Angel isn't even on my radar - it was witty occasionally, but aimless and only a few of the characters were really appealing. They really didn't seem to know what they were doing with that show from week to week.
I completely disagree. It has some of the best characters and story arcs of any show I've ever seen.
I think
Dennis is just upset because he spent the whole series stuck as an invisible ghost in Cordelia's apartment and didn't really get anything to do after Season 1.
My ranking:
1. Angel. No question. The arcs were epic. The characters were always engaging, even the short-lived ones like Doyle & Illyria. Angel found a personality and a sense of humor. No other action hero can simultaneously be a brooding badass and a total dork at the same time the way Angel can. The best fight scenes were on
Angel (SEE "Apocalypse Nowish," "Release," "Destiny," et al).
But ultimately, the reason why I put
Angel in the top spot is because of Angel's existential crisis. How does a hero manage to go on if it doesn't seem like he's making a difference in the big scheme of things? Angel's crisis of purpose came at the same time I was having the same crisis in my own life. For this above all,
Angel is not only my favorite Joss Whedon show. It's probably my absolute favorite show of all time! (Although, I'll admit that lately it's been losing ground to
Doctor Who.)
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While it lacks the darkness & the existential crisis that put
Angel in the top spot,
Buffy does have most of
Angel's other assets. It's funny. It's action packed. The characters are all a lot of fun, especially Xander & Giles. The underlying metaphor of the 1st 3 seasons, "High school is hell," is so brilliant & so obvious that I'm sure every other TV writer is smacking himself in the head for not thinking of it first. Seasons 6 & 7 sucked hugely but I try not to think about them.
3. Firefly. Once again, the humor is there. The cast has the best chemistry of any Joss Whedon series. But unlike
Angel &
Buffy, I don't feel like
Firefly is about anything. It's a fun adventure with some legitimate pathos but there's nothing here that speaks to my life in the deep personal way that
Angel &
Buffy did. It has no more emotional resonance with me than cheap fluff like
Stargate SG-1.
4. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog. It's probably too short to really count as a series the way the others do. But it's still fun. I like musicals. Although, I'm not sure any of us really wanted this fun musical to take such a dark turn at the end.
5. Dollhouse. It has some interesting science fiction ideas. Enver Gjokaj & Dichen Lachman were absolute gems and I hope they get some good gigs on other shows. But the dialogue is severely lacking here. And all remaining energy gets sucked out of the show every time Eliza Dushku or Tamoh Penikett are on screen.
