[1] Set in the fictional town of Neptune, the pilot introduces Kristen Bell as the title character, a high-school student moonlighting as a private investigator under the wing of her detective father.

Keith accuses software billionaire Jake Kane (Kyle Secor), Lilly's father, of being involved in the murder.

This provokes Neptune's wrath, and Keith is ousted from office and replaced by Don Lamb (Michael Muhney) in a recall election.

Veronica's mother, Lianne Mars (Corinne Bohrer), unable to face the loss of status and economic security, develops a drinking problem and suddenly leaves town.

Estranged from all her "09er" friends—wealthy students from the fictional 90909 ZIP code—including Duncan and Lilly's ex-boyfriend, Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), and feeling the drop in income and status that her father's dismissal from office brings, Veronica takes a part-time job in her father's newly opened private investigation agency, Mars Investigations.

Although the case of Lilly's murder is officially closed following the confession of a former Kane Software employee, Abel Koontz (Christian Clemenson), Veronica continues her own investigation into what happened.

In the present, Veronica starts her Junior year at Neptune High by freeing new student Wallace Fennel (Percy Daggs III), who had been stripped and duct-taped to the school flag pole.

Wallace explains that while working at the local Sac-n-Pac, he alerted the sheriff's department to two PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) bikers who took alcohol without paying.

Wallace is forgiven and Eli "Weevil" Navarro (Francis Capra), the bikers' leader, becomes Veronica's occasional ally.

Puzzled by his actions, Veronica finds the file and learns that Keith has continued his own personal investigation of Lilly's murder.

Rob Thomas originally wrote Veronica Mars as a young adult novel for publishing company Simon & Schuster.

[4] Thomas changed the gender of the protagonist because he thought a noir piece told from a female point of view would be more interesting and unique.

[7] Bell's life shared many similarities with that of her character—her father had "an investigative bent", and her best friend died in high school in a car crash.

Thomas intended to take the script to FX, HBO or Showtime, but gave UPN "credit" as they only wanted it a bit lighter to match their standards and practices.

For the pilot, Thomas wanted "a really atmospheric, kind of modern noir type of vibe", and Kramon used sounds similar to that of Air and Zero 7.

A week before choosing the sounds for the pilot, the crew had a "spotting session", where they would discuss with Thomas and the producers which type of music was going to be featured.

[15] Debra Leithauser and Amy Amatangelo of The Washington Post praised the pilot for relying "on strong storytelling and casting", but hoped that viewers would be able to follow the multiple storylines.

[16] Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter said that the pilot was "so cleverly constructed, the hero so engaging and complicated and the story so filled with great dialogue that I wonder how anyone can sustain this level of accomplishment."

He said that the protagonist "has all the sass, strength, resolve and ingenuity of any of literature's classic detectives [...] and Bell is so convincing in the role that it all somehow makes perfect sense."

He praised the pilot and Thomas' writing, saying it had "comedy, deathly serious drama, parody and danger, ingredients not typically mixed together", and said that "if future episodes are half as good, this still will be one of TV's bright spots".

He enjoyed Bell's acting, describing her "as charismatic as she is tough and intelligent, giving a multilayered perf that touches on simple 17-year-old insecurity and convincingly incorporates deeper issues concerning family, love and disappointment."

[1] Robert Bianco of USA Today felt that Veronica Mars was more akin to Buffy Summers than Nancy Drew, with "sharp wits, steely nerves and a wicked sense of humor".

"[19] Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said that the pilot was "showing signs of being network television's next Buffy", emanating from a tough, emotionally battered heroine.

[3] Samantha Bonar of the Los Angeles Times thought that the writing was clever, and praised Bell ability to channel charisma, smarts and frustration.