Angel - The Series

[Laira]

I thought that since we now have a Buffy The Vampire Slayer thread, I'd start one for the spinoff, Angel.

I like the show the best in the first two and one half seasons, but thought it jumped the shark in S3 when Connor was born. There's a reason that "Birth" is a major shark jumping category, and his rapid aging into an obnoxious, unlikeable, sociopath didn't help.

Nor did the endless dreary love triangles.

That being said, at least the show had some great hoyay.

[lyrasilver]

Yep, Connor's birth killed it for me, too. I just hated that whole arc, with Jasmine and Connor and Cordelia. It felt so contrived and stupid. I liked seasons one and two best. I loved Doyle; I couldn't believe they killed him off so soon. I loved the back-and-forth between him and Cordelia, and him and Angel.

Best minor character? David Nebbit.

[whatever]

Loved Gavin Park. Wanted to have his hot evil babies. And loved Holland Manners. So deliciously smarmy. And Lindsay MacDonald- yum!

Why yes, I am attracted to evil men, why do you ask?

What I hated most about the show -Cordelia's reinvention as saintly Mother Theresa guru earth mother angel/demon whatever the hell she was supposed to be. I preferred old school Cordy. And I hated Fred, too. And Connor.

And Puppet Angel? The funniest hour of TV I have ever seen. But why couldn't they puppet-fy the rest of the cast? Puppet Spike would have been beyond awesome, with his little puppet eyebrow scar.

I missed Doyle too - but supposedly Glenn Quinn was barely functioning due to his drug addiction, so they probably couldn't keep him on. Although I didn't see signs of it.

[grumpygirl]

One of my favorite Angel Scoobies was Lorne the green demon. He was so funny. I hated when the changed Cordie's character, it sucked. I also hated that they couldn't get Fred back. I LOVED Wesley, especially when he first showed up on Angel with his leather motorcycle pants. He was funny AND hot. One of my favorite episodes was when they were turned into puppets! Haaa, Spike saying to Angel "You're a wee puppet!" Priceless.

[mixtape]

I hated Saint Cordelia/Evil Cordelia in seasons three and four, but I loved Season Four. Can't think of his name this second but I thought the actor who played Connor was really excellent. He brought a lot to his scenes with David B.

Also, Angel grooving along to "Mandy" will always be funny.

[grumpygirl]

Ah, here's the episode where Wesley shows up:

Season 1, Episode 10: Parting Gifts
Original Air Date: 14 December 1999
Wesley arrives in town as a "rogue demon hunter" and he's soon working with Angel on his newest case. Meanwhile, Cordy has inherited Doyle's link to the Powers That Be and she is being plagued with visions. A empath demon comes to Angel Inc. looking for help and Angel promises to investigate, but it quickly becomes clear that something strange is going on. Angel and Wes have to save Cordy before it's too late.

I always liked Doyle and was sorry that the actor died from a heroin overdose.

ETA: Connor = Vincent Kartheiser

I also loved the episodes set in Lorne's home dimension of Pylea when Cordy became princess to the Groosalugg.

Season 2, Episode 21: Through the Looking Glass
Original Air Date: 15 May 2001
Wes, Gunn, Angel and Lorne find Cordy in Pylea. She's being hailed as a princess because of her visions. Now, she's the ruler of the kingdom. While, Wes and Gunn try to find a way to open another portal and return home, Lorne visits his family. Angel is becoming incredibly popular with the locals, telling them tales of his battles back on earth. He even rescues Fred from certain death. But things quickly start to go wrong for everyone. Cordy realizes some disturbing things about her new responsibilities. Angel begins to loose control of his vampire self. Wes and Gunn find themselves under attack. And Lorne is arrested for treason.

[kathy1977]

Like I said in the Buffy thread I think ATS is the most underrated show ever. I personally don't think it ever jumped the shark. Sure there were some things I didn't care for but overall it remained a solid show to the very end.

I really didn't care much for season 5. It wasn't awful by a long shot but I was really annoyed by Spike's presence. I got my fill of Spike on Buffy and I was just plain sick of him. I think he would have worked alot better as a recurring character. He was just too obnoxious and I don't even think James Marsters acting was as good as it was on Buffy.

I thought they overdid Cordy's transformation. They made her a bit TOO nice. I prefer my Cordelia to be snarky and blunt.

I didn't like how they were so obviously trying a Cordy/Angel romantic pairing. Not just because I'm a diehard Buffy/Angel shipper but because they seemed too much like brother sister to me.

I think everything else was pure perfection. And overall I still believe ATS was lightyears better then BTVS.

[Laira]

What I hated most about the show -Cordelia's reinvention as saintly Mother Theresa guru earth mother angel/demon whatever the hell she was supposed to be. I preferred old school Cordy. And I hated Fred, too. And Connor.

I too hated Fred. She was a useless, annoying little Mary Sue who stole Cordelia's screen time, destroyed Wes and Gunn's friendship, turned Wesley into a creepy stalker and chopped off Gunn's cojones.

Lindsey was great, as were Holland, Lilah and Gavin.

[sugarhigh]

I hated Fred too. She was useless. I equate her to Tara on Buffy except she was even more irritating cause she had more screen time. I said this in the other thread but I stopped watching Angel when they made him a father. That was just ridiculous.

I LOVED Gunn though. He was awesome. He should have gotten his own spinoff.

[Laira]

Gunn wasn't so awesome after Fred got him in her bony clutches. He turned into an insecure, self-doubting loser. It's one of the reasons I detested her.

Yes, she was as useless as Tara, although Tara was merely dull, not massively annoying. What clinched it for me with Fred, was at the end of S3, when Angel, who had fed and clothed her for a year, asked Fred to do some research and she promptly whined that it wasn't her job and that she couldn't do it - without even trying! This after we'd heard about how supersmart she was for the last year. Ugh.

I stuck it out till the end, but by then I thorough detested Angel himself for his various hypocrisies, mind-wiping, abandoning Cordelia to W&H's tender mercies and betraying and murdering Lindsey in cold blood while letting Harmony go with a job recommendation and accepting Illyria as a full member of the team.

Yes, I'm a tad bitter. To be fair, S5 did have some excellent hoyay.