The Eternal Angelriffic Thread (Merged) (1 Viewer)

[Jason Seaver]

Actually, where CAN they go with the show next year?

There's always a place to go, especially on a show like Angel that has been redefining itself from the beginning.

I mean, just out of the fallout of this year's arc... The sun was blotted out in LA, the streets were crawling with vampires. This stuff isn't happening in the shadows any more. So now, all your supernatural beings go public, and the "normal" world goes into a panic. Demons on Angel have always been a symbol for the underclass, or "foreigners". Exploit that. Have the world know about Angel, Lorne, Connor, Gruu, and any other demon the show has ever used, and have them be very, very afraid. Afraid enough to act - while, in the meantime, the less savory demons are less restrained.

Or swing the other way around - do like Buffy did in its fourth year and add a more science-fictional element. You've already got Fred in the cast and Gwen recurring, so give the team a challange where ancient prophecies and mystical knowledge will be of little help, if not actually a hinderance, really putting Angel and Wes at a disadvantage. Play up that Angel is an eighteenth-century guy who is, at times, completely lost in a twenty-first-century world that changes faster than he can adapt to it.

And that's not even considering that the end of each season for Angel has brought in a new supporting character who changed the dynamic of the show (Gunn in S1, Fred in S2, Connor in S3)

Seriously, assuming the writers have the will to re-invent the show - and that's something Mutant Enemy has always had - this show could be kept fresh for some time.

 

[Mike_Stuewe]

I'd like to see the show go back a bit to its roots. It originally played so much like a detective story, with a macrostory of Wolfram and Hart always creeping in. It seemed to work really well. They should go back to that. Although this season has been pretty sweet as well.

 

[Barry Woodward]

Perhaps Angel will Shanshu this season and next season will be about him dealing with life as a human. He'll still have to fight evil but without the super strength. Speaking of Shanshu, Wesley first translated Shanshu to mean death and later he claimed it meant life and death. Could the Shanshu prophecy mean that one vampire with a soul dies and the other lives, becoming human? Hmm...

 

[Adam_ME]

I really hope they don't do a Buffy and keep it around a bit longer than it should have.

To be quite honest, about half of the way through this season I was actually hoping that both Buffy and Angel wouldn't return for another year. In the case of Buffy, it was because the show had clearly jumped the shark and the sooner it left the air the better. But with Angel, I felt this season was its best ever(and arguably the best show on TV at the moment) and I didn't wanna see it all go downhill from here. Seriously, it's gonna be tough to top the consistency of this year's episodes. It's reminding me a lot of Buffy Season 3 in that each week something important happens. No boring filler to buy time for the writers(Giles as the First, anyone?).

But now with the season 2/3 over, I have enough faith in Joss and Co. to pull off at least one more year of high quality shows of this caliber. So a fifth season would be fine by me. It doesn't hurt that Tim Minear and Joss Whedon have both said in interviews that they already have a story arc in mind for next season should they get renewed. Although if they do return, I hope someone tells David Boreanaz to lay off the twinkies and black hair dye.

 

[Barry Woodward]

"We haven't been picked up yet. Haven't been cancelled either. Joss, Greenie, Jeff Bell and me'uns have worked out where the show's going next season and it's exciting. The ratings have bumped up, more to the point the desired demographics have spiked a bit, particularly on this last episode. USA Today and other publications are singing our praises. "Angel" has proven itself a strong and consistent performer for the network. It works about the same on any night they toss us, works about the same whether we're after a new episode of another show or a repeat. There are a lot of good reasons for the network to order us for a fifth year. We're hoping they will. Personally, given where we want to take the show, I think creatively "Angel" could go on for at least two more years... maybe more." - Tim Minear

 

[Derek Miner]

Charisma's actually working well as a villainess, even with her puffy face working against her.

Hey, I kinda like her a bit "puffy." She always put me off with the stick-thin figure (albeit with cleavage) she carried for so long. The short hair was a nice change, too. :b

 

[Jeff Kleist]

So sayeth the Minear, and it shall (hopefully) be.

I have great confidence that a fifth year of Angel will not dissapoint

 

[Jason Quillen]

I think as long as Angel keeps away from the excessive / oppressive gloom and doom that has kept the broad strokes of Buffy down since The Gift, it will be ok. Angel has always been the more lighthearted and action oriented, and if next year keeps up the quality of the past two seasons, I'll be more than happy.

Out of curiosity, how has the Angel S1 DVD sold so far?

JQ

 

[Jason Seaver]

So, next season should be the ME answer to the X-Men sequel?

It's a possibility, and one that one could argue almost has to be addressed. This isn't a "giant snake appears for ten minutes at a high school graduation in a small town" that can easily be hushed-up; this is the Book of Revelations going on for some time (weeks?) in the second-largest city in America. It's probably been on the national news, along with tons of home-video footage of vampires running amok, with a truly fierce body count. Unless the season ends with lame time-travel or forgetfulness spell, how do you not address it?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Angel debuted at #11 and then dropped off the charts. That's the pattern Buffy typically follows, but given it's bigger fanbase it's usually higher up the chart

 

[Adam_ME]

It's a possibility, and one that one could argue almost has to be addressed.

Not really. It depends on how you view the Buffy/Angelverse. I've always looked at it the same way as Ghostbusters. It's a world identical to ours with the exception of the existence of the paranormal. You've got half the population aware of demons and vampires and the other half either oblivious to it or refusing to acknowledge it.

The only thing that's bugged me this season was how the government never took action to stop the Beast and all the havoc he caused in L.A. Unless of course they did and just failed miserably.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Considering the Initiative is still around, I would guess it's B. Frankly I don't think they have the manpower to handle what was going on in LA

 

[Jason Quillen]

You've got half the population aware of demons and vampires and the other half either oblivious to it or refusing to acknowledge it.

Thats the vibe I've always gotten from Angel.

But the more I think about it, the more possibilities I see for Angel and Friends vs the demon fearing people of LA - what it means for the humans of the group, letting Connor see that humans can be just as bad as demons, etc.

I don't think its something that has to be addressed, but if done right I think it could be a interesting and entertaining place for the show to go. Of course, a decent speed bump is one that has already been brought up - X-Men 2 similarities.

JQ

 

[Patrick Sun]

Just a reminder for anyone that missed the last segment of the episode on its original airing this past Wednesday, the WB is re-running "Orpheus" at 9 p.m. EST tonight.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

It's a possibility, and one that one could argue almost has to be addressed. This isn't a "giant snake appears for ten minutes at a high school graduation in a small town" that can easily be hushed-up; this is the Book of Revelations going on for some time (weeks?) in the second-largest city in America. It's probably been on the national news, along with tons of home-video footage of vampires running amok, with a truly fierce body count

This is LA. The California Air Resources Board will explain it as consecutive smog/ozone alert days and law enforcement agencies will pass-off the rampant vampirism as gang violence.

Regards,

 

[Eric C D]

I really don't want to read the all-spoiler thread, and I have no foreknowledge about what's coming, but I want to ask a question that some may not want to read, so I'll put it in spoilers.

Thanks for moving the pre-postings to that separate thread. And if this counts as "speculation," I truly won't mind it being deleted. Maybe you can just delete the spoilerized question.

Did Willow have to "re-curse" Angel to put his soul back, or is it back in without the curse of losing it if he finds a moment of "perfect happiness?"

Two other things. First, I don't know if I'm just being dense this year, but I think they've gone too far hiding plot twists that occured earlier in the year and play out later. What's with Cordy, the Giles story in Buffy, etc. I'll take the mystery-voice "You'll find me where its soft and warm" though.

And now that I've had time to reflect on it, I'm disappointed in the end of Wolf Ram, and Hart [sic]. Seemed like they just considered that idea played out so they wrote them out of the story. They *should* have gone out based on their own machinations. OK, maybe I just want more Lilah in pigtails.

Nits picked, they are still my two favorite shows...

Eric

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It doesn't need spoiler tags

She specifically said she was performing the same curse she used in Season 2 of Buffy, so yes he's still got the "moment of happiness" clause

 

[Eric C D]

Thanks,

I know it's blasphemy(tm), but I'd taped over the episode before I thought of that question. And that's not the usual problem - usually, Wed at 9 is watch one show, tape another (Angel and WW), miss one (Junkyard Wars - catch it when someone's got reruns). And I don't want a long-term tape library if I'm gonna buy it on DVD anyway. Argh, TV on DVD is gonna break me.

Eric

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The Joss forgives you as long as your pre-order Buffy Season 4 and Angel S2 right now

 

[Eric C D]

Ummm, not yet, but I have had *two* copies of each Buffy season pre-ordered before the actual dates. A previous christmas gift to my S.0.'s daughter and her new husband: "all seasons of Buffy and Babylon 5 for each of them to share with the other". Those are my two favorite shows of all time, Buffy is hers, and Bab is his.

Actually haven't bought Angel-1 yet (was going to wait and get it along with Buffy-4. Wouldn't watch it until then anyway so as not to confuse the S.O. with the crossovers). I am bad - must watch the demon-spawn episodes...

Eric.

P.S. IMHO, Buffy should have gotten to the departing helicopter in time. [He runs for the door now...]