The teaser of this week’s Lie to Me ended with the main character, Cal Lightman, seemingly shot dead. There’s been a buzz since the airing that, because there was never any doubt that by the time the end credits rolled the human lie detector would be back on his feet, the drama was all manufactured and, well, empty. Show runner Shawn Ryan has been fielding questions to that point on Twitter. The same sentiment can be found in the comments on Brett’s SG:U post. It begs the question: can television shows ever put their heroes in any realistic danger?

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(Buffy Season 4, Episodes 5-6)
(Angel Season 1, Episodes 5-6)

Change is brewing already on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A little abrupt, and saddening, but it will push the characters into new emotional territory. Never want them to stagnate too much.

Over on Angel, it was so good to see Angel doing something other than the whole brooding thing. The show is really coming into its own comedy-wise, which is important. I don’t need it as light as Buffy, but you can’t have characters like Cordelia and Doyle and stay that dark forever. Read the rest of this entry »

(Buffy Season 4, Episodes 3-4)
(Angel Season 1, Episodes 3-4)

Now that’s a crossover between two shows. Brilliantly and seamlessly handled. This is why I chose to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel back-to-back like this. I knew Whedon had dropped little treats like this in for his loyal viewers, and now I can pretend to be one, too.

It was also nice to see the return of some familiar faces to both series. As I said last week, the casts are pretty lean. And while I can forgive it as we’re getting settled into our new environments on both shows, it’s time to start stretching out and meeting new people, as well as reconnecting with old friends. Read the rest of this entry »

(Buffy Season 4, Episodes 1-2)
(Angel Season 1, Episodes 1-2)

Welcome to the new and shorter-titled “Diary of a Buffy/Angel Virgin.” I’m a completist by nature, so if I’d been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it was on, I would have surely tuned in to Angel. I’ll bet the vast majority of people who were watching did the same, or at least sampled Angel.

So far, both shows feel a little lean. They took two of the regular cast members of Buffy, and put them on Angel. Buffy is just making do with the smaller number, while Angel added one. After high school so much changes, so it’s pretty cool watching two different shows to see how everybody’s lives are moving in such different directions. Read the rest of this entry »

This example of Hatch Blowing is going to sound familiar, if you read my previous one on Veronica Mars. As I said then, the transformation of Logan Echolls from unlikeable punk to likable suitor for Veronica was remarkable. Along those same lines, Angel had an amazing transformation to behold, with the depussification of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. However, unlike Veronica Mars’s Logan, the road to bad-ass “rogue demon hunter” Wesley took seasons to accomplish in full.

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