant. Logan asks Veronica for help in searching through records in an attempt to catch the accountant. Meanwhile, a woman asks Keith to investigate her husband, who may be having an affair. Wallace informs Veronica that there was a Pi Sigma
fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...
party the night of every rape. Later, Dick (
Ryan Hansen Ryan Hansen (born July 5, 1981) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Dick Casablancas on the noir drama series ''Veronica Mars'' (2004–2007, 2019), as Kyle Bradway on the Starz comedy series '' Party Down'' (2009–2010, 2023 ...
) asks Veronica to prove that the fraternity is innocent, and Veronica agrees just to infiltrate the fraternity. Keith sees the husband getting into a car with several other women. He contacts Harmony, the woman, and presents the evidence. Veronica talks to the fraternity boys, and one of them tells her information that leads to her suspecting a boy named Chip. Keith and Harmony flirt, and Harmony shows a good amount of true romantic interest in Keith. Logan's family has been donating $10,000 a month to “Aaron’s Kids”, which Veronica learns is not actually a charity. Veronica talks to Chip, who says that he was with another girl, who admits it while saying that she'll never say so openly. Veronica turns her suspicion on Dick. After doing more digging, Veronica says that the money is going to Logan's illegitimate brother, Charlie Stone. Parker insults Veronica for supposedly working with the fraternity. Keith catches Harmony's husband kissing another woman. After talking to one of the other rape victims, Veronica discusses Claire with a slightly offbeat clerk, who says that Claire went in with a guy. Logan meets Charlie (
Matt Czuchry Matthew Charles Czuchry (; born May 20, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Logan Huntzberger on the WB television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2005–2007), Cary Agos on the CBS television drama ''The Good Wife'' (2009–2016 ...
), and they connect over surfing. However, Veronica notices some inconsistencies at Charlie's private school job. Veronica learns that “Charlie” is in fact a reporter who is doing a story on Logan, and Logan punches him. Keith tells Harmony that her husband was not in fact cheating after all. Veronica obtains proof that another person, not one of the fraternity members, was with Claire the night she was raped. While retrieving Logan's watch, Veronica learns that Logan's actual half-brother did not betray him to the journalist.


Production

The episode was written by executive producer
Diane Ruggiero Diane Ruggiero-Wright is an American television writer and producer. Her credits include '' That's Life'', ''Veronica Mars'', '' Free Agents'', '' Dirty Sexy Money'', '' Big Shots'', the ''Mythological X'' remake '' The Ex List'' and '' iZombie' ...
and Jason Elen and directed by Jason Bloom, marking Ruggiero's fourteenth writing credit, Elen's first and only writing credit for the show, and Bloom's third directing credit for the series. The episode features several notable guest stars. Matt Czuchry appears as '' Vanity Fair'' reporter Norman Phipps, who poses as Logan's half-brother for a story. Czuchry was a series regular at the time for ''
Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...
'', the lead-in show for ''Veronica Mars''. Ryan Eggold appears as Charlie Stone, Logan's actual half brother. According to ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', the role was initially scheduled to be a recurring one. Series regular
Tina Majorino Albertina Marie Majorino ( ; born February 7, 1985) is an American actress. She started her career as a child actress, starring in films such as ''Andre (film), Andre'', ''When a Man Loves a Woman (film), When a Man Loves a Woman'', ''Waterworl ...
filmed scenes for the episode, although they were deleted in post-production. In her first appearance,
Laura San Giacomo Laura San Giacomo (born November 14, 1961 or 1962) is an American actress. She played Cynthia in the film ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Kit De Luca in the film ''Pre ...
plays Harmony Chase, a woman who hires Keith to investigate her cheating husband. The two were both series regulars on the NBC sitcom ''
Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series originally aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons, including 3 episodes aired on syndication. The show, cre ...
''. The two actors had maintained a close friendship after their sitcom was cancelled, and when Rob Thomas brought up a romantic storyline for Keith to Colantoni, he suggested San Giacomo for the role. San Giacomo accepted the role, later stating, "It was kind of a no-brainer situation for me. I love Rico, love working with him, and it was just as much fun as I thought it would be." In addition to sharing
in-jokes An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke with humour that is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. I ...
about ''Just Shoot Me!'' while on set, Colantoni also remembered what a good actress he thought she was in their earlier days. After the first appearance, both Colantoni and San Giacomo lobbied for more storylines together. Thomas was open to the possibility, saying, "I wouldn't hesitate to go back to this, because I was really happy with how it played out." San Giacomo would go on to appear on three episodes of the show.


Reception


Ratings

In its original broadcast, "Charlie Don't Surf" was viewed by 3.33 million viewers, ranking 97th of 104 in the weekly rankings. This figure was an increase in 0.21 million viewers from the previous episode, " Wichita Linebacker", which received 3.12 million.


Reviews

The episode received mostly positive reviews. Eric Goldman of
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
gave the episode a 7.5 out of 10, indicating that it was a "good" episode. He was positive towards the Logan and Keith storylines, writing "the other main storylines, featuring Logan and Keith, were nice ones for the respective characters," calling the half-brother plotline "interesting". On the advancing of the rapist plot, Goldman praised the increase in Veronica's personal involvement with the case, while continuing to criticize the portrayal of the
feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
in the episode. "At this point, neither we, nor Veronica, seem to be meant to have nearly any sympathy for them. And yet, shouldn't we all naturally be able to connect more to a group of girls who are passionately seeking to stop a serial rapist on campus?" Price Peterson of '' TV.com'' gave the episode a very positive review, lauding the Logan's half-brother storyline, calling it "Top quality stuff. I loved the moment when Veronica realized Logan's brother was an imposter and in the next scene we saw the two guys surfing together. So much suspense!" ''
Television Without Pity Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarcastic criticism a ...
'' gave "Charlie Don't Surf" a "B+". The reviewer was very positive towards the plot involving Logan and his supposed half-brother, writing, "since Logan actually knows how to find Charlie in person, perhaps this all doesn't have to be quite as tragic as it's coming off. Still, in my opinion? Best episode of the season so far."
Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
was very positive towards the episode on his blog What's Alan Watching, calling Czuchry's casting "genius" and that "the heavier focus on the rape storyline was welcome, though the amount of time spent on Logan Squared robbed it of some urgency." In addition, he wrote that "The 'Just Shoot Me' reunion gave an interesting twist to the usual private eye infidelity case." Rowan Kaiser, writing for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'', gave a mostly positive review, writing that it struck a good balance in a storyline that could go wrong very quickly. "This happens with emotionally charged criminal cases. Mass public scapegoating is an all-too-human reaction, one studied by a bunch of social sciences (Salem Witch Trials, anyone?). And it’s certainly interesting to have Veronica trying to be the voice of reason. I think that largely works here, but it’s a delicate balance. This could easily go so very wrong."


References


External links

*
"Charlie Don't Surf"
at Mars Investigations {{Veronica Mars 2006 American television episodes Veronica Mars season 3 episodes