TVSquad

(S02E02) So, um, what happened? Dollhouse came back last week and posted its lowest ratings to date. It's a shame, because the show continues to find its footing. What was impressive this time was that the episode was compelling and dramatic, and it had virtually nothing to do with the overall story-arc for the series.

Just like some of the best episodes of The X-Files were "monster-of-the-week" installments, this "imprint-of-the-week" chapter was simply brilliant. It explored the full capabilities of the Dollhouse technology, where we got our first hint that Topher's genius can sometimes push him to doing things he shouldn't. At least not without testing. It's this character flaw that led to his failures in "Epitaph One."

Today's dose of Whedoncrack comes from the red carpet watchers over at Access Hollywood. They recently caught up with Eliza Dushku at a party and asked her about the upcoming season of Dollhouse, which kicks off Sept. 25 on Fox.

Dushku didn't reveal much we didn't already know – upcoming guest stars will include Jamie Bamber, Keith Carradine and Angel alum Alexis Denisof – but she did play up the fact that season two will be shot entirely on HD, like the unaired thirteenth ep, "Epitaph One." Dushku said the format change makes the show feel more real and less "science fictiony." Video after the jump.

Well, you guys were absolutely right. Season five of Angel is awesome, and I'm so glad I slugged through some of the earlier seasons that didn't exactly float my vampire boat.

The writing in season five is excellent, the characters are both fun and multidimensional (especially Wesley, whose story only gets more and more tragic), and it's just a great all-around season. Here are five reasons why I loved this season as much as any TV show (including Buffy).

Well, I've covered Buffy the Vampire Slayer here on Jane After Dark, and my nephew, who loaned me his Buffy DVDs, also got me into Angel. Nearly everyone I talked to about Angel said they just couldn't get into it. After Buffy, maybe everything else pales in comparison.

I have to say, I really only started watching Angel out of respect for Buffy and Joss Whedon, and because I really loved the character of Angel (and David Boreanaz is not hard to look at). I was alternately watching Buffy and Angel at the same time (one disc of Buffy, one of Angel, and so on); it was a good way to do it, because there were a few crossover episodes that made a lot more sense watching them that way.

Who says TV can't change people's lives? How I Met Your Mother star Alyson Hannigan and husband Alexis Denisof, who met on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, welcomed a baby girl into the world last week.

Satyana Denisof was born March 24, which also happens to be Hannigan's b-day (weird how that happens, huh?).

Here's some more weirdness. During her pregnancy, Hannigan appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' show and talked about having "pregnancy brain," aka short-term memory loss associated with pregnancy. Here's how she described it:

(S01E22) Don't believe everything you're foretold. -- Angel

Finally! After 21episodes, the death of Doyle, the introduction of Wolfram & Hart, Cordelia's visions, Wesley's partnership with Angel Investigations, and the appearances of Spike, Faith and Buffy (twice), we come to end of season one of Angel. During this first season we watched Angel become the undead hero of Los Angeles. In that time he became the enemy of Wolfram & Hart, a partner with Charles Gunn and his rag-tag team of vamp hunters, and the object of hate by Detective Kate Lockley (whom Angel pretty much tells off this episode. Good for him!). So, in this 22nd episode you would think that Angel and his crew would rest on their laurels and take a well-needed break.

Nope. In fact, totally the opposite. As they say on television, after this episode nothing is the same. So, read on to find out why.

(S01E18) Faith... must be enforced by reason... when faith becomes blind it dies. -- Mohandas Gandhi

The best, most intense, angriest fight scene of Angel up to this point appears in this episode. It's between Angel and Faith, who . . .

I'm sorry, did you say 'Faith who?'. You remember Faith: she was the slayer who had a recurring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer during the third season. She arrived in Sunnydale to assist the Buffster in her slaying duties. Later on in the season we found out that Wesley was her Watcher (just as Giles was Buffy's Watcher). At first, she seemed like your standard fun-loving, wacky teen with superhuman powers. But, as the season went on she became a bit crazy, began working for the evil mayor of the town, and eventually got the crap beaten out of her by Buffy.

(S01E17) Eternity - waste of time. -- Natalie Clifford Barney

How can we obtain eternal youth? This has been a question that humanity has pondered for centuries. We've tried diet, exercise, clean living, creams, pills, herbs (the legal kind) and surgical procedures. Some of us have even resorted to cryogenics in order to be thawed out in some future time where old age has been cured. However, we have missed the one obvious way to obtain our youth for eternity . . .

Die from a vampire's bite and then come back as a vampire yourself. Of course, you won't be able to walk into the sunlight, you'll need to drink pig's blood, you'll be allergic to crosses, and some super-strong blond-haired girl will try to hunt you down and kill you with a stake. But, you'll be eternally young, so that won't matter.

(S01E15) Ah, family! You do all you can to make your them proud of you, make them respect you, and all they do is give you crap. Then, they get bitten by vampires and die without even a 'good job' or 'thanks for everything'. To quote the famous philosopher Stephanie Tanner 'How rude!'.

Hence, the premise of this episode of Angel. We delve into the family lives of two of the players: Angel and Detective Kate Lockley. For Angel we go back to the mid-18th century to his time as the young upstart named Liam. For Kate we stay in the present and focus on her relationship with her father, a retired policeman. In both cases, neither child is given the respect they deserve.

(S01E16) And now, ladies and gentlemen, the gratuitous illegal fight episode. You know, the one that's usually featured in every science fiction or fantasy show ever made. The one where the hero, in this case our pal Angel, is kidnapped to partake in fight-to-the-death matches against other people, who in this case would be demons. It's the episode where the hero of the show, once again our friend Angel, tries to get the other fighters to join him in an escape attempt. Come on, you've seen it all before!

Well, so have I. But it was still enjoyable.

(S01E14) Wesley: You've heard of Lizzie Borden? she killed her parents with an ax.

Cordelia: I remember the children's rhyme. And how come they're all full of death and cradles falling and mice getting tails cut off? Anyway, the whole thing needs a ratings system, don't you think?

Getting a supernatural or science fiction based show on the air is a tricky concept. If the show isn't fresh week after week, if it begins to get into a rut, it has a pretty good chance of having a short run or losing its audience. Star Trek:The Next Generation is a good example of a show getting into a rut. Towards the end of the series run you could pretty much predict what was going to happen: Data would say something foolish, Deanna would sense nothing from the aliens, and it would all be solved through some technical mumbo jumbo.

This did not happen to Angel during the first season. Sure, most episodes dealt with one supernatural being or another, but it remained fresh throughout. The episode 'I've Got You Under My Skin' is no exception. In fact, this villain isn't even a supernatural being this time around.

It's a little boy.

(S01E13) Wesley: Angel, we need a plan.

Angel: Here's the plan: I go in, start hitting people hard in the face, see where it takes us.

This was an interesting episode. Not because of what is was about, but because of what it was not about. It wasn't about vampires, vampire slayers, vengeful spirits, or anything else related to the supernatural world that we live in. This episode was actually more science fiction in nature as warriors from another dimension continued their gender warfare through the streets of Los Angeles. How did they get here? Well, they came through an extra-dimensional portal, silly!

Inter-dimensional warriors? Gender warfare? Portals? Gosh, you'd think this was an episode of Stargate SG-1 or something. Well, it wasn't, but it was just as fun.

(S01E12) Angel: (sees Cordelia drinking blood) I don't think I've ever realized just how disgusting that was.

I have got to say that this episode of Angel creeped me out a bit. And, it wasn't for what was shown, but what wasn't. I'm talking in particular about the seven (perhaps more) demon spawn that were living in Cordelia's womb for a good portion of the episode. It was never shown what they looked like, but for some reason it just didn't make me feel right. And, that's what makes a good supernatural drama: theater of the mind.

That's fine, because the whole demon pregnancy was the only thing that kept this fairly flat episode afloat.

(S01E11) Cordelia: (to Wesley): I don't care how many files you have on all the horrible things that he did back in the Powdered Wig Days. He is good now. And he is my friend. And nothing you or anyone else can say will make me turn on a friend.

Angel: Cordelia, he's right.

Cordelia: You stake him, and I'll cut his head off.

There wasn't much revelation of Angel's infamous past in the first half of the first season of Angel. We had appearances from both Spike and Buffy (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) to represent his recent past, but most of the episodes featured evil from the present. However, with this episode we took a look far back into the past of Angel, actually back to Angelus to be more specific, and the consequences of his evil doings in the bad ol' days.

(S01E10) Angel: Wesley.

Wesley: I'll wager you never thought you'd see me again.

Angel: To tell you the truth, I hadn't given it much thought one way or the other.

Hello, and welcome to Angel, Season 1A. You're probably scratching your heads at this categorization, since you're pretty sure that the first season of Angel wasn't broken up into two separate pieces. Well, actually, if you think about it, it really was two separate seasons.

Season one (the first nine episodes) set up the environment where Angel took place. We saw the beginning of some threads that would be carried throughout the series (The Powers That Be, Wolfram & Hart), but they were very subtle. With Doyle being the one who had the visions, and Cordelia trying to find her purpose in life, it seemed like a very different show. With the tenth episode, however, the dynamic of the show changed dramatically and set the stage for many events that would continue to the very end of the series. Hence, the reason that Season 1A begins with this episode.