Season 2. A bit more grown-up, a bit more coherent. Boreanez is the only one left who can't act, and even he does a good enough Christian Slater impression to carry the second half of the show.
I love our (the whole of us) different perceptions. I agree with a good deal of your points, Jim, but to me, BtVS season 2 is the season that showed me Boreanaz has a talent for acting; of course, I'd never thought of his turn as Angelus as a Slater impersonation. I will have to look for that in subsequent viewings (and a bit of me is worried that I will probably shake my fist at you from afar—for the rest of my life—if your comparison rings true and therefore ruins him for me ;-P ).
BtVS S2 taught me that DB was able to turn on a dime. Everything
Angel-y
changed, when Angel lost his soul and we were left with Angelus: facial expressions; voice, the cadence of his words; his physicality. When I start thinking DB can't act, I have to remember that season of Buffy, and wonder how much writing and direction deserve credit and blame (versus talent, training, and the right co-stars), when he doesn't quite pull off a particular line, scene or episode.
(Erm...not to say I haven't seen growth re DB, since S2. I have. But for me, that's the season in which his talents were best used.)
Season 6. But no, they dragged the poor old thing out of heaven, and for what?
I had a lot of those moments, but for me, they were mostly influenced by fandom. Once I removed myself from the conversations that were making me feel that way (either:
Spike needs to die NOW,
or
Spike needs to be canonized NOW so we can call him the saint he clearly is despite that Bitch Buffy
types of conversations) I was much better, and enjoyed the season much more. I think the Buffistas gave me back season 6.
and I'd forget S4 ever happened.
I am curious as to why? Is it the Cordelia/Connor thing? I know that was just too wrong for enough people who formerly loved the series. I thought A:ts S4 was stellar overall, but with low points that were probably lower than any other season's low points (save Pylea, which just rotted, imo).
Cindy, you are no longer me. Pylea was a big hoot!
And thinking about it, they should've kidnapped Cordy after Birthday and replaced her with Jaye. Yuhuh.
Cindy, you are no longer me. Pylea was a big hoot!
It was a hoot (and there were hooters, too), but it was a letdown, coming right after the wonderful slow burn that was Angel's beige. I understand there were casting issues (with JL or JB) that fed into this, but for me, it was too anti-climactic, too soon. Groo can't act his way out of a paper bag. There was, however, Numfar. I will laugh about Numfar for 'til the end of my days. It just wasn't worth it to me, overall.
It proved that AA could look good even in a sack, and that CC could look good even in a gold bikini. Which, granted, they didn't need to go to Pylea to prove.
Also, "Handsome man saved me from the monsters" ... everyone's favourite line.
Cindy - It's just a thing with me and DB. I always thought he was a lousy actor. I like him - and by somewhere in Angel S2 he'd developed a great line in self-deprecating line readings which are really funny - but I never bought him as a romantic lead.
And Angel S4 I loathed because I just thought it had run flat out of ideas. I can't, off the top of my head, remember a single ep I liked in that whole season, to the point where i've never got around to seeing the finale. Specifically it was the nth interation of "someone goes Evil", the nth iteration of "I've been behind IT ALL, EVER!" and the nth iteration of Invincible baddie gets vinced. I think it was Hec who pointed out that it's like reading your 10th John Irvine book - I was just bored of the narrative tropes.
And when you can't make an episode good with Faith and Angelus? Time to hang up your spurs...
And when you can't make an episode good with Faith and Angelus? Time to hang up your spurs...
Hmm, it will definitely have to be an "agree to disagree" thing here, because I thought Faith and Angelus (and even more so, Faith and Wesley - typed Weasely at first, which is funny on any number of levels) were some of best parts of that season.
Steph - no. I was away when it was shown, and by the time I came back it was off BT.
And FB - I was thinking of Orpheus. The Wesley/Faith stuff was ace. In fact Wesley has been the sole reason I watch Angel (aside from residual 'verse loyalty - I'd watch a spinoff called
Riley, Annointed & Kennedy - They Fight Crime
if it came to it) for quite a while. Denisof is such an astonishing actor, and he always has foxy women.
Edit - and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call numberslutting. 3 posts back, #7777. I rule.
And FB - I was thinking of Orpheus.
I was refrencing that whole run of eps, myself. I thought Orpheus was a great ep (although a lot of the big fun was watching Faith "kicking the crap out of junior").
