"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsmtsm@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:14d499a1-d434-4cb9-bd50-88da74bf9594@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> ANGEL
> Season Three, Episode 1: "Heartthrob"
> Writer: David Greenwalt
> Director: David Greenwalt
>
> "Heartthrob" is one of those episodes where talking about it feels
> more like describing one of those essays analyzing a character than
> like commenting on a TV show. I am one who thinks that the idea of
> Angel being able to move on after the show ended with him learning
> about Buffy's death, and thus trying to get his head around the
> associated survivor's guilt, is a reasonable story. James and his one-
> sided conception of Troo Wuv are just enough to serve the episode, no
> more or less. The action scenes are longer than they need to be, and
> perhaps more im****tantly for this kind of show, the banter among the
> good guys during these scenes isn't as snappy as it ought to be. I
> think the reason the episode drags in parts is quite simply that
> there's less than a tight-episode's worth of content here, even with
> the intro, the Holtz flashbacks, and the surprise ending.
> Rating: Decent
It has fallen in my ratings over the past year, but it still Decent. The
story is mildly interesting, but is upstaged by events and incidents in
the
episode that don't actually have much to do with that story - the demon
monks, Fred in her room, and Darla at the end. It is currently my 67th
favourite AtS episode, 9th best in season 3 (last year was 50th and 5th).
> Season Three, Episode 2: "That Vision-Thing"
> Writer: Jeffrey Bell
> Director: Bill Norton
>
> _Angel_ is very much a series about a flawed hero. The show is big
> about pointing out ways in which Angel is misguided or compromised. A
> fair amount of our hero's corruptibility comes at the hands of Wolfram
> & Hart; symbolically, they're the corrupt adult world that won't
> suffer the idealist's more simplistic world view. Like a Whedon
> writer, they also like to go after what helped the most last time. In
> Season Two, Angel got out of his hole by rediscovering and making
> amends with the people he cared about - this year his enemies will use
> them to get at him, starting this week with an impressive ruse. The
> way the good guys win the fight but still lose the battle, and accept
> this compromise as a calculated investment towards the war, is an
> example of the kind of thing that's this show's bread and butter. TVT
> was good the first time, and I think it played a little better and
> dragged less this time. Cordelia lying in bed suffering gets old, but
> there are some nice depictions too, particularly Lilah playing with
> fire, Fred playing with others, and the wonderfully designed character
> of Skip; the latter is based on one of the writers having recently
> encountered hulking but soft-spoken prison guards according to one of
> the special features. I believe this is Jeff Bell's first ATS script.
> Rating: Good
Only Decent for me. Skip is a great character, the Fred scenes are good,
and
Lilah is mostly good - with a caveat that the ending makes her look dumb
for
once. Mustafa Noskull is a ranged weapon if ever there was one, there was
no
way he should have been taken anywhere near anyone who could harm him. And
of course he is way overpowered for the use W&H get out of him. Overall it
is my 73rd favourite AtS episode, 10th best in season 3 (last year was
66th
and 9th).
> Season Three, Episode 3: "That Old Gang Of Mine"
> Writer: Tim Minear
> Director: Fred Keller
>
> enjoys death and mayhem, but as Chris so aptly put it, Gunn's "whole
> dilemma just feels a bit flat. It's just not dilemma-y enough." Even
> Tim himself doesn't think much of TOGOM, as he's sure to vehemently
> make clear to anyone who brings it up. (See the episode commentaries
> on this DVD set, and also his old Usenet posts.)
> Rating: Weak (down from Decent)
Oh dear! I made the mistake of rewatching this (and I suspect rewatching
it
always going to be a mistake). For me it also falls from Decent to Good.
Although in ratings points the change is not great, so it only falls to
95th
best AtS episode, 19th best in season 3 (from 89th and 18th last year).
> Season Three, Episode 4: "Carpe Noctem"
> Writer: Scott Murphy
> Director: James A. Contner
>
> This episode exists.
> Rating: Decent
And entertains. Especially whenever Fred is on screen - and especially
especially when she unleashes her mean streak on the fallen "Angel". But
yeah, its only Decent. It is my 52nd favourite AtS episode, 7th best in
season (last year was 47th and 4th) - which means that all 4 episodes so
far
have fallen from the rankings they held last year. At this rate it is not
looking good for AtS 3 to retain its tenuous hold on a place in the
Buffyverse Top 10 seasons in my ratings.
--
Apteryx
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