Angel

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, I just finished the show today. I heard that the ending was controversial, and now I can finally see why: because its not an actual freaking ending. Its the biggest tease I've ever seen in a TV show. You have Angel, Spike, Illyria, and a dying Gunn ready to take on an oncoming horde of tough demons (not to mention a fucking dragon) in a battle to the death (presumably their death, but somehow I doubt it'd work out with all of them dying there), and this is just after the heavy stuff of having Lorne turn on Lindsey and shoot him to death, as well as Wesley being offed himself after losing his own fight (which Illyria thankfully finished for him), and then....the episode just ends. On that note, I LOVE the episode itself. It feels like a great FIRST HALF of a what should have been a 2-part conclusion. But alas, that's the end of the show, which really sucks. On that note, though, I do know that the story continues in the comics. I don't know if they are any good, but while I did say that I found Buffy's ending to be fine and have no interest in the comics, I think I'd actually consider reading the Angel ones, just to see what happens next.

At any rate, as to whether I like this series or Buffy better, I find that each of them has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, and in all honesty I consider them to be pretty even for different reasons. I do suppose that Angel is a bit more up my alley in its tone and overall themes, though. At any rate, here are my ratings for the seasons of Angel:

Season 1 - 9/10

I really liked this season. Sure, the show was trying to find its footing, here, but most of the episodes were just well-done, and  on the whole, this season was the most episodic in nature, whereas the rest of the series was heavily based on continuity. I found Doyle to be a great character, and it sucked that he was killed off so early in the series, but he helped make the first half of season 1 a great watch, while the second half brought in Wesley who quickly developed from being a bumbling idiot into a pretty sophisticated expert on demons and supernatural forces, in general. On the whole, this was a really strong start for the series.

Season 2 - 8/10

Like I said, I wasn't a fan of the Pylea stuff at the end, but almost everything else about the season was great, IMO. Also, Darla's inclusion to the plot in season 2 brought on some of the best story arcs in the show, IMO.

Season 3 - 10/10

The story was great here, from start to finish, and this season had some remarkably strong characterization. The addition of Holtz to the plot really brought on some interesting conflicts, and this is probably where Wesley's character had some of his most important character moments. Its definitely one of the high points of the show.

Season 4 - 4/10

I don't know if its just me, but while this season should have felt a lot stronger than it did, I just felt that it was far too crammed full of strange plots and some downright stupid sub-plots that it ended up being too convoluted for its own good. I loved the stuff involving Angelus, and Faith had a couple of good episodes in this season as well, but it didn't really have anything else going for it. Perhaps I may need to re-watch it to gain some appreciation for it, but as it stands, this was easily the weakest season for me. For what its worth, this was definitely the most ambitious season of the show, but in the end it just didn't feel like it was executed properly at all.

Season 5 - 10/10

If you can forgive the fact that this season doesn't actually have an ending, despite being the final season of the show, then I personally think its the best season in the entire series. Having Angel and company finally working for their greatest enemy is brilliant, especially with the angle that they think they can use Wolfram & Hart's resources to keep LA under control, and have a better grasp on the evil things going on around them, while deep down they know that they are just being used and kept under careful control by the Senior Partners, themselves. That of course its just the set-up, but what helps escalate this arc to new levels of awesomeness is, of course, Spike. His chemistry with the rest of the cast is amazing, but his chemistry with Angel especially is priceless. I only wish that he were on the team for longer than this. At any rate, this was easily my favorite season, in that it had all of the elements that made the show great, including great writing, characterization, drama, and humor. I just wish that it could've gotten one more episode to deliver the proper conclusion that it deserved.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I like this show. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I like this show. 

I'm surprised to hear that, considering that I recall you saying that you didn't care for Joss Whedon's stuff, aside from maybe The Avengers. Then again, as a TV series its not like he's the only one who was involved with it, so a lot of props has to go to the other writers and directors who helped to make this show great.

At any rate, I'm glad to hear that you like it as well.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Joss Whedon has always been hit or miss for me. Never cared for Buffy, liked Angel. Didn't like Firefly, liked The Avengers. Didn't like how he killed two of my favorite comics with Exiles and Runaways... No, there's no upside to that, he just killed them.

But this show was very entertaining from beginning to end, and it's probably his most consistent work.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Personally, Firefly is still my favorite show of his, out of what I've seen so far, but its certainly not to everyone's liking.

Speaking of Joss Whedon's stuff, I should probably check out The Cabin in the Woods while its still on Netflix. I know he only produced it, but everyone still attaches his name to that. Despite mostly good reviews from the critics, I've heard really mixed things about that movie from everyone else, since Whedon-fans apparently think its great, while Whedon haters....well, you know, hate it. I might as well see it and form my own opinion on it.

Also, I'll check out Dollhouse pretty soon as well.

Oh, and getting back on the subject of Angel, I was wondering: since you liked the show, did you ever bother to check out any of the After The Fall comics? If so, are they any good? I kind of want to read them to find out what happens next in the story, yet I also want to avoid them if they suck, because then they'd sort of taint the series for me If I did read them and hated them.

[Spark Of Spirit]

No, unfortunately, I haven't read them. I think I was also waiting to hear if they were any good, but I guess they slipped my mind.

Maybe Avaitor? I'm pretty sure he saw Cabin In The Woods, too.

[Avaitor]

Well I'm pretty sure he wrote Cabin in the Woods. It's definitely worth checking out.

I haven't really been keeping up with the comics, though. I read the first couple of volumes of Buffy season 8 and liked them, but some of the turns I hear that happen later on turn me off from them (Xander and Dawn hooking up? Ew). I haven't really keeping up with season 9 or the Angel stuff so I can't say.

[Avaitor]

I just finished my rewatch of season 2, and yeesh, I still don't get the trip to Lorne's homeworld in the last few episodes. Not so much because they were bad eps, but the idea didn't fit with the storyline of the season much at all. I think it would have made for a fascinating beginning for the next season, but here, not so much.

I'll put my rewatch of Buffy and Angel on pause for now, though, since I still don't own season 6 of BtVS. I do have the third of Angel and the last of Buffy though, but I have other things to watch until I can fix my holes.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Doyle. 

Season 1 is remarkably strong so far. It's episodic like early Buffy, but I think Angel does it better with a razor-sharp focus. It probably also helps that my three favorite Buffy characters are the central characters here.

[Avaitor]

Really, Wesley?

[Spark Of Spirit]

I couldn't tell you why, I just find him really likeable. He has pretty good chemistry with Cordelia and Angel, too.

[Avaitor]

Well I love him on Angel (for the most part), but his Buffy run just never did much for me. That's why I was a little surprised.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, he was a bit of a bumbler, but I did at least find him funny in season 3 of Buffy. Plus, he clearly at least wanted to do the right thing, even if he didn't always know what that was or how to do it. So he had that.

He wasn't as charismatic as The Mayor or as psychotic as Faith, but he did carve a bit of a niche for himself in a season that was pretty overstuffed with good ideas.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

At first I was a bit cold to Wesley on Angel because he was essentially a replacement for Doyle, who died way too early on the show for such an awesome character, IMO. That said, Wesley has by far the strongest character development in the entire series, IMO, and in retrospect he is one of my favorite characters on Angel.

As for the first season, despite being very episodic, I do like it quite a lot as it has a good number of memorable episodes. I think the first 3 seasons are very strong, in general. Then comes season 4, which I honestly can't stand save for a few good episodes. But the show closes up with season 5, which to me is like the perfect apology for season 4, and is arguably the strongest season of the show.

[Avaitor]

Wesley is also easily saved by Alexis Denisoff, who's a pretty fantastic actor. Sadly, I can't think of too many things I've seen him in besides Buffy/Angel and HIMYM.

*checks Wiki*

Okay, so besides some voice acting (including a couple of DCAU roles), he had a recurring role in Dollhouse and Grimm. I still haven't seen either show. I also need to see Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. He was also The Other at the end of Avengers, which I wouldn't have been able to guess.