weapons of mass destruction will be hesitant to attack each other in fear of a Nuclear holocaust. The character of Duncan (Teddy Dunn) does not appear in this episode despite being in the opening credits. The episode was co-written by Phil Klemmer and John Enbom. The episode marks Klemmer's fourth writing credit and Enbom's third writing credit (after "Lord of the Bling" and "Ruskie Business"). The episode was directed by John Kretchmer, featuring his third directing credit for the show (after "Silence of the Lamb" and "Weapons of Class Destruction".) Among the episode's many guest stars are several of the important recurring characters of the season, including Mac (Tina Majorino), Clarence Wiedman (Christopher B. Duncan), Alicia Fennel (Erica Gimpel), and Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin). Reception Ratings In its original broadcast, "M.A.D." received 3.04 million viewers, ranking 100th of 113 in the weekly rankings. This episode marked an increase in 550,000 viewers from the previous episode, and it also is the second-highest rating of the series's first season (after "The Wrath of Con"). Reviews Rowan Kaiser, writing for The A.V. Club, gave the episode a positive review, praising Veronica's involvement in the main storyline. "Veronica is a few steps ahead of everyone in the main investigation. Going into the show, I figured that Veronica would be fairly active as a character—you'd have to be to investigate mysteries—but I am a bit surprised by how much she is the driving force of the main plot." However, he also wrote that "There is no moral judgment attached by the show to Carmen's inaction, unlike Mandy last week." Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A+", its third such rating for the series (after "An Echolls Family Christmas" and "Clash of the Tritons"). Conversely, Price Peterson of TV.com gave a negative review, criticizing the episode's treatment of homosexuality. "Are you effing kidding me with this homophobic B.C.? I realize this was 2005 which is definitely OLDEN TIME, but to have our heroine use homosexuality as a weapon against someone? […] Honestly, this was irresponsible writing and I hope credited writers Phil Klemmer and John Enbom are embarrassed about it." References External links "M.A.D." at Mars Investigations 2005 American television episodes Veronica Mars (season 1) episodes