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thedeadlyhookI'll have more coherent to say on the episode a little later today, but first, random stuff.
There's This Thing Called a SoftBox Light Filter - Look Into It
Why is the lighting so bad on this show? I mean, I know that James Marsters didn't just sprout those worry lines on his forehead over last summer's hiatus, but in Angel they look really prominent. It's not just him either - David Boreanaz's skin looked downright pitted in a couple of scenes, and his face usually looks as smooth as a baby's butt. Also, Spike's T-shirt frequently appears to be an overlaundered gray, which would seem to indicate that the lights are too bright. These are an attractive couple of guys here, what's with the brutal lighting? Not asking for a vaseline filter here, just something a little less operating-theater.
Man, I'd Love to See That Writer's Bible
I'm starting to suspect at the beginning of the season, the Angel writers were handed some kind of weird tip list on how to write Spike. Based on this episode and the season thus far, here's what I'm guessing it said:
1. Insert occasional British vulgarities. Deploy more or less in the random expletive way a loose-cannon character in an action film might use "fuck" or "shit."
2. Make regular reference to noble sacrifice in "Chosen." Preferably in a sentence that fits in all the pertinent details, such as "burned up saving the world." Cop an attitude of entitlement about it.
3. Make frequent implausible boasts ("I've fought plenty of mummies").
4. Generally insinuate that Angel is stupid, then do something comic-relief-y to prove otherwise.
5. Loudly proclaim to be not interested in atonement. Generally appear to be shiftless and uninterested in putting in a hard day's work.
Sound about right?
Now, based on "Underneath," we can add another character quirk to this list - fear of fire. This is obviously meant to remind us of point 2 on the above bullet list (aren't I professional?). In practice, however, it plays just like Indiana Jones being afraid of snakes. ("Fire? Why does it always have to be fire?") Yeah, immolation is funny, hah hah. Or what, a real man would be more stoic about the memory of "eyeballs melting in my sockets" and all that? Uh-huh.
And finally, I've put up with it this long without making much of a peep, but the decision to play Spike as stupid on this series is really beginning to bother me. This episode, he plays as not so much wrong in anything he says, but kind of inarticulate about it, like a boxer who's been hit in the head one too many times. Muhammed Ali with vampire fangs.
What the fuck is this, Steinbeck? Rain Man? In order to make Angel look smart, we have to make Spike look dumb? Duh what? Artificially crippling strong characters to keep them in the game (such as chipping Spike in S4 Buffy) is one thing, but downgrading their intelligence also makes the heroes look bad. I can't believe the writers haven't figured this out yet. My respect for Angel does not go up simply because he comes off as mature next to Spike. If anything, it erodes my pity for any of these characters, who don't seem to have the mental wattage to find their way out of a nursery rhyme, much less the moral quagmire of Wolfram & Hart. These are the Champions?
This One So Needs a Drinking Game
I can't even begin to count the TV/movie references I got from this one. Knight Rider! X-Files! Total Recall! And the dimension gate through an LA tunnel which played as very Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Not to mention the fact that Lindsey's holding cell really reminded me of all those movies in which squealing mobsters are sent into Witness Protection Programs in the 'burbs. What lurks beneath the dark heart of surburbia indeed.
Do We Need to Call a Suicide Hotline For These People?
Just when I thought the depressive kick the show's been on couldn't get any more downbeat. Lorne is trying to drink himself to death. So is Wesley, apparently. Gunn volunteers for hell out of guilt. Sheesh. During the Wes/Illyria rooftop scene, I'd honestly expected one of them to jump, especially considering how Wes's "why don't you leave" conversation with Illyria played as a veiled discussion of suicide. What's to stop one from just stepping out of the world? Uh, not much, based on this story. I'm still not sure if there was a moral there.
I'm really beginning to wonder if a significant number of people on the writing staff are clinically depressed.
Not even gonna talk about Wes yet. Later.
Illyria as Smurfette is a frighteningly apt comparison. But who's Papa Smurf?
There's This Thing Called a SoftBox Light Filter - Look Into It
Why is the lighting so bad on this show? I mean, I know that James Marsters didn't just sprout those worry lines on his forehead over last summer's hiatus, but in Angel they look really prominent. It's not just him either - David Boreanaz's skin looked downright pitted in a couple of scenes, and his face usually looks as smooth as a baby's butt. Also, Spike's T-shirt frequently appears to be an overlaundered gray, which would seem to indicate that the lights are too bright. These are an attractive couple of guys here, what's with the brutal lighting? Not asking for a vaseline filter here, just something a little less operating-theater.
Man, I'd Love to See That Writer's Bible
I'm starting to suspect at the beginning of the season, the Angel writers were handed some kind of weird tip list on how to write Spike. Based on this episode and the season thus far, here's what I'm guessing it said:
1. Insert occasional British vulgarities. Deploy more or less in the random expletive way a loose-cannon character in an action film might use "fuck" or "shit."
2. Make regular reference to noble sacrifice in "Chosen." Preferably in a sentence that fits in all the pertinent details, such as "burned up saving the world." Cop an attitude of entitlement about it.
3. Make frequent implausible boasts ("I've fought plenty of mummies").
4. Generally insinuate that Angel is stupid, then do something comic-relief-y to prove otherwise.
5. Loudly proclaim to be not interested in atonement. Generally appear to be shiftless and uninterested in putting in a hard day's work.
Sound about right?
Now, based on "Underneath," we can add another character quirk to this list - fear of fire. This is obviously meant to remind us of point 2 on the above bullet list (aren't I professional?). In practice, however, it plays just like Indiana Jones being afraid of snakes. ("Fire? Why does it always have to be fire?") Yeah, immolation is funny, hah hah. Or what, a real man would be more stoic about the memory of "eyeballs melting in my sockets" and all that? Uh-huh.
And finally, I've put up with it this long without making much of a peep, but the decision to play Spike as stupid on this series is really beginning to bother me. This episode, he plays as not so much wrong in anything he says, but kind of inarticulate about it, like a boxer who's been hit in the head one too many times. Muhammed Ali with vampire fangs.
What the fuck is this, Steinbeck? Rain Man? In order to make Angel look smart, we have to make Spike look dumb? Duh what? Artificially crippling strong characters to keep them in the game (such as chipping Spike in S4 Buffy) is one thing, but downgrading their intelligence also makes the heroes look bad. I can't believe the writers haven't figured this out yet. My respect for Angel does not go up simply because he comes off as mature next to Spike. If anything, it erodes my pity for any of these characters, who don't seem to have the mental wattage to find their way out of a nursery rhyme, much less the moral quagmire of Wolfram & Hart. These are the Champions?
This One So Needs a Drinking Game
I can't even begin to count the TV/movie references I got from this one. Knight Rider! X-Files! Total Recall! And the dimension gate through an LA tunnel which played as very Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Not to mention the fact that Lindsey's holding cell really reminded me of all those movies in which squealing mobsters are sent into Witness Protection Programs in the 'burbs. What lurks beneath the dark heart of surburbia indeed.
Do We Need to Call a Suicide Hotline For These People?
Just when I thought the depressive kick the show's been on couldn't get any more downbeat. Lorne is trying to drink himself to death. So is Wesley, apparently. Gunn volunteers for hell out of guilt. Sheesh. During the Wes/Illyria rooftop scene, I'd honestly expected one of them to jump, especially considering how Wes's "why don't you leave" conversation with Illyria played as a veiled discussion of suicide. What's to stop one from just stepping out of the world? Uh, not much, based on this story. I'm still not sure if there was a moral there.
I'm really beginning to wonder if a significant number of people on the writing staff are clinically depressed.
Not even gonna talk about Wes yet. Later.
Illyria as Smurfette is a frighteningly apt comparison. But who's Papa Smurf?
