Out of sheer boredom I jumped on the Veronica Mars bandwagon tonight. A couple of my friends have been raving about it since it started...in fact, there hasn't been a time yet where it hasn't come up in conversation when we've all been together. They burned season 1 for me to take with me to NYU last summer, but there just wasn't enough lonely dorm room nights to start watching it. I'm not sure why I've neglected to start watching it since. I've caught a few minutes here and there on TV and wasn't really impressed. But perhaps I should give it the benefit of the doubt...beyond a few minutes.

I watched episodes 1 and 2 tonight and I didn't hate it. I don't see where the popularity comes from yet but maybe that comes later. I can't quite get past the fact that it has an uncanny resemblance to all of the bad teenybopper "dramas" on YTV or the family channel...that, except that in the first episode they were already tackling the *adult* subjects that only come up in the night-time favourites. Perhaps that's what gives the show it's appeal? The quirky flip-flop between highschool and adulthood. It has a certain Dawson's Creek charm to it I guess. Thank goodness we get to escape the same level of academic-speak that came from 30 year-olds who were unsuccessfully trying to pull off characters half their age but at the same time that unrealistic highschool ideal is painfully apparent. It's safe to say that that's TV Land for ya though.

Despite my misgivings I'm strangely intrigued. I think I'm going to give it a few more episodes....

On a completely unrelated note...Luther Creek (Roger in the Canadian cast of Rent and Mark in the touring cast) along with several other past and present Rent castmembers and members of the Broadway community are putting on a benefit for Luther Creek's nine-year-old niece Soraya Jackson who has been battling brain cancer for the past year. Please visit www.myspace.com/songsforsoraya for more information and if any of you are in the New York area and can drop by the Cutting Room on August 27th, $25 is not a lot if it will do anything to help a sick child and her family. I'm not sure if there is anything that those of us who can't make it to the benefit can do to help but people have been commenting on the site asking where they can send donations and such so hopefully they will let us know. But if nothing else, kind words speak volumes so leave a comment on the site if you feel so inclined. I haven't yet but I think I might sidestep my usual aversion to leaving comments for celebrities and do so.

As a handful of my friends know, there is a special place for Luther Creek in this little Renthead's heart. It's slightly tacky to be promoting this event in this case, I know. But I stumbled upon the sad news by accident the other day and maybe it's the fangirlish memories of waiting outside the stage door at the Royal Alex way back in the days of grade 8 for a certain blonde rollerblader that make my feelings all the more apparent but it's hard not to feel for Luther and his family. It has to be said...this is why we have to remember "No day but today!" I really do hope Soraya can beat it!