Angel

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Pictures from the Smallville/Angel premiere at the Grove are available at WireImage.

Info from a fan at the party:

I was a very lucky girl last night and I got to attend the
WB premiere party for "Angel" here in Los Angeles.
Great event and the whole cast was there except for Alexis Denisof
who apparently was filming for a very Wesley-centered episode.
Met just about everyone and got photos with them, including James,
and I talked to him for a bit. Told me that the movie [Venetian Heat] is definitely NOT happening. They lost their financing so the whole thing is off.
He seemed very philosophical about it and not horribly disappointed. I said "it'll happen for you" and he replied "it already is". What a nice guy.

Attendees:
David Boreanaz (with very cute son and without wife), James Marsters, Amy Acker, J. August Richards, Andy Hallett, Mercedes McNab, Sarah Thompson and very surprisingly.....Michelle Trachtenberg.
Met most of them, David kept to his "people" and didn't circulate much. Amy left the party to watch the premiere at home. Alexis wasn't there since he was filming for a very Wesley-centric episode. Andy and J. August could not have been friendlier. Got great photos with them too. I didn't meet her, but a friend said Sarah Thompson was nice. She had her eyes glued to the TV whenever she was on. Kinda funny.
Ah, James. What a great guy. He got the biggest reaction from the crowd by far. Talked with our table for a few minutes, signed my "Chance" poster (as did Andy Hallett) and took two photos with me. Gave me the news that "Venetian Heat" was off.

[Nostradamus]

Random observations...

I actually didn't think Sarah Thompson did all that bad, though I'm glad they're keeping her role limited for now, and the character certainly doesn't hold a candle to Lilah as far as vexacious Film Noir dames go.

Wesley may have chosen Harmony for the virtue of her stupidity. With any other W&H staffer, you'd have to be more concerned with a long term spy or traitor, but how could Harm pull that off?

Overall, I liked the premier, but I have to say that if I were in Angel's shoes, as soon as the "strings" became apparent I would've said "Screw that! Let's ransack the office, take as much money and as many mystical artifacts and secret files as we can carry, burn the rest, and go back to fighting evil at the hotel." The hotel had better ambiance anyway.

[JPP13]

Understanding my earlier concerns about Spike, I must say his arrival did guarantee my watching if for no other reason than to keep up with the Buffyverse. Its not the same without the Buffster and the Scoobys. Oh well. But at least some of the characters "live on".

I still say soemthing is up between Charisma and Joss. Makes no sense at all to toss her aside. Oldest Buffyverse character around and he dumps her. No sense.

I had the same thought as Nostradamus. Why don't they steal the files, call a super-convention of all demons and evil-doers to the office for a get-together, and then blow the place up?

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Now that I have had some time to digest the show, some thoughts:

When the commandos storm the elementary school, they all have gas masks on. Hauser then takes his off, which means the gas isn't harmful to him so he isn't human. I suppose on a practical level, it would have been ridiculous for him to give Angel his little speech all muffled beneath his mask, but what if the reason he doesn't need the mask is that he is a vampire too? A gunshot through the head might be painful, but it wouldn't kill him.

JPP13 - I was a little bit right and a little bit wrong earlier. There IS one commando guy left but Eve also stares at the blood on the wall.

Gunn claims that dumping the law into his head hasn't changed him, but as he is telling the Fang Gang this, he is about to smoke a cigar, something that we have never seen him do before. Obviously he has changed more than he thinks he has but doesn't realize it yet. In addition, the only people who smoke in the Jossverse are the bad guys (like evil Spike).

Wes still seems like he's in charge - notice him delegating who will do what while Angel stands on the side looking awkward and being silent. How far back does the mindwipe go? Is this the Wesley of S2 when he was leading Angel Investigations? Notice that Fred told Knox she's more the running away type than the running things type. That is true of the old Fred, but last season she was the one who tasered Connor and then figured out a way to make the other see Jasmine in her true maggoty form.

Fred's hysterical outburst seemed justified but slightly out of character, even for New Empowered Fred. When Willow did it early on BtVS, it was more of a "Yay Willow!" thing, but with Fred it was more of a "Damn, woman!" thing to me. Her reason for freaking out - very understandable. The actual shrieking - ick. Anyway, I guess it's probably because Fred is not used to being in a management position.

Back to Wesley being in charge - Angel asks, "What, I'm not allowed to hit people anymore?" Wes also hired Harmony without consulting Angel. Remember the night before when they are all going through the client files, Angel asks, "Do I have a secretary?" and Wesley gives him some non-commital reply about finding someone who can stomach working for the do-gooders. If he had already hired Harmony at that point, he chose not to tell Angel. Otherwise, he hired Harmony the next morning. Either way, he knows that there is a history (and not the good kind) with Harmony, someone who irritated everyone with her presence (ripping pages out of old books to throw away her gum, spilling blood on the computer keyboard) and sold them out. What makes Wesley think she can be trusted now? Was Angel correct when he said that Wes went evil faster than he thought he would? Lastly, right before Angel leaves for the elementary school, Harmony says, "Boss?" and both Angel and Wesley reply, "What?" So who is in charge?

[grim4746]

I thought this weeks Angel was less encouraging than last weeks. I was really hoping that even though the spoilers seemed completely solid that they would somehow be wrong and he wouldn't be a ghost (or close enough to a ghost, whatever they decided to call it). i'm hoping this doesn't last. It's been awhile since i've seen the Buffy finale and my memory is a little fuzzy but from what I recall The First is still kicking around its plan was just foiled. The Bringers summoned the First in season 3 I think so it only took 3-4 years for the First to work out that plan to destroy the world. I bring this up only because it seems really irresponsible of Angel to not fill the others in on all the details of what happened in spite of his dislike for Spike. Maybe i'm way off base and the First was somehow destroyed, please correct me.
But all I really wanted to say was that I checked out Charisma Carpenter's appearance on "Miss Match" (I only watched a few minutes I promise) and she looked good. Her face looked a bit different than normal but I couldn't quite figure out what was different. She was funny and it was great to see her, I hadn't seen her since coma cordy so it was nice to see her speaking again, though I still miss her long hair. Seeing her again just reinforced my belief that she could only add to Angel this season though admittedly the show does seem a bit over stuffed this year.

[lance]

I thought this weeks Angel was less encouraging than last weeks. I was really hoping that even though the spoilers seemed completely solid that they would somehow be wrong and he wouldn't be a ghost (or close enough to a ghost, whatever they decided to call it). i'm hoping this doesn't last.

I hear ya. I was all pumped last week to see Spke and Angel together again. There were some funny lines here and there but the episode just felt forced somehow.

On the plus side this was only episode 2 so I will wait and see what develops. Spike as a ghost I don't see lasting too much longer. At the end of last weeks episode Spike was going to Fred for help.

LanceMan

[Natasha (candygirl)]

From tvshowsondvd:

This morning Fox Home Video has revealed the complete specs for Angel - The Complete 3rd Season, and - true to our word - we've got the scoop for you!

Cover art isn't available quite yet, though we will bring that to you once it is. But here's a rundown of the Season 3 episodes that you'll find on this release:

"Heartthrob", "That Vision Thing", "That Old Gang Of Mine", "Carpe Noctem", "Fredless", "Billy", "Offspring", "Quickening", "Lullaby", "Dad", "Birthday", "Provider", "Waiting In The Wings", "Couplet", "Loyalty", "Sleep Tight", "Forgiving", "Double Or Nothing", "The Price", "A New World", "Benediction", and "Tomorrow".

The street date is February 10, 2004. This will be a 6-DVD set, and all six discs will be presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, according to the early information we've been provided with. Soundtracks included are English 2.0 Surround and Spanish 2.0 Surround. Additionally, there will be Spanished subtitles. The running time should clock in around 1080 minutes, and the Suggested Retail Price will be $59.98 in the U.S., and CA$89.98 in Canada.

Extra! Extra! Here are the extras you can expect:

* Disc 1
* None
* Disc 2
* Commentary by Tim Minear and Jeffrey Bell ("Billy")
* Disc 3
* Commentary by Tim Minear and Mere Smith ("Lullaby")
* Deleted scenes with commentary by Tim Minear and Mere Smith (Cordy Show "Birthday") (Run Time 4:09)
* Featurette: "Darla: Deliver Us From Evil" (Run Time 12:11)
* Angel Series Outtakes (Run Time 4:30)
* Disc 4
* Commentary by Joss Whedon ("Waiting in the Wings")
* Deleted scenes with commentary by Joss Whedon ("Waiting in the Wings") (Run Time 5:00)
* Disc 5
* None
* Disc 6
* Featurette: "Season 3 Overview" (Run Time 32:54)
* Featurette: "Page to Screen" (Run Time 13:56)
* Screen tests: Amy Acker (2:36) and Vincent Kartheiser (1:48) (Run Time 4:24)
* Still Gallery (approx. 50 images)

This release is already up for preorder at DVDEmpire.com - one of our e-tail partners - if you would like to get a jump on it!

[lance]

Season 3 DVD cover art is now at

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com

LanceMan

[Natasha (candygirl)]

The tvshowsondvd page that shows the cover art is here. Although it's nice to see that they designed it so that it doesn't look EXACTLY like S1 & S2 with different colors, is it just me or did anyone else yell "YOWZA!" about that CC picture? And not in a good way!

[Natasha (candygirl)]

A Zap2It article about CC appearing on Angel this season:

Whedon Wants Cordy Back on 'Angel'
(Thursday, October 16 03:14 PM)

"Angel" creator Joss Whedon says he'd like to bring Charisma Carpenter back to the show sometime this season, even if it's just to achieve an end to her character's story.

Carpenter left the show at the end of last season, with her character, Cordelia Chase, lying in a coma after giving birth to an evil being that nearly took over the world. Cordy has remained off-screen and has barely been mentioned in the opening episodes of this season.

Nonetheless, "We definitely want to see Charisma again," Whedon tells the AP. "She has an important part to play this season to bring some closure." If things work out, there's a chance viewers could see Cordelia around the midway point of the season.

The odds of seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar, whose "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is "Angel's" TV sire, on the show this season seem worse, despite reports that fans might see Buffy Summers during the February or May sweeps. "I'm not banking on it," is what Whedon says of Gellar guesting this year.

It's more likely that viewers will see Willow (Alyson Hannigan), who appeared on the show last season and is married to "Angel" co-star Alexis Denisof. "I hope they can talk her into it. I'll certainly be trying to talk her into it," Denisof says.

[K-man]

I have seen all the new ep's so far and I think the show still totally rocks! Surprisingly I haven't missed Cordy to the point where I want to stop watching. The changes everyone has mentioned are both annoying at times and somewhat interesting. I have to say that since I never watched Buffy I didn't know what to make of Spike coming to Angel but what a pleasant surprise his character has been. What a great actor/character James M. has been for the show! Now I can finally understand why the great Candygirl used him for her avatar for so long.

[JPP13]

Can we re-name the show Spike yet?

And what is Joss with the naked Spike? For my money, when he started with that on Buffy it ruined the show.

I'm really beginning to believe what I predicted earlier in this thread is coming true.

I suggest less Spike, more Fred and Wesley. And bring back Cordy.

[So-Called Loon]

Don't know what i'm doing here. Haven't seen the show once.

Probably won't.

[lance]

The tvshowsondvd page that shows the cover art is here. Although it's nice to see that they designed it so that it doesn't look EXACTLY like S1 & S2 with different colors, is it just me or did anyone else yell "YOWZA!" about that CC picture? And not in a good way!

Yup,

The set is brown in color. The picture of CC seems distinctly more Angel than they way she looked on Buffy: shorter hair, blonde coloring.

Angel so far:

Going into this season I was under the impression that they were going to lighten up Angel. So far it has been anything but light. There was that rumour that Spike was going to be a ghost for 11 episodes. I now see that happening. Also, no sign of a season arc with a big bad to fight.

In addition Wednesday episode was fairly depressing as far as Angel is concerned. He seems to just have given up on fighting the good fight.

LanceMan

[Natasha (candygirl)]

The annoying thing about naked Spike is that James Marsters doesn't really like being naked all the time either. He doesn't complain about it because, as he has said numerous times, when you sign a contract to do a show you are agreeing to do whatever they choose to do with the character as an actor, not as a writer. He has done nudity before and is comfortable with himself but during S6 it got ridiculous, even for him. During S7 he deliberately gained some weight in the hopes that they would stop showing him in various states of undress. I guess if I were to look on the bright side, at least he has only been completely naked a few times (the rest of the time he was usually without a shirt). After all of the discussion about undressed Spike over the past few years, I noticed when I watched the first two seasons of AtS on DVD, David Boreanaz usually has one scene per episode where he is gratuitously topless too (coming out of the shower, putting on a shirt, etc). I suppose I should feel a little better knowing that Joss likes to exploit his leading men for the female fans, but somehow I don't.

I don't think that the problem with this season is Spike - it's the writers not knowing what to do. Unleashed was very unSpikecentric and there was still very little of any of the MoG - a few lines here, a few lines there for each of them. With the renewed Monster of the Week structure, they are spending too much time trying to make us care about the person who is being saved (or trying to explain why we should dislike the bad guy) and not enough time letting the main cast do anything but remind us that they took over an evil law firm. So far, aside from Gunn's brain thing, there has been absolutely no character development for ANYONE. All I see is Angel & Co putting out one fire after another and wondering who on staff is eeeeevil. If they are supposed to begin a downward spiral, how am I supposed to care when all I see is each character spouting science stuff (Fred) or legal stuff (Gunn), wallowing in self-pity (Angel and Spike), and what the heck does Wesley do now?

Don't get me wrong - this show is still better than all of the other crap on tv and I am loyal to the Jossverse (to the bitter end if need be), but the writers need to figure out what they are trying to do. I would love it if all the things we have complained about end up having some sort of purpose so that we will look back, smack ourselves on the forehead, and say, "Ooohhhhh, THAT'S what you were doing!"

Can you tell that I really didn't like the werewolf episode?