MONDO EXTRAS

CB: Well, let's talk about that a little more, since that was my next question anyway. You said earlier that that's one of the most bothersome things you hear -- that Veronica is too mean and nasty. Why do you feel that way?

RT: Why does it bother me? Because I think it's a fictional snowball rolled down a hill and has no merit to it. Because I think that Veronica hasn't changed from Season 1, and certainly hasn't grown any meaner. It's like she keeps all the things that I think make her interesting. I think there are forty other network shows if you want a female lead who's a sweet nice choice, but people fell in love with Veronica when she was flawed and made bad choices and was vindictive and snarky and tough and unforgiving, and she continues to have problems with all those issues -- no greater, no less. So I'm saying I haven't changed -- the audience has. You know, a critic from New Jersey who is very kind to the show actually called me and said, "What are you doing with Veronica? Is there a reason you're writing her so mean? I just watched this scene, and this pizza boy who has so much admiration for her, she treated him like something she scraped off her shoe!" And I'm like, "Really? Are we watching the same show?"

CB: I have to admit that I wrote almost that exact line in my recap.

RT: I...I don't get it. I'll watch that scene, and if anything, she's deflecting praise. She's getting down to business. That doesn't feel like Veronica different from Season 1.

CB: That's interesting. I have given that whole idea some thought. I think maybe the difference is that, in Season 1, we saw so much more on-screen evidence of why Veronica was so raw. The 09ers were such a constant reminder that it was her against the world. Now the world seems less cruel to her, at least on the surface, so maybe her attitude seems a little less justified.