"Show Me the Monkey" was the tenth episode of the third season of Veronica Mars.
Plot[]
Attempting to keep her mind off Logan, Veronica takes a job helping animal researchers track down a group of stolen lab animals. In order to find the missing animals, Veronica and Mac go undercover as members of a campus animal rights group, believed to have "liberated" them.
Mindy O'Dell asks Keith Mars to investigate Dean O'Dell's death because she believes he was murdered.
Arc significance[]
- It is six weeks after "Spit & Eggs" and Dean O'Dell's death has been ruled a suicide. Mindy O'Dell hires Keith because the insurance company won't pay.
- Keith discovers that the Scotch that Dean O'Dell was saving for a special occasion is still unopened. When he tells Veronica that the Dean was found with a suicide note on his computer that said "Goodbye, Cruel World," she says that was in the paper on a perfect murder she wrote for Professor Landry's class.
- Keith has a conversation with Landry in which Landry reveals that he knows who Keith is and recommends that he read his book on profiling.
- Logan has a fling with a beach bunny and is clearly unhappy about it after while she is exclaiming "Wow, I can't believe I did that with Aaron Echolls' son!"
- Veronica and Logan get back together after she talks with Piz about not letting things slip by her.
Music[]
- "Funiculì, Funiculà" - Luigi Denza
- "Dos Almas Con Un Corazón" - Matt Hirt & Francisco Rodriguez
- "One Week" - Barenaked Ladies
- "Lara's Theme" - Maurice Jarre
- "Fair" - Annuals
- "Long, Long Time" - Linda Ronstadt
- "Greenland" - The Kinsbury Manx
Production[]
- According to John Embom in the official episode podcast, the full name of the lab worker who stole the monkey is Gil Thomas Pardy or Gil T. Pardy (Guilty Party).[1]
- The character of Ed Argent was originally supposed to be Ted Nugent. When they couldn't get him, the writers changed the name and added a reference to the '70s band Argent.[1]
- Oscar/25, the monkey, is played by Katie, the same animal known as Marcel in the TV show Friends.[1]
Feedback and ratings[]
This episode scored an approximate audience of 3.29 million viewers.
Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a good review (8.2/10). He was upset that the repercussions of Logan intentionally getting arrested in the last episode were not addressed, and was not excited by the resolution of the episode's mystery, but found the story as a whole entertaining.[2]
John Ramos, aka Couch Baron, of Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A" rating.[3]
Quotes[]
- Mac: Does this say it's "cruelty-free"?
- Parker: It says, "I’ve given up. Don’t look at me."
- Mac: Wow, this is one trashed lab. All that’s missing is a big hole in the wall shaped like The Hulk.
Cultural References[]
- The title comes from a short spoof of the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire in which the main characters are played by chimpanzees.
- The episode references Wikipedia when Veronica looks up the origins of the color manila.
- This episode references the Marvel superhero, The Hulk.
External links[]
- MI.net's Roundtable Review.
- Soulful Spike Society's Open Case.
- Television Without Pity Recap.