Through a prolonged, Herculean effort that only a hella-fanboy could manage, Doyce got (pushed/dragged/cheered/enabled) us through both of the last seasons of Angel and Buffy before their respective premieres. Kudos to the D-Man.
Interestingly enough, Margie enjoyed Angel more, while I enjoyed Buffy.
I thought Angel sort of meandered during its season, and that the final arc (Angel Meets the Xenaverse) was just goofy. A bold experiment, but goofy. Angel needs to get off its one-trick pony of Angel broods, something bad happens, Angel broods more, his friends worry, Angel starts getting more feral, his friends worry some more, Angel manages to escape falling permanently into darkness, but there’s still a lot of broodiness on the horizon, because, damn, he is a Vampire with a Soul®. The problem is (and this is a big one), the lead character really doesn’t have that much more going for him than that, and most of the supporting cast don’t have much more going for them than playing off of it. It’s a big, dysfunctional family that keeps repeating the same patterns, which is profound but getting tiresome.
Not that I’m going to stop watching it, mind you.
Margie, on the other hand, thought the Buffy season was full of contrived plotlines, with one horrible thing happening to the gang (and to Buffy in particular) after another, like a bad melodrama (my words, not hers). She noted that the show has moved from its Teen Angst roots into How Many Bad Things Can We Throw At Our Heroes Before They Crack? There also seemed to be fewer one-off episodes, though that might have also been because of our “Readers Digest Condensed Season” mode of watching.
I could see her point at times, but thought it was still within the realm of … well, “reality” is probably a bad word to use here, but within my belief-suspension. A bit out there, verging on soap opera at times, but I’m not sure which elements I would have thrown out. I thought the Joyce Brain Tumor thing was a great splash of reality (esp. as it led to probably the best single episode of the season, “Bodies”). I thought it was all good — but it was a bit dense, and a number of plot lines (Xander/Anya, Buffy/Spike) probably needed more fleshing out than they got. One of the dangers of as large an ensemble cast as they have.
Hmmmm. Angel is like a very character-driven RPG (where the players have a given set of traits that they keep relying on, and the GM gives them plenty of rope to do it with). Buffy is like a very plot-driven game (where the GM keeps throwing more and more problems at the players, who respond in usually stock but sometimes surprising ways). Maybe that explains why I liked the latter more than the former.
Anyway, finished up Buffy‘s season finale last night. That’s the one I inadvertently saw on a business trip, which at least saved me from being spoiled by the endless Buffy New Season commecials on UPN over the last few weeks. The ep still holds up on a second viewing, esp. with so much of the background now better understood. And it had the requisite weepy spots (Margie even snuffles during AT&T Long Distance commercials, so cut her a break), as well as some good cathartic hammering. And good Giles bits. And good Spike bits. And good Willow bits. And even some good Xander and Anya bits.
And now … the new season premieres tonight. Hoody-hoo and pass the Doritos.