Mars, Bars

"Mars, Bars" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the fifty-eighth episode overall. Directed by Harry Winer, with a story by Phil Klemmer, John Enbom, and Joe Voci and a teleplay by Klemmer and Enbom, the episode premiered on The CW on February 20, 2007. The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a private detective.

The episode is the second of two to deal directly with the death of Hearst's basketball coach, Tom Barry (Matt McKenzie). In this installment, Veronica and Keith (Enrico Colantoni) search for Tom's missing son Josh (Jonathan Chase) while investigating a variety of alternate suspects. In addition, they continue to question Mindy O'Dell (Jaime Ray Newman) and Hank Landry (Patrick Fabian) with regards to the death of Dean Cyrus O'Dell. Meanwhile, Logan (Jason Dohring), Parker (Julie Gonzalo), Mac (Tina Majorino), and Bronson (Michael Mitchell) attend a scavenger hunt for Valentine's Day.

"Mars, Bars" marks the final appearance of series Michael Muhney, the actor of Sheriff Lamb, after the death of his character. Muhney was not informed of his character's death until the filming of the episode; he was surprised and saddened at the decision. Spoilers about the scene were not leaked prior to the episode, something about which Muhney was happy. In addition, Mac was initially scheduled to be taken advantage of by a professor in this episode, but a romantic relationship with Bronson was chosen instead. The episode garnered 2.27 million viewers and positive reviews from television critics, with many praising Muhney's performance and viewing it as a return to form for the show, while some were more critical of Logan's subplot.