$#!@ you Joss Whedon!

[John Crichton]

So I just finished the third season of Angel on DVD last night and wouldn't you know it it was the 4th of July so Best Buy was closed and I couldn't get the 4th season to see what happens. I've been thinking of Wesly as a broken shell and Angel sinking into the water in that metal box all day at work. It's killing me. How could you people who were watching the series on TV stand to wait until the next year? Did it drive any of you to acts of violence? Man....

No, because anticipation rocks. Yeah, I did let out a mournful, "Noooooo!" when the credits roled but that's a good thing. It means the show did it's job perfectly. Waiting 4 months to see the outcome was painful but not unfamiliar. Waiting one day? Suck it up, mang.

Coincidentally, I just finished the 4th season of the West Wing and am really eager to see what happens in season 5.

 

[RangerWickett]

Oh, do yourself a favor and buy season 5 of Angel at the same time you buy season 4. Not because of any upcoming holidays, but because you'll want to wash the bad taste of season 4 out of your mouth, and season 5 is remarkably crisp, clean, and tasty.

 

[Tiew]

Yeah, I've heard five is much better... And it has Spike which is enough to make me wade through 4 even if every single episode sucks.

I'm with all you guys on killing Conner. I end up with that reaction a lot. It seems like the good guys are a lot harder on the other good guys than on each other. Like how many times does Angel let different evil lawyers and other villians go, then when Wes screws up he tries to kill him. Ooh well. I think if I was running that team we'd have a one strike you're out policy, try to kill any of us or destroy the world one time and we kill you. Of course that would screw the show up since most of the good characters were villians at one time or another. I think it is kind of cool that they try to fight evil without becoming ruthless, just frustrating sometimes.

As to suspense, watching the show on DVD is awesome. You'd be amazed how tight an episode made to be shown with comercials is without comercials. When I'm used to watching the next episode as soon as I want to having to wait a day is rough though. Don't mock my pain just because yours was greater.

 

[KaosDevice]

Some shows are better then others for the DVD box treatment. I liked watching LOST much better as a set, back to back than the sometimes interminable waiting between shows. But Angel and Buffy I liked watching week by week just fine.

 

[barsoomcore]

Angel and Buffy I liked watching week by week just fine.

The Joss knoweth TV in all its mysterious workings. Yea, verily.

 

[Darthjaye]

The whole point of the length in between is to savor the last show while speculating what the next one will hold. Anticipation and expectation man. The DVD age has to some degree ruined this for people who did not watch them then.

 

[Klaus]

In Monte Cook's review of the Firefly DVD set, he says something that is very true: Joss Whedon really knows how to pace things for TV. The episodes were MADE to be watched with commercial breaks, to make the most of those nice little cliffhangers he puts in every episode.

Man, I really want to watch Serenity... (goes to count them dimes).

 

[Darthjaye]

In Monte Cook's review of the Firefly DVD set, he says something that is very true: Joss Whedon really knows how to pace things for TV. The episodes were MADE to be watched with commercial breaks, to make the most of those nice little cliffhangers he puts in every episode.

Man, I really want to watch Serenity... (goes to count them dimes).

Honestly though, it doesn't take Monte Cook to figure this out. Anyone who was a fan of the show (or cinema in general for that matter) can understand that pacing and cliff-hanger moments do much for the audience to keep them interested and waiting on edge for the next moment. Joss just seems to have a knack for finding the right characters and story's to convey this in his works. The moments that led to commercial breaks can still be picked out very easily on the DVD's. It's the reason why Monte (after watching the DVD's like the rest of us browncoat fans) can make that observation. To be honest, you can see this moreso in his early stuff with Buffy and Angel. The dramatic background music in these scenes led right into the commercials too.

As for the Firefly and Serenity DVD's. Go get em (if you don't already own the Firefly DVD's) and make sure you grab them pennies too. Independently or together, they are both worth getting and watching a few times. Fan boy quotes and great moments from both. "Jaynestown" from the series is still one of my favorites. For some reason I keep thinking he said something about still having scenes he wanted to add back in for Serenity in future versions, but I may be wrong.

 

[Klaus]

Firefly hasn't been released on DVD here yet. Serenity was just released, so it's a bit too expensive for me these days. I'll borrow a friend's, though.

But I must say, the local cover for Serenity is horrid...

 

[Aaron L]

Eh, Angel lost it when Doyle died.