UK Mall 1 - Angel - Season 3 (Box Set 1) [2000]

The pregnancy of Darla does, in my opinion, begin to show a slight spiral out of control, however, as the world built up by Joss Whedon & Co relies so heavily on its rules that when these rules begin to, for seemingly no clear reason, be broken, some element of trust between viewer and show is broken as well. If we have been led to believe that vampires cannot give birth, when they suddenly and irrationally do so it reeks of ratings winners and makes the whole show appear a little more ridiculous - of course its premise is exactly that, but the usually almost flawlessly constructed universe built up allows you to forget you are watching a show about a vampire with a soul and a penchant for hair gel and simply enjoy the forty-five minutes of quality entertainment. Also, the baby noises and faces do start to kill the Angel coolness we know and love.

Having said that, it's interesting to speculate where (in the words of Buffy) we go from here. Surely a demon fighting team can't have a newborn baby needing his nappy changed every time they need to stake something? And why hasn't Wesley done anything at all for weeks (incidentally, am I the only one who thinks his usually impeccable accent is starting to slip? Must be lack of practice.)? And WHAT is going on with Angel and Cordelia? It's a good thing they have abolished crossovers - if Buffy could see him now...

Overall, this half of the season, although flawed, has shown "Angel" is capable of something almost never achieved by spin-off shows - rivalling and often beating its original. Almost every episode of "Buffy" this season has been bettered by the equivalent "Angel." And whilst some factors are difficult to swallow, in general these eleven episodes have been entertaining and compelling, and although answering many questions, have opened up a whole lot more.

However, it was these dark elements that drew me back to see more episodes, as I was desperate to see some decent writing and a good plot to resolve some of the issues left hanging. The actors are obviously talented, but Fred can't always be stereotyped as absent-minded boffin, and Gunn definitely needs some fleshing out; if they leave these two characters as they are, there will be very little foundation for a fourth season.

To be honest, this has to do with some very lame characters - the addition of Gunn and then Fred did nothing to help the dynamic at Angel Investigations. While Angel, Cordy and Wesley did develop a real bond by the end of Season One, during Season Two, when Gunn was introduced, this gradually became less important to the writers. The end of Season Two (as many have commented) was a dreadful mistake, and the show has never really gotten over it.

Season Three seems full of potentially interesting ideas executed without style or wit. Angel's character is all over the place (he was pretty consistent back in the day), and seems to be written just to suit the particular episode's whims. The non-relationship with Cordy was annoying, but nothing like as annoying as the relationship between two non-characters Fred and Gunn. What a waste of screen time!

Sadly, there is not much to recommend continued viewing of Angel, and one only hopes that the casual disregard for good writing or solid character development does not tarnish the series from which Angel sprung. Buffy has absolutely had its problems, but in scope, ambition and (usually) in execution it is light years ahead of this.

Aside from the writing - which is pretty much an insurmountable obstacle - the whole character dynamic is just awful. There's no natural humour or repartee between the group despite what the writers seem to believe. Worse than that, they seem to have forgotten to give Gunn a character entirely. Now, I could be wrong but isn't it a tad bit offensive that his only defining characteristic is the fact that he's black? Come on can you think of another one? I guess he's a little impulsive but that's hardly enough. Buffy's characters were pretty much fully developed by the first exchange of the very first episode but Angel still can't get it right.

By this point in its lifetime Angel (the series) is pretty much witless in both senses of the word. If they just didn't attempt to do comedy then I could probably sit through the majority of the episodes without cringing. There is a little consolation by way of the fact that they attempt it less than they did at the end of the last season but that really isn't much of one. Half the time the only clue that a scene is meant to be comic, as opposed to just clumsily written, is those annoying little plucked violin sounds.

And it's not bad enough to have such dire attempts at comedy in the series but Angel is then prepared to undermine the entire foundation of its fantasy world for a quick joke - something that Buffy would never stoop to. While Buffy might casually undermine an overly emotional or dramatic scene for a joke, it woule never go so far as to compromise the integrity of its fantasy world. Sometimes this even emphasizes how human and real the characters are. Angel, though, is quite happy to take the viewer completely out of its world just to make some pointless, unfunny joke about a demon (or something).

But....there are some good things about the first half of the season. I mean, the plot is actually pretty good. With the return of the pregnant Darla and the birth of the baby, they've really thought out the things they can put Angel through and the new emotional places they can take him. Unfortunately, it's just not enough to redeem a series that so carelessly discarded all its credibility at the end of the last season.

Would someone explain how the rest of the world can still take this series seriously? How come in the US it's been hailed as its best season yet? Why have all these customer reviews given it five stars?

Really, I'm confused and I don't think I can voice my anger at the world without launching into torrent of expletives.

The pregnancy of Darla does, in my opinion, begin to show a slight spiral out of control, however, as the world built up by Joss Whedon & Co relies so heavily on its rules that when these rules begin to, for seemingly no clear reason, be broken, some element of trust between viewer and show is broken as well. If we have been led to believe that vampires cannot give birth, when they suddenly and irrationally do so it reeks of ratings winners and makes the whole show appear a little more ridiculous - of course its premise is exactly that, but the usually almost flawlessly constructed universe built up allows you to forget you are watching a show about a vampire with a soul and a penchant for hair gel and simply enjoy the forty-five minutes of quality entertainment. Also, the baby noises and faces do start to kill the Angel coolness we know and love.

Having said that, it's interesting to speculate where (in the words of Buffy) we go from here. Surely a demon fighting team can't have a newborn baby needing his nappy changed every time they need to stake something? And why hasn't Wesley done anything at all for weeks (incidentally, am I the only one who thinks his usually impeccable accent is starting to slip? Must be lack of practice.)? And WHAT is going on with Angel and Cordelia? It's a good thing they have abolished crossovers - if Buffy could see him now...

Overall, this half of the season, although flawed, has shown "Angel" is capable of something almost never achieved by spin-off shows - rivalling and often beating its original. Almost every episode of "Buffy" this season has been bettered by the equivalent "Angel." And whilst some factors are difficult to swallow, in general these eleven episodes have been entertaining and compelling, and although answering many questions, have opened up a whole lot more.

However, it was these dark elements that drew me back to see more episodes, as I was desperate to see some decent writing and a good plot to resolve some of the issues left hanging. The actors are obviously talented, but Fred can't always be stereotyped as absent-minded boffin, and Gunn definitely needs some fleshing out; if they leave these two characters as they are, there will be very little foundation for a fourth season.

To be honest, this has to do with some very lame characters - the addition of Gunn and then Fred did nothing to help the dynamic at Angel Investigations. While Angel, Cordy and Wesley did develop a real bond by the end of Season One, during Season Two, when Gunn was introduced, this gradually became less important to the writers. The end of Season Two (as many have commented) was a dreadful mistake, and the show has never really gotten over it.

Season Three seems full of potentially interesting ideas executed without style or wit. Angel's character is all over the place (he was pretty consistent back in the day), and seems to be written just to suit the particular episode's whims. The non-relationship with Cordy was annoying, but nothing like as annoying as the relationship between two non-characters Fred and Gunn. What a waste of screen time!

Sadly, there is not much to recommend continued viewing of Angel, and one only hopes that the casual disregard for good writing or solid character development does not tarnish the series from which Angel sprung. Buffy has absolutely had its problems, but in scope, ambition and (usually) in execution it is light years ahead of this.

Aside from the writing - which is pretty much an insurmountable obstacle - the whole character dynamic is just awful. There's no natural humour or repartee between the group despite what the writers seem to believe. Worse than that, they seem to have forgotten to give Gunn a character entirely. Now, I could be wrong but isn't it a tad bit offensive that his only defining characteristic is the fact that he's black? Come on can you think of another one? I guess he's a little impulsive but that's hardly enough. Buffy's characters were pretty much fully developed by the first exchange of the very first episode but Angel still can't get it right.

By this point in its lifetime Angel (the series) is pretty much witless in both senses of the word. If they just didn't attempt to do comedy then I could probably sit through the majority of the episodes without cringing. There is a little consolation by way of the fact that they attempt it less than they did at the end of the last season but that really isn't much of one. Half the time the only clue that a scene is meant to be comic, as opposed to just clumsily written, is those annoying little plucked violin sounds.

And it's not bad enough to have such dire attempts at comedy in the series but Angel is then prepared to undermine the entire foundation of its fantasy world for a quick joke - something that Buffy would never stoop to. While Buffy might casually undermine an overly emotional or dramatic scene for a joke, it woule never go so far as to compromise the integrity of its fantasy world. Sometimes this even emphasizes how human and real the characters are. Angel, though, is quite happy to take the viewer completely out of its world just to make some pointless, unfunny joke about a demon (or something).

But....there are some good things about the first half of the season. I mean, the plot is actually pretty good. With the return of the pregnant Darla and the birth of the baby, they've really thought out the things they can put Angel through and the new emotional places they can take him. Unfortunately, it's just not enough to redeem a series that so carelessly discarded all its credibility at the end of the last season.

Would someone explain how the rest of the world can still take this series seriously? How come in the US it's been hailed as its best season yet? Why have all these customer reviews given it five stars?

Really, I'm confused and I don't think I can voice my anger at the world without launching into torrent of expletives.