Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel - First Time Viewer

Season 1 had its moments but it hadn't found the right balance of corny yet.

At least half of the series corniest episodes were season 1.

 

I would blame the production rather than the quality. They were getting their feet wet, as it were. But yeah, there was a lot of corny-ness in the first season. Looking back, I think it adds to it's charm.

 

I was very happy with how Chosen tied things up, I thought turning all of the Slayers into potentials, and destroying Sunnydale were great ways to end the story the show was telling. I know it wasn't the plan at the time, but it also allowed to comics to go in some very interesting new directions once they started.

 

Could not possibly agree more with you guys. I just don't understand writers sometimes. All that was required was instead of having Xander say "that's my girl", just have him respond by looking devastated, close up on his face, and have him turn away. But for godsake, DON'T have him deliver one of his typical unfunny Xander jokes right after he finds out the only woman he ever loved has died.

Now maybe Joss was intent on having it look like all of the characters ended up happy. But under the circumstances, bloody battle and all, a certain amount of sadness would have been natural.

Now, whenever I think of Xander at the end, instead of thinking of him as ending up happy, I think of him as having been an ass right up to the end.

 

My season rankings are: 3, 2, 5, 6, 7, 1, 4

3 is on top because Faith is my favorite character and I love her story arc throughout the Buffyverse. Season 4 ends up on the bottom, even though I love many episodes individually, because as a season it is so messy and disjointed.

Buffy is probably my favorite TV series of all time. However, as much as I love Angel, it doesn't make it into the top 10 for me.

What are people's Big Bad rankings? For me, it's:
Mayor
Angelus
Glory
Master
First
Trio
Adam

 

Gallows humor is a coping mechanism for many people, and Xander is probably one of them.

 

Finish one show in the Buffy Universe, might as well start the other. It will take me longer to see Angel than Buffy, considering I'm traveling 3 times this summer, but might as well get started.

City of Angels

I've actually seen the first three episodes before, but I figured I would revisit them considering I'm now officially watching Angel. It was a great opener, setting up what the series will be, Doyle, and Cordelia making an entrance. I love how Smart Cordelia is in this episode. There's a lot of superhero shows and movies where it feels like the normal citizen wants to be ignorant about who the super hero actually is. The way she deduced Russell as a Vampire, using everything she learned from Sunnydale, was great. Doyle will take some time to get used to. He's a half human half demon visionary I guess.

Also, I know I said this when I originally saw this episode, but I will say it again. Angel has an amazing theme song/title sequence. It really fits the noir aspect of the show well, especially LA Noir.

 

As for ranking the baddies in Buffy:

Angelus/Drusilla/Spike
Glory
Mayor
First
Master
Adam
Trio

Lonely Heart

This one was ok, I guess. Kind of your typical demon body snatching episode. I really hope Kate is a recurring character because I liked her. Nice to have a communication to the LAPD when you're working underground. Right now the show is on a procedural path, which is fine, but I think it was this one that convinced me to stick with watching Buffy when I was trying to do the back and forth (Albiet a short time). When you're 3 seasons into one series and then starting another series where the second episode feels like a bit of a slog, well, the choice seemed obvious at the time.

 

Wow. It's all coming back to me now, but I actually forgot all about Kate. I really do need to re-watch both Buffy and Angel. Yeah, Kate sticks around for a little while.

 

In the Dark

I think this is the first great episode of Angel. It's funny I saw this episode maybe a month ago, and watching it again actually made me remember the Buffy episode that this was attached with. It's also kinda weird one night to see Spike help save the world and get dusted, to the next night going back to when he was an evil vampire wanting the immunity ring. Yeah I know it's a separation of 3 seasons, but still. One other thing I was thinking about was Angel in Chosen really had a personality, almost like he was fully human. Here he's still that anti-social vamp who sits alone in the dark. I'm really excited to see that development where he does get some sort of personality. Granted he had some with Buffy, but I think Buffy did most of the heavy lifting. Cordelia and Doyle can only carry Angel so far.

And now the rest of the episodes will be new.

 

If I recall the second episode of Angel as written was rejected by the studio for being too dark and Lonely Heart was written at the last minute to replace it. I read the script years ago and it had Kate working undercover (as a prostitute).

 

If the first episode of Cagney and Lacey still holds water, that's the only reason that they let women become detectives, if Barney Miller still holds water they used to send the men out in drag to catch the dirty John sex offenders.

 

I go:

Mayor Wilkins
Glory
Spike/Angelus/Drusilla
Trio/Willow
Master
Adam
First Evil

 

Mine:

Spike/Drusilla/Angelus
Glory
The Mayor
Trio/Willow
The Master
Adam
The First

The spoiler below is Angel-centric.

Spoiler

I finished season 5 today. Fred dying hurt my insides and Illyria “lying” to Wesley as he died double-killed my insides. Just wanted to mention that. Now I’m continuing where I left off from season 1.

 

Tomalak--DON'T READ THAT SPOILER!!!

The Trio really rose in my eyes in terms of a season big bad once we realized the big bad was actually our characters and their inner demons. Sure, Willow's break down symbolized this and provided a climatic finale, but it was really all about the characters.

My big bads were:

Glory
Angelus
Trio/Willow
The Mayor
The First
The Master
Adam

 

The only woman he ever loved successfully.

 

My ranking of Big Bads:
Glory
The Mayor
Angelus and Co.
The Master
The First
The Trio
Adam

 

I Fall to Pieces

This was another episode where it was decent, but I wasn't really wowed by it. It's basically a stalker story, with a demon doctor herrassing a young woman, timely in 1999 and timely now, unfortunately. Still, this demon is able to detach body parts, and honestly, that was kinda lame. It was like Addams Family meets bad CGI with the teeth flying towards Angel. Also, there are some bits of dialogue that are a bit cringeworthy, like Doyle calling Cordelia Princess. At least we got to see Kate again, even though it was so brief. Also, I'm guessing Wolfram & Hurt are the big bads this season, as this is the second episode to bring them up. Of course this being early first season I'm giving this show a wide birth (I owe it that much considering it's a spin off to Buffy), so hopefully things might start picking up with some "great" episodes soon. I'm especially looking forward to the next few, considering this was another build around crossover with Buffy and that Pangs episode.

 

Angel doesn’t really do seasonal big bands. W&H will be around for a while.

Also, notice how everyone Wolfram & Hart has the same initials.

 

While I didn't mind the first season, the general consensus is much like TNG that it gets better afterwards. They certainly take a different approach to the storytelling.

You're tempting me to rewatch myself as I only remember the major beats at this point but I'm so behind on current shows I haven't seen before...