Topic: Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon

[Tom]

19. Choices (1999-05-04)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Fury (Writer)
Director: James A. Contner
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins), Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder), Keith Brunsman (Vamp - Lackey), Jimmie F. Skaggs (Courier), Michael Schoenfeld (Security Guard #1), Seth Coltan (Security Guard #2), Jason Reed (Vamp - Guard), Bonita Friedericy (Manager/Mrs. Finkle), Brett Moses (Student)

A good episode. Willow facing of with Faith. Willow making her choice to stay in Sunnydale. I also like how Oz decides for the group to do the trade-off.

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[Tom]

20. The Prom (1999-05-11)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Marti Noxon (Writer)
Director: David Solomon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), Brad Kane (Tucker Wells), Emma Caulfield (Anya/Anyanka), Danny Strong (Jonathan), Bonita Friedericy (Mrs. Finkle), Andrea E. Taylor (Sales Girl), Mike Kimmel (Harv), Tove Kingsbury (Tux Boy), Michael Zlabinger (Student at Mic), Monica Serene Garnich (Pretty Girl), Joe Howard (Priest), Damien Eckhardt (Jack Mayhew), Stephanie Denise Griffin (Tux Girl)

I liked how Buffy gets the "Class Protector" award at the end. This episodes makes way for the Angel series with Angel's decision to leave Sunnydale. In my opinion a good move. I got tired of the whole Buffy/Angel drama.


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[Tom]

21. Graduation Day, Part 1 (1999-05-18)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins), Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), Ethan Erickson (Percy), Emma Caulfield (Anya/Anyanka), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder), James Lurie (Mr. Miller), Hal Robinson (Lester), Adrian Neil (Vamp Lackey #1), John Rosenfeld (Vamp Lackey #2)

I always liked the fight between Buffy and Faith at the end of this episode. I also like the romance building between Anya and Xander, which began in the previous episode and will be explored further in the upcoming seasons. And Willow's distaste for Anya is always fun, which has begun in Doppelgangland when she proposed (under the guise of Vampire Willow) to start killing by beginning with her (Anya).
Nice touch with the hangman playing. Interesting to see, that also in the US it seems to be common to play games in class at the end of a school year.

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[Tom]

22. Graduation Day, Part 2 (1999-07-13)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins), Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), Danny Strong (Jonathan), Larry Bagby, III (Larry), Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), Ethan Erickson (Percy), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder), Paulo Andres (Dr. Powell), Susan Chuang (Nurse), Tom Bellin (Dr. Gold), Samuel Bliss Cooper (Vamp Lackey)

Nice to see the complete graduation class fighting together.

Such a Joss Whedon thing to do to blow up the High School, when it's no longer needed. He does the same again at the end of the series. "Sunnydale? We don't need it anymore. Let's destroy it!"
Sunnydale High was such a big part of this series, that I really missed it in the remaining seasons.


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[Tom]

Angel: Season 1

I decided to tackle the first Angel season before continuing with Buffy's season 4 to have variety.
I am horrified of how much money I was willing to spend in 2001 for single season sets 

[DJ Doena]

I am horrified of how much money I was willing to spend in 2001 for single season sets 

I remember, too! In 2002 I began to earn "real" money and I spend it on the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seasons. 99 to 109 Euros each! One year later I paid the same amount for every season of Star Trek: The Next Generation

And then Babylon 5 came out: 40€ per season. I swore to never pay that much money on one season pack again - But I already had started with Stargate SG-1 which costed about 90 Euros each.

Now you get entire complete series boxes for that money.

[addicted2dvd]

I mentioned this in another thread... how I was spending $100 per season  on the first few seasons of X-Files when they were originally released... makes me sick thinking about it now.

[Najemikon]

I dropped lucky. I was collecting X-Files and Buffy. Each Christmas I'd get one as a present, while others I bought using vouchers earned from Virgin.net for hosting their cinema discussion. They used to send £40 every couple of months so I could at least halve the cost of an average set. Otherwise, wouldn't have bothered...

[Tom]

I paid this much for each season of Buffy, Angel, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: DS9, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: TOS and even for most Highlander and Due South seasons. I am not sure how I could have afforded it thinking back now. Probably because TV series DVD releases were relatively few and far between. Nowadays I still spend this kind of money, just on more season sets at once.

[Tom]

01. City of Angels (1999-10-05)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Greenwalt (Created By), Joss Whedon (Writer), David Greenwalt (Writer)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Glenn Quinn (Doyle), Tracy Middendorf (Tina), Vyto Ruginis (Russel Winters), Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald), Jon Ingrassia (Stacy), Renee Ridgeley (Margo), Sam Pancake (Manager), Josh Holloway (Good Looking Guy), Gina McClain (Janice), Michael Mantell (Oliver Simon (uncredited))

A good start to the series. Back then I was a little skeptical that a Angel series could work, but this episode had shown, that this series has potential.
Maybe a little too much exposition forced into it, to get new viewers up-to-date.
But what is with the ugly and strange vampire make-up in this episode? I don't remember if this new make-up was just an experiment in the beginning of the series, or if it was actually used throughout the Angel series like that.
I have just read on Wikipedia, that they tried a new vampire look in this episode, but were unhappy with it and returned to the vampire look known from Buffy.

Rating:

[DJ Doena]

01. City of Angels (1999-10-05)

It's actually "City of ..." or "City of".

[Tom]

01. City of Angels (1999-10-05)

It's actually "City of ..." or "City of".

Actually, I didn't enter it, but someone else who did the credits for this profile. But he was right doing so. As the episodes themselves do not have the title shown, and the disc menu shows it as "City of Angels". The booklet says "City of".
But as my priority goes "episode->menu->booklet->case", "City of Angels" is correct here 

[DJ Doena]

The Region 2 DVD menu mistakenly calls this episode "City of Angels"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of

But I yield.

[Tom]

02. Lonely Hearts (1999-10-12)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Greenwalt (Created By), David Fury (Writer)
Director: James A. Contner
Cast: David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Glenn Quinn (Doyle), Elisabeth Rohm (Kate Lockley), Lillian Birdsell (Sharon Richler), Obi Ndefo (Bartender), Derek Hughes (Neil), Johnny Messner (Kevin), Jennifer Tung (Neil Pick-up Girl), Tracey Stone (Pretty Girl), David Nisic (Slick Guy), Ken Rush (Guy), Connor Kelly (Regular)

An average episode. But it introduces Kate Lockley. A great character which sadly didn't appear often enough.

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[Tom]

03. In The Dark (1999-10-19)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Greenwalt (Created By), Douglas Petrie (Writer)
Director: Bruce Seth Green
Cast: David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Glenn Quinn (Doyle), Seth Green (Oz), James Marsters (Spike), Kevin West (Marcus), Malia Mathis (Rachel), Michael Yavnieli (Lenny), Thomas Rosales Jr. (Manny the Pig), Gilbert Combs (Bouncer), Buck McDancer (Dealer), Jenni Blong (Young Woman)

It's fun to see Oz and Spike in Los Angeles. Sadly there were not many crossovers like this.

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