Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 35

NOTE: according to the episode guide I'm following I was Made To Love You and The Body should be next, but since I think they should be watched alongside Forever an episode which wouldn't make sense without Angel's Epiphany coming first, therefore I will watch the Angel episodes (2.15/16) and then the Buffy episodes (5.15/16/17).

A2.15 Reprise
This, the first half in what I would regard as a two parter, is an excellent episode and one of my favourite of the series. Everyone on the episode is looking for the meaning of life, or their place in the world. The Wolfram and Hart lawyers are in a spin awaiting the dreaded Senior Partners and looking for a way to keep their jobs; only Lindsey seems to not care and he has shown this lack of caring many times before. The Angel Investigations team are looking at how to fight evil and still make money and Angel is looking to end his war with Wolfram and Hart once and for all. The latter is the most compelling storyline, though I love the way in which they set up Cordy's storyline for the next episode.
Angel continually shows that he cares even though he claims not too. Holland Manners speech in the elevator, which simply inspired makes him realise that there isn't a good vs evil fight; they will always exist. That in a nutshell is really what Angel is all about. The characters and storylines continually make good choices which have bad outcomes and vice-versa and that is what the show is all about- evil can never be defeated. Its a powerful speech and marks a real turning point. However perhaps this turning point more comes in the last scene with Angel and Darla having sex. As foreshadowed by Cordy's speech earlier in the episode, its maybe a good thing that Angel 'got laid' as certainly it has a good effect on him. It has other ramifications of course but it is a nice bookend to the Angel/Darla relationship this season. (10/10)

A2.16 Epiphany
I adore this episode. There's a real sense of happiness after the previous episodes which were very dark. Angel's epiphany effects everyone; it angers both Lindsey and Darla causing the latter to leave town, it forced Angel to seek counsel with Lorne and it helps Angel to save Kate's, Cordy's, Gunn's and Wes' lives. I always like the storyline in which he saves Kate from her attempted suicide; her final words to him hint that the Powers That Be haven't gone anywhere, they allowed him in to save her life. Its very poignant for Angel as it shows they're still on his side.
I do feel sorry for Lindsey in this episode, he also has an epiphany that his relationship with Darla will never happen, though I admit his road rage against Angel felt a little bit surplus to the episode.
Angel saving his team were the best bits of the episode though; there were a lot of funny bits and Angel's such a funny character when he's trying to be lighthearted. The little touch at the end with him going to work for the others was very nice, as it made a lot more sense than the others suddenly forgiving Angel. (10/10)

B5.15 I Was Made To Love You
A rather silly and yet sad episode, and not just for that heart wrenching ending. April the robots story played out in obvious parallel to Buffy's feelings of abandonment. I felt bad for Buffy, however I couldn't fully sympathise with her feelings as she's only 20 and bound to find love again, though maybe her shorter than average life expectancy means she has to rush these things a little. The character of April was really well played and even though she was a robot it was hard not to feel a little sympathetic towards her.
Other good moments included a little happy Summers time together and a rare scene between just Anya and Tara; we don't get to see the Scoobies other halves together that much, but it makes a lot of sense that they would share a bond. (7.5/10)

B5.16 The Body
This is a difficult episode to watch and an even harder one to write about. It had a much bigger impact on me watching it this time than when I watched it before probably because this time round I watched the whole story of Joyce's illness. Its a hugely haunting; none of the sad music or histrionic crying that usually accompanies TV deaths, just shock and grief. The silence is some parts of the episode is nearly deafening. I'm not a huge fan of the vampire in the morgue as I think the fighting takes a little away from the rawness of the episode, but in a way it highlights that death happens regularly on this show and sometimes deaths can be a little glossed over, which is necessary to keep the story moving. This death is very different from most deaths however because not only is it someone close, but its from human causes. (10/10)

B5.17 Forever
Another sad episode and a nice way to round off the initial impact of Joyce's death. This episode isn't as dark as the last, we get some lighter moments in the form of Anya's life and death talk, Glory finding out about the key and Giles listening to the song he and Joyce listened to in Band Candy, which I thought was a nice touch. The darker moments came from Dawn's quest to resurrect Joyce which produced some particularly creepy scenes, especially with Joyce rising and nearly appearing at the end. However this storyline is a little spoiled by Dawn's constant whininess. Understandable, but still a little annoying.
The saddest and best moments came at the funeral and Buffy and Dawn's confrontation at the end, where both sisters realise that that the other felt alone and symbolically they learn to lean on each other. Whilst this doesn't continue for the rest of the season so much, this is an important step.
Another bit I liked was the Angel visit after the funeral. I'm not a big Buffy/Angel fan but his appearance fit into the story well and it makes sense that he would come. The conversation was also nicely steered around the subject of Dawn, a way of avoiding perhaps how far the monks had created their reality. Even though it would've been interesting to see some conversation between the two about Dawn and her existence, its probably best they didn't. (8/10)

Mini Reviews- February 22nd

Greek- 3x12 Pride and Punishment
This episode nicely wrapped up the fire and song fest storyline from last chapter even if the ending was a little cheesy and completely implausible. It was stupid of Casey to admit what happened but at least the story won't be hanging over the rest of the season.
Still the episode was a good one, I love the Rusty/Ashleigh pairing, bizarrely it works and we also got some nice genuine banter between Rusty and Dale, though I was expecting more fall out from Rusty getting the grant.
We also got to see the brilliant Rebecca/Cappie pairing, as they play girl/boyfriend swap. It was a silly but funny storyline and its sweet to see that Cappie still cares for Rebecca. Also hopefully this is the last of we've seen of the Amphora society, which was an annoying and silly storyline.

Greek- 3x13 Take Me Out
A much more enjoyable episode than the last and some classic Greek on Greek action to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed Casey and Cappie setting Ashleigh up with Beaver as it felt very true to life. Whilst they would make a horrible couple and I hope to see more of Ashleigh's hunky Omega Chi, it gave us some excellent and hilarious Beaver moments.
Rusty also had an enjoyable storyline learning to respect Grant whilst also growing into his role of pledge educator. Grant isn't a hugely likable character and Calvin could definitely do better, but their relationship is interesting for now.
Another enjoyable relationship is Rebecca and Evan. They're well matched with each other and Rebecca is refreshingly realistic against the fairytale, sickly sweetness of Casey and Cappie. Speaking of I'm thrilled Casey didn't throw the game for her boyfriend, winning made a much more emotionally satisfactory outcome to the game. Also I must say I'm enjoying the Gamma Psi girls as the Zeta Beta's enemies. I've always said the girls need an arch rival in the show and Frannie's house last season didn't quite work out. The Gamma Psi's make worthy adversaries.

Greek- 3x14 Tortoise and The Hair
An enjoyable episode. It was great to see Dale mixing with more of the Greeks becoming the ZBZ's new hasher and the sexual confusion with Ashleigh was very funny and quite plausible, considering Dale's high self-confidence. Liked seeing Rusty's blossoming romance (probably) with Dana, but it was silly of him to turn down the interview with Engineering Weekly (nice acronym joke there!) as his professor pointed out, these opportunities only come once or maybe twise in a lifetime.
Casey pursuing her political career felt a little false considering she has tired law and politics before and dismissed them so what is different now? The politics makes some sense, but I can't buy her doing her LSAT's; she could've easily chosen another post-grad course to do. Even though Cappie was a little cheesy, it was nice to see Casey and Cappie facing up to the future maturely, especially Casey in choosing her career first and foremost.

Desperate Housewives- 6x04 The God Why Don't You Love Me Blues
A decent episode, though like the last this felt a little rushed. Bree came across as overly harsh and self involved as she sacked Katherine for her obsession with Mike. Call me crazy also but I don't think Katherine believing Mike will come back to her is that crazy given Mike and Susan's history. The watching through the windows is admittedly going to far but Bree is sending Katherine down a dangerous path by sacking her.
The Lynette boob storyline was in part funny, I really liked her scenes with Tom, but with Carlos it felt sleazy and perhaps a little exaggerated (they weren't that big!). Would Carlos be so openly leery of his wife's friend?
Maybe his behaviour was done to make Gaby's in making Ana lie for her seem less bad. Whilst I'm thrilled that Gaby is committed to Carlos and sets both John and Ana straight, it was unfair of her to make Ana do that. Hopefully that's the last we'll see of John as his returned was not really welcomed.
Angie and Danny whilst being very mysterious have a twisted and yet quite sweet relationship, lets hope that whatever's happened in their past, their relationship stays that ways as its quite refreshing.
I enjoyed finding out what Julie has been doing for the last few years and that she is not the perfect daughter she once was, but Susan's shrillness was a little tiring. I already knew that Nick was Julie's ex lover, but it could be interesting to see how it plays out now that we know.

Eastenders- 25th Anniversary Live Episode

Its been a while since I've watched Eastenders (though I did watch the Christmas Day murder episode) but its 25th anniversary and a live ep was too hard to resist. It was actually a very good episode. Whilst I don't totally buy the surprise ending thing (I think more than a few people would have had to know about the killer considering all the following episodes have been filmed already) and the writing and acting was a little hammy, it was an enjoyable and very suitable episode for the momentous occasion. Dot and Ian watching the video of old Eastenders was a nice way to remember and commemorate the past 25th years and the Archie murder and Bradley's death was a great way to mark the occasion. The stunt was well done and who have to give props to the crew and cast for pulling off such a stunt live. There were a few slip ups, but in a way that good as it gives the show the live feeling.
The aftermath show on BBC 3 afterwards was suitably cheesy and its a shame that they didn't have more old cast members on the show and I did enjoy Larry Lamb being interviewed by son George as it was one of the funniest things of the night (apart from Bradley's death, which I rather morbidly found to be really quite funny!!)

Dollhouse- 2x09 The Attic
Wasn't sure about this episode when it started and some of the human brains acting as CPU's feels a little bit dubious to me, but all in all this was an excellent episode, mostly due to that killer reveal at the end. Adelle proven not to be a bitch was very satisfying and the events through the episode; Adelle talking to all key characters and Dollhouse employees, but us not seeing all of the conversations; are now explained and make perfect sense.
The living hells of the dolls were okay, but I would've liked to have seen more of Victor's and Sierra's. Clyde's living hell of the future was the most interesting as well as finding out key details of Rossum's inception. Really looking forward to the final episodes now.

Brothers and Sisters- 4x06 Zen and the Art of Mole Making
Ah, despite his annoyances, what joy it was to have Tommy back in the fold and the family complete. The whole episode had a lovely family feel to it, especially with Kitty and Nora at the beginning freaking out (like in the season 1 days when they lived together), the family conference call, and of course the explosive family dinner.
Storyline, the episode was less impressive, I liked that Kevin had doubt's and he and Scotty shared some sweet moments over their surrogacy woes, but I'm a little skeptical now that she's likely going to be their surrogate. Think Sarah had it right to begin with, even with Paige's blessing, allowing Luc to stay in her home and inviting him into her children's lives after knowing him for a couple of months feels a little irresponsible. The Holly/ Ryan storylines weren't that compelling, but I did like that Kitty counseled Tommy through whats effectively his mid life crisis. She's the best person to do it really considering they have a lot in common children wise. The ending was great though with Tommy going to patch up his family and Nora for once staying out of it.

Grey's Anatomy- 6x05 Invasion
The invasion of the Mercy Wester's. As a casual viewer, the injection of new blood is definitely a good thing as it keeps the show fresh. The Mercy West residents are a viciously competitive bunch and its kinda refreshing to see- surgery from what I understand is a competitive branch of medicine and the Seattle Gracer's should be more competitive sometimes. The format of giving each of the residents a rival resident to compete with worked perfectly and resulted in a few changed opinions. Poor Alex though with Izzie leaving him at the end. Though it was done for behind the scenes reasons, it works perfectly on screen and adds a sense of drama that even one of the core doctors could lose their jobs.
As a side storyline, Callie got some acceptance from her father. This was a sweet storyline, if a little saccharine. I thought Arizona was refreshingly mature, seeing things from Hector's point of view and encouraging Callie to patch up her relationship with him. Also the bible verbal contest was pretty funny.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 34

B5.13 Blood Ties
Such a great episode, it gets better and better every time I see it. The secret about Dawn and the Key had to come out some time and it made sense for the Scoobies and Dawn to find out about it in the same episode as it saved the reveal happening over and over. Michelle Tratchenberg does a good job portraying this lost school girl, especially in the Magic Box and the blood scene. Her teenage antics later on in the episode are a little annoying, but since its hard to imagine what it would be like to discover your whole life was a lie, her tantrums are acceptable. The rest of the cast do a nice job too and there are some good moments between Spike/Buffy, Giles/Xander (being proud the Key had a crush on him) and Buffy/Dawn/Joyce, which has to be some of my favourite Summers women moments. I particularly liked the birthday present scene, which is one of my favourite Buffy birthday moments. It was a very sweet and understated moment.
Again Glory and the Knights are a little annoying (I'm finding Glory to be increasingly one note) but the Glory/Ben reveal was good. (9/10)

A2.13 Happy Anniversary
I was dreading watching this episode, and whilst the main story is pretty tiresome, there are parts of this episode which have its merits. Firstly this is Lorne's first proper episode and Andy Hallet does a wonderful job pulling off this lively and engaging character. He was the perfect compliment to Angel's morose nature. The main storyline of the scientist stopping time was a cautionary tale about crazy scientists I thought, but wasn't that interesting to watch and just felt like filler material. The demon aspect to it, made it even more dull, with it being a run of the mill demon of the week disaster rather than about the scientist himself, which was a bit of a shame.
The other storyline with Wes, Gunn and Cordy was great to watch though, their failures followed by their successes were a real delight to see. I especially enjoyed their murder mystery-esque first case. (7/10)

B5.14 Crush
Despite its importance to the overall arc and mythology of the show I'm not a huge fan of this episode. The first half is ok, Buffy's revulsion at Spike's feelings for her were funny to begin with. I also liked Spike's scene with Dawn and then then With Joyce and Dawn and also the role-playing with Harmony which were all amusing.
The episode got less interesting when Drusilla entered however, though Juliet Landau did pull of an impressive performance. The catfight/ attempts to kill each other in Spike's cave were quite boring as it was hard to take any threats seriously. Despite Joss' usual penchant for killing characters, he seemed reluctant to kill either Harmony or Drusilla which made the scene a little lacklustre with everyone just running off at the end. One of my main problems with the episode I think is that Spike with a crush as we've had in recent episodes is funny to watch as he tries to deny it. However Spike in love like this this episode and future episodes is a little sappy and he definitely loses some of his edge which makes him an interesting character. (7/10)

A2.14 The Thin Dead Line
This is one of my favourite episodes of the season. Unlike most of the better Angel episodes, this one is very much standalone and has very little to do with the overall season arc. However, we do get the gang working together on not one but two demon problems. We also get as an added bonus, Angel actually working parallel to them to help them solve the case of the zombie police. The episode also ups the stakes by shooting Wesley. Main characters, whilst facing some danger, are never in any real danger due to their statuses as cast on the show. The only time they are is usually when the actor is fired/leaving. That's why seeing Wesley in real physical danger makes the episode a lot more dramatic.
The moral dilemma of the episode is very interesting and similar to the one the gang face at the end of season 4; keep the zombie police who are terrorizing the more criminal, but also vulnerable members of a community or get rid of them allowing crime to free reign. A better society for a small price? Angel said in this episode he can live with it (perhaps a sign of where is head is) and its an interesting concept that means there's not really any truly happy outcome to the situation. (8.5/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 33

B5.10 Into the Woods
Whilst I can't say I'm happy to see the end of Riley and Buffy, I can't say I'm that sad either. Riley was a good guy and a good boyfriend, no question about that, but there was very little spark between the pair after they got together.As the discussion between Xander and Buffy showed, Riley was dependable for Buffy but I think to some extent he was her rebound guy which was a shame.
That conversation between Xander and Buffy was very powerful and a lot of home truths were spoken. It was very poignant that Xander was the one to confront Buffy, not sisterly Willow or wise Giles like it usually is. Its also a very important conversation as its kind of a turning point for Xander. Teenage Xander with a crush on Buffy and who bumbles along in his relationships is long gone and instead here is adult Xander who roots for Riley and confesses his love for Anya.
Otherwise there is very little else in this episode, but not in a bad way. I liked the cold opening with finding out about Joyce, I thought it was done very well. Also I liked Buffy's reaction to finding out about Riley, it was a lot more mature and shows how she's grown up since her days with Angel. Her angst was a lot less dreary as well and in many ways this was quite a powerful episode. (8.5/10)

B5.11 Triangle
This is one of the weaker season 5 episodes. The Anya/Willow fighting and the troll was amusing enough, even if he was annoying and the link to Anya's past felt a little contrived, and I like that Anya and Willow sorted out their differences some. There were some different pairings in the episode with Anya/Willow, Buffy/Tara and Xander/Spike which mixed things up a little. We also got to see Buffy working through her break-up very maturely here and it was a welcome change from the heartbreak with Angel but overall there isn't that much of great significance in this episode, though admittedly it does pave the way for the Council's return in the next episode. (6/10)




B5.12 Checkpoint
A very good episode. I thoroughly enjoyed the Council parts of the episode. Though I disliked the constant English stereotyping, the Watchers provided some light relief when interviewing the Scoobies and when testing Buffy. Buffy's speech at the end was one of her best and overall its an excellent scene. Its a joy to see Buffy finally realise her power and for her to put the Council in their useless place and shows that Buffy finally has the power.
The Knights of Byzantium, and the Glory/Ben stuff, whilst developing the story were a little boring and took away from the main storyline a little. The Buffy in class stuff in particular felt a little filler. I must admit I did like seeing Glory go toe-to-toe with Buffy and for them to not fight as it made for a very interesting scene. (9/10)

A2.12 Blood Money
One of my favourite estranged-Angel episodes of the season. Anne is an incredibly interesting character to bring back. For long time fans of Buffy, she serves as a little bit of nice continuity and also some hope that things aren't all bad. The way in which Angel was prepared to use her, shows how dark he has gotten, that he was prepared to swindle Anne out of that money (even if she had got less from Wolfram and Hart) just to mess with Lilah and Lindsey's head's. Of course he hasn't gone too far as he still gives Anne the money, though it does come with a bit of a price. Lilah and Lindsey were excellent to watch in this episode and I even found myself liking Merl. I found Boone a little boring though and once you realise his plan, he becomes less interesting on repeated viewings.
Cordy, Wes and Gunn appeared very little in this episode which was a shame. Fortunately what we did get to see off them, was both very funny and also a glimpse of happiness for the trio as they prepare to start their new agency. Happiness is so short lived in the Whedon-verse that it's always very welcome when it appears. (8/10)

Mini Reviews- February 15th

Desperate Housewives- 6x03 Never Judge A Lady By Her Lover

Not a very good third episode unfortunately, probably because there was too many storylines going on with each main housewife (minus Katherine) having their own mostly separate storyline. This meant that Bree's quite interesting and funny storyline was finished with very quickly into the episode and forgotten about by the end. Susan's storyline was completely silly and annoying, but I did like Lynette's and want to see where they go with this one in the next few episodes. Can't quite decide on the new family, they seem mostly likable and Angie and Danny seem to have a close relationship. However we know they are hiding something and for the sake of the show's mystery format, I want it to be something interesting and shocking. The worst bit about this episode was the return of John Rowland, a character who should've never returned post season 1. The producers must really like the actor to bring him back because as a character he is smarmy and one dimensional. Plus the fact that Gabby is still holding a torch for him is just stupid and spoils one of the few likable couples in the show.

Dollhouse- 2x09 Stop Loss

Quite a disappointing episode I thought. I was hoping to get more Victor screen time but we actually got very little in the only episode centred on him. The Echo is special spiel we keep getting is annoying me a lot and I found myself rolling my eyes at the end when she was in the attic, despite the attic reveal being quite cool. I'm also getting increasingly annoyed with the Victor/Sierra 'our love transcends all' farce. Its yet another thing I'm finding hard to suspend disbelief for, even if the pair can be cute at times.
Olivia Williams was brilliant at being an utter bitch in this episode and I loved it especially when she came back fighting after her drunken binge. Not sure why but I oddly find myself rooting for her rather than Echo et al, perhaps because Echo's 'specialness' as stated earlier.


Brothers and Sisters- 4x04 Last Tango in Pasadena

A fairly frivolous episode. The dancing bits with Giles Marini are a little tacky, even if the background behind it is a cross promotion with Dancing With the Stars. Although maybe its his uneven and weird French accent that's off-putting. (NB apparently he's actually French and used to live in France when he was younger. The accent must be one of those Americanised accents that they usually do with British accents. Its still uneven however)
I liked seeing Paige and Coop though, they have been away from the family fold for too long. Kitty and Robert had some lovely scenes, I really liked the fireworks at the end of their date. Sarah and Nora had some good moments together confronting each other about what the other needed to do as well as learning from their mistakes. Really not sure about Scotty and Kevin using their absent yet very close friend from season 1 as their surrogate. Seems strife with problems. It makes me laugh that up until only recently they are portraying Holly as a shrewd business woman, yet in this episode we find out she put all her money in one investment. Marked character change yet quite ironic. Sadly it probably means more storylines for her which we could do without.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 32

B5.09 Listening To Fear
This episode can mostly be divided into two. The alien from space storyline and the Joyce one. The former isn't that interesting though I guess the idea of aliens is new to the show. otherwise it was fairly standard with the Scoobies researching and Buffy slaying, even if she didn't know what it was. Though it did advance the overall arc a little, often this storyline just felt like filler for the other storyline which was much more compelling. Each scene with the three Summers women was well scripted and wonderfully acted. It was all very emotional and I think well portrayed the struggle Dawn and especially Buffy had in dealing with a sick mother. I like the ending in which Joyce discovers that Dawn isn't her daughter, its a very strong scene and its apt that shes one of the first to find out the secret. (8/10)

A2.09 The Trial
This episode starts a little slowly I find. There's a lot of backwards and forwards trying to find out where Darla is and if she's really ill. The flashbacks apart from introducing Holtz, are a bit superfluous as well. However once Angel and Darla pay a visit to Caritas, the episode really kicks in and the last half of the episode is some of the best the show has done. From Darla singing to Angel's trials with Darla experiencing them, it is pure excitement. Its not really a surprise that Angel won the trials, especially the first two, as he's you know, Angel. And this being a Joss Whedon show its not surprising that things did not go as plan. Angel's reaction on finding out that the trials were for nothing was so powerful and it shows how much he loves her. Whilst Angel may have done those trials for many people in his life, that reaction shows how badly he wanted it for Darla and how deep their connection runs. The trials themselves were a novel idea and whilst the butler was a little annoying, he was a good emcee to the proceedings.
However the best bit of this episode is at the end, after Darla accepts her death sentence and Angel resolves to be by her side, in crashes Lindsey, for once getting to 'beat' Angel and Drusilla to sire Darla. This is a terrific scene; the slow motion and lack of dialogue (no crazy Drusilla ramblings to spoil the intensity of the moment) apart from Lindsey, is just pitch perfect and makes this an incredible scene and brilliant cliffhanger. (9/10)

A2.10 Reunion
Like the previous episode this is a little slow to begin with, but after Darla wakes up, the episode gets a lot more interesting. Darla and Drusilla are an interesting pairing but they are perhaps not as interesting as the two main couples (Spike/Dru, Angel/Darla) and honestly out of the pairings of the four of them we see, Darla and Drusilla are my least favourite. (the only one not shown is Spike/Darla which is a shame as they would've been interesting as a pairing) Thats not to say they don't work well together as in this episode they are certainly fun to watch; their rampage is certainly fun, especially the shopping trip which is very suitable for the two women of the Fang Gang. Having Drusilla and Darla turn on the lawyers is a wonderful one. It is a wonder sometimes how a group of human lawyers are able to keep vicious demons under their thumb and it shows in this episode that this isn't always the case. Lindsey was the most intriguing of the lawyers with his lack of fear, obviously due to his lust for Darla. I am a little sad that Holland is killed in this episode he's a fun 'baddie' to have around and his replacement isn't nearly as likable. The end scenes are undoubtedly the best of the episode; watching Angel turn dark, but not evil is delicious and even more so when he fires his staff. In the scheme of things this was a good move for all concerned as in the last few episodes, Wes, Cordy and Gunn have been on the sidelines of Angel's Darla obsession just piping up every so often to voice their concern, but ultimately just doing what Angel tells them. Him firing them will change the balance of power over the coming episodes. (9.5/10)

A2.11 Redefinition
A great episode, which starts the format of the next few episodes. That format is that the action is divided between Angel's storyline and Wes/Cordy and Gunn's storyline. The latter kept the episode light as they tried to find their place in the world. It was nice that Wes had a sounding board in Virginia, but the most fun was seeing them in Caritas, especially the karaoke which was hilarious. Cordy's visions and the fact that they were able to kill the demon gave all of them individually and as a group a sense of purpose that would last long past the next few episodes.
Angel's storyline was a lot darker as he trained and then set Dru and Darla on fire. I didn't find Angel's training scenes that interesting as it doesn't feel like anything he hasn't been doing so far (killing vamps) but I appreciate what he was trying to do. I also didn't like the constant voice-overs, which lost their effect the more times he spoke. The first and last ones were the most effective and should've been kept with that.
I did like the Lilah/Lindsey storyline. Lindsey's disappointment at not being the only one alive was hilarious as was their bickering over who might be promoted. I like seeing the inner machinations of Wolfram & Hart. (9.5/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 31

B5.07 Fool For Love
A great episode and the first part of the crossover episodes I was most looking forward too when starting this re-watch. Spike's flashbacks are great to watch as he is an engaging character and watching him change over the years was a hoot. It's also great to see the Fang Gang in their full capacity for the first time. The interaction between Spike and Buffy was really enjoyable and the two characters work wonderfully together. The rest of the episode, with Riley hunting the vamp that stabbed Buffy did feel like filler material, and for me it was weird to see the Scoobies acting so glibly about patrol considering their best friend and the Slayer was just stabbed. You'd think they're be more careful. Plus the episode whilst acting as a wonderful accompaniment to the following episode, does feel a little stuck into the season, especially considering all that was going on with Glory, Dawn and Joyce (which I guess in fairness was addressed in this episode). (8.5/10)

A2.07 Darla
Like the the first half of this crossover, the flashbacks in this episode are excellent and are brilliant to watch. However this episode triumphs over the previous episode in the fact that it fits better into the season and feels more apart of the storyline than Spike's flashbacks did in Buffy. Also since this episode completes the stories set out in Fool For Love, its provides a more rounded and enjoyable picture of the Fang Gang's past.
I also love the drama of this episode, the flashbacks provide a lot of emotion to the storyline and the characters. Julie Benz pulls of a wonderful performance as Darla, both in the flashbacks and in the present day in her frenzied state. I especially liked her scenes with Lindsey which were great to watch and they make an interesting pairing. It was also good to see the Master back in his siring of Darla and more comically in his first meeting his Angelus. (10/10)

B5.08 Shadow
I find this to be quite an emotional episode and little wonder considering this is the episode where it is found out that Joyce has a tumour. Its very sad watching Buffy have to deal with her mother's illness, especially as she has to be the grown up. Her protectiveness of Dawn was sweet and a sign of things to come. The monster storyline with Glory was fairly interesting, especially as the snake wasn't trying to cause mayhem as monsters usually are. The CGI and aesthetics were a little lame though so made this story a little silly. There was also a brooding Riley who was doing his best in supportive boyfriend role. Whilst I understand his rejected feelings, he may be feeling a little needlessly left out by Buffy considering she should be putting her family first right now. (8.5/10)



A2.08 The Shroud of Rahmon
Lets face it, this is a filler episode before the next arc kicks off; even the writers seem to know it by the very unimaginative title name given to the episode. The only thing that might even be considered as continuity is the fact that Angel drunk human blood, which will help him down his dark path, but I don't think that really gets alluded to again. There aren't many plus points of this episode. My favourite part was the growing team work between Cordy and Wesley which is sweet to see but just a minor plot point. The main plot felt a bit ridiculous as did the mythology behind the Shroud itself which meant that the episode didn't quite ring true. The demons involved in the heist weren't really that interesting either. The actual storyline (bank heist) is done better in a season 4 episode and whilst the starting the episode from the end was kind of interesting, Wes' scenes in the police station were a little hammy. (5.5/10)

Mini Reviews- February 8th

Modern Family- 4x11 Moon Landing

A funny episode from the new hit show (aren't they all?!). Gloria's road rage storyline was funny and I liked the way in which they dealt with it; would've liked to see her drive into the giant cupcake at the end though. Cameron and Jay are a great comedic pairing and whilst that storyline wasn't the funniest, the ending with Jay 'splash landing' with a stranger certainly was. My favourite storyline was the Dunphry's. You could see the punchline coming from a mile away, but Claire's jealousy and longing for her old single life was nicely dealt with in the end, with her anger towards her family and their acceptance of her at dinner back into the family fold.

Grey's Anatomy- 6x03 I Always Feel Like Somebody's (Watching Me)

Another dramatic episode for the show with the looking Mercy West merger causing everyone to run around like headless chickens and stay at the hospital without sleep in order to keep their jobs. I must admit I didn't feel that bad for anyone until the end when people actually started to lose their jobs. This might be because there isn't too much danger of most of the cast getting fired so the fear everyone was feeling didn't really translate. The medical storylines were touching, especially with Arizona and Mark having to reattach a newborn baby's arm- very sad but happy when they actually manage to do it. Alex was very sweet with Izzie, getting her meds and a banana so she can carry on in surgery and Lexie was great at dealing with the schizophrenic.

Dollhouse- 2x08 Love Supreme

A good return for Alpha, he was at his usual crazy best and damn Alan Tudyk is looking good these days! However whilst I enjoyed his focused agenda, his obsession with Echo, as well as everyone else's was boring. As often happens with Dollhouse I couldn't feel much sympathy for any of the characters as the dolls turned ninja, mostly because few of them are likable. Plus especially with Paul, there's the little matter of Epitaph One, which means we know he's okay in the future, so there's no real reason to share Echo's tears at his 'death'. We got to see a little more of Victor and Sierra this week, it was enough to remind the audience what terrific actors they are and what a shame it is they aren't featured more. Adelle was a brilliant bitch here though,sacrificing Echo (who can take care of herself) to Alpha was one thing, but the poor schluppy client? Very cold.



Brothers and Sisters- 4x04 From France With Love

I was expecting this to be a slightly more frivolous episode than it was, with more tales from Sarah's time in France. Thankfully since those flashbacks were mostly weird and tacky we didn't get too much of them, though I loved the twist at the end with Sarah hiding the real reason she came home and also the Frenched title card- very cute.
The Kitty stuff was wonderful, managing to be both highly upsetting and very uplifting at the same time. Calista Flockhart is doing such a great job with this storyline.
I also really liked the Holly/Rebecca storyline, its unusual and welcomed to have Nora in the middle with the Harper women fought around her. The storyline worked though and the scene with the porn film was very funny. Justin also had a great storyline at college. His professor asking Justin to help Carter live a little was nice as was his motivational speech about Kitty's cancer and Justin's career, even though its a little obvious that Carter and Justin cancel each other out so they should help each other out.

Desperate Housewives- 6x02 Being Alive

A bit meh for me, they went over the same things a lot of the time and the neighbours were very quick to jump to suspicion about the Bolens and even if their was foul play involved with Julie (before the police had even got there!) Still Mrs McCluskey getting some loving was sweet (glad they've given her a proper storyline) and I liked that Bree chose to be with Karl even though Susan said she would never speak to a friend who slept with Karl. Shows Bree's deep unhappiness with Orson and also that she really has made a connection with Karl. Also Gaby's proving to be a great mum to Ana, I was doubtful at first of the storyline but if it continues like this, it was inspired.

Suit Up- It's going to be Legen -wait for it- dary!

I'm not sure if I've explicitly mentioned it before in my blogs but I've definitely thought it; How I Met Your Mother has a great cast (Whedon-alums Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris) and has a lot of critical praise. So why don't I find it funny? I've watched episodes before and never really warmed to it.

Until last weekend.

Looking for something to watch I watched a couple of episodes and I still didn't find it laugh out loud funny. Then I watched the pilot and I finally 'got' it. I'm not really sure what 'it' was, but since then I've been watching episodes every night (completely out of order) and I completely love this show. I'm laughing out loud a lot watching episodes and I'm finding the characters more and more endearing.

For me this is very similar to my 'discovering' of Gavin and Stacey. I didn't like the show the first time I watched it but after watching a few, I'm loving it. I think this is the thing with comedies, (good ones obviously) the more you watch, the more the characters become familiar and lovable and the more you understand and 'get' the humour.

So anyway now I'm addicted to the show. Whilst the show is similar to Scrubs in terms of characters (Lily/Marshall comparable to Carla/Turk as the stable couple and Ted similar to JD as the searching for love young guy) and very similar in themes to Friends (close group of friends meet at the same place all the time, live in New York), the retrospective and mystery of the mother angle to it, keeps the show fresh and new. Plus it feels like the grown-up version of Friends almost, they are repeatedly shown drinking, they smoke and one night stand happen frequently and unashamedly (mostly for Barney). Speaking of, Barney is one of my favourite characters. There aren't many characters on TV so crass and yet so utterly charming, which is mostly down to his portrayal by the excellent Neil Patrick Harris.

I'm also loving the numerous tie ins with the show including:

Barney's Blog

Barney's Bro Code- I'm not a bro but I really want to get the audio version of this!

and the various websites featured in the show:

http://www.guyforceshiswifetodressinagarbagebagforthenextthreeyears.com/

http://marshallandlilywedding.com/

http://www.itwasthebestnightever.com/


This is a great show and I thoroughly recommend trying it out. It isn't the most intelligent show but its funny and so feelgood!!

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 30

B5.05 No Place Like Home
This is a brilliant episode and the best one of the season so far. Buffy discovering Dawn wasn't her sister had to come early in the season, otherwise the charade would've gone on too long. The reveal is highly touching and Buffy's change of attitude towards Dawn shows just how much she has grown, especially since she has been acting quite childishly towards Dawn in the last few episodes. I liked Glory's introduction, it captures her perfectly and helps to kick of the season's arc skillfully.
As for the other storyline, Giles opening the Magic Shop was pretty funny to watch. Whilst it was a little silly that so many people would visit the shop (though perhaps they had done some sort of promotion) in one day, it was funny to see Giles wilt under the pressure and Anya shine. (9/10)

A2.05 Dear Boy
Its episode like this one that make me glad that Darla was brought back by the producers and given a much more interesting personality than in season 1 of Buffy. Darla's torture of Angel was really stepped up here and it was delightful to watch. The way in which is she teased and manipulated Angel was brilliant and very creative. It also led up to that stellar scene between the two in which they spar both verbally and physically. That scene in the water tanks demonstrates just how well the actors and characters work together. Darla's evil nature in this episode is very intriguing as despite having a soul, she is just the same as she always was whereas Spike and Angel's conscious kicked in near instantaneously. Even though Darla will feel it in later episode, maybe its just that she's more evil than Angel or Spike. I also liked the flashbacks to Drusilla's siring, which I realise now were preludes to the Darla episode in a couple of episodes time.
Kate's reappearance in this role was a little more interesting than her last few and it fit well within the episode. One down point was that to me, Cordy, Wes and Gunn seemed very inactive in this episode. Surely if Angel might be going evil at least one of them might try to go look for him a bit earlier. (9/10)

B5.06 Family
This a very sweet episode and probably the only Tara centric episode we get. After discovering a little bit more about Tara, and her family, she becomes a lot more likable character, mostly because she becomes a character on her own rather than being just Willow's girlfriend. The couple themselves are also very sweet in this episode and its impossible not to ship for them even a little.
As for the Glory/Key storyline, I like that Buffy and Dawn's sister dynamic remained largely the same, but with Buffy being a bit more concerned now. I also liked that fact that she only told Giles which points to the magnitude of this secret as usually the Scoobies find out very quickly about these sorts of things. (8.5/10)

A2.06 Guise Will Be Guise
This is a bit of a fun frivolous episode, which is probably needed as the season gets very dark for the next set of episodes. Even though it isn't a stellar episode its nice to see Wesley coming to the forefront and also getting a little play so to speak. Wes stepped nicely into the role of protector and leader, foreshadowing events in later episodes. Alexis Denisof showed off his flair for comedy as well as drama in this episode, with him struggling to pretend to be Angel and also earnestly trying to protect Virginia.
Angel's storyline of going the Swamme was a little boring but its good for him to get some catharsis and someone to talk to, even if he was a fake. (7/10)