Neptune, California
Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEP : Neptune, California
Neptune, California is the fictional United States unincorporated town in the fictional Balboa County that is the setting for The CW (formerly UPN) television series Veronica Mars. The series describes it as "a town without a middle class". In the show, those who live in the rich part of the town are known as '09ers — a play on their (again, fictitious) zip code 90909. The nearby towns, at some distance from the beaches, do not have the same extremities between rich and poor.
Geography
Neptune is a coastal city located between San Diego and Los Angeles on the route of California's Pacific Coast Highway This would put it in the real-life Orange County; in the series, however, it is located in the fictional Balboa County. (Orange County does contain the real-world Balboa Peninsula, which may have inspired the name.) Balboa County differs considerably from the real Orange County, though does inherit many of Orange's stereotypes such as affluence, political conservatism and large income gaps with little middle class. Whether the Orange (with different borders) and Balboa counties both exist in the Veronica Mars universe has not been established. The series states that Neptune is within day-trip distance to Tijuana; this is consistent with other details of its location.
As a coastal city, Neptune is home to many beaches. Some of these are open to the public, but many others are the domain of the wealthy, either directly or through private clubs. The climate is warm year-round with little rain, as evidenced by the outdoor school lunch area.
Politics
All aspects of Neptune, including its politics, are controlled by the '09ers. Neptune is the county seat of Balboa, containing the county's main Sheriff's Office (the only one seen) and the County Supervisor's Office. When the series begins, the sheriff is Don Lamb. Lamb is more concerned with the bureaucratic side of his job rather than proper and thorough police work. He gained his office in an emergency recall election, after the ousting of his former boss Keith Mars.
A County Supervisor, informally referred to as the "Mayor" of Neptune, was seen during the season 1 episode "Silence of the Lamb," but his name was not given. At the start of season 2, Woody Goodman was running for County Supervisor, and after winning, held the position for the rest of the season. No other government officials have been given names as of the end of the second season. Goodman is portrayed as a bumbling and incompetent bureaucrat, who seems more concerned with image than doing his job. In addition to his government position, he is the owner of the fictional baseball team "The Sharks".
The second season added political elements to the series plotlines. It featured both an election for the office of Sheriff, with Keith Mars (supported by Goodman) trying to get his old job as sheriff back by running against Don Lamb. After the election, Goodman's ambitious side was presented. He started a campaign to incorporate Neptune, which would lead to the town having an official mayor and its own police department. However, the municipal boundaries would only include the '09er parts of town. Those outside this area came under risk of loss of property values and even further reduction in government response and effectiveness. Whether incorporation goes through or not is up to a vote by the people in the Neptune area.
Economy
Neptune has a huge gap between the rich '09ers and those who work for them either directly or through service industry businesses. In Veronica's words, if you live in Neptune, "either your parents are millionaires, or your parents work for millionaires." As one would expect from that assumption, Veronica's family has considerably less money than the families of her classmates.
The largest and most successful business in town is Kane Software, run and operated by Jake Kane, father of Duncan Kane and Lilly Kane. The company holds the patent on streaming video over the Internet, and is responsible for the huge boom in the town's economy. When the patent was approved, many people in the town became rich. Other '09ers (such as movie stars Aaron Echolls and his family) choose to live in Neptune due to its warm climate and its beaches, thus contributing even more to its economy. A few residents have become rich through service businesses (such as the Casablancas family, through real estate) in the boom created by the other '09ers.
References
- Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season, Warner Home Video, 2005, UPC 01256972774.
- Veronica Mars: The Complete Second Season, Warner Home Video, 2006, UPC 012569769175.
| Veronica Mars Episode List | [Official Website'''] | ||
| Current Main Characters | Veronica Mars | Keith Mars | Wallace Fennel | Logan Echolls Eli "Weevil" Navarro | Dick Casablancas | Sheriff Don Lamb | Cindy “Mac” Mackenzie | |
| Former Main Characters | Duncan Kane | Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas | Jackie Cook | Mallory Dent | |
| Family | Kendall Casablancas | Terrence Cook | Aaron Echolls | Lynn Echolls | Trina Echolls Alicia Fennel | Celeste Kane | Jake Kane | Lilly Kane | Lianne Mars | |
| Neptune High | Van Clemmons | Vincent Clemmons | Corny | Gia Goodman Hannah Griffith | Rebecca James | Meg Manning | Madison Sinclair | |
| Citizens of Neptune | Leo D’Amato | Woody Goodman | Abel Koontz Cliff McCormack | Vinnie Van Lowe | Clarence Wiedman | |
| Places | Neptune, California | |
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