Pilot Watching 2010 Part 2

My Generation

This pilot hasn't garnered much critical attention. The cast are made up of largely unknowns and the documentary style is a well used one. However despite some bad press, this pilot wasn't half bad. There were some definite plot issues sure and I'm honetsly not sure how they will keep this premise going. However, most of the stories were intriguing and there is definitely enough to keep me interested until the next episode.
I liked they way in which they used the past 10 years of history as a backdrop to characters lives. Being able to flashback and forwards allows them to do this in an itelligent way, with hindsight, unlike the current trend of shows to cover the recession, when really, it's overkill (DH and B&S I'm looking at you!).
Overall this is quite a nice show and I'll be tuning in for episode number 2, though I won't be expecting a long run for the show. (7/10)

EDIT: Since writing this review (took me a while to actually post) the show has been cancelled. Sad to see after just 2 episodes but it's not really a surprise. I did like the premise and though the execution/cast could've been better, it's a shame to see it go. Not sure if I'll get round to watching the second episode now, since there's not really much point.

Mini Reviews- September 26th

As you can see from my About Me section to the right of the page, my TV watching has severely increased over the last week, with many of my favourite TV shows starting recently. I will try and blog mini reviews about them every week- time permitting. I also watched a couple of pilots this week, that I will continue with as the season progresses. I will try to watch a few other pilots and review them over the next couple of weeks.

90210- 3x01/3x02 "Senior Year Baby" and "Age Of Inheritance"
The third season kicked off last week, mostly dealing with the events of the finale and how they would impact on the characters. The biggest storyline is perhaps Naomi's who is not dealing well with her rape at the hands of Mr Cannon. She attempted to talk to the police about it, but when this didn't work a stream of booze, sex exploits, flirting with Teddy and throwing a big birthday bash ensued, none of which went well.
The writers wisely got rid of Adrianna's brief fling from last year, Javier, in a dramatic car crash. Her stealing his songs was obviously a bad move and I'm just waiting to see how it will crash and burn around her.
Annie and Liam continue to tip toe around each other which is frankly a little boring. Liam's half brother doesn't necessarily make this love triangle more interesting, though I am intrigued to see his history with Liam. Other yawnsville storylines include Ryan and Jen, who quite frankly no-one cares about any more.
Ivy, now a full time character, is now lusting after new bad boy with a bad accent Oscar, who deliciously and in true 90210 style is sleeping with her mother. Can't wait to see this one blow up!
Silver has rather swiftly broken up with Teddy who after injuring himself has taken to drinking. Though I understand her own history with alcoholics, considering he's basically lost his career, she's being very judgmental. That makes it a little harder to care therefore when Mr Cannon has set his eyes squarely on her. As a villain goes he's pretty effectively and I almost hope they don't do away with him too soon.
NB After 7 years of having others play themselves with him in character Adrian Grenier had to play himself as his and performed at Naomi's birthday- he proved that playing yourself, is a lot harder than it looks.

Chuck- 3x16/3x17 "Chuck versus The Tooth" and "Chuck versus the Living Dead"
The show is definitely kicking it up a few gears with now pretty much everyone bar Ellie in knowledge of Chuck's secret and Ellie get caught up in the spy game too. It makes for a much more interesting show, but I can't help that feel that the show is marking it's own ending date by doing this, as it's changed the show forever. Chuck going mad is an interesting way to go with the Intersect and it makes sense, but it seems underplayed and not really like it's taken seriously. However I do like that Morgan knows as it's much more satisfying watching him be the geek in the spy world.


How I Met Your Mother- 6x01 "Big Days"
The creators promised us a return to form and I think we got it. Set primarily in McLarens, we saw the gang get up to their usual shenanigans, but in a funny and heartwarming way, with all characters getting ample screen time. The flashforwards that bookended the episode which revealed that Ted would meet the Mother at a wedding in which he was a best man were exciting though I don't think the commonplace theory that this is Barney and Robin's wedding day. Though it would make sense and the clues were obviously placed there, I hope it's not as I really can't see the couple getting married, much less in a all the frills church service!

Modern Family- 2x01 "The Old Wagon"
I'm happy to say that the show hasn't allowed it's success to go to it's head (though admittedly this episode was shot pre Emmy win) and this was another funny and endearing episode of the show. It was a fairly quiet episode, not necessarily one where a lot happened, but it was funny and very true to the characters. Good to have you back, Modern Family.


The Inbetweeners 3x01/3x02 "The Fashion Show" and "The Gig and The Girlfriend"
And finally not to forget this incredibly funny UK comedy, the show has proven they are one of the funniest things on TV period. Though the first episode got off to a rocky start, the second was hilarious throughout and very much classic Inbetweeners. Though I can't personally identify with the drugs storyline in the second episode, it was very true to life and very funny.

Dexter- 4x01/02/03/04 "Living The Dream", "Reamains to Be Seen", "Blinded by the Light" and "Dex takes a Holiday"
I finally managed to begin Dexter and the best thing about starting it late is that I was able to watch a few episodes all at once. A lot has happened this season already, what with Lundy being shot in the fourth episode. I've enjoyed Dexter's family stuff as it's been very fun to watch him grapple with being a dad. I love that finally Dexter is realising that he does enjoy being a dad and having family around; it's about time he realises what we already know. The Angel/Maria storyline has also been enjoyable though most people don't seem to think so. The Trinty killer stuff is completely terrifying and creepy though, not surprised John Lithgow won an Emmy for the role.

Pilot Watching 2010 Part 1

Here are my reviews for a couple of the new shows to hit US screens this week. I'll watch and few over the next few weeks and give my thoughts.

Running Wilde

There have definitely been mixed reviews for this one. It has a pedigree cast and crew and is a clear descendent of Arrested Devlopment, this time a story about a overly roch and selfish guy, in love with an activist from his childhood. Along with her daughter she moves into his mansion to make him a better person.

The plot doesn't blow me away and whilst there were some funny jokes, it wasn't laugh out loud funny. There were some clear throwbacks to AD (bleeping out the swearing, "huge mistake", having a narrator) but the show feels quite different in style- as well it should. The romantic edge to this story does mean it has a very different tone so perhaps making it so similar wasn't the best idea (though I must admit, some of the AD influenced stuff was the funnest). AD's own pilot isn't that funny and it was definitely a show that got funnier as it went on, so I will probably stick this one out for a few more episodes to see if it improves. (Pilot Score: 7/10)

Mike and Molly

Again, this isn't the best plot in the world and as a romance story there is perhaps a limit to how far it can go. This was vastly different from Running Wilde. Mike and Molly are an overweight couple who meet at Overeaters Anonymous.

The thing about thins sitcom was that it wasn't very funny at all. Most of the jokes were very one dimensional and pretty crude. However what this show did have was a lot of heart. It was incredibly endearing and I loved the scenes where the two leads discussed their weight issues with the OA group as they were both very heartfelt moments. Both leads are very strong and likable, but the rest of the cast is less so. Again I will probably stick with this one to see if it gets funnier. (Pilot Score: 6.5/10)

Entourage Season Seven Review

Entourage Season 7

It was a bit of a mixed season for HBO's longest running show. It was actually the season that perhaps had the most depth as it showed all the boys with separate and specific arcs, something which the show has been criticised for not having. However not all of these storylines worked as well as they'd hoped. This was perhaps a crucial season in that it is the penultimate one and they are now only going to have a limited amount of episodes to round up the story.

Ari: Ari dealt with the fallout of Lizzie Grant wanting a promotion and him refusing to give it, considering her affair with his best friend Andrew Klein in the previous season. She took her wrath to Ari's long term enemy from season 3 Amanda Daniels. This led to some damaging details about Ari's behaviour being released to the press, which in turn lost him the NBA deal he was eying. In addition a foul mouthed and misogynist public rant at Amanda and in front of his wife, resulted in Mrs Ari walking out on Ari.
Considering some of Ari's behaviour over the years, it could be argued that it was only a matter of time before his foul mouthed rants and behaviour towards his wife landed him in hot water and honestly it was fun to watch, especially towards the end of the season where the outcome became a little more visible.I fully expect the couple to patch things up in the shows final season however.

Drama: Drama was mostly in the background this season; there were quite a few episodes where he had very little to do which was a little disappointing. His main storyline though was enjoyable. He had just a month to find a show for his holding deal with the network (the CW I think). He eventually found a show in which he was a lead; cartoon Johnny Bananas. He was reluctantly agreed to this idea and I can't wait to see some footage from the show- even if it's just viral as it will be a brilliant tie-in for the show.

Eric: As usual, E's storylines were mostly tied up in supporting the other members of the Entourage, specifically Vince and more recently Drama. However E also had his own personal storylines- a rivalry with Scott Wick at his company and Sloane, who was mostly a background character this year. This actually worked quite well, as at least we didn't have to deal with the drama of their relationship, which is when they are most enjoyable. E definitely grew in confidence and has come a long way from the season 1 playing at manager character he used to be. He should've dealt with the Vince issue a lot sooner though.

Turtle: This was probably the worst storyline of the season. After trying for so long to get his limo business off the ground, this was swiftly dropped in favour of the Avion Tequila storyline which pretty much went nowhere. It felt that they didn't really know how they wanted to wrap up the storyline and not wanting to go the predictable route of having Carlos be defrauding Turtle, they came up with a celebrity buyout that petered into nothing. This whole storyline was a real shame as I really wanted to see Turtle's Limo business go somewhere- instead he became a slacker again depending on Vince. His relationship with Alex was probably worse though as she was very annoying and I hope she doesn't return next season.

Vince: This was the main story for the season and it charted Vince's decline into drugs and self destructive behaviour. An excellent analysis I read elsewhere on the web (read the comments not the actual review), said that this downward spiral didn't just originate from Vince's car crash in the season premiere but from last season where he is effectively abandoned by the other members of the entourage as they pursue their own lives. Vince has always been a co-dependent character and take away his friends and he starts to fail.
Vince bad a series of bad choices over the course of the season, from daredevil stunts to taking prescription drugs, and from the porn star girlfriend to snorting coke and getting punched out by Eminem.
It's an interesting subject to watch and it's something that many Hollywood actors have gone through, so I liked that they looked at this with Vince. It also changed up his character a little which made it more fascinating to watch. As for Sasha Grey, she wasn't too awful, though she is clearly not a good girlfriend for Vince so I'm hoping she doesn't return next season, no matter how much creator Doug Ellin may love her!

I'm sad that we didn't see more of Lloyd this season, especially in the finale, though I do see how it would be hard to organically work him into the storyline. I must say I quite liked the return of a sober Billy Walsh, who was a lot more palatable than the drugged one.
I think that the premise underlying the season- the gang falling apart- is ultimately what hindered the show as there so few group scenes, only substantially in the premiere and and finale episodes I think. For a show that is based in this, it's obvious when the gang aren't all together. Whilst I appreciate the risk and the necessity of this to the storyline, I would like to see more group scenes as the show heads towards it's final episode next year.
I would also like to see less of the random celebrities- whilst some work (the the final for example Eminem and John Cleese), some really do not (e.g those sports stars Turtle calls) and feel forced into the show. With so few episodes left, only meaningful cameos would be nice, not just stars trying to get their faces on the show.
Overall this was definitely an uneven season, which definitely saw improvement once the storylines took hold and the end was in sight. It was a slightly shortened season and it definitely felt concentrated because of that; perhaps extra episodes would've given back the comedy injection needed this season. However there it wasn't all bad and mostly I did like the darker direction the show took as it showed that this show is more than just celebrity fluff.

How I Met Your Mother Season 6 Preview

After the difficult season 5, season 6 will be more Ted centric and we will get a big Mother clue in the first episode!

Though Ted is often cited as one of the less interesting characters, he is obviously the heart of the show- I don't think it's a coincidence that season 5 struggled and it's the only season in which Ted did not have a long term girlfriend or any substantial romantic prospects. Thankfully the shows creators realise this and are putting the show back on it's path.
I'm excited to see the show move forward considerably, in terms of Ted's romantic life and Marshall and Lily's baby making. I'm also excited to see Barney meeting his dad for the first time and for more Robin Sparkles history to emerge!

EDIT: I also want to point out that they are releasing The Playbook from the season 5 episode of the same name- it sure to be another funny installment from that now prolific author Barney Stinson (and of course the excellent actual writer Matt Kuhn!) This clever piece of advertising is one of the reasons by HIMYM is so damn good!

Grey's Anatomy Season 7 Preview

Season 7 will of course kick off dealing with the aftermath of the dramatic shooting at the end of last season. I think this plus the evolved new cast will give the show a shot in the arm and allow it to stay fresh, something which is obviously difficult in a shows seventh season.

You can see some sneak peaks of the premiere here and below is the gorgeous new cast shot of the cast:

The PTB behind the show also ran a savvy Facebook campaign allowing fans to choose the best fan artwork to accompany the show. The one I chose won!

Grey's Anatomy starts on 23rd September on ABC in the US and will most likely kick off in January 2011 on Living in the UK

90210 Season 3 preview

90210

This rebooted show returns for it's third (and given the ratings quite possibly last) season. Last season finished off dramatically with Harry and Debbie's divorce and Naomi's rape, the consequences of both we will continue to see in the upcoming season.
Storylines include:

The much publicised Teddy going gay storyline. According to spoilers this may happen as early as episode 3. A new love interest will also be introduced for him in the form of Kyle Riabko

“90210” — (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET)
“2021 Vision” (TV-14, L) (HDTV)

SLEEPING PILLS AND DRUNK HOOK-UPS — Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord) has constant flashbacks to her rape and begins taking sleeping pills in order to sleep through the night. Mr. Cannon (guest star Hal Ozban, “Californication”) invites Silver (Jessica Stroup) over to his apartment to watch his new documentary and secretly slips something in her drink. Meanwhile, Teddy (Trevor Donovan) wakes up from a night of drinking and realizes he hooked up with someone. Dixon (Tristan Wilds) learns that, despite what he assumed, Ivy (Gillian Zinser) is a virgin. Annie (Shenae Grimes) confronts her boss, Katherine (guest star Lisa Waltz, “General Hospital”) about her awkward behavior and is shocked when she makes her an offer she may not be able to refuse. Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) sings a new stolen song at a memorial service but she soon regrets her decision to do so when the video goes viral on the web. Lori Loughlin, Michael Steger, Ryan Eggold and Matt Lanter also star. Millicent Shelton directed the episode written by Tod Himmel (##303).

Read more: http://www.spoilertv.com/2010/09/90210-episode-303-2021-vision-synopsis.html#ixzz0zJPcoOQd

Liam and Annie will also likely get together but not before a love triangle springs up with Liam's half brother. I'm not that excited by this storyline as I don't really see the chemistry between the pair (probably due to Shanae Grimes acting skills) and a half brother springing out of nowhere seems like a retread of season 1 (don't even get me started on Annie dating another one of Naomi's ex's)



More celebrities! In a bid to boost ratings, the Kardashian sisters and Adrian Grenier's band will appear in the first few episodes. I'll be interested to see how Adrian deals with playing himself since he's so used to being the one in character whilst other actors play themselves in Entourage.

Here's the promo for the new season, I absolutely adore the use of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, so perfect for the show!



90210 starts Monday 13th September on the CW. I will be watching US pace and reviewing as the season goes along.

Mini Reviews- September 12th

Leverage 3x13- The Morning After Job

Leverage ended it's summer season with another great episode which is really the only 'arc' episode there has been since the premiere. However as a finale episode it lacked a little and whilst I understand why TNT might want to keep a few episodes back till the Winter, the 13/3 episode split is frustrating and a more even split would've been better. However, there may be some creative reasoning behind the split so I'll reserve judgment until the winter. (exact return date tba)
This episode is a little different to many of the episodes Leverage usually do. Though there was the usual victim, this one was really about going after Moreau, the mastermind criminal, the Italian wants the gang to go after in exchange for releasing Nate from prison.BI agent rather well. Eliot and Hardison did their usual and very funny double act which works so well because of their ability to vibe of each other. Sophie disappointingly had very little to do, I hope her role in season 4 increases because we haven't seen her do a whole lot since Gina Bellman went on maternity leave in season 2.

Chuck 3x15 Chuck versus the Role Models

A fairly good Chuck episode. With the state of their role models marriage as it was, I was curious to see where the show was going in terms of lesson for Sarah and Chuck. They didn't really come to any conclusion and honestly I found the vague 'we're different' platitudes followed by a swift moving in to be a little irritating. I did quite enjoy the Casey/Morgan stuff and whilst I enjoyed the Ellie/Awesome in Doctors Without Borders I was a little sad to see their journey end so quickly; it would've been nice to see them there a little bit longer.

Mad Men 1x10/1x11- Shoot & The Long Weekend

Very good episodes. The first definitely saw conflict rising, with Peggy gaining new found confidence to stand up to Joan and Don squashing Betty's dreams of being a model. I'm not a huge Betty fan, but it was easy to feel her pain at having her dream snatched away. I'm not sure I totally blame Don for not taking the job; it is his career after all and he has to do his best not just for himself but his family.
In the second episode we saw a few souls laid bare; Sterling's after his heart attack, Joan's roommate as she confessed her feelings for Joan and Don as he revealed a small part of his childhood to Rachel. It's almost a relief that the latter have slept together now as it's been brewing for weeks. I also found both the company's and Joan's reactions to Sterling's heart attack to be very interesting (telegraph's in the middle of the night?! A different world perhaps). Also the Nixon and Kennedy storyline is brewing nicely.


I'm quite annoyed to realise that after playing the last 3 episodes of season 1 tonight (Sunday 12th) the BBC don't seem to be continuing with their reruns, perhaps due to the clash with ongoing season 4. I hope we won't have to wait very long for season 2

Page now up for Buffy and Angel Rewatch

Even though it's been quite a while since I finished my Buffy and Angel rewatch blog, I've pnly just got around to fully updating my page for the blogs.

All links including episodes names to each rewatch blog are now conveniently linked on the following page:

http://natstvblog.blogspot.com/p/buffy-and-angel-rewatch.html

Take a look and let me know what you think and of any incorrect links!

The Inbetweeners Series 3

It's been a long time coming (the last series aired over 15 months ago) but the boys are returning for one final series of this incredibly funny show. The movie is already underway, but in anticipation of the new series, they have done a quick little prequel:



Feels like nothing has changed and that's definitely a good thing! Can't wait!

The Inbetweeners starts 13th September E4 10pm.

Brothers and Sisters- season 5 spoilers

After reading recent B&S spoilers which made me feel a little bit queasy (Luc becoming an underwear model) and shock horror, miss Rob Lowe (Kitty having another identity crisis and Balthazar Getty not appearing at all), the latest press release and premiere photos have made excited for the start of season 5.

I like that the family have been estranged for a little while- this was similar to in the pilot so hopefully we can see a spark of the old B&S back. I hope we get some flashbacks at some point to find out what happened during the year though.

Justin looks way cool with his shaved head, though admittedly I have no idea what he's doing in military uniform as last we heard he was off to Haiti to be a doctor. Kitty's son also looks mighty big for a 3 year old

Mini Reviews- August

It has been a little quieter on the TV front this month, but I've had a few TV shows to keep me going as you can see on my profile to the right of this post. I'll do a quick summary of them:

Chuck (season 3 part 1)
Chuck hit it's 13th episode mark last week- the original finale episode before the show was given a reprieve.
It had been a good and fast moving 13 episodes. Awesome became involved in the spy world, Morgan found out Chuck's secret, Casey got fired, both Chuck and Sarah got involved with other people and then (finally) each other and Chuck became a real spy. The plot and character development really was a whirlwind and has done creative wonders for a show that was becoming very formulaic. I know that the next few episodes may not be as good, seeing that they are an addendum to the season, but I'm looking forward to them nonetheless.

Entourage (season 7)
HBO's short seasons means that Entourage will be over in just a few episodes even though it feels like the season has just started. The season is a lot darker than previous seasons and generally there is a very different tone about it. There have been very few scenes with all the guys together as all the boys are pursuing their own lives/dreams. This isn't a bad thing, though after watching previous seasons on DVD, it does make me miss the boys' camaraderie.
The darker tone comes from Vince, who after a lucky escape from a dangerous stunt goes of the rails a little, popping Vicodins, snorting coke and jumping out of planes. I'm quite enjoying his descent into the Hollywood maddness and it feels that this could be a great setup for the final season next year.

Leverage (season 3)
I have caught up fully with Leverage now, and I am feeling the effects of catching up too fast as waiting a whole week for a new episode is proving difficult! However the show is continuing to be fun and the most recent episode I watched 'The Roshomon Job' in which each character told their side of a particular job, was one of the best episodes they've done. Some of the recent plot devices have become a little bit wacky and unrealistic, but amongst all the capers, the show has real heart which is keeping it grounded. According to twitter the show recently wrapped up filming and the mid season finale will air next week in the States. After that expect a blog reviewing season 2 and 3 (since I never got around to doing the season 2 blog)


Mad Men (season 1)
Everyone raves about this show, so when the BBC decided to rerun episodes from the beginning on Sunday nights in anticipation for the newest season, I decided to tune in. It's not hard to see why everybody loves this show and why it won the Emmy for best drama show this week. The characters are all perfectly drawn and its fun to see a little bit more of their characters every episode. The show doesn't pander to idiots so a lot is left unexplained and though some of it may be going over my head, I enjoy that I have to work a little to understand it. Plus the excellent cast make it very easy to watch.

Ugly Betty (season 4)
This show has only just kicked off here in the UK but it has been enjoyable so far.
Betty trying (and failing) in her new job feels a lot like season 1 (in a good way) and it's nice to see the other characters getting meatier storylines, especially Amanda and Justin, who have largely been comedy relief in the past. Amanda's quest for a better job/ more stable life will be interesting to watch and shows she is more than just a caricature. Justin's trouble in his high school was painful but endearing to watch. I look forward to seeing more of both storylines in future episodes.

Emmys 2010

Apologies for the long break in blogging. It's not just that now my Buffy/Angel Rewatch is over that I've given up (!) but other personal stuff plus a pretty crappy cold I was suffering from last week kept me from blogging. To make up for it I'll be posting a few blogs over the next couple of days!

First up the Emmys!

To make use of the UK Bank Holiday today I stayed up and watched the E! Coverage of the Emmy Red Carpet. The coverage was definitely worse than in previous years: a lot of E! 'stars' were interviewed in favour of real stars and the pacing was definitely off as they struggled to fill the first half hour and the last 15 minutes as everybody had gone in by that point. I tweeted a bit about it whch you can see to the right hand side of this blog, probably if you scroll down a bit :)

Fashion wise there are always the usual hits and misses. Here are some of my favourite outfits from the night:



Julie Bowen looked lovely in a navy blue ruffled dress and her hair looked stunning. Not sure why she was there but I loved Kim Kardashian's Grecian inspired white dress. Both colours very popular all night






A lot of people didn't like Christina Hendrick's lavender colour gown, but I think it looked lovely on her.
I curse her for her youth and stick insect figure but Sarah Hyland's dress was just gorgeous.






Elizabeth Moss looked just great in this light coloured gown. Julie Benz as always looked amazing following the one shoulder strapped trend this time in white. Her hair looked great too, I' guessing hair extensions.



And some of my worst:

January Jones looked a bit like a mermaid in this dress, though I did like the colour. She didn't make much effort with her hair either.
She had a newlyweds glow but Anna Paquin's military topped dress was just a bit weird.



Winning wise, I think it was actually a pretty good year. There weren't many major upsets or shocks and I think that generally the right people won. I was especially pleased to see Modern Family take home quite a few including one for best show- I was afraid it would go to Glee, which IMO had a much less funnier season than MF which was very much consistent.

The cast also did a great skit for the Emmys involving George Clooney- luckily he didn't need to do anything for the skit other than look pretty:

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 70 (Conclusion)

Review of the Rewatch

It's taken me about 11 months to complete the rewatch- that's 12 seasons and 254 episodes in roughly 48 weeks. It's been hard going at times I have to admit; there are some not so good episodes amongst the good ones and it was tough to make myself watch them. I was also feeling a little over-saturated at one point.

However now I'm done with the rewatch, I'm finding myself badly missing the shows. I had never watched either shows continuously like that and doing so definitely made me love both shows a lot more. It's easy to forget how the stories were layered and built up over the years, how much effort went into each episode and how enjoyable and underrated certain episodes can be. There were a lot of episodes that I enjoyed a lot more this time round and I appreciated more of the general arcs as I was watching the seasons in a short amount of time.

I must say, in terms of episode order, it was difficult to watch the shows together, completely in chronological order. Often episode arcs would have to be split in order to watch episodes in the rght order and sometimes I would go quite a long time before switching to the other show. I would probably conclude therefore that a true episode order of the two shows (in terms of watching) can't be done, especially for the later crossovers.

It's hard to write up a summary for both shows in just a few short paragraphs to sum up how amazing I think both shows are- I mean let's face it, I never would have done this rewatch if both shows were not deserving of one. However I'll give it a go!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer- Series Review

In pop culture's history, this is usually considered a special so- and for very good reason. A failed film, a silly title and a teeny-bopper premise, meant that to begin with the show probably wasn't taken very seriously. The show took a little while to find it's feet, not truly reaching it's true potential until the end of it's first season and even then it took a dramatic twist in the second season to put Buffy on the map. It demonstrated to critics that despite it's origins Buffy the Vampire Slayer was more than just a high school vampire romp- it was a show to be taken seriously.

Many people say that the high school years of the show were it's best and in some ways that's true. Sunnydale High was the perfect place for vampire/demons to wreck havoc and the the storylines became the perfect metaphor for growing up. There is a definite charm to these early years; there were a lot of not so stellar stand alone episodes, but the three Big Bads (the Master/Angelus/the Mayor) brought a nice cohesion to the episodes, each representing an important stage in Buffy's life. The stand alone episodes also had their merits; they were often silly but sometimes dark, but the episodes were nearly always funny and the 'little' personal moments contained within them made the show what it was.
The year after school was a little bit of a struggle, both creatively for the writers and for the characters. The Big Bad was probably the weakest of the show, but the show did it's best to retain some of the high school essence, whilst still propelling it's characters forward.
Though Buffy has always been a young show, it was thrust more firmly into the adultworld when Buffy gained a sister in the fifth season. Dawn may have annoyed some, but she had an important purpose and brought around some of the most terrific drama seen on the show.
Seasons 6 and 7 are often considered the worst by fans; many preferred The Gift as a finale and the change of network did mean the show had a very different tone. However I personally don't think that the latter two seasons were particularly worse than the other seasons, though the dark tone does make it a very different show from what it started out as. The lack of Big Bad for most of season 6 allowed for rich character development and the omnipresent Big Bad in season 7 pushed the story along nicely, creating a real sense of drama and lay the foundations down for that stunning finale.
I'm not sure if I can decide on my favourite season; season 5 was probably the strongest but season 3 mixed the stand alones with the Big Bad more effectively than any other season, so I'd probably pick those two.

Though I found Buffy more palatable (and gasp even likable!) as a lead this time watching; the core of the show always has and will be the entire Scooby gang. Though there were a lot of characters that came and went throughout the show, some of them integrating themselves with the Scoobies one time or another, the core four of Buffy, Willow, Giles and Xander provided the emotional stability and depth of the show. Without them, the show wouldn't have been the same.

Overall the show made a name for itself and will never be forgotten. For me personally, the whole show was infinitely more enjoyable this time round. The friendship built up between the group, the trials faced, the witty banter and inside jokes are all a lot more enjoyable when the show is watched from start to end. In terms of quality the show probably beats out Angel, due to it's role as the original and best.

Angel- Series Review

Spin-off's usually crash and burn but this one flourished and went on to survive only 1 and half seasons less than it's predecessor. However despite that, Angel proved to be one hell of a show. Based on vampires and the good vs evil fight it was always going to be difficult to establish it's identity. The characters quickly evolved though- Angel, Cordy and Wes were completely different from who they were in Buffy and it was a joy to watch the characters grow up.
This growing up was important as Angel had a more distinctly adult feel to it. The characters faced many problems a young adult would face (housing, jobs, identity, evil law firms!) which definitely made it different from Buffy (though the latter show did venture into adult territory, it never did quite as much Angel did). LA provided a very suitable background to the gang's adventures especially in some of the earlier seasons. Angel's mission statement of helping the helpless may never have worked in any other city.

Though the first season was pretty much made up of standalone episodes, character development was still important. Doyle left a huge lasting impression and Cordy/Wes ended up very different characters from the ones we saw in Sunnydale. Wolfram and Hart in it's many incarnations played the big villain which kept Angel on his toes. Through season 1, they were always there, but it was in season 2 that the writers made them step up and they became a huge part of the show. Bringing back Darla was also important, especially as she became so embedded in the mythology of the show. W&H and Darla continued to play major roles in season 3, but the biggest new player was easily Connor. Though many fans don't like Connor; like Dawn in Buffy, he plays an integral part in the show, shaping the characters and especially Angel into the people they became.
Though W&H was Angel's main foe, they ironically faded into the background when a more traditional big bad(s) appeared in season 4. This season definitely has a different feel to all other seasons in that there aren't really many cases of the week and the whole season is just one big adventure.
Though Angel was supported by Buffy in the early years, season 3 and 4 saw the show stand fully on it's own two feet with only brief interludes to keep the two shows spinning in the same universe. My personal saddness at season 5 is because after this act of independence by the show, it fell back heavily to leaning on Buffy- funny that, as the show wasn't even on anymore- with characters from Buffy crossing over permanently onto Angel. Though some semblance of an arc was developed later in the season season 5, was again very much full of standalone episodes, similar in many ways to season 1.
For me my favourite seasons of the show were 2-4. Although season 4 got a little messy towards the end, everything that happened in those seasons cause a further consequence that led to the three seasons feeling very much like the middle arc of the show. Season 1 and 5 were good, but both were very much standalone and though all seasons had some less than good episodes, the worst episodes are probably to be found in the beginning and closing seasons.

In keeping with it's more adult tone, the show was never afraid to kill of it's main characters. Though Buffy did do this to some extent, the core four all survived. This was not the case with major characters dying in every season (Doyle, Darla, Lilah, Cordy, Fred, Lindsey, Wes). In fact the only character truly left standing was Angel. This definitely gave Angel a darker feeling than Buffy had. It's a testament to the actor and writing that each character left a hole, when they died (thankfully those last few death's were in the final season so we didn't have to do without the characters for too long!) Doyle was in just in 9 episodes but is sorely missed throughout the show and season 5 is definitely worse off for the lack of Cordelia.


Overall though, despite the shows minor faults, this was an excellent show and showed producers can a drama spin-off can work and exactly how to do one. However Angel was more than a spin-off and though it's often seen as Buffy's lesser sibling, it was probably my favourite out of the two shows (only just though!).

My Best and Worst Buffy and Angel Episodes

My Best episodes are those that I scored 10 for (couldn't include the episodes I scored 9.5 as the list is already very long!); the worst are those that I scored 5.5 and below (listed in chronological order; to see why I thought the episodes were so good or bad please click the link!) I don't think there ate any surprises on these lists- the best list, especially is fairly standard and the there aren't too many shockers on the worst list either. It is nice to see that my best list well outweighs the bad list.

Worst Episodes

1.04 Teacher's Pet
2.18 Killed By Death
B4.05 Beer Bad
A1.06 Sense and Sensitivity
A1.15 The Prodigal
B4.18 Where the Wild Things Are
A2.08 The Shroud of Rahmon
B6.12 Doublemeat Palace
A3.18 Double or Nothing
5.13 Why We Fight
5.20 The Girl in Question

Best Episodes

2.17 Passion
2.21 Becoming Part 1
2.22 Becoming Part 2
3.16 Dopplegangland
3.21 Graduation Day part 1
3.22 Graduation Day Part 2
A1.09 Hero
B4.10 Hush
B4.15 This Year's Girl
B4.16 Who Are You?
A1.18 Five by Five
A1.19 Sanctuary
B4.22 Restless
A1.22 To Shanshu in LA
A2.07 Darla
A2.15 Reprise
A2.16 Epiphany
B5.16 The Body
B5.22 The Gift
B6.07 Once More With Feeling
B6.08 Tabula Rasa
A3.13 Waiting In The Wings
A4.07 Apocalypse Nowish
A4.22 Home
B7.22 Chosen
5.12 You're Welcome
5.15 A Hole in the World
5.22 Not Fade Away

Special thanks

This may sound stupid, but a big thanks to the cast and crew of Buffy and Angel for providing such quality entertainment.

Thanks to the websites I have pilfered pictures from along the way including (but not limited to):
Angel Screen Caps
Buffy Wikia
Wikipedia
Amazon.co.uk (and .com)
Sidereel

Thanks to Shawn, who has commented on every single Rewatch post and to the others that have also read and commented along the way.

Leverage Season 1 Review

Leverage Season 1

As a big Whedon fan (the last few shows I have watched/been obsessed by have all contained a Whedon alum in a major role) and after listening to some of Christian Kane's music on You Tube (and developing a huge crush!), I decided to give Christian Kane's latest show, Leverage, a try.

The show is set around a group of criminals and thieves who are united by good guy Nate Ford- still reeling from his former employers (an insurance company) refusal to pay for his son's treatment which ultimately led to his death. Along for the ride are grifter Sophie, hacker Hardison, hitter, Eliot and thief Parker. The team help steal from big businesses and other monied individuals to give back to the people who have been stung by these businesses.
The whole show feels very much Oceans 11, except funnier, smarter, with more likable characters and a better cast. The pilot perfectly sets up for the rest of the show, in which the team are brought together for the first time. It's one of the few jobs in which the crew are self serving and whilst later episodes find them taking on jobs to help other people, there are some personal agendas along the way.

The show isn't terribly grounded in logic; it's incredible how they pull off some of the cons and get away with some of the things they do. Also I don't always understand what's going on, especially the hacker stuff but it's not completely necessary to enjoy the show and the cons they perform. However this makes the show hugely fun to watch and the 'Robin Hood' nature of their jobs leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Favourite episodes:

The Nigerian Job- where it all began. Great start and gives the first hint of the type of misdirection stunts the team can pull off

The Bank Shot Job- Nate usually leads the team, but when he's stuck inside a bank robbery with Sophie, the whole team must use their skills to get them out safely.

The Juror 6 Job- this job pits the crew directly against a company trying to rig a court case. It's a fun cat and mouse game

The First David Job- this job sees the team seek revenge on Nate's old employer wth interesting results which truly show how far the team has come.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 69

5.21 Power Play
As everybody knows, this episode was done pretty quickly to bring the series to a suitable conclusion. However that doesn't stop the amazing-ness of this episode. Making Angel appear evil was a brilliant and excellently pulled off storyline. When I first watched the episode, I nearly believed it and watching it again, he continues to pull it off convincingly. It's nice to see the gang work together, for the first time in a long while- first against Angel and then with him in that stunning final scene (one of my favourite of the show). There are some flaws with this episode as it was so rushed; Angel's explanation of what happened since Cordy's final flashback doesn't quite fit in with what's happened on the show; the Angel/Nina stuff is pretty awful since they have no chemistry together and the pair have gone from zero to 100 in the space of a few episodes and it feels very quick; and finally the Black Thorn idea, slightly contradicts everything we've known about the Senior Partners up until now. However looking at that final flaw from another angel, it does make sense especially since the society was secret and until they were inside W&H the gang had no idea how it truly worked. Either way, this episode neatly sets up for the final showdown. (9.5/10)

5.22 Not Fade Away
Apparently two episodes was all that was needed to create the perfect finale for this stunning show. The gang went out fighting and even though Angel was a little bit wordy in doing it, he reminded us of the mission statement of the show- fight the good fight, help the helpless and never give up. Angel and the gang showed exactly what they were made of by going to their deaths in a fight not to win, but to keep on fighting.
The composition of this episode was impeccable. Every character was allowed a moment of happiness. There were few surprises in what they decided to do; I loved seeing Lorne and Spike up on their stages, having Wesley stay with Illyria was just perfect for where he is emotionally and Angel and Connor's honest conversation was beautiful as they finally got to have the father/son relationship that Angel always wanted. Gunn's perfect day was perhaps the biggest surprise, but bringing Anne and the 'streets' back was an inspired move and it worked so well. Having Harmony betray Angel was perhaps a little sudden, and the dialogue was a little odd, but it served the purpose.
The fight scenes were equally amazing. We didn't really need to see much of Illyria's, Lindsey's or Spike's; it was clear that they would easily win. The subsequent death's of Wesley and Lindesey were far more important and utterly heartbreaking. Bringing Fred back for one final moment was a cruel and beautiful decision; Lindsey got a distinctly imperfect death, but Wesley's final moments were a lot kinder on him. It was sad to see Lorne walk away so defeated though. He was definitely a shadow of the character that entered in season 2. I'm only sad we didn't get to explore more of that.
In a way it was good to see Angel get beat up a bit as it made his final fight a lot more meaningful. Having Connor join him was yet another joyous moment and it's a nice way to wrap up their storyline together.
The final fight in the alleyway is definitely the best way to wrap the show. It's fitting that only the non-humans made it bar a nearly dead Gunn, as it presses home the reality of the fight they undertook. Overall a superb finale in which storylines are simultaneously wrapped up and left completely open ended- perfect for the show. (10/10)


Angel Season 5
Overall this was a very mixed season for me. The season started of shakily and produced very few good episodes within the first half. At the network's bequest most of the episodes were played as standalones which was a disjointing change from season 4, which had virtually no standalone episodes. The second half of the season was a lot better, but some of the shows worst episodes were in this part of the season, so it's difficult to say that the show found it's footing again.

One of the things I disliked most about the season was the arrival of both Spike and Harmony. Harmony wasn't so bad as she had appeared on the show before and fitted in with W&H's moral ambiguity. However Spike's appearance, not only lessened his heroic death in Sunnydale, it put him centre of stage which cause all the main Angel cast to be booted in favour of his hijinks with Angel. Whilst some of these escapades were funny, Spike generally got on my nerves and if he hadn't out stayed his welcome by returning to Sunnydale in season 4 and staying til the end, he definitely out-stayed it here.
There were other new arrivals in the form of Eve, Knox, Nina, Hamilton and various W&H clients, particularly those that ended up forming the Black Circle. Eve was a character that became more interesting as she lost power and I respected Hamilton in his obvious villain role. Knox was irritating, so it was almost a relief when he was revealed to be evil. Nina continued to be annoying during her performances- the network must've been behind Angel's romance because I can't seriously believe that the writers though that the pair had chemistry.

The season wasn't all bad however. I loved the gang's stint in W&H, it did help to rejuvenate the series and gave them new situations to face, which after the epic-ness of the previous season was needed. I'm sad we didn't get to see more of what Lorne and Gunn did within the firm; it would've been fun to see them do their thing- Gunn especially since it was so new to him.
I also liked that the show, despite network intervention, managed to to tie up lose ends- Cordy, Connor and Lindsey all returned to see out their storylines (sadly ending in 2 of them dying, but at least it was closure).

Overall this is easily my least favourite Angel season; there were many highs but many were cancelled out by the lows. (7.5/10)


There'll be one final blog to follow in which I'll round up the rewatch!