Veronica Mars Is Chock-Full Of Big Lebowski References

Few teenage heroines this side of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" have become as iconic as the titular character from "Veronica Mars" has. With her trademark snark and knack for getting herself in and out of trouble on a regular basis, Veronica (Kristen Bell) was always quick with a quip, even when the odds were stacked against her, which was most of the time.

Over the four seasons of "Veronica Mars," the series waded into increasingly dark territory. While the series began with Veronica looking into the murder of her friend, Lily Kane (Amanda Seyfried), subsequent seasons would go on to focus on a horrific bus accident, a serial rapist, and a mad bomber.

Throughout the show, "Veronica Mars" never lost its snappy writing and its penchant for witty comedy that helped to offset these heavy subjects. And the show's ties to comedy don't end there, as even superfans of the Hulu sleuth series might not realize how many references the show has to the Coen Brothers' cult classic "The Big Lebowski."

It's pretty clear from the writing of "Veronica Mars" that creator Rob Marshall is a huge fan of Joel and Ethan Coen's crime comedy masterpiece, as there are literally dozens of references to "The Big Lebowski," some hidden and some not-so-hidden, throughout the four seasons of the mystery series. Some of the more recognizable ones come from famous quotes like "This isn't Nam, this is bowling, there are rules" or "Careful, man, there's a beverage here. 

As compiled on YouTube, the references range from replaying comedic beats from the film and pieces of quoted dialog to less obvious examples like a badly maintained car or a certain golden trophy that must not be touched by the hands of the common man. Though Marshmallows may have noticed some of these on their many repeat viewings, there are likely a few "The Big Lebowski" references here that even the biggest fans of "Veronica Mars" might have missed.

While it might seem strange that a screwball comedy like "The Big Lebowski" is referenced so heavily in a high school murder mystery show like "Veronica Mars," Coen fans will be quick to point out that the movie follows a mystery as well, albeit a very silly one with The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) as our hapless and unwitting detectives. Either way, fans of the beloved CW series now have another tidbit to trot out at their next "Veronica Mars" trivia night.