Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Vampire

[Kii]

Oh, Maaaandy!

 

[Sawyer]

One of my favorite exchanges was when the gang was headed to Caritas to get a reading from Lorne...

Angel: Maybe I'll sing "Stairway to Heaven".
Wes: Don't even joke about that.

 

[Kii]

The rest of the gang weren't too fantastic, either.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

i finally got to wrap up season 1 and have gotten an ep or two into season 2.

i totally forgot Gunn came around in season 1, in my head he came around season 2 or 3.

and i forgot how much i truly enjoyed Lorne
and how terrible Angel sings Barry Manilow

Gunn's pretty forgettable in season 1. He's just some street kid Angel helped and then randomly decided to call in the finale 'cause he was short on humans. He doesn't get good until season 2.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Gunn's pretty forgettable in season 1. He's just some street kid Angel helped and then randomly decided to call in the finale 'cause he was short on humans. He doesn't get good until season 2.

Some would say he doesn't get really good until season 5. As for Angel singing I think he and Connor dueting on 'Oh Jasmine' is his finest hour and always has me lying on my back kicking with laughter!t:

Going to do a seperate rewatch thread for Angel so everyone doesn't have to scroll down yards and yards.

Living Conditions

The Good;
Kathy is a wonderful character and I wish we'd seen her again (the actress later turns up as recurring character in Desperate Housewives, the nurse who accidentally kills Carlos' mother). I was genuinely suprised that she was a demon, I thought Buffy was going nuts (great performance from SMG, amazing what a little eye-shadow can do). The fight between the 2 at the end and the argument between Kathy and her dad is terrific. The final gag is excellent too although Buffy's scarf makes her look a lot like Joyce when she's had her operation.
The Bad;
Exactly how long would it have taken the demons to work out that Buffy wasn't Kathy?
Best line;
Kathy; I just wanted to make sure we didn't have a thief or somthing?
Buffy; Like who? Sid the wiley dairy gnome?
but I also like Oz; 'On the plus side you killed the bench which was looking shifty' and 'No one deserves mime'
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death; none
Shot;
Tied up;
Buffy is netted and tied up by Xander, Oz and Giles. They need to work on their Boy Scout skills though (Buffy's been tied up and escaped countless times and I'm sure escapology must be part of Slayer training?)
Knocked out;
Yep, Oz and Xander by Buffy
Women good/men bad;
Patriarchical demons not letting their daughters go to college. On the other hand it seems that Hank still helps out with Buffy's tuition.
Jeez!;
Kathy slamming the phone into Buffy's face is gruesome yet oddly funny
Kinky dinky;
Xander wonders why Giles doesn't have any manacles like any self-respecting bachelor? Both Oz and Xander admire Parker's 'driveby' hitting on Buffy.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Kathy puts the moves on Parker much to Buffy chagrin. Buffy and Willow end up in the end being roomates. And here is Veruca for the first time, the little scene between her and Oz subtle but incredibly significant. Willow refers to Parker as the cutie-patootie once again casting her as Bi rather than gay. Willow refers to Giles as their 'grown up friend' but not in a creepy way.
Guantanamo Bay;

Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy isn't hurt despite the no-holds barred thrashing she and Kathy give each other
Where's Dawn?
Kathy comments that Buffy has always been an only child, well not always. She also says she and Buffy are like sisters, well Dawn and Buff fight too and Dawn turns out not to be what she seems

Questions and observations;
Giles reads Scooter and Motorbike magazine, did he sell Wes his? A funny but pretty slight ep with some good performances from the leads. I think season 4 is just taking a little time to find it's feet.
Marks out of 10; 6/10, a slight ep but a cracker, funny and interesting.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Going to do this as a seperate thread from the Buffy one otherwise the posts would be so long they'd take forever to scroll through

Rewatching it from beginning to end, please chip in if you wish;

City of Angels

The Good;
Impressive opening scenes, funny yet moving. Love Angel choosing the wrong car and very suprising that he doesn't save the girl, at least not the guest star (they use the same time difference trick as they did in Helpless to convince you he will). Especially loved him killing Winters at the end, real vicious stick it in and break it off revenge, great stunt, great effect. Cordy realising that Winter's is a vamp and him initally denying it is also fun.

The Bad;
If Winters had all this security at his house how can Angel just walk into his office?

Best line:
Angel; Can you fly?

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Winters killing the heroine is very brutal. Also the whole sugardaddy/casting couch scenario shows the stark reality behind the Hollywood glamour.

Apocalypses: 4
Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; 1
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; Doyle rams the gates of the Winter's mansion but they seem suprisingly resilient. Also Angel fails to save the girl.
In disguise; Angel does his rube in the big city act for the first time
DB get's his shirt off; in order to allow Doyle and Cordy to remove the bullets. Yeah, right!

Fang Gang in bondage: no but he knocks out and ties up the guard at the mansion
Cordy: 5
Angel: 4
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out: no but Angel knocks out about 4 guys
Cordy: 6
Angel: 6
Wes: 1

Kills:
Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, ½ a demon from her time in Sunnydale
Angel: kills 4 vamps in the opening episode which is remarkable as according to Boo's figures he only killed 3 in the whole 3 seasons of Buffy. So that gives Angel 7 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human.

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 3


Characters killed:
2; Tina and her missing friend Denise (offscreen)

Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 4, pumped full of lead by Winter's bodyguards


Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 1?
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:
Tina appears to be Winter's kept woman. She describes him as 'liking pain' (his own or other peoples?). Cordy also considers him for a sugardaddy much the same as she'll consider doing later to David Nabbit. Tina offers herself to Angel as a reward for saving her but like the white knight he is he gently turns her down.
Captain Subtext;
Oliver at the party considers Angel a 'beautiful man' but only on a professional basis, he's currently in a long term relationship with a landscape gardener. 'Drunk' Angel also gives the appearance of hitting on the guy in the bar.
Questions and observations;
Doyle drinks Colt .45 beer, the equivalent of Tennants Extra in the UK, pretty much in keeping with the down at heel nature of his character. First appearance of Lindsey, he and Angel are the only characters who appear in both the first and last eps of the series. Angel goes all Punisher finding his way to Winters, not hesitating to beat and threaten his way to his goal. The series already appearing much darker and more adult than Buffy. Angel's narration is similar to Angelus' in Passion and Whistler's in Becoming. It's also reminiscent of the classic noir crime fiction set in LA, could easily be the The Black Dahalia or LA Confidential or Chinatown. When I first saw this I wasn't sure if Winters was a vamp or not, the vamp makeup is subtly different but will eventually fall back into resembling that on Buffy once more. Angel was in Montanna during the depression, maybe Spike's line about vampire cowboy wasn't too far off the mark? Angel tells Cordy there's no cure for vamparism but we'll actually find 3 in the first season alone. Cordy refers to Angel having never developed an investment portfolio but he must get money from somewhere, he seems very well to do. The money he and Darla stole from their victims or does he just have loads of bank accounts with 200 years of interest to collect, Highlander style? Angel shows some knowledge of explosives which he'll also use in Dad but according to the dialogue he's seen 14 wars and Vietnam in his time. Nice crossover when he phones Buffy in Sunnydale.

Marks out of 10; 6/10, good beginning but not compared to the heights Angel will eventually soar to.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

The Harsh Light of Day

The Good;
Spike's back and the series is better off with him in it. Our first sign that Harmony survived graduation and is now a vamp. Great fight and some excellent comedy, especially love Spike's workers groaning when Harmony starts bleating on about France again. Also like Parker's complaining about guys who are so 'Dark and brooding, give me love'. Nice reveal of Spike
The Bad;
None, good ep, best of season 4 so far

Best line;
Buffy; 'Spike, with Harmony. What you lose a bet?'
but I also like Willow (on Harmony being a vamp) 'She must be dying without a reflection'
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
nope, the guy Spike and Harmony bite at the party survives and we see Asian Joe again in 'Pangs' so the Scoobs obviously rescue him.
Shot;
Tied up;
Asian Joe chained to the wall.
Knocked out;
Xander in the fight with Spike
Women good/men bad;
The final scene with a broken hearted Buffy, Anya and Harmony all miserable having been dumped. Xander remarks that he's 'Actually turning into a woman as he's saying this' when hesitating before the offer of casual sex with a beautiful girl. But as he says 'Still more romantic than Faith'. Spike and Harmony have an abusive relationship but in fairness to Spike she seems just as bad as he is and even more manipulative.
Jeez!;
Spike's 'trash-talk' with Buffy whilst fighting her (he should know better!)
Kinky dinky;
Harmony may be dumb but she knows how to get what she wants. She hints that she and Spike have bondage, S&M and exhibitionist sex. Anya does a striptease for Xander (cue juice gag!) and brings black condoms for their coitus. Parker and Buffy have sex but he dumps her afterwards. Harmony seems to have a thing for Antonio Banderas. Spike comments that he loves syphilis more than he does Harmony. Xander dreams of being naked at the Walmart. Willow seems to want to know the details of Buffy and Parker's night of passion, not graphically but as a 'blurry watercolour'.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Harmony wants to bite Willow. Maybe there was an underlying attraction between the 2 all these years? Parker suggests Buffy and Spike used to go out and she laughs.
Guantanamo Bay;
The gang threaten Harmony to try and find Spike.
Scoobies to the ER;
Xander is hurt in the final fight but not too badly. Willow needs a band-aid.
Where's Dawn?

Questions and observations;
Where season 4 kicks into gear really, quite marvellous. Willow becomes the 3rd Scooby to be bitten by a vampire (Buffy twice by Angel and the Master, Angel and Joyce by Darla although the latter is not a Scooby). Buffy still has the scar from where she was bitten but is that from The Master or Angel? Personally I never know what to make of Parker, Buffy seems to think their sex is the beginning of a relationship whilst it's casual to him. I don't think he's a bad guy really. Giles never locks his door and owns a TV which disappoints Oz who nevertheless seems to appreciate his vinyl albums just as Joyce did in Band Candy. Good music, especially like 'Lucky' (for the Buffy/Parker sex scene) and the interestingly titled 'Faith in love'. Asian Joe, the guy who is chained to Spike's wall is a recurring extra as a Sunnydale High School student (Harmony comments she used to have a class with him), you can see him in many eps but most prominently in Earshot where Buffy hears him thinking about being a 'software gillionaire'. Unfortunately the last appearance of Devon in the series although he's mentioned in Something Blue
Marks out of 10; 8/10, very good

 

[Doomed_hero]

I enjoyed Gunn in season 1 and 3, bu for awhile it seemed lik they forgot what to do with him. Never really likd him and Fred together, mostly cause I was a firm wes/Fred supporter. But season 5 made him great again and kinda essential to the plot. In fact his character grew almost more then anyone in the last season,

 

[Kii]

I never really got Fred and Gunn.

 

[Doomed_hero]

they had there "cute" moments, but yeah other the fighting the good fight, not much in common. Hell one of th reasons I loved this show is it brings a group of people together who usally would never be together but are all dedicated to fighting the good fight. Its why Joss an Co. are perfect for Avengers imo. But as far as Gunn and Fred....they where alittle to diffeent for eachother/

 

[Hush]

So freaking Lindsey was a great character while he lasted but seriously he can ****ing sing!

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I enjoyed Gunn in season 1 and 3, bu for awhile it seemed lik they forgot what to do with him. Never really likd him and Fred together, mostly cause I was a firm wes/Fred supporter. But season 5 made him great again and kinda essential to the plot. In fact his character grew almost more then anyone in the last season,

Now I really liked Frunn (is that what we call it?), I'd really have loved to have seen more of the summer when everyone is away and AI is just Fred, Connor and Gunn with Charles as the leader (for Fred's hilarious attempts to speak 'street' if nothing more). That said I accept they didn't have the epic love of Fresley but I think Wes is actually the character who grew most in his time on both shows, starting out as the comic relief clown in Buffy season 3 and becoming this romantic tragic hero by season 5 of Angel

Lonely Heart

The Good;
Angel on the singles scene is a joy to behold, another commentary on the reality if life in LA. And Kate!

The Bad;
The nightclub actually seems quite hip and not 'stuck in the 80s', better than Henry's.

Best line:
Kate; You can go to hell!
Angel; Been there, done that

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Can you say 'eviscerated'? The nasty has some obvious influence from the Aliens series and some obvious influence from a very bad film called The Hidden which Kyle Maclachlan made before he got famous. That said it did have B5's Claudia Christian as a stripper

Apocalypses: 4

Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; nope, still 1
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; we think there's a male killer picking in helpless females but that's not the case. Also Angel tries to use his grappling hook only to pull the beam down
In disguise; no but he poses as a vet which Fred will also pick as a job for him in Dad
DB get's his shirt off; not this time so that makes 1

Fang Gang in bondage: no although Kate tries to handcuff Angel
Cordy: 5
Angel: 4
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out: no but Kate is
Cordy: 6
Angel: 6
Wes: 1

Kills:
Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, ½ a demon from her time in Sunnydale
Angel: 1 demon for Angel. So that gives Angel 7 vamps, 2 demons, 1 human.

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 3

Characters killed: 7 including a couple offscreen
Total; 9

Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot: no although Kate shoots at Angel, shoots the lock out with her backup gun and shoots the bartender at the end.
Angel: 4,

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 1?
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:
On a scale of one to incredible exactly how gorgeous is Kate? No shortage of beautiful women in the Buffy/Angelverse but even so! Hard to imagine her in a cop's uniform (although I'm sure many have with the fanfic to prove it). Only in LA could the character of Sharon be called 'dowdy'. Now, of course this ep was originally known as Corrupt and was much darker in tone. It concentrated largely on Kate who was posing undercover as a prostitute but had gotten too far into her role and was actually having sex with her clients (sounds like the plot of some late night Channel 5 film). The studio said no and the series is probably the better for it (although we still have an oblique reference to sexual dysfunction). Unfortunately this meant we lost this rumoured scene;

Cordy (posing as a streetwalker, approaching a group of hookers on a corner) "Hello fellow prostitutes, how's tricks?"
Hooker; "*****, if you're living the life I'm Julia Roberts!"

Even so she's still mistaken for a prostitute at the club and will interview a bunch of them in Carpe Noctem. Presumably the scene in the opening titles with the lovely girl in the bikini top getting into the sports car also comes from this sequence. Angel also get's propositioned by a girl who get's turned on by him hitting people. Doyle examines one of Cordy's bras which she thinks is 'So high school'. Kate refers to herself as a 'self flagellating drunken ****'. Doyle uses internet porn. Cordy and Doyle slumber on each other's shoulder.

Captain Subtext;
For the second time in 2 eps Angel is mistaken for hitting on a guy in a bar. Cordy also says she's a student of humanity and can tell one of the clubbers is a 'closet dyke'. Weird she never twigged Willow, huh?

Questions and observations;
The guy who is the third victim says he was a real 'something is out there' geek, a reference to the X-files I almost missed. There's also 'High school's over' which might be a oblique ref to Buffy. Angel sitting alone in the dark rather reminds me of how we first see Bruce Wayne in Batman Returns. Angel muses how different the dating scene is to when he was Liam, small town boy getting used to the big city.

Marks out of 5; 3/5 good ep but Angel still dealing with the case of the week

 

[Doomed_hero]

well wes was my favorite character. Which is funny since I was mad he was there at first cause I missed Doyle. But he did grow and became my favorite character in whedonverse.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

So freaking Lindsey was a great character while he lasted but seriously he can ****ing sing!

Really? I gotta say that just from his performance on Angel I don't think his voice is anything special?

Yeah, Doyle dying is a kick in the ribs but I guess Joss did that to remind us that even main characters can and do die in his shows. Much as Tara replaced Oz and Anya replaced Cordy in time these characters grow and take on a life of their own. Not that we forget those they replaced.

Fear Itself

The Good;
Buffy does a Halloween ep once every couple of years and it's always special, this is no exception. The Scoobies face and overcome their fears and the final gag is fantastic. Also love the postmodern gag of Buffy hitting the demon only to find out it's a guy in a Halloween mask (presumably a student rather than a local who'd know better).
The Bad;
Would the Scoobies ever really watch horror films like Phantasm? Don't they get enough gore?
Best line;
Giles; "Actual size!"
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Only the guy who breaks his neck falling dow the stairs
Shot;
Tied up;
Knocked out;
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
What's the story with the girl in the tiara on the couch who appears dead then grins maniacally at the camera?
Kinky dinky;
The frat boys think Halloween is all about 'getting laid'. Interestingly Willow's crush Tina Fey in her film Mean Girls says it's all about allowing girls to dress up in ****ty male-fantasy costumes whilst keeping their reputation intact. Buffy gets grabbed all over by the hands in the cellar (anyone else reminded of the Evil Dead series) and was I the only one to think 'Boy you can see up her skirt' when Buffy crushes the demon at the end?

Calling Captain Subtext;
Willow "What is college for if not experimentation?" Hmmmm? She also begs "Oz don't leave me"
Guantanamo Bay;

Scoobies to the ER;
Buffy cut but not too badly
Where's Dawn?
Adore the scene with Buffy and Joyce it's so precious. You wonder what costume Dawn wore trick or treating? Is Joyce taking her this year? Joyce comments that she's not the social butterfly she used to be in LA, as we see in Buffy; The Movie. She now knows that Ted was a robot (as Dawn does in IWMTLY).

Questions and observations;
The first sign of Anya's bunny phobia. The first encounter between the Scoobies and The Initiative (aside from Out of Sight, Out of Mind?). Anya comments that it's been a week since she and Xander had sex so we must assume that each ep in the Buffyverse is a week in real time. Uncle Rory mentioned again and Willow is still scared of spiders which she overcomes by the time of Selfless. The guiding spell that goes wrong for her is reminiscent of the one Tara uses successfully in Bargaining pt2. Xander uses the old 'Standing right here' Scooby line. At least Anya knocks on Gile's door which is progress. The ghouls at the frat party are very Evil Dead
Read an interesting fanfic once where Michael Myers from the Halloween series shows up in season 3 Sunnydale and kills Joyce and Faith. In the follow-up story however the Nerd Trio capture him and use his blood to bring them back to life, I think the author's point being that heroism and villainy is sometimes just a question of timing and circumstances (which you can certainly make the case for with characters such as Andrew, Amy, Faith etc?)
Marks out of 10; 6/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Buffy edition 40
So Buffy's waiting tables again. Better than the DMP though and she has her friends and family around her so better than 'Anne'. After all she's been through maybe it's best she just takes it easy in a simple, responsibility free role for a little while. If it's in San Francisco though they should definitely have done a Charmed joke, Prue, Phoboe and Piper sitting in the background. Byebye Kennedy? Awww. I know many of us didn't like her but you still feel bad for her being dumped. Although maybe if it was power that attracted her to Willow she's better off without her? And Will's no longer a witch, in fact although we still have vamps this is a world without magic. Still a hacker though. I wonder will the Angelverse also lose all magic? Vamps aside does that mean all magical creatures now cease to be?
When Willow says she still yearns for someone she'll never see again and has been kidding herself for a long time does she mean Tara? Oz? Or Giles? Note we immediately cut to his death immediately afterwards?
Speaking of whom what happened to Oz, Andrew, Satsu, Vi, Rhona, Amy etc etc?
Buffy living with Dawn and Xander, how the roles have reversed! Note the cookie jar and the Dalek amongst Xanders' toys. Also note that Hoopy Bear from the original comics has returned although seems no longer evil. I think everything will always be alright for Buffy as long as she can curl up on the sofa with her beloved Dawn. That said Dawn's method of getting some private time with Xander is inspired.
So Giles really is dead? WOW! I must say I agree with him, Faith needs a helping hand, Buffy doesn't, she's a lot more capable than our admittedly formidable Faith as she's proven time and again. Faith looks after a guilt filled Angel and becomes the leader of the remaining few thousand Slayers, she's going to need Giles' cash to help her with both.
Spike still mooning after Buffy, with Angel out of the running he seems on to a winner even if she's currently just letting her cookie dough ready. Once again Spike shows his fey side with his comments about 'Dancing with the Stars', I wonder is Harmony a parody of Bristol Palin?
You do undersand why the other Slayers are miffed. They'll be Slayers all their lives and fight the good fight but once they die they'll never be replaced. The Slayer line and the vamps they fight will die out until Fray ressurects it far in the future.
Joss's comments are interesting. He seems to have taken on board a lot of the criticism he's suffered over the series, especially about Angel which seems to have meandered about fairly aimlessly. Buffy is a lot better but the storyline has still bafflled me I must confess. Although I also love Giant-Dawn defeating Mech-Dawn.
I was going to give up on the Buffy comic although I think this edition may have just changed my mind, I'll stick with it a while longer.

In the dark

The Good;
Spike mocking Angel is excellent, lovely to see Oz and a great rescue and final battle at the pier. Nice end coda too. The Cordy/Oz/Angel scenes are hysterical, as Willow observes both she and Buffy know the love of 2 taciturn men.

The Bad;
Very little, strong ep. Boy Spike is dumb but funnily so. Everyone at the pier seems to take the 2 guys jumping off the end on fire very calmly.

Best line:
Doyle (to Angel); Long time between sunsets huh?

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Well, Angel get's tortured to nearly death for the majority of the episode. Spike also hints that Marcus has an interest in the kids beyond just eating them. Reputedly this is the ep that got the Angel season 1 dvd boxset an 18 rating in the UK. I don't disagree but what makes this worse than 'Hellbound' which only got a 15 rating?

Apocalypses: 4

Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; yep, that makes 2
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; rather than play the unbreakable tough guy Angel admits that with a little more torture he'd have told Marcus everything. Cordy notes the Gem isn't in the freezer or toilet tank as it would be in the movies.
In disguise; no
DB get's his shirt off; no but we get some torso action, Marcus commenting he has 'little external damage'.

Fang Gang in bondage: yep, Angel for virtually the whole ep
Cordy: 5
Angel: 5
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 6
Angel: 6
Wes: 1

Kills:
Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, ½ a demon from her time in Sunnydale
Angel: Another vamp for Angel. So that gives Angel 8 vamps, 2 demons, 1 human.

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 3

Characters killed: only Marcus
9;

Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot: no
Angel: 4,

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 1?
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:
Spike refers to Buffy as '****ty the vampire slayer' and teases Angel over Buffy's affair with Parker.

Captain Subtext;
Spike's speech on Angel is full of homophobia. He also asks if Angel and Marcus would like to be alone when running his hands over Angel's naked torso. Spike comments that Buffy is 'cute when she's hurting', you wonder did he always have a thing for her? Such a shame we never get to meet Doyle's wonderfully named friend 'Frankie Tripod'.

Buffy characters appearing in Angel; (unless someone can correct me no original Angel character ever appears on Buffy?)
4; Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike

Questions and observations;
Why does Angel grab his neck when Marcus puts the chain around it? Surely he doesn't breathe? Marcus wears glasses which presumably like Dalton in Buffy are for sentimental reasons. Doyle has read Angela's Ashes and it reduces him to tears (the novel focuses on the shiftless father so it may appeal to Doyle who never knew his). Angel once again beats his way to what he wants, without Buffy's influence he tends to be a lot more brutal. It's a great performance from Kevin West who is a very familar face on TV (although I thought he was in Scrubs and Ally McBeal but he isn't, that's Robert Clendenin another actor with a similar look). Marcus wears a Bond style Nehru jacket. Angel knows Doyle's mother. This is Angel investigations first walk-in client and her problem for once is just a very human jerk ex-boyfriend rather than anything supernatural. Ok so the ring makes vamps unkillable, even if you cut their heads' off?
Marks out of 5; 3/5

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Beer Bad

The Good;
Okay there is some, Willow's Jerry Springer style confession (anyone ever read the hilarious Buffy Springer Show fanfic? http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3015874/1/Buffyspringer). Much of the Xander the bartender stuff is funny. Giles describing caveBuffy as walking with a 'sideways limp'. Willow's confrontation with Parker. Buffy's great dream sequence (is that chocolate chip cookie dough fudge he's holding?)
The Bad;
Everything else, possibly the worst Buffy episode ever?

Best line;
Xander; "Nothing can defeat, THE PENIS!" (how true!)
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Nope, no one dies at all
Shot;
Tied up;
Knocked out;
Yep, Willow, Xander (and Parker)
Women good/men bad;
The first thing the cavemen do is find a pair of pretty girls and drag them back to their 'cave'. Buffy's mooning after Parker does her no favours, he's treated her badly so she still wants him? When it comes to Parker and Buffy I always wonder what if the roles were reversed, if Buffy dumped Parker and then when she changes her mind and tries to apologise he knocks her out? What would we think then? And in fairness Parker does go to help Willow when the cavemen attack.
Jeez!;
Kinky dinky;
Is it just me or does anyone else deep down want Parker to succeed in 'jumping Willow's bones'? And then mid-coitus she should turn the tables on him American Pie style. "Say my name *****!". Also Willow seems to think that Buffy had group sex with the 4 students, love the way her mind works! Buffy calls herself a ****, Veruca thinks Willow is a groupie.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Willow tells Parker she's 'Tired of you men and your manliness'. CaveBuffy thinks Xander smells nice
Guantanamo Bay;
Parker tries to apologise to Buffy so she bashes him over the head with a lump of wood
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Apparently Joyce always said beer was evil which is weird when you see teenage Joyce in Band Candy and considering she wanted Buffy to be at a college with boys and keg parties?
Questions and observations;
Quite possibly the worst ever episode of Buffy although rewatching it is does have some quite good humour in it and SMG gives a tremendous performance as Cavegirl Buffy. Feels like an ep of Charmed. Again, not sure about Parker, he doesn't actually do anything wrong, he just doesn't want a relationship with her as he explains to Willow (in many ways he reminds me of Barney from 'How I Met Your Mother'). Willow compares Veruca to Faith (not a compliment in her book) Oz's growing attraction to her is clear to see.
Marks out of 10; 4/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I FALL TO PIECES

The Good;
Great horror concept, you could almost imagine a feature film based upon it, some excellent emotional stuff too and as always Cordy brings the funny. My favourite scene is where Meltzer throws his teeth at Angel and then recoils in pain as Angel smashes them against the wall.

The Bad;
The severed limbs scenes don't really convince, when you see Thing in The Adams Family it's much better

Best line:
Cordy; "Here's this poor girl, she hooks up with a doctor. That's supposed to be a good thing!"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Virtually all of the Beast with Five Fingers stuff

Apocalypses: 4
Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; yep, making 2. However, Doyle says there's 4 in total and 3 very much alive, Presumably the girl from City of Angels is the dead one and the girl from In the Dark is another making 2 more we don't see.
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 1. Angel poses as a successful businessman but no disguise
DB get's his shirt off; not this ep so still 1

Fang Gang in bondage: no
Cordy: 5
Angel: 4
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out: all of them
Cordy: 7
Angel: 7
Wes: 1
Doyle; 1

Kills:
Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, ½ a demon from her time in Sunnydale
Angel: 1 human for Angel. So that gives Angel 8 vamps, 2 demons, 2 humans.

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 3

Characters killed: the poor cop Kate sends to guard the building
10

Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot: Angel with the tranquiliser gun (as with Dopplegangland in Buffy why not use that to knock vamps out then cut their heads off?)
Angel: 5,

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 1?
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:
What the heck do Meltzer's hands do under the sheets?
Captain Subtext;
Doyle admits that Angel holds a certain attraction to him
Know the face, different character; 1
Andy Umberger who plays Dr Meltzer is also D'Hoffryn on Buffy.
Parking garages; seemingly a staple of the series, one here and in COA
2
Questions and observations;
This is the 4th ep of the series and we're told that Cordy has been working for him for a month so this suggests the series is in real time, one ep per week. Angel drinks coffee now, presumably to keep him up for his cases as he told Joyce he didn't drink it in The Prom. Isn't it a bit unpatriotic for Doyle to drink Scotch, shouldn't he drink whiskey with an e? Cordy gives the Angel Investigations motto 'We help the hopeless'. Oddly here Cordy 'Scullys' Angel, suggesting a non-supernatural solution. He's actually open to the suggestion but points out correctly that Doyle has a vision. Angel just appears to be able to walk into Kate's police station no problem at all. Meltzer actually shows a lot of compassion for Angel's story of his wife. I don't know if it's deliberate but Scrubs has a character called Dr Zeltzer who's also a major weirdo and even looks quite like Dr Meltzer.
It's noticeable that at this stage of Angel the supernatural underworld is just that, it's not out in the open as it will be later, we're still dealing with the everyday clashing with the incredible.
Marks out of 5; 4/5 one of the classic eps of season 1

 

[ComicChick]

Really? I gotta say that just from his performance on Angel I don't think his voice is anything special?

he's great in Love Song singing, he sang on an episode of Leverage and he's a country singer and performed here recently but sadly I couldnt go

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

he's great in Love Song singing, he sang on an episode of Leverage and he's a country singer and performed here recently but sadly I couldnt go

Ah, I don't watch Leverage (although I love Gina Bellman from Coupling), I'll take your word for it, I've only ever heard him in Dead End

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Wild at Heart
The Good;
If you have tears in your heart please prepare to shed them now, terrific performances from AH and SG. Spike is also fantastic.
The Bad;
The werewolf makeup hasn't any got any better.

Best line;
Willow; "Oz don't you love me?"
Oz; "My whole life I've never loved anything else"
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Buffy nails another vamp. Oz kills Veruca
Shot;
Oz tranqulised again whilst Spike get's zapped by the Initiative.
Tied up;
No but Oz and Veruca have cage sex.
Knocked out;
Oz and Spike although he's not a Scooby for another couple of seasons.
Women good/men bad;
Actually here we actually have 2 females fighting over their man. Note Willow can't go through with her spell. Willow asks Xander for some advice from the Y side of things but may regret it as he defines love as either 'Wild-monkey-love' or 'Tender-Sarah Machachlan love' (who provides some of the musisc for the series).
Jeez!;
Kinky dinky;
Werewolf sex! Plenty of backscratching there! Veruca even says 'I like it rough'. Also Veruca parading around in a black lace bra and Willow attempting to dress more rock chick. Xander's mum won't let him put a lock on the door in case he starts having 'The sex'. Too late! Even Giles considers Veruca 'Quite striking' as indeed does Xander to judge by his expression. Xander thinks there are only 7 minutes a year where a guy isn't thinking about sex. Buffy is sure that Oz is 'flogging and punishing himself'. Oz blushes behind the ears when he's attracted to someone.
Calling Captain Subtext;
The scene with the speaker discussion is so laden with subtext, it might as well be Jane Austen, Willow feeling she's being frozen out. Buffy later tells Willow she loves her.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
You wonder what Dawn's attitude to Oz was?
Questions and observations;
Goodbye to Oz as a regular character which is a shame as he was terrific, he's sorely missed. But it does leave room for Tara. Buffy seems to be doing well in class, once again she's more than some superpowered bimbo. Is the stuff in Xander's basement salvaged from the vamp's house from 'The Freshman'? Oddly Prof Walsh doesn't recognise werewolves when she sees them. Giles' watches ganeshows rather than PBS. All the Scoobies at one time or another have walked in on their beloved whilst they were cheating except for Giles who walked in on Jenny when she was dead. Buffy has often been accused of constantly falling for diversionary tactics but here she figures out Veruca's ruse.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Rm w/a vu

The Good;

Everything, an emotional rollercoaster for Doyle and Cordy and the introduction of Phantom Dennis. Great performance from Beth Grant, a great actress you can also see in Speed, Six Foot Under, Donnie Darko etc

The Bad;

Bit of a reach that the ghost can do a perfect imitation of Angel's voice, is she the Terminator or something?

Best line:

Cordy (of Angel) "Do you have mousse? Of course you do!"


Jeez, how did they get away with that?

Doyle's hand getting jammed in the drawer, Cordy almost getting hanged, Maude Peirson walling her son up.

Apocalypses: 4

Angel Cliches

Damsel in distress; nope, 2.

Inverting the Hollywood cliche;

In disguise; 1.

DB get's his shirt off; wet, dripping and nearly naked 2

Cordy's tatto; our first glimpse

Fang Gang in bondage: Cordy almost hung, don't think thats counts
Cordy: 5
Angel: 4
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out: yep, Cordy
Cordy: 8
Angel: 7
Wes: 1
Doyle; 1


Kills:
Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, ? a demon from her time in Sunnydale
Angel: 1 demon for Angel. So that gives Angel 8 vamps, 3 demons, 2 humans.

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang: possessed Cordy
Cordy: 2
Angel: 3

Characters killed: Dennis and a trio of the flat residents offscreen

14


Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot: loads of gunplay but no
Angel: 5,

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 1?
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:

Maude calls Cordy a tramp and streetwalker, good thing they didn't go through with the storyline of Corrupt huh?

Captain Subtext;

Know the face, different character; 1

Parking garages;

2

Guantanamo bay;

Once again Angel doesn't hesitate to beat his way to the answers

Questions and observations;

Excellent ep with loads of good scenes and some real emotional impact, easily one of the best of season 1. I for one find it heartbreaking that Cordy has only five names in her LA phonebook and 3 are crossed out. Aura, her Sunnydale friend is the girl who finds the corpse in her locker in Welcome to the Hellmouth on Buffy.

Marks out of 5; 8/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

The Initiative
The Good;
So at last the truth! The Initiative set is indeed impressive and Spike's escape is daring, he's almost like Jaws in the Bond films, the audience starts rooting for him even when he's the bad guy. The fights also good and the Harmony/Spike scenes and Harmony/Xander scene is wonderful
The Bad;
Not a great deal, strong ep

Best line;
Buffy (to Walsh); "For someone who teaches human behaviour you might try showing some"
Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;
Shot;
Buff uses a flare gun, odd to see her using a firearm of any kind. The Initiative seem to have more guns than NATO.
Tied up;
Spike tied up but escapes.
Knocked out;
Willow in the struggle with Riley and co.
Women good/men bad;
The horrible scene where we think Spike is killing Willow. Of course, she then fights back, You go girl! Contrast that to Harmony who takes Spike back AGAIN after all he's done to her. She asks Xander why men just leave but of course by that stage Xander already has. Buffy is outraged at Riley's seeming chauvanism towards her. Parker's remark about Buffy is unforgiveable although maybe he has a right to be bitter, he did try to apologise to her only for her to bash him over the head with a branch.
Jeez!;
Walsh's remark to Willow about Oz is very harsh. For a moment your heart is in your mouth when you think Willow is lying dead behind Spike on the bed.
Kinky dinky;
Buffy describes her top as '****ty' but I don't think it is particularly. Unlike her top on the cafeteria which you can blatantly see down when she trips. Forrest eyes up the women in the cafeteria, the first blonde girl in the floral number in particular is undeniably HOT! Parker describes Buffy as 'Bunny in the sack'. You figure she must have gone easy on him? Forrest figures that Buffy and Xander are on their way to have 'Crazy naked sex'. Harmony comments that she can 'slap Spike around' a little if he likes it. Buffy dancing is also good although she's better with Faith.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Doug Petrie describes the Initiative boys as a 'gay calender pin-up' and he's not wrong, you can imagine Jack from Will&Grace having it on his wall. Petrie seems very keen on Marc Blucas in his commentary although he was equally as keen on the Faith/Buffy sapphic subtext.
The whole Spike/Willow scene is one big impotence gag. Once again a vamp feeding is compared to a sexual act. Harmony comments that Buffy is just going to slap Spike around and that she can do that. Is that why Spike falls in love with the Slayer? When Spike finds Buffy on the computer he says 'Hello gorgeous". Hmmmmm. Will still has some insecurity left over from her wallflower days.
Guantanamo Bay;
The whole idea of the Initiative is very 'War on Terror', it resembles Camp X-ray to a T. Of course this all takes place BEFORE 9/11
Scoobies to the ER;
Thankfully not this week
Where's Dawn?
Questions and observations;
Spike likes the Sex Pistols, big suprise. Buffy likes cheese, a leftover from her day as a rat? Here we have Spike in the opening credits hinting that he's a regular from now on (by contrast it took poor old Tara 3 seasons to get there and she only lasted 1 ep). Giles comments that he should lock his door. Spike refers to the Nazis conducting experiments on vamps which we'll see in 'Why we Fight'. Xander refers to the mobile infantry from Starship Troopers, Riley not unlike Johnny Rico in many ways. Spike is 126 which means he was born in 1873, making him a late Victorian (Angel is over 200 making him a Georgian). Note Doug Petrie named Grahme Miller after a Canadian friend of his and that it's Grhame who suggests that Buffy might be a little off because she's Canadian. Spike seems to use significant violence during his escape but maybe the chip hasn't really kicked in yet? Riley' shirt makes him look like he's from Star Trek.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

 

[Sawyer]

http://www.adamreisinger.com/2011/03/happy-anniversary-buffy.html

14 years... I cant even comprehend that it's been that long.

 

[Specter313]

http://www.adamreisinger.com/2011/03/happy-anniversary-buffy.html

14 years... I cant even comprehend that it's been that long.

Hearing stuff like this makes me feel old.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Even longer if you count the 1992 movie! I think the show still holds up pretty well except for some of the computers in season 1 which seem unbeliveably clunky now

Sense and sensitivity

The Good;
Very funny to watch the cops acting supersensitive but also affecting to see Kate's father and all his little putdowns of her and her emotive speech is a heartbreaker if there ever was one

The Bad;
Hard to put your finger on it but sometimes this ep feels almost too clever for it's own good

Best line:
Angel "My parents were great, tasted a lot like chicken" (and as we later learn he's not joking)

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Nasty the way little Tony keeps calling Kate a *****

Apocalypses: 4

Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; yep 3.
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; supersensitive cops rather than the macho LAPD we're used to seeing
In disguise; 2. yep, Herb Saunders from Baltimore again
DB get's his shirt off; 2
Cordy's tatto;2
We see it when she's breaking into the police station.

Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 4
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 8
Angel: 7
Wes: 1
Doyle; 1

Kills:
Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, ½ a demon from her time in Sunnydale
Angel: 1 demon for Angel. So that gives Angel 8 vamps, 4 demons, 2 humans. It looks like the thing that attacks Fred in Supersymmetry

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang: supersensitive Angel
Cordy: 2
Angel: 4

Characters killed: one cop shot although we don't know if he dies?
14

Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 5,

Packing heat; unlike the Sunnydale Scoobies Angel Investigations periodically resort to firearms, here Doyle with a shotgun
Doyle; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 1?
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:
Kate wants to picture Angel in his underwear. Kate observes the crush of Doyle on Cordy. One of the cops states that the stress of his job makes it impossible for him to make love to his wife. AI group hug.

Captain Subtext;
Kate's dad comments that its been so long since he's seen her with a guy he suspected she might be gay. Angel is once more referred to as a 'Nancy boy'. Angel calls CC 'precious'.

Know the face, different character; 1

Parking garages;
2
Guantanamo Bay; Kate's interrogation technique leaves a little something to be desired. Angel beats up another of WR&H's lackey. Trevor comments that in his day they didn't need sensitivity as anyone who read Elmore Leonard knows. Cordy's mum calls for her, one of the few references to her family in the series. Angel uses a mobile phone and night vision. Our first sight of WR&H's HQ and Lee. You've got to hand it to the sensitivity coach, he has a point about Kate and co. How lovely does Kate look in her dress? Rather similar to Dawn's in season 5?

Questions and observations;
Could have been great but just lacks that certain something? Nice to have Kate ask Angel for help and be the focus of the ep. First appearance of Lee. We're later told that WR&H 'own' the police but obviously not yet.
Marks out of 10; 4/10