30 Days of TV Meme - Day 07

[xlivvielockex]

I am going to be FULL of unpopular opinions today. I know that most people in the fandom are like "She" is the worst episode ever but I'm totally going against the grain here. There is a worst episode imho in season one and it's personally one of my least favorites.

Eternity.

Yup. I said it. Sure it has Angelus but you have to wait 43 freaking minutes before he shows up. And those 43 minutes is like some kind of stale diatribe about the Hollywood machine. News flash, you're a part of it. It's not a stunning commentary or a satire. It comes off like some whiny I didn't get my way letter to Hollywood. And the whole oh, a chemical that produces happiness. Really? I mean...REALLY? Do I need to say more about that? I am all for Angelus, seriously, but couldn't they have come up with something better than that?

And my runner-up is sooooooo going to be the one that gets people talking.

Smiletime.

I know so many people like it and in the sea of subpar episodes that is S5, it's better than some. But it's one long sight-gag. Oh! Let's turn Angel into a puppet! Again, it's so childish and it's not even good at being childish. The thing is, it could have been brilliant because so many Angel watchers grew up with Seasame Street. But instead of really hitting some interesting points, it's like an extended version of Tosh.0's How Many Comments segment. It's how many jokes can we make about Angel being a puppet in 48 minutes? It is a filler episode, plain and simple, and not even a clever one at that. It doesn't fit with the overall tone of Angel. I think Buffy could have done a puppet episode but in Angel, it just comes off out of place. I really think it was an episode meant to get the Buffy fans excited and talking, rather than please the Angel fans.




Day 01 - A show that never should have been cancelled (Starved)
Day 02 - A show you wish more people were watching (Nurse Jackie)
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season) (Glee)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever (Angel)
Day 05 - A show you hate (Jersey Shore)
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show (Can't decide!)
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show (Eternity and Smiletime)
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death

Comments

[nikkiwawa79.livejournal.com]

I applaud this whole post! I totes wished they came up with a better idea to unleash Angelus, in this episode. The best part of the episode was Charisma in those red leather pants.

Smiletime? I admit, puppet!Angel was adorable but it was a dump episode. Was DB out with the knee surgery during this episode? Is that why they came up with this idea so all he had to so was a voice-over? I'm trying to see the reasoning for this episode.

[ladysophiekitty.livejournal.com]

I AGREE!

The entire puppet episode I was rolling my eyes and cringing. After all the good things I'd heard about it, I was disappointed.

[impetusofadream.livejournal.com]

I love Puppet!Angel but that episode honestly was terrible. I just kept shaking my head and saying to myself *focus on Puppet!Angel, focus on the awesome that is DB all shrunk down and and angry and made of felt..* yeah it didn't work.

[leobrat.livejournal.com]

I'm actually surprised that your least favorite isn't Rain Of Fire...

[yazizzle33.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen "Smiletime" yet, but I have to agree with "Eternity." That one, "She," and "I will always remember you" are the three least favorite episodes of mine, at least in the first season. "Eternity" just grated on my nerves, and I really disliked that actress lady (whose name I now forget). Yes, I loved Angelus and I liked the C/Aus scene, but it took wayy too long to reach that point.

[samsom.livejournal.com]

I usually skip most of Eternity and pick up after Rebecca the Actress runs off while Cordy and Wes face Angelus. Love that my girl totally pwned the Scourge of Europe. Call her a bad actress, will he?

I was happy I had stopped watching after hearing about Smiletime.

[dacian-goddess.livejournal.com]

Honestly, most of Eternity is craaaap, but it's brilliantly made up for with C/Aus facing off, and I do like what I took away from it. Using a chemical as a plot device was cheap, absolutely, but it gave a nice illustration that Angel uninhibited == Angelus. Another one of those nice departures from the steadfast b&w-ness that characterised BtVS.

(Side note, they could have come up with a better name for the roofie, if they were going ahead with the chemical avenue. Easily confused with Doximal, a malaria prevention drug.)

Puppet!Angel was a cute gimmick, but a gimmick nonetheless, and that carries a very low life expectancy. There were one or two little gags that worked, but the rest got old fast. After that, obvious filler was obvious.

But as you said, it is s5 and you're at the point where you take what you get and like it. ;P

I think Buffy could have done a puppet episode

1) So true

2) I suddenly have an image in my head of the Destructo-Ray thing turning Buffy into a puppet by completely uncharted nerd!fail accident.

[angryscientist.livejournal.com]

OK, don't go bashing Puppet!Angel! Puppet!Angel/Spike and Puppet!Angel/Lorne were pure awesome.

The episode, IA, was terrible. Oh lord, the Nina pimpage. Always skip through the parts of the episode that don't have felt.

I like Eternity tho, sorry ;)

[almostfamous90.livejournal.com]

OMG, I agree with this! There were other "Angel" episodes that I didn't like, too, but yeah... those two were definitely not my faves. And I like how you mentioned that "Smiletime" could have been BRILLIANT - but I think by then, the writers were just running out of steam. I hated season four, and season five was only slightly better. I hated the whole Angel-working-with-W&H thing they had going, just didn't seem like something Angel would have done - but the show got screwy after the whole Darla getting pregnant thing. It was weird.

Anyway, I could go on and on. "Smiletime" had a few funny lines, but you're right; it just didn't seem to fit with the overall theme of the show. Would have been better for "BtVS." I just wanted to let you know how I agreed with you. haha

[jessm.livejournal.com]

I've been reading through your old responses to this meme, and the fans' opinions on Angel are ALL over the place! Naturally, opinions on episodes and characters will vary greatly between fans, but generally I've found that a bad season, while likely enjoyable, is still considered bad. For Angel, I've read that seasons three and four are terrible, but season five is great. I've also heard that season five sucks, too, yet the series went out on a high note. Then I have one friend who LOVES season four. I'm, like, "What's with this fandom!?" LOL. My goal at this point is to basically love all of it, but I'm only on 2x10, so we'll see how that goes. :P

I've only disliked one episode so far: "I Fall to Pieces." I got that the messages in both "She" and "Eternity" were way too heavy-handed and obvious, but I didn't mind either of them. I personally loved "Eternity," and I'd watch "She" again. They both had redeeming qualities, I thought.

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

I agree about disliking Smiletime, though for me it's also because of the ugh Angel/Nina stuff (IDK Cordy's been dead like what, one episode, and you're already focusing on getting Nina to be your girlfriend? Please) and Wes/Fred (which I personally found to be too fast/rushed in this epp)....

As for Eternity, I actually liked it alright, I certainly wouldn't call it a least favorite for me (mine was Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco), because it has some great scenes like Angel and Wes at Cordy's rehearsal (LMAO) and Cordy's reactions to the actress and Rebecca/Angel are priceless....I also liked the little hint that she might like him more than a friend when she's all offended at Wes's comment about the odds of Angel finding true happiness with an actress...