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Current TV Boxset Addiction

Started by radiator, 20 November, 2012, 02:23:29 PM

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HdE

Well, I just wrapped up 'Elfen Lied', which had been sat on my little stack of anime for way too long.

I'd kind of gotten anime'd out, which, in spite of my being a lifelong fan of the stuff, does happen every few years or so. But I'd heard enough praise for the show to dig it out.

Cannot stress this enough - I REALLY think it's the sort of show a lot of the regulars on this board would enjoy.

It kind of works in spite of itself at times - the voice acting is a little hard to take (LOTS of breathy-voiced, saccharine-sweet girls in this) and there are some real clangers in the script at times. As in 'oh my god did this actually get past an editor' clangers.

BUT...

What makes the show work is that it actually deals with some weighty stuff, has pretty appealing characters, a set up that feels fresh, and - let's not sugar coat this - it's GNARLY AS ALL GET OUT. I felt genuinely unsettled by the first episode, which contains probably more bloody violence in 20 minutes than I saw in all the anime I watched last year.

Inventive stuff, played out with great conviction and suitable gravitas. And the final episode was pretty much perfect. Recommended.
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

TordelBack

Onto the last few episodes of Angel Season 1 here, as a side-project of the Buffy rewatch, and despite never having thought that highly of the spin-off show, it has really grown on me.  By the latter third of the season Boreanaz has finally squeezed some personality into Angel, and the writers have found some interesting things for him to say.  An increasingly leathery Cordelia isn't as sharply funny as she was (although still fun), and the intensely (intentionally) annoying Wesley has had some of the more jagged edges filed off.  Most tellingly every time Buffy appears as a Very Special Guest Star I wish she would piss off home, which is quite an achievement given my affection for the character and general lack of interest in her BFF.

I'm most impressed by the way the show has changed over 20-odd episodes, surviving the unfortunate loss of Doyle, reining back the use of Detective Kate, and establishing its own tone.  It certainly didn't hit the ground running the way Buffy did, but its tribulations have been interesting and the results more so.

Goaty

Oh Angel will get better by Season 2. Oh lucky you for first time to watch Season 3 and 4, that was great!

Theblazeuk

Who would win in a fight? Cavemen or Astronauts?

It's SMILE TIME :)


TordelBack

Quote from: Theblazeuk on 20 June, 2014, 09:50:59 AM
Who would win in a fight? Cavemen or Astronauts?

It's SMILE TIME :)

Never seen it. I had given up on Angel by that time, but it's definitely one of the episodes I'm most looking forward to watching - the designs look great.

Link Prime

I think you're in for a genuine treat if you haven't seen much of Angel, TB.
A very slickly produced show.
Season 3, my personal favourite, had an almost dizzying arc, with the status quo constantly shifting in unexpected and thoroughly entertaining ways.
Boreanaz was superb throughout the five years, inspiring impressionable young-ish Squaxx to style their hair in ever unfeasible manners, and broodily wear long black coats, even in the summer. Cough.

It's Wesley's character that received the most satisfying development however, literally stealing the scenes by the end.
I never put together an official top-ten TV shows in my head, but this would certainly merit consideration.

Theblazeuk

Even the Conner guff gets good with Jasmine's "Heaven on Earth" storyline. Lot of painful stuff leading up to that though.


Frank

#637

I only really enjoyed the first season of Angel. Once Cordelia was suddenly psychic and they started popping out to mediaeval fantasy land I thought it lost whatever charm the initial premise offered.




Link Prime

Quote from: Islamic State of Iraq and Sauchie on 20 June, 2014, 11:05:22 PM

I only really enjoyed the first season of Angel. Once Cordelia was suddenly psychic and they started popping out to mediaeval fantasy land I thought it lost whatever charm the initial premise offered.

The trip to Pylea only lasted a few episodes Sauchie- you shoulda stuck it out.

Plus; [spoiler]Cordelia takes a back seat in Seasons 4+5, eventually killed off. Probably cause Carpenter was tooting more Hoover than Keith Richards at the time. [/spoiler]

Frank

Quote from: Link Prime on 20 June, 2014, 11:18:19 PM
The trip to Pylea only lasted a few episodes Sauchie- you shoulda stuck it out. Plus; [spoiler]Cordelia takes a back seat in Seasons 4+5, eventually killed off. Probably cause Carpenter was tooting more Hoover than Keith Richards at the time. [/spoiler]

I might have, but I think Channel Four stopped buying it around that point. Pretty much every show I watched in the late nineties or early 21st century eventually disappeared behind Rupert Murdoch's pay wall.


TordelBack

Quote from: Islamic State of Iraq and Sauchie on 20 June, 2014, 11:40:34 PM
Quote from: Link Prime on 20 June, 2014, 11:18:19 PM
The trip to Pylea only lasted a few episodes Sauchie- you shoulda stuck it out. Plus; [spoiler]Cordelia takes a back seat in Seasons 4+5, eventually killed off. Probably cause Carpenter was tooting more Hoover than Keith Richards at the time. [/spoiler]

I might have, but I think Channel Four stopped buying it around that point.

Same thing happened to me. I was struggling a bit with Fred and Pylea and all that, and then I had to chase it around and get friends with Sky to tape it and I just lost the motivation.  When I did dip back in there was mopey teen Conner and I just never connected with it again.

Which is all to the good now!

I, Cosh

As my Buffywatch reaches completely uncharted waters, I've been dreading watching the musical episode for the first time. Having no soul, I loathe musicals almost as much as I hate those stupid robots from off of Silent Running and I can't really say its fan favourite status helped ease my nerves.

Anyway, turns out I was wrong and Joss Whedon is an actual genius.
We never really die.

TordelBack

#642
Quote from: The Cosh on 22 June, 2014, 02:43:22 PM
Anyway, turns out I was wrong and Joss Whedon is an actual genius.

That episode transcends television itself.  My mate's first child was born the night it first aired here, and I subsequently berated him for missing it (the episode, not the birth) and knew I was right to do so.

However:

Quote from: The Cosh on 22 June, 2014, 02:43:22 PM...almost as much as I hate those stupid robots from off of Silent Running...

That's an automatic fail on the Voight-Kampff.  Stay away from my tortoise.

HdE

Not a Buffy fan. But I DID see that episode.

"It doesn't mean a thing if it ain't got that.... ow."

Genius!
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

TordelBack

Not only are the tunes catchy, funny, and well-performed (and thus works well as a standalone piece of musical theatre), but the episode represents the culmination of at least half-a-dozen character arcs and several long running sub-plots, and kicks off a whole new phase of the series - and it does it all satisfyingly and memorably, and delivers a gobsmacker of a twist.  It really is an extraordinary achievement, possibly the single most accomplished 45 minutes of television ever made.  And it really, really shouldn't have worked at all.