Angel // Babylon 5 // Work News
Well, another month has passed without me posting to my LJ. Since RL was still very busy, I also haven't read any entries on my flist for ages. I have definitely a lot of catching up to do.
I've finally completed watching Angel. And now I miss the Jossverse so much that I'm reading loads of fanfiction to make up for the withdrawal symptoms. :-)
I've also decided to introduce my oldest friend to Buffy and I will show her some episodes on Friday night. I'm planning on showing her the episodes that selenak used to get me hooked, i.e. Hush, Fool for Love and Once More With Feeling.
Lie to Me might also be on the agenda; if I remember correctly that's a very nice season 2 episode that's not really tied to a bigger arc. If anyone else has suggestions, let me know.
My impressions regarding Angel:
My favorite parts in season 4 revolve around the father-son relationship between Angel and Connor. But, gah, season 4 is big time tragic! I want to rewatch certain episodes, but I'll need a bit of distance first.
I loved Faith coming back. I loved that Faith and Wesley worked together, because Angel means so much to them. Considering what happened when Faith and Wesley met the last time, that's very impressive.
Season 5 is not exactly light either, but it does have a lot of moments where I had to laugh out loud. The bickering between Angel and Spike is just priceless. (I totally agree with Joss Whedon's comment that with Spike they finally found the right girl for Angel. :-)) Simply thinking about their argument regarding astronauts and cavemen makes me smile.
Season 5 also has such wonderfully funny episodes like Smile Time (Wee Little Puppet Man!) and The Girl in Question, an episode I already watched 3 times.
Other season 5 favorites include Damage ("He's alive Frodo, he's alive." :-)), Destiny and A Hole in the Ground.
My favorite relationships in season 5 were between Angel & Spike (surprise), Angel & Connor and Wesley & Illyria.
Angel and Spike:
Their relationship is absolutely fascinating. I've read the criticism that season 5 Spike doesn't have much in common with season 7 Spike from Buffy. That's a criticism I don't share. Yes, Spike acts differently here - he's acting a lot like an annoying teenage brat - but that's a very believable behaviour, IMO. After all, his interaction with Angel is very different from his interaction with Buffy. You can compare the situation to going away from home for a long period. You will make lots of experiences and grow up - but when you're back with your family, you might still be treated like a child and it will be easy to fall back into your old patterns. That's what seems to happen to Spike when he's around Angel - and vice versa, to Angel around Spike.
Now if there relationship stayed exactly the same during all of season 5, it would be boring. But you can see that they are growing up. From time to time, they have serious conversations where they really understand and help one another. I found these moments very touching. (I also find it quite interesting that Spike knows Angel's original name "Liam" - probably heard it from Darla - and that Angel admits to liking William's poetry... Angel(us) definitely has a mushy streak in his personality.)
Angel and Connor:
I really missed Connor as a regular character and was happy to see him again in at least some episodes.
Am very glad that there was some resolution to the relationship between Angel and Connor, i.e. that Connor remembers Angel is his father and understands why Angel did what he did. The price Angel paid was extremely high, but I get his motivation. I can't really regret that he gave his son a set of happy/healthy memories.
Wesley and Illyria:
Transforming Fred into Illyria was a brilliant idea, IMO.
Fred is lot like Kaylee from Firefly. She's a wonderfully warm personality - who's also extremely brilliant in her field and can be incredibly resourceful. Of course, Fred also has her dark moments... Still, like Jonathan on Buffy it felt as if her character had reached the end of its arc.
So introducing Illyria was a fascinating idea. It shakes things up big time while allowing Amy Acker to stay on the show with a definite challenge. And I have to say I'm really impressed by how Amy Acker portrays Illyria, how she at times integrates mannerisms of Fred into Illyria's behaviour or switches from one personality to the other. (Hey, in the Jossverse basically every actor gets the chance to play at least one alter ego - multiple personalities including various states of soulfulness, wishverse, amnesia, possession, ... :-))
The relationship between Wesley and Illyria is heartbreakingly lovely. The absolute tragic highlight is, of course, Wesley's death ("Shall I lie to you now?").
Also liked Gunn's development in season 5. It made sense to me that he would crave more knowledge in order to hold his own regarding Wesley and Fred.
Season 5 ends on an absolute cliff hanger, but actually I don't mind that. Ending season 5 with a sucessfully won fight would have been ultrasweet and showing them lose the fight would have been depressing. I think if there had been a season 6, they might have been rescued by an army of Slayer girls. Wouldn't Angel have loved that... :-)
What I miss about not having a season 6 is: No more Angel - Spike relationship, no more Connor, no more Illyria. :-(
Luckily I found a virtual season 6 here. From what I've seen so far, the writers did a great job. They even manage to bring Wesley back with an extremely great explanation.
:
Also finished watching Babylon 5, another show that I will miss.
After my husband and I watched the last episode (we both needed hankies by the end :-)), I made him watch episode # 1 - and wow, it's amazing how far all the characters came.
:
Since last week, I'm officially team manager. Since my manager was happy with my work and my team members all told him that they wanted to keep me as manager, I've got to keep the job.
The former team manager is now working in project management which is a job she likes. So I don't have to feel guilty about replacing her. Yay!
I've finally completed watching Angel. And now I miss the Jossverse so much that I'm reading loads of fanfiction to make up for the withdrawal symptoms. :-)
I've also decided to introduce my oldest friend to Buffy and I will show her some episodes on Friday night. I'm planning on showing her the episodes that selenak used to get me hooked, i.e. Hush, Fool for Love and Once More With Feeling.
Lie to Me might also be on the agenda; if I remember correctly that's a very nice season 2 episode that's not really tied to a bigger arc. If anyone else has suggestions, let me know.
My impressions regarding Angel:
My favorite parts in season 4 revolve around the father-son relationship between Angel and Connor. But, gah, season 4 is big time tragic! I want to rewatch certain episodes, but I'll need a bit of distance first.
I loved Faith coming back. I loved that Faith and Wesley worked together, because Angel means so much to them. Considering what happened when Faith and Wesley met the last time, that's very impressive.
Season 5 is not exactly light either, but it does have a lot of moments where I had to laugh out loud. The bickering between Angel and Spike is just priceless. (I totally agree with Joss Whedon's comment that with Spike they finally found the right girl for Angel. :-)) Simply thinking about their argument regarding astronauts and cavemen makes me smile.
Season 5 also has such wonderfully funny episodes like Smile Time (Wee Little Puppet Man!) and The Girl in Question, an episode I already watched 3 times.
Other season 5 favorites include Damage ("He's alive Frodo, he's alive." :-)), Destiny and A Hole in the Ground.
My favorite relationships in season 5 were between Angel & Spike (surprise), Angel & Connor and Wesley & Illyria.
Angel and Spike:
Their relationship is absolutely fascinating. I've read the criticism that season 5 Spike doesn't have much in common with season 7 Spike from Buffy. That's a criticism I don't share. Yes, Spike acts differently here - he's acting a lot like an annoying teenage brat - but that's a very believable behaviour, IMO. After all, his interaction with Angel is very different from his interaction with Buffy. You can compare the situation to going away from home for a long period. You will make lots of experiences and grow up - but when you're back with your family, you might still be treated like a child and it will be easy to fall back into your old patterns. That's what seems to happen to Spike when he's around Angel - and vice versa, to Angel around Spike.
Now if there relationship stayed exactly the same during all of season 5, it would be boring. But you can see that they are growing up. From time to time, they have serious conversations where they really understand and help one another. I found these moments very touching. (I also find it quite interesting that Spike knows Angel's original name "Liam" - probably heard it from Darla - and that Angel admits to liking William's poetry... Angel(us) definitely has a mushy streak in his personality.)
Angel and Connor:
I really missed Connor as a regular character and was happy to see him again in at least some episodes.
Am very glad that there was some resolution to the relationship between Angel and Connor, i.e. that Connor remembers Angel is his father and understands why Angel did what he did. The price Angel paid was extremely high, but I get his motivation. I can't really regret that he gave his son a set of happy/healthy memories.
Wesley and Illyria:
Transforming Fred into Illyria was a brilliant idea, IMO.
Fred is lot like Kaylee from Firefly. She's a wonderfully warm personality - who's also extremely brilliant in her field and can be incredibly resourceful. Of course, Fred also has her dark moments... Still, like Jonathan on Buffy it felt as if her character had reached the end of its arc.
So introducing Illyria was a fascinating idea. It shakes things up big time while allowing Amy Acker to stay on the show with a definite challenge. And I have to say I'm really impressed by how Amy Acker portrays Illyria, how she at times integrates mannerisms of Fred into Illyria's behaviour or switches from one personality to the other. (Hey, in the Jossverse basically every actor gets the chance to play at least one alter ego - multiple personalities including various states of soulfulness, wishverse, amnesia, possession, ... :-))
The relationship between Wesley and Illyria is heartbreakingly lovely. The absolute tragic highlight is, of course, Wesley's death ("Shall I lie to you now?").
Also liked Gunn's development in season 5. It made sense to me that he would crave more knowledge in order to hold his own regarding Wesley and Fred.
Season 5 ends on an absolute cliff hanger, but actually I don't mind that. Ending season 5 with a sucessfully won fight would have been ultrasweet and showing them lose the fight would have been depressing. I think if there had been a season 6, they might have been rescued by an army of Slayer girls. Wouldn't Angel have loved that... :-)
What I miss about not having a season 6 is: No more Angel - Spike relationship, no more Connor, no more Illyria. :-(
Luckily I found a virtual season 6 here. From what I've seen so far, the writers did a great job. They even manage to bring Wesley back with an extremely great explanation.
:
Also finished watching Babylon 5, another show that I will miss.
After my husband and I watched the last episode (we both needed hankies by the end :-)), I made him watch episode # 1 - and wow, it's amazing how far all the characters came.
:
Since last week, I'm officially team manager. Since my manager was happy with my work and my team members all told him that they wanted to keep me as manager, I've got to keep the job.
The former team manager is now working in project management which is a job she likes. So I don't have to feel guilty about replacing her. Yay!