Angel. Jumped the shark?

[Mercule]

"Four slots" on your VCR??? Most VCRs are usually able to program 8 shows. Coupled with several 8-hour tapes (in fact I have 10 that I re-use), you can pretty much record one weeks' worth of shows (averaging 3 hours of primetime).

But if you're not interested, oh well.

Well, my VCR is 8+ years old. I can't remember whether it was a wedding gift (8 years ago) or if my wife had it before we were married (I sure didn't -- I didn't own a TV).

I keep thinking that we should get something that is actually compatable with the rest of our equipment, but it isn't a big deal. I'm not sure I could fit in any more TV time. Seriously. People who watch more than a few hours of TV a week amaze me. I don't know where they get the time.

My four slot VCR is both a control mechanism and a values statement. I like a bit of TV to tell me an interesting story and relax, but I have a lot more important things to do with my time. Four slots keeps me from recording everything in sight. Obviously, TiVo isn't exactly at the top of my Christmas list, even though the geek in me knows how cool it is.

As for Faith on Angel, it is only going to be a guest spot, unless her Tru Calling show is cancelled, and even then, Eliza would probably want to go back to her movie career. And I would be opposed to dumping Gunn and Fred. Not too many minority actors on genre shows, and Fred, something about Fred just turns me on, her waifish body, her display of intellect, and the fact that I can see her in a short schoolgirl uniform ...

Yeah, I know Eliza isn't coming back permanently, probably no matter what happens with her new show. Just a statement of what I think would be a great core.

I also don't think that Gunn as a minority actor is really a good reason to keep him around. If the character only bogs down the show, the show is still getting bogged down. And I think that's the issue. The ensemble got way too big. With Connor and Cordy gone, it's getting smaller and more managible again. There's nothing wrong with Gunn and Fred, they've just been dead weight. It looks like they might have a bit more to do this season, so I'm not exactly clammoring for their heads -- unlike Lorne, who is great as the "NPC barkeep", but not interesting enough to be a "PC". IMO, the jury's still out on Spike. He could add value to the show, or he could be dead weight.

There isn't enough screen time for Angel, Wes, Gunn, Fred, Spike, and Lorne to all be major players. One, probably two, need to be removed (maybe just fade away). Angel needs to stay as the primary focus. Wes is my favorite character. Obviously, I think Lorne's exit/reduction is a gimme. Put him back to a fringe role. That leaves Gunn, Fred, or Spike as the other character than needs to be culled. Spike would be my next choice to disappear, just because he's the new guy. Either that or get rid of Gunn and Fred and bring in someone that combines them, like Faith.

But I think the only real reason I'd eliminate both Gunn and Fred is because I still have this (totally false) idea that Cordy is part of the gang and needs a space. Without Cordy coming back, Gunn and Fred probably have enough room to be interesting.

 

[KidCthulhu]

Speaking (kind of), about Faith, is anyone going to watch "Tru Calling" tonight?

I checked it out. Kind of tired and "done before" although Eliza gave it her all. The choice of Hudson Lieke (formerly Callista from Xena) as the helpless waif/victim du jour was interesting. There was one shot where she and Eliza were framed on screen together, and it was like the "violent anti-hero kick ass chicks" fan club publicity shot.

 

[WizarDru]

I keep thinking that we should get something that is actually compatable with the rest of our equipment, but it isn't a big deal. I'm not sure I could fit in any more TV time. Seriously. People who watch more than a few hours of TV a week amaze me. I don't know where they get the time.

IMHO, you need a Tivo. I couldn't live without mine. Pause live TV, start watching a show fifteen minutes late (but from the beginning), never worry about setting up a particular time for the show (no more Buffy moved back two hours due to NBA conflicts) and the ability to jump commercials, just to name a few. I don't have a lot of time to watch TV, and even less to watch TV without the kids (i.e adult shows like Angel). If not for Tivo, I'd never be able to keep up.

As for the current season, I'm pretty happy with it, so far, but hoping that they haven't completely abandoned the concept of an arc, here. I can understand wanting to improve an audience by keeping the show more accessible...but last year's story arc was so good (and eclipsed Buffy's lackluster dragged on for months plot so much) that I'd prefer to get more elements of it back.

 

[takyris]

Random note: Tivo tapes the Saturday evening showings of old Angel episodes for me. Usually it's a nuisance -- I don't watch old shows, repeats of things I've seen. I consider it a waste of bandwidth.

Saw that it was "Hero", the last episode with Doyle. Watched the opening scene -- Doyle utterly blowing his attempt at making a commercial for Angel Investigations, awkward and stammering and completely unbelievable. Fast-forwarded to end of the episode, with Angel & Cordy, eyes bloodshot, watching the video and mourning Doyle, who had just given his life. Same footage, word for word, and this time it's a completely different feeling. It's awkward and stammering still, but you know that that's because he believes it, even though he doesn't really believe in himself. That he's saying it the way he does not because he doesn't think it's true, but because he doesn't believe that he deserves to say it. And then he looks at the camera and says, "Is that it? Am I done?" And the screen goes to black.

Damn. Someday I'm gonna write that well -- that I can take the same words, throw them at you in two different scenes, make you laugh in the first one, and break your heart in the second.

 

[Mercule]

IMHO, you need a Tivo.

Okay, TiVo questions:

What, besides a TiVo box do you need to use it, at a minimal level? Is there a subscription service? Can it receive from rabbit ears? How about minimalist cable (I've got the $10/month package)?

Let's say I want to set it to record new episodes of Smallville, Angel, and Joan of Arcadia. What does it need to do that? I assume the requirements for coming in 15 minutes late are that you need to be recording the show in the first place.

 

[John Crichton]

TiVo

I'll just throw this up there to start - www.tivo.com

Ok, now to answer. TiVo requires a subscription. It's either 12.95 a month (which is what I do right now) or $299 for a lifetime subscription (for one specific TiVo box only).

It should work just fine with your basic cable service. Rabbit ears probably won't give you much but you can still hook them up and use the recorder manually (if you are technically inclined it should be easy to figure out).

As for recording your favorite shows, it is dead easy. You just tell TiVo what shows you want to record and their priority over each other and it will do exactly what you tell it to. For example: I like to watch both Smallville & Enterprise. The problem is that they are both on 8pm Wednesdays. However, Enterprise is shown again on Sundays. So I make sure to set Angel higher on my priority list (called a Season Pass) than Enterprise which ensures that I get both.

My favorite thing about it, besides the auto-record stuff, is the pausing live TV. Great for sports or just running to the bathroom or for snacks.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. I've had this thing for ~3 years now.

 

[Aaron L]

[poem] I almost cried when Doyle died. [/poem]

 

[takyris]

Ditto loving the Tivo. JC gave you a great overview. The inability to watch one thing while taping another is a hindrance at first, but really, I'm not around to watch the one thing I'd be watching anyway -- and I do have a VCR in the back room to use if necessary. What I've found is that I actually spend LESS time watching TV now that I've got Tivo -- I rarely see a commercial I don't want to see (some of 'em are funny), and my football games are about half as long, since I can see a slow-mo-replay all by myself as needed and can just zip through the commentators doing it otherwise.

One thing to bear in mind -- Tivo defaults to high-quality, but you should only use high-quality for shows that really really NEED high-quality. My Tivo can record 30 hours of basic programming, and about 10 hours of best-quality programming. Since I don't have High-Definition TV and rarely see a difference, I tape most shows at, say, Medium. Shows without special effects, or shows that are very long, or cartoons, get set to "Basic". That way, I can keep a lot of stuff on there at once.

You can also program whether you want to record all viewings of a show, or only new episodes. You can set Tivo to record things that it thinks you might like, and over time, it begins to learn your viewing habits. It's not 100%, but it hits a fair amount of the time.

If you are gonna get Tivo, consider whether or not you'll ever want Digital Cable or a satellite. If you might, consider getting it all at once, and getting the Tivo that comes built into your satellite or cable box. It's a lot easier to not have to fumble with multiple remotes and have boxes fighting for supremacy.

Still, like I said, I could never go back to Tivo-less TV. Tivo rocks. Everyone who's gotten it has loved it -- at least, everyone I've talked to.

 

[WizarDru]

What, besides a TiVo box do you need to use it, at a minimal level? Is there a subscription service? Can it receive from rabbit ears? How about minimalist cable (I've got the $10/month package)?

Let's say I want to set it to record new episodes of Smallville, Angel, and Joan of Arcadia. What does it need to do that? I assume the requirements for coming in 15 minutes late are that you need to be recording the show in the first place.

What John said. You don't have to use the subscription service, but you really, REALLY should...all the best programming features require it.

The interface program is one of Tivo's greatest strengths. It's really easy to use and quite clever. For example, I never know when Weird Al Yankovic will be on VH1...so I set up a Wish List, telling it to record any show that has his name in it...so when the Simpsons had Al on as a guest, it taped the episode for me, as well as some talkshow on E! that AL was on. Want to record any Ang Lee or Sam Peckinpah movie when it comes on? Another wish list. Want John Wayne, but only Westerns? Doable.

Pausing Live TV is Nirvana. Having two small kids who don't always follow their bedtime rules, or who may make too much noise for me to hear the TV, it's huge. As for the 15 minutes late thing, yes, it has to already be recording the show. I have it set to record Angel (new episodes only), and often let it start recording and then tune in late. TV serves me, and I'm no longer shackled to it's schedule. I record Justice League on Saturday nights, and maybe watch it then, maybe Sunday or later. Adult Swim comes on late, and I have to be up early. Now, I don't care.

As a person who constantly made VCR mistakes (not enough tape space left, recording over shows, setting wrong times or channels), the Tivo is awesome. Recent example: Cartoon Network is doing it's 'November Premieres' for several of it's shows. I didn't bother checking to see when the new episodes were on...I knew that Tivo would get them. CN decided to premiere new episodes of Samurai Jack on Monday and Teen Titans on Tuesday. I learned that when they appeared on Tivo's list. I had no idea, and would have missed them otherwise.

About the only thing I didn't like about my series I Tivo was the 30GB disk space...so I upped it to 120GB. Now I keep a few dozen shows for weeks before getting rid of them, but that's hardly a hassle.

 

[takyris]

Hey, 'Dru, how'd you up the disk-space? Can you do it and keep the same box (which, ya know, has the "lifetime purchase" deal on it)? Was it official, or did you hack it by popping in a few more hard drives?