In the ongoing push to take “meta” to new and absurd levels, “Play It Again, Dick” (Tuesdays, CW Seed) joins the likes of “The Comeback,” “Episodes” and “Extras” (or James Van Der Beek playing “himself” on “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23”) as it chronicles the making of the fake “Veronica Mars” spinoff “Private Dick.”
The first two episodes, each 8 to 10 minutes long, had me smiling throughout. Some of the footage comes from the “behind-the-scenes documentary crew,” but at other times we actually see the documentary crew, so … don’t think about it too hard. The premise is that Ryan Hansen, who played Dick Casablancas on “Veronica Mars,” thinks a Dick spinoff would be a brilliant idea, and he secures $50,000 from CW executives for a micro-budget pilot.
Hansen’s fellow “Veronica” veterans have widely differing reactions. Jason Dohring warms up to the idea, but only if it’s a buddy-cop show called “Casablancas and Echols,” or perhaps “Joker and the Ace.” A skeptical Kristen Bell immediately notes that “Veronica Mars” made no suggestion whatsoever that Dick had any detective skills, while “Veronica” creator Rob Thomas believes that if there were to be a spinoff, he’d be in the loop. (In the show’s fictional world, Thomas is focusing his energies on producing “iZombie” for The CW.) Chris Lowell flat-out tells Hansen to “f— off” via Skype.
IMDB’s “Play It Again, Dick” page lists pretty much every significant “Veronica” actor in the cast, so presumably the joke of upcoming episodes will be showing how each of them reacts to Hansen’s pitch. Additionally, we get at least one decent “Dick” joke per episode, like when Hansen assumes the substantial sales of adult male large “Team Dick” T-shirts (as opposed to the “Team Piz” and “Team Logan” shirts popularized at the time of March’s “Veronica” movie) can be chalked up to heavier women who like Dick Casablancas.
Funny as it is, “Play It Again, Dick” is empty calories, like a delicious box of Sour Patch Kids. I’d prefer a tasty, balanced meal like a second “Veronica” movie. Granted, “Play It Again, Dick” doesn’t preclude a second movie from happening, and might even be a good thing for keeping the “Veronica” franchise in the public eye. However, I am concerned that this web series takes a further step toward making the franchise less about “Veronica” and more about the people who made “Veronica” – a trend that started when almost every review of the “Veronica” movie also analyzed the Kickstarter campaign that funded it.
Also, I find it troubling that while Thomas hinted at an ongoing series of films funded through Kickstarter, the campaign for the second film hasn’t started yet and he is instead spending his time on “Play It Again, Dick.” While his cameos probably aren’t time-consuming, it’s easy to forget that – in the real world, rather than the meta world we see on the show – Thomas is the creator and primary writer of “Play It Again, Dick.”
For people like me who like “Veronica” first and foremost for the fictional stories and characters, we’ll get a second Thomas-and-Jennifer-Graham penned novel, “Mr. Kiss and Tell,” in January. Beyond that, there’s nothing planned other than “Play It Again, Dick.” While laughing at yourself is all well and good, I think I speak for the majority of “Veronica” fans when I say I’d rather have more movies.
Main image: CW Seed publicity photo