Angel. Jumped the shark?

[KidCthulhu]

The evidence:

1) Spike joins the cast. Don't get me wrong. I love James Marsters and Spike, but the chemistry feels all wrong. He's flopping around like a fish out of water. And the infusion of a popular character from one show to the spin off is never a good sign (Worf, anyone?).

2) Harmony. Nuff said

3) Gunn is a lawyer now. I have no problem with ditching the "inner city bad-ass" act. But instant lawer? That's just fudged up.

4) Wesley's all better. No Fred problems. No Gunn problems. The conflict vacuum strikes again.

Any thoughts? Someone prove I'm wrong.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Spike is a mistake but he has a high Q rating so it does not hurt the show overall, it is that he does not fit the nature of the show.

Hey, leave Harm alone, she is my Vampire Barbie but she is support and should remain there, something they forgot with Cordy.

Gunn should have gone security, more conflicts and walking the line between right and wrong. Lawyer Gunn is lame and the character is weak and does not fit the role.

Wesley is better and remains the gritest member of the cast, it fits that he has no issues but that is also because of what happen to the others, think there may still be something there.

 

[Crothian]

I'm enjoying it. That's all the proof I need

Spike is a fish out of water, but that's by design. I've always enjoyed Harmony, so so nuff said. I think for Jump the Shark status the show needs to go on a little more, it's to easy to have a few less then stellar episodes and then jump on the jump the shark bandwagon. At the end of this year I'm sure we can look back and see how it all unfolded and then decide if it has jumped the shark.

 

[Henry]

SPOILERS FROM HECK IF YOU'RE NOT UP TO SPEED ON CURRENT U.S. EPISODES!!!!! STAY AWAY!

The evidence:

1) Spike joins the cast. Don't get me wrong. I love James Marsters and Spike, but the chemistry feels all wrong. He's flopping around like a fish out of water. And the infusion of a popular character from one show to the spin off is never a good sign (Worf, anyone?).

2) Harmony. Nuff said

3) Gunn is a lawyer now. I have no problem with ditching the "inner city bad-ass" act. But instant lawer? That's just fudged up.

4) Wesley's all better. No Fred problems. No Gunn problems. The conflict vacuum strikes again.

Any thoughts? Someone prove I'm wrong.

I'm going to invoke the mantra from rec.arts.tv.btvs:

In Joss we trust.


1) I'm still giving James a chance to figure out Spike's place in this new situation. So far, he has become the "nagging conscience" behind Angel that Cordy used to be in Seasons 1 through 3. He's reminding Angel that all the newfound glitz and glamour should not cloud his purpose, and that Angel has hit the cosmic lottery in W&H trusting him in this manner. This role, however, seems to be in the process of being taken up by Fred as well, so we'll see what happens.

2)Harmony's fun to watch. After last season's disgusting dark pit of doom, I like seeing a little ditzy airhead to shake things up. Hopefully, though, they don't keep her around for too long, because come episode 7 to 9, I'm going to get tired of her.

3)I'm trusting Joss on Gunn - something strange happened between him and "the big cat", and last episode now has Angel realizing it, too. W&H dumped something more than just lawyer knowledge and show-tunes in that smooth noggin, and it's going to be a nasty revelation when it comes out.

4)Wesley still has "Fred" problems. He's still pining for the twiglet. (After seeing her in the shower scene, and some of the new intro scenes, I'm understanding why. ) He's jealous as heck over the geeky D&D scientist she works with, and he's letting clues slip all over the place. However, she's letting clues slip she isn't the least bit interested in him, either, so he's still got to get over her. (Wesley's back in good graces with Angel and Gunn, but it doesn't mean she's forgiven him for sleeping with Lilah.)

I can't shake the feeling that all the "happy happy" scenes are a big set up for something very evil and complicated popping up, I'm guessing starting with November sweeps. Next week is what looks like another "bubblegum" Halloween episode, which I'm looking forward to, but after that I'm waiting to see the nastiness unfold, because when working for Wolfram and Hart, you know happiness can't last.

Personally, I'm waiting for the gang to come to the realization that there is some do-gooder team out there, starting their own help the hopeless" business, and are gunning for THEM as the big bads!!! Might that put their mission in a bit of perspective?...

 

[KidCthulhu]

Ok, Henry, I'm willing to take your appraisal, and keep believing. My problem is that while I trust Joss, I'm not so sure about some of the others..

But it would be fun if they were suddenly the bad guys and they didn't know it.

 

[Ranger REG]

The evidence:

1) Spike joins the cast. Don't get me wrong. I love James Marsters and Spike, but the chemistry feels all wrong. He's flopping around like a fish out of water. And the infusion of a popular character from one show to the spin off is never a good sign (Worf, anyone?).

Considering that I'm a Fan of All Things Klingon, I welcome this.

(Hey, if Klingons wants to enter into the Bajor Sector, and wants nothing but to accelerate their genocidal plan, Starfleet might as well bring in a Klingon expert.)

The thing about Joss Whedon is that he always have something up his sleeve, so there is a purpose for Spike being on Angel, and not just for rating (which is not a bad thing). Spike and Angel does have this dynamic yet conflicting relationship, the kind I like in DS9 (when new station commander Sisko met his second-in-command, Major Kira). They also share a commonality: vampires with souls.

2) Harmony. Nuff said

At first, I rolled at my eyes when I heard about blondie being cast as a recurring character. But after seeing her on the season premiere episode, she fits right in. Granted, many angry Angel fans sees here a futile replacement for Cordy but Harmony is much like a younger self-centered version of Cordy. It would be interesting to see how she mature under Angel's influence.

3) Gunn is a lawyer now. I have no problem with ditching the "inner city bad-ass" act. But instant lawer? That's just fudged up.

Ah, but you should know, there is a price for that. We hav to tune in and find out.

4) Wesley's all better. No Fred problems. No Gunn problems. The conflict vacuum strikes again.

Considering what he went through last season, give him a break, at least until midseason.

Any thoughts? Someone prove I'm wrong.

Personally, every gift has a price. Sure, they inherited the LA office of Wolfram & Hart, but to maintain business, Angel & Co. must decide which "clients" to keep and which "clients" to exterminate.

I see Fred and Spike may be growing closer as she devote much of her time trying to free Spike from his non-corporeal limbo.

Newlywed Alexis Denisof ("Wesley") may persuade his wife, Alyson Hannigan ("Willow") to come visit Angel. That should give Wesley someone to boff.

I see yet another prophecy unfold about "vampires with souls."

BTW, I do have one beef with Joss: Cordy. I just hope they find a way to bring her back ... as part of the regular cast.

 

[DanMcS]

BTW, I do have one beef with Joss: Cordy. I just hope they find a way to bring her back ... as part of the regular cast.

That could be hard, because they pretty much wrote her out because CC wanted to go do other acting stuff. I don't think Joss or Mutant Enemy is the sticking point here.

 

[fusangite]

I agree. The shark has been jumped. Any show lacking the good sense to end with the apocalypse it has been building up to for its entire duration has, indeed, jumped the shark. The addition of Spike and the zero-ing of the personal dynamics are just the symptoms.

 

[barsoomcore]

In Joss we trust.

I wish I could join that bandwagon. The last season and a half of Buffy shook my faith, I'm afraid.

Angel's been pretty disastrous so far, I think. The opening episode had a lot of potential, but it's been all misses since then. But I've never been much of an Angel fan to begin with.

And there's not nearly enough chicks! What's up with that!? I mean, yay spindly Texans, for sure, but seriously -- even Harm hasn't been much of a presence on the show. It's unfair to ask Fred to carry all that weight on those alarmingly-fragile-looking shoulders.

 

[John Crichton]

WAY too early for me to make the "Jumped the Shark" call. There is sure to be a little letdown after the rollercoaster that was last season (one of the best season's of TV I've ever seen). The best is yet to come. All Joss shows have a history of being good in the first half of the season and great in the second. Say what you will about Season 7 of Buffy but the man has been successful more often than not. He ain't perfect but he has delivered time and time again.

If you have been paying attention to any of the spoiler sites (which I have only read headlines, not actual spoilers) you'll know that the good stuff will hit around sweeps, specifically around episodes 8-10. This is week 5. Last season floundered a bit on the Cordy questions along with the further misadventures of Connor. The Beast didn't show up until the 6th episode which is really when the season took off for Angel.

The producers have also said they are taking a different approach this year with a more episodic feel. After 10-12 episodes have passed then I'll be able to say if there is any jumping of aquatic types.

I have liked the show so far this year. It's a different feel that I am still getting used to (I miss the hotel). Cordy has been out of the picture for 9 episodes now so I'm not missing her as much. The stuff will hit the fan with Gunn, it's like a ticking time-bomb. Wes is still dark but the focus right now is getting Spike introduced to non-Buffy fans. I suspect that the focus will shift back to the rest of the gang by the time sweeps hit.

Additionally, the writers now have to fill the space any Buffy cameos would have taken up as she will most likely not be showing up any time this season. I'd like to see some Wes and Gunn time fill those spots. Either that or bring back Gwen for an ep or 2.