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"Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang" is the third episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the twenty-fifth episode overall. Written by Phil Klemmer and John Enbom and directed by John T. Kretchmer, the episode premiered on UPN on October 12, 2005.

The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a high school student while moonlighting as a private detective. In this episode, Veronica investigates Kendall Casablancas (Charisma Carpenter) at the request of her stepson, Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas (Kyle Gallner) and eventually finds some important information about Logan (Jason Dohring). Meanwhile, Veronica tries to help Wallace (Percy Daggs III) get a date with Jackie Cook (Tessa Thompson).

Synopsis

To build up her résumé, Veronica joins the Future Business Leaders of America. She attends a meeting at which Dick Casablancas, Sr. (David Starzyk) is the guest speaker; he talks to the group about Real Estate Investment Trusts and shows slides of his various luxury properties. After the meeting, Beaver tells Veronica he suspects his step-mother of cheating and hires her for $1,000 to find proof. After finding "Veronica Mars" written on a dead body's palm, Sheriff Lamb (Michael Muhney) takes Veronica in for questioning. The man is David "Curly" Moran, whom Veronica met at the site of the bus crash. Sheriff Lamb threatens Veronica. Keith asks Alicia (Erica Gimpel) to a romantic getaway in Chicago, and she accepts. Veronica researches Kendall and Curly Moran. Veronica asks Keith (Enrico Colantoni) whether he is going to propose to Alicia, and he says no. Veronica tracks Kendall and photographs her meeting up with a man and going with him into a room in a cheap motel. At lunch the next day, Jackie comes and sits at Veronica and Wallace's table. Veronica, being friendly in order to help Wallace out, invites him and Jackie on a double date to watch the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Beaver is not satisfied with the pictures, so Veronica requests more money for the "money shot" and asks Beaver to obtain Kendall's iPod playlist. Beaver notices that the pictures show Kendall switching gym bags with the man. Veronica goes to Curly's place of work, where she finds Curly's possessions, including a picture of Curly with Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin).

In another FBLA meeting, Logan makes a snide remark to Duncan (Teddy Dunn), and they end up fighting. Veronica, Duncan, Wallace, and Jackie go on their double date, and Jackie dominates the conversation in a way that Veronica finds irritating but Duncan and Wallace find interesting. At the gym, Veronica talks to Kendall and replaces Kendall's iPod with one she prepared. She tracks Kendall to the beach, where she meets the same man at a different cheap motel owned by Mr. Casablancas. Veronica notices that the motel has the same name as one of the luxury resorts Mr. Casablancas featured in his FBLA presentation. Veronica talks to the club advisor about real estate fraud and informs him that Mr. Casablancas is using the REIT to dupe investors and inflate his company's stock value; the advisor refuses to dump his own stock because doing so would mean selling it to another investor, which he regards as immoral. In Chicago, Keith and Alicia enjoy their date, but a man appears to recognize Alicia and calls her "Cher" and "Cheri." Unable to catch up with them, he inquires of the hotel after Keith and Alicia's names and room number and reveals himself to be a law enforcement officer. Jackie shows up at Veronica's coffee shop with another man, but the next day neither girl mentions it in front of Wallace.

Beaver retrieves the iPod Veronica gave Kendall, which concealed a camera that took pictures every 15 seconds. Veronica shows Beaver the pictures but must step away for work, and when she returns Beaver is gone, with the camera; on the screen Veronica sees pictures of Logan and Kendall having an affair. Neither Beaver or Logan comes to school the next day. The police officer from Chicago shows up in Neptune and finds Alicia's name in the phone book. Veronica visits Logan's house and tells him Mr. Casablancas will know about the affair, but Logan seems unafraid. Noticing a movie poster in the Echolls house, Veronica realizes that Curly Moran did the stunts on an Aaron Echolls film. Beaver shows Mr. Casablancas the photos and tells him that he hired a private investigator to follow Kendall; Mr. Casablancas immediately tells his staff to shred all papers and flies away in a helicopter as agents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission arrive at the office. With her newfound knowledge about the connection between Aaron Echolls and Curly Moran, Veronica tells Duncan that she believes that the bus crash was meant to kill her.

Cultural references

A variety of cultural references are made in the episode:

• Veronica uses the phrase "Excellent," referencing the catchphrase used by Mr. Burns in The Simpsons.
• When Sheriff Lamb questions Veronica about her relationship with David "Curly" Moran, she jokes that they met while he was a roadie for Whitesnake and she was a backup singer for Boyz II Men.
• Veronica references the Infinite monkey theorem.
• Keith woos Alicia by paraphrasing "Fog".
• Keith mentions Kenny G.
• Veronica compares Kendall to a Barbie doll.
• Veronica jokes that Kendall has broken her Atkins diet.
• Veronica's place of work is called "Java the Hut," a play on the character Jabba the Hutt.
• The episode frequently references Pride and Prejudice.
• The business teacher references Warren Buffett.
• Logan sarcastically refers to Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the film of the same name.
• Logan's inspirational quote of the day is from William Makepeace Thackeray.
• Logan uses a catchphrase from I Love Lucy.

Music

The following music can be heard in the episode:

• "I Turn My Camera On" by Spoon
• "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" by Stephen Foster
• "Love Hurts" by The Everly Brothers (Nazareth version)
• "Smoke It" by The Dandy Warhols

Arc significance

• In Chicago, a man sees Alicia and calls her "Cher" and "Cheri."
• The body on the beach was David "Curly" Moran. He was a mechanic who had been the stunt coordinator on Aaron Echolls' first big movie, The Long Haul.
• Beaver gets pictures of Logan and Kendall together and shows them to his dad, Dick Casablancas Sr., but his dad isn't concerned with it. Instead, Big Dick tells his employees to shred everything and leaves in a helicopter before the SEC arrive.

Production

The episode was written by Phil Klemmer and John Enbom and directed by John Kretchmer, marking Klemmer's fifth directing credit, Enbom's fourth writing credit, and Kretchmer's fifth directing credit. The episode's title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The episode also features a cameo appearance by The Dandy Warhols lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor, who sung a karaoke song in the episode. The singer also sings the series' theme song. The character of Weevil, played by Francis Capra, does not appear in the episode.

Reception

Ratings

In its original broadcast, "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang" received 3.03 million viewers, ranking 98th of 110 in the weekly rankings.

Reviews

The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club gave the episode a mixed review. "But despite generally liking…this episode, there's something that strikes me as a bit odd...Last season, Veronica's mysteries seemed grounded, and they were in many ways her response to almost random events. She was a part of the world, albeit the part of the world we viewed and sympathized with the most. This season, she seems to be the entirety of the world." Television Without Pity gave the episode a "B+".

By contrast, Price Peterson, writing for TV.com, gave the episode a positive review, writing that "the bus crash plot line continued to be pretty compelling, plus Veronica's dialogue was particularly hilarious in this episode." The reviewer also praised the episode's quick pace and advancement of the plot. "Overall the episode just flew by; Season 2 is already noticeably more self-assured and quicker-paced than I recall Season 1 being."

References

1. ^ "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang Cultural References". Mars Investigations: The (In)Complete Guide to Veronica Mars. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
2. "The Music Of Veronica Mars: Episode 2-3: Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang". Mars Investigations: The (In)Complete Guide to Veronica Mars. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
3. "Phil Klemmer". TV.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
4. "John Enbom". TV.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
5. "John T. Kretchmer". TV.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
6. ^ Peterson, Price (June 22, 2012). "The Veronica Mars Season 2 Dossier: Episodes 1-4". TV.com. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
7. Kreizman, Maris (September 26, 2014). "Veronica Mars' Best Musical Moments". Vulture. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
8. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 18, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
9. Kaiser, Rowan (November 11, 2011). "Review: Veronica Mars: "Driver Ed" / "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
10. "Veronica Mars Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang Recap". Television Without Pity. October 11, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2015.

External links

• "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang" at IMDb
• "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang" at Mars Investigations

• 2005 American television episodes
• Veronica Mars (season 2) episodes