a continually engaging performance by Kristen Bell as the title character." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette opined that Veronica Mars had taken a dive "creatively", from "the mopier version of its theme song to stalled storylines." The reviewer felt that "the arcing mysteries had grown less convincing and compelling as time went on and were too drawn out." Fox News Channel's Bridget Byrne pointed out that Veronica had "gone from punky to—dare we say—preppy" in the third season. Byrne further explained that "with her quick, bright wit and sharp eye for life's darker moments [Veronica] has left high school and is going to college, doffing her dark threads and spiked tresses for something a little more stylish." The series, described as a "critical darling", appeared on a number of fall television best lists. In 2005, the series was featured on AFI's TV Programs of the Year, and on the lists of MSN TV, The Village Voice, the Chicago Tribune, People Weekly and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It was named the second best series by Ain't It Cool News, fourth best returning series by Time, fifth best series by Newsday, PopMatters and San Jose Mercury-News, and sixth best by Entertainment Weekly and USA Today. In 2006, the series was ranked number one on the lists of Ain't It Cool News and the Chicago Sun-Times, and was ranked number six by Metacritic. In 2007, the series ranked number 18 on TV Guides list of the "Top Cult Shows Ever". In 2008, AOL TV ranked Veronica Mars the 10th Best School Show of All Time. The same year, British film magazine Empire ranked it number 48 in their list of the "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". The magazine said that "smart storylines and witty riffs on pop culture pepper the scripts, while Kristen Bell lent ballsy charm to the title role and ensured that every episode of the show's three seasons was television gold. Its untimely cancellation was a slap in the face that still smarts to this day." Empire named "Not Pictured" the best episode of the series. In 2010, Kristin dos Santos of E! ranked Veronica Mars number 8 on her list, "Top 20 TV Series of the Past 20 Years". The A.V. Club named it the 15th best TV series of the 2000s (decade). In 2012, Entertainment Weekly listed the show at #13 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from