Series 9

Re Buffy/Angel - I disagree with the perceived wisdom that s6 & s7 sucked.

I do see the point that the conclusion to s5 was a natural ending for the show, but I've come to appreciate that each season of Buffy has its own unique feel even if you can kind of lump similar ones together like 2 and 3, for example. And the Spike-Buffy relationship was always going to be divisive - which the show occasionally acknowledged - but it fit into the redemption theme well.

Angel - I actually liked s1 as it was clearly meant to be a companion to the lighter-hearted s4 of Buffy (I think the timelines are the same). s2 was very dark at times but kind of a highlight. s3 and s4 have their failings, particularly s4, but s5 had some great, kind-of-satirical material in it and the return of Spike was used well even if it initially felt a bit contrived.

I still like 6 and 7 of Buffy, albeit not as much as the first 5.
Angel I was always very mixed on. It probably didn't help that Angel and Cordelia were the characters I was least interested or invested in in Buffy, so I didn't really miss either of them when they left that show and building another series around them kind of didn't wholly entice me. Wes and Fred were great though. Season 1 is okay as a sort of weird detective show, but then it turns into a "turgid supernatural soap opera" and I'm less than keen on seasons 2 and 3. I loved season 4 to death - completely batshit insane, like a supernatural 24 - and 5 is decent.

Both Wes & Fred were great - the development of Wesley from the clumsy buffoon of s3 of Buffy (and s1 of Angel) to the tormented, damaged character he became is the best character journey I've seen in a TV series, and Amy Acker was brilliant in s5 when she had to play both Fred & Illyria, sometimes in the same scene.

The Under the Lake is okay I guess, though I still think it goes downhill in part 2 with the timey wimey paradox stuff we've seen far too often in the Moffat era.
The less said about the subsequent episode the better...

iank wrote:The Under the Lake is okay I guess, though I still think it goes downhill in part 2 with the timey wimey paradox stuff we've seen far too often in the Moffat era.
The less said about the subsequent episode the better...

Yeah, The fourth-wall-breaking explain the bootstrap paradox to the idiots was just urgh... and the King Fisher for all his shouting just gets washed away.

Oh well, at least part one was excellent and two isn't the worst I suppose

The 12th Doctor finally tells Clara what he really thinks of her: