Battlestar Galactica, Video-blogs, and Angel wind-up

As is evidenced by the recent dearth of posts on this site, I think I can attest that my initial idea, a standard watch-episode-write-review format, isn't going to work. The serialized, slow-paced concept, while fine in theory, clashes with my more informal viewing habits, and I might as well admit now that I shamelessly abandoned the Angel blogs half-way into Season One in favor of watching at my own pace, and have since finished the series. While realizing fairly quickly that a traditional blogging format simply isn't ideal for me, I am determined to continue this blog in some form; therefore I am introducing a new concept: a series of video blogs, with my test-subject series being Battlestar Galactica. The more versatile, informal, and above all, time-efficient direction of a video blog should work out much more successfully than previous written attempts, and I hope to introduce the new show within a few weeks. Now, without any more ado, a few scraps of unpublished drafts I had left lying about from various points in Angel Season One, mostly observations on the first season after having watched To Shanshu in LA, italicized, with my current comments in bold.

• Headquarters blown up; permanently, I presume. Too bad, I liked that place. (Well, yes, that was certainly permanent; my goodness, were those Season One headquarters tiny! In retrospect, they worked very well for the fledgling, three-member AI team, but wouldn't have been practical even into Season Two with the introduction of Gunn and an occasional appearance from Lorne; as for Season Three onward: HA.)
• Once more, we get to see the AI team acting as a family; very nice to watch. (This is an interesting observation on my part; I assume I was referring to Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia, yes? Well, the "family" aspect is certainly explored throughout the rest of the series, in some surprisingly literal ways [oh Connor, how much I did not expect you!], but never in as simple and angst-free a sense as we witnessed back in Season One.)
• Darla' resurrection is interesting; can't say I'm looking forward to seeing more of her, but I'll wait to see where they take the story. (I don't think I can adequately explain how thoroughly unprepared I was for... well, anything, at this point. Darla's reappearance was so pivotal to the rest of the series that imagining it without this long-past plot development is difficult. And for the record, I ended up enjoying her character far more than I initially expected to; she was criminally short-changed in only having a chance to appear in the first few episodes of an admittedly primitive and uneven first season of Buffy; her crucial role as the founder and long-central figure of the Darla-Angelus-Drusilla-Spike quadrangle, the other three members of which were granted ample exploration on Buffy, was not even hinted at, a state of affairs which I am glad Angel rectified. And thank goodness she lost those hideous bangs.)
  
• So, Lindsey loses a hand; didn't expect that. (Bwahaha. Two words: EVIL HAND!)

First of all; yes, I am posting my observations on the season finale without having given the final few episodes individual reviews. Through personal reasons and experimenting with various methods of reviewing, I've fallen a bit behind on my coverage of the series on this blog. So, as a matter of interest, I have progressed as far as the fifth episode of Season Two; I was extremely pleased with how the first season in general resolved itself. So, without further ado, let's revisit my predictions: (NOTE: these were predictions from roughly the middle of Season One)

• Cordelia and Wesley are NOT going to pursue a romantic relationship; Cordy will probably hang on to Doyle's memory for a while, and if there is any attraction, it will be on Wesley's side. (Cordelia... and Wesley? From a Season-Five-and-onward vantage point, it's pretty much impossible to express exactly how ridiculous even a passing mention of this pairing appears. Is it possible they were once attracted to each other? As for Doyle, he was relegated to a respected-but-rarely-mentioned position in the team's history, a state of affairs maintained even more stringently after Glenn Quinn's death in 2002; his legacy and impact were finally acknowledged mid-Season Five, as Spike was manipulated by Lindsey - in a bid to sow dissension in Angel's ranks - attempting to establish Spike as a rival or replacement ensouled vampire by working to recreate the circumstances of Angel's long-ago meeting with Doyle, right down to employing the same name and character traits. However, even this acknowledgment of the deceased character and actor was handled delicately, and quickly passed over again after having been used to make its point.)
• Wesley will become slightly more competent (this is pretty much a given, as there's really no way he could become less competent). (And, here we go again... is it possible that Wesley was once a disposable, bumbling idiot? Mr. "I-rival-Angel-with-my-angsty-darkness-and-tortured-history" is certainly a development, isn't he?)
• Wolfram and Hart will escalate their aggression toward Angel, culminating in an attempt to kill him/take out Angel Investigations entirely, possibly in the season finale. (Haha. Ha. Hahaha. Not even going to tackle this one.)
• No other main characters are going to die this season. (No, not in Season One, but later, just you wait.)
• Kate Lockley will continue in her recurring role, eventually accepting Angel's vampire nature (this may apply to later seasons as well). (Wow, I almost forgot about Kate! If I recall correctly, she made her final appearance in mid-Season Two... I honestly can't clearly recall how her relationship with Angel developed before her departure.)
• No new characters will be added to the opening credits. (Not until Season Two rolled around. And after that... whew. And may I just mention that the addition of a slew of new actors improved the credits considerably? The tightened format worked much better, and was more reminiscent of Buffy's, than it was with the initial cast of three.)
• Angel will forego at least one more opportunity for happiness/a normal life. (Can I just say... "yes"... to this? Signing away his potential role in the Shanshu Prophecy in order to infiltrate an evil organization most certainly qualifies, and that wasn't anywhere close to the first time he pulled a similar stunt.)
• The team will fight demons, and Angel will be angsty. (See what I did there?) (Ooh, I'm sharp. I'd say that this one held good right through to the last moments of the series finale.)

And, as a last hurrah, my very first mention of Angel on the blog:

In preparation for the beginning of my Angel posts, what do I know about the series? I've kept myself entirely non-spoiled as far as plot-relevant details go (except for that one time when Buffy decided to go all crossover and do a "previously on Angel" sequence... seriously, show?), but haven't been able to avoid general-premise information. It takes place in the Buffyverse, in Los Angeles, putting it close enough to the action in Sunnydale to remain firmly planted in Buffy's world without intruding on her territory; most of the main characters from Buffy have made appearances on Angel, either as main characters or guest stars, and among the names I've heard bandied about are Angel (heh), Cordy, Wesley, Harmony, Spike, and Dru, with, if I'm correct, occasional appearances from Faith, Buffy, and Willow. Angel heads up some demon-fighting organization (way to go pro on Buffy, there), and the show features quite a large cast of original characters. Apart from that, I'm entirely in the dark on plot developments, and the reactions you'll witness on this blog will be my initial, un-spoiled ones. I intend to go one episode at a time (except for two-parters, possibly), which should be something of a challenge; however, I'll do my best to pace myself, and expect to have quite the chronicle of posts by the time I finish the series.

Hee. Goodnight, folks.

Angel : Season One, Episode Fourteen : I've Got You Under My Skin

Grade: A+

Angel, Wesley and Cordelia are sharing a relaxed evening together when, in a moment of frustration with the others' casual bickering, Angel accidentally refers to Wesley as "Doyle", throwing an awkward strain over the group. Speaking to Cordelia later, Angel admits that aside from missing Doyle, he also blames himself for his friend's death, a state of affairs which Cordelia assures him is unfounded. Moments later, she suffers a vision of a small boy in danger; Angel and Wesley head to the address, where Angel is barely in time to save the child from sleepwalking in front of a car. Speaking with the boy's parents, Angel begins to suspect that something is wrong based on the father's closed-off behavior and his family's obvious fear of him, while Wesley discovers evidence of demonic possession in the house. Learning that the species of demon can be forced to manifest itself by ingesting a certain herb, Angel takes advantage of an invitation to dinner at the boy's house, bringing a plateful of spiked brownies along with him. Offering them to the family and observing carefully, Angel is surprised to discover that the boy is the possessed party; despite the mother's anger at Angel for having forced the demon to manifest itself so violently, the father expresses immense relief at finally having an explanation for their son's bizarre and dangerous behavior. Leaving their young daughter in safe hands, they bring the boy, unconscious and now demonic in appearance, to Angel's headquarters. Knowing that an exorcism must be performed as soon as possible, they cast a binding spell around the boy's bed and set out to find a priest willing to perform the ritual. Arriving at a cathedral where such a man is reported to be, they encounter instead an elderly nun, who informs them that the man died six months before as a result of the rigors of just such an exorcism as they currently have on their hands. Left with no other option, Wesley decides, against Angel's better judgment, to do the spell himself; returning to headquarters, they find that the demon in the boy managed to lure the mother into the room with her son, who nearly killed her. With no time to waste, Wesley begins the difficult incantations, attempting to resist the demon's psychological torture while Cordelia visits a magic shop in the hopes of procuring a box of the right variety to contain the demon in. She is forced to settle for a box designed as a prison for a slightly different type of demon, and arrives at headquarters to find that the demon has nearly killed Wesley; left with no other option, Angel resolves to do the exorcism himself, despite the torture of having to hold a cross for the ritual. He casts the demon out successfully, but the box procured by Cordelia shatters when they attempt to imprison the entity there. Sending the family home, Angel and Wesley set out to track the demon, eventually running it to earth in a cave by the sea. There, the demon informs them that, although he was possessing the boy, he was not causing the child's behavioral problems; in fact, the boy is a psychopath in his own right, with a ruthless, cunning mind that even the demon felt it was a torment to inhabit. Realizing that they may have set a monster loose rather than stopping it, Angel and Wesley rush to the boy's house to find that the child, taking advantage of his first night without restraining precautions against his behavior, has locked his parents in their room and attempted to burn his sister alive. They are able to get the family to safety before damage is done to anything but the house; however, the child, his true nature now brought to light, is sent in for a psychological examination and an indefinite future, while Cordelia, Wesley and Angel look on in silence.


Observations:

• Woah; major, major steps in Wesley's character development. For the first time, I'm seeing him as a member of the team, and not just an eccentric diversion on the part of the writers.
• The twist at the end, featuring the small boy as a psychopath and the demon an unwilling tenant in a head even more demonic than his own, was brilliantly done. Thirty minutes of misdirection regarding the father's motives and drama over the exorcism paid off in the final five minutes.
• In true Whedon style, the angst over a traumatic event starts appearing in earnest only after the initial shock of the tragedy has died down. As Angel grieves for Doyle at Wesley's expense, Cordelia, also bereaved, is remarkably selfless for a girl who once thought only of herself; three cheers for character development.

Angel : Season One, Episode Thirteen : She

Grade: C

An army of militant male demons arrives in Los Angeles, claiming to be on a mission to stop a rampaging evil being escaped from their own dimension. Soon afterward, Angel has an encounter with a female demon from the same realm, revealed to be the so-called "evil" spoken of by the males of her species; a disinherited princess, she is leading a desperate attempt by the women of her race to escape from their own dimension and the terrible enslavement they endure there. Angel offers to help her with her mission, which proves difficult, as the women arrive from their trans-dimensional journey burning with fever and barely alive. The princess has secured the services of an isolated spa, where she is able to keep the group of women temperature-regulated until they are able to adjust to the new environment; as Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley accompany her on an attempt to get the women to safely, they are attacked by the cohorts of demon soldiers sent to recover the refugees. The women are removed to a secure location, but Cordelia and Wesley are briefly taken hostage by the soldiers, a state of affairs the princess chooses to ignore if it means safety for herself and the others of her cause. Cordy and Wesley manage to free themselves while Angel confronts the leader of the demon army, telling him that their race's ongoing struggle must be kept out of his dimension. Later, he meets the princess for the last time, and, despite the fact that they feel a connection and a common purpose, reminds her that she was willing to let Wesley and Cordelia die if it meant success for her own mission, and that she should be willing to protect innocents of any race; warning her that it would not be wise to cross the line into endangering his people, he parts with her for the last time.


Observations: 

• Apart from a few character-related highlights (the dancing!), this episode is pretty much a dud. A heavy-handed metaphor, two-dimensional secondary characters, and a dearth of character development for the main cast add up to a pretty dull, uninspiring hour. At least Wesley finally became an official team member.

Angel : Season One, Episode Twelve : Expecting

Grade: B

At the offices, Cordelia prepares for a night on the town while Angel and Wesley follow one of her visions to the site of a prospective demon attack, which they manage to avert. Meanwhile, Cordy brings her charming date home for a romantic evening, and fails to arrive at work the next day. Going to check upon her, Wesley and Angel are shocked to find her in a state of shock and nearly nine months pregnant, barely consolable by Angel's promises of help. Realizing that Cordelia's date is unreachable by phone, Angel determines to track him down while Wesley attends to Cordelia. Following the man from haunt to haunt, Angel eventually runs him to earth in a gun club, where he demands to know what has been done to Cordelia. Meanwhile, Wesley takes Cordelia for a prenatal checkup, which makes it abundantly clear that she is carrying several non-human children. Visiting a friend of Cordelia's who was with her the night before, Angel finds her heavily pregnant as well, which only confirms what he has already learned; an entire group of men in the city have pledged themselves to a demon, who has enlisted them to impregnate unsuspecting women by proxy. Back at headquarters, Cordelia begins falling under the influence of the demon's telepathic connection to her, and Angel is shocked to find her dipping into his supply of blood for her own consumption. As Wesley identifies the demon who is the most likely suspect behind the epidemic of pregnancies, Cordelia, now completely enslaved to the demon's will, knocks Wesley unconscious and leaves the offices. Angel, also injured from a run-in with the demon's followers, manages to get Wesley on the phone and inform him of the location of the men's shrine to the demon, where the women will be likely to go. Wesley informs Angel that the demon is reportedly near-impossible to kill, and Angel asks Wesley to bring a gun along. Arriving at the abandoned warehouse where the women have been drawn, Wesley confronts the demon, stalling for time until Angel arrives with a canister of liquid nitrogen, the contents of which Wesley is able to to expose the demon to via a straight shot from a previously hidden gun. The demon destroyed, the women's pregnancies are ended, and the demonic thrall abruptly stopped. Later,as Angel and Wesley express concern over Cordelia's wellbeing, she assures them that the most important lesson she learned from the entire debacle is that Angel and Wesley are willing to risk their lives to help her, and that she trusts them both completely.

Observations:

• An enjoyable romp of an episode without straying into overly heavy territory or being of much significance to the seasonal story-arc; the most important aspect is being able to witness the current Angel Investigations team acting as a loyal family for the first time, rather than as a group of slightly fractured co-workers.
• Also, suspiciously similar to this, plot-wise, although I suppose that Angel did come first. Russell T. Davies (who purportedly did "have an eye" on Whedon's work when reviving Doctor Who) has something to answer for.

Angel : Season One, Episode Eleven : Somnambulist

Grade: A-

Angel begins experiencing dreams in which he hunts and brutally kills humans on the streets of LA; meanwhile, at the police department, Kate begin dealing with a chain of just such victims. Discussing the case with her, Angel inadvertently catches a glimpse of photos from the crime scenes, every corpse featuring a cross carved into their cheek. Obviously dismayed, he returns to headquarters, where Wesley, having decided to research Angel's historic killings with greater accuracy, has just realized that the cross carved onto the victims is extremely reminiscent of Angelus' modus operandi. Despite Cordelia's skepticism, Angel arrives and confirms Wesley's suspicion; he is unsure how, but he believes that in some manner he has been committing the murders in his dreams, or sleepwalking and retaining no memory of it afterward. Determined to get to the bottom of the affair, Wesley chains Angel to his bed and keeps watch over him through the night; in spite of this, another victim appears the next morning. Having experienced more detailed dreams that night, Angel now realizes what he's dealing with; Penn, a vampire sired by Angel in the 19th century, has arrived in LA, and Angel's sudden proximity to his old protege has triggered the onset of his dreams. Researching similar serial killings from the past, the team realizes that Penn repeats the same pattern every time; knowing that he needs to give Kate information, he provides her with a sketch of Penn and a clue regarding where he's likely to strike next, but refuses to explain the source of his knowledge. Determining to trust him, Kate follows up on his tip, successfully averting Penn's next killing but losing the suspect himself. Tracking Penn down, Kate follows him into an empty warehouse, where she shoots the vampire several times, only to be caught off guard when the shots do not injure him. Angel appears and fends off her attacker, only for Kate to witness his vampiric transformation. With no way out, Angel tells her what he is, and warns her to stay away from Penn in the future. Penn pays an undercover visit to Angel's headquarters, attempting to gain current information on his sire; Cordelia catches on to his ruse just as Angel and Wesley arrive, and Penn is able to buy his escape by taking Wesley hostage. Before he leaves, Angel taunts him with his repetitive, unoriginal pattern of crimes, stinging Penn into threatening something different and much worse. Learning the location of Penn's hideout, Angel and Wesley find evidence suggesting that he's going to attack a bus of schoolchildren; however, distrusting the too-obvious nature of the supposed plot, Angel deduces that Pen will head to the police station and target Kate instead. Acting on his suspicion, he arrives to find that it was correct. Managing to engage Penn in one-on-one combat, he gets the worst of it until Kate steps in; having done research on vampires since learning Angel's identity, she stakes Penn, sparing Angel's life despite having learned of his brutal past and gaining a deep distrust of him. Later that night, Angel worries that his dark nature might be resurfacing, admitting to Cordelia that he enjoyed the dreams of brutal killing; Cordelia assures him that she has faith in him, but also promises to stake him if he should ever become a problem.

Observations:

• One of the first times in the series where we get a glimpse of the truly dark events haunting Angel, as well as his being forced to face both ghosts from his past and present difficulties. Definitely an interesting glimpse of his on views of himself and the way he deals with his less-than-savory past.
• Kate finds out Angel's true identity, as was inevitably going to occur. It will be interesting to see where their personal and professional relationship goes from here.
  

Predictions For the Second Half of Angel : Season One

All right, I'm officially halfway through the first season, and as a dutiful reviewer, here are a few predictions I'm setting down regarding the course I suspect the show will take during the latter part of Season One. A few are hunches or pure speculation, while others are based on an observation of the trajectory the story has taken thus far. At the end of this season I'll revisit them and examine my general level of accuracy.

• Cordelia and Wesley are NOT going to pursue a romantic relationship; Cordy will probably hang on to Doyle's memory for a while, and if there is any attraction, it will be on Wesley's side.
• Wesley becomes slightly more competent (this is pretty much a given, as there's really no way he could become less competent).
• Wolfram and Hart will escalate their aggression toward Angel, culminating in an attempt to kill him/take out Angel Investigations entirely, possibly in the season finale.
• No other main characters are going to die this season.
• Kate Lockley will continue in her recurring role, eventually accepting Angel's vampire nature (this may apply to later seasons as well).
• No new characters will be added to the opening credits.
• Angel will forego at least one more opportunity for happiness/a normal life.
• The team will fight demons, and Angel will be angsty. (See what I did there?) 

All right; I've enjoyed the ride so far; lets see where the show goes from here.