SPIN THE BOTTLE
The Good;
All of it, easily one of the best episodes of season 4, obviously with a debt to Buffy's Tabula Rusa but with a delicious spin of it's own. Unlike 'The Shroud of Rahmon' the framing device of Lorne with an invisible audience is terrific, he even breaks the 4th wall. If there is a favourite moment I think it would be CC declaring Fred as 'all neck' and Fred giving the 'mother of all shrugs'.
The Bad;
Only thing I can find wrong is that the commentary is not as good as you'd hoped despite having Joss and Alexis. Again though wouldn't Liam notice his lack of heartbeat etc?
Best line:
Gunn; "What happened to you man?"
Wes; "I had my throat cut and my friends abandoned me"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cheap Angel; 5
Fang Gang in bondage: poor Lorne gets taped
Cordy: 5
Angel: 12
Wes: 6
Gunn; 4
Lorne; 5
Fred; 2
Fang gang knocked out: poor Lorne againx2 plus Gunn
Cordy: 12
Angel: 15
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 2
Lorne; 6
Groo; 1
Kills: Gunn says he's been killing vamps since he was 12 . He threatens to cut Lorne's head off although we actually know that wouldn't kill him. Another vamp for Connor who is starting to catch his old man up.
Cordy: 6 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 41 vamps, 57 and 1/2 demons, 8 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 12 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 11 vamps+ 12 demons.
Groo; 1 demon
Fred; 3 vamp+ 1 demon
Connor; 9 vamps and 2 demon
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2
Gunn; 1
Wes; 1
Alternate Fang Gang: teenage everyone
Cordy: 4
Angel: 10
Fred; 2
Wes; 1
Gunn; 1
Characters killed:
46
Recurring characters killed;
8;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
Angel, Gunn, Fred, Lorne
Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 6
Doyle; 1
Angel; 3
Gunn; 1
Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 4 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 3; Virginia, the bleached blonde and Lilah
Gunn; 1 Fred
Fred; 1 Gunn
Groo; 1Cordy
Kinky dinky:
Wes' projecting stake and Fred's fear of aliens probing her helpless naked body. Liam is all for the sinful desires. Connor get's felt up by a hooker and CC promises to sleep with him if he kills Angel. CC is delighted with her bountiful adult breasts, Fred disappointed she seems not to have much. CC says 'Hello salty goodness' when she sees Liam which is exactly what she said about Angel when they first meet. CC in her towel. She thinks that danger makes her hot, she said the same about Xander and her in 'Dopplegangland'. CC thinks Angel is deviant because he didn't try anything with her.
Captain Subtext;
CC thinks Gunn and Wes wrestling is homo-erotic. CC wonders how Wes got the title 'head boy'? Note CC treats Fred EXACTLY as she treated season 1 Willow.
Know the face, different character; 4
Parking garages;
6,
Guantanamo Bay;
Liam is alarmingly racist (as indeed is Keith Topping in his book) both against Wesley as an Englishman and Gunn as a slave. Ironically he later comments that people are ganging up upon him because he's different and he accuses THEM of being hypocrites. CC comments that she know's who's president and wishes she didn't. Weird, I'd have always thought of her as a right wing girl. Gunn suggests that if something looks wrong it should die which is a lot different as to how he thought in 'That Old Gang of Mine'.
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Fred is a cannabis smoker. Maybe it doesn't make you dumb after all? Liam thinks the cars outside are demons which is exactly what C17th noblewoman Buffy thought in Halloween. Interestingly Wes refers to the Watcher's academy being in Hampshire which means it may have survived Caleb's attack on the London base and helps Buffy&co in season 8. Interestingly Angel doesn't trust magic, much like Connor. Wes is very Bond as has been commented on before. Gunn's fears that he's just the 'muscle' (the BA Barracus?) of AI once more come to the fore. Interesting to see him as an angry young man just as we saw in 'Double or nothing'. Some funny mocking of Angel's very poor Irish accent. Gunn votes that they don't put Wes in charge, a ref back to 'There's no place like plze grb'. Note that when Gunn goes for a weapon he instinctively selects his hubcap axe even though he's amnesiac. Note also Fred fondles the palms, Illyria later able to mind meld with them.
Lorne smokes again. Even though he's his teenage goof self Wes is still heroic, pitting himself unhesitatingly against a vamp to save Fred and CC and quite a good leader. Lorne tells Fred 'look into your heart' which is the famous line from 'Miller's Crossing', the greatest gangster film ever. Our first glimpse of The Beast.
Marks out of 10; 10/10 stunning
The Good;
All of it, easily one of the best episodes of season 4, obviously with a debt to Buffy's Tabula Rusa but with a delicious spin of it's own. Unlike 'The Shroud of Rahmon' the framing device of Lorne with an invisible audience is terrific, he even breaks the 4th wall. If there is a favourite moment I think it would be CC declaring Fred as 'all neck' and Fred giving the 'mother of all shrugs'.
The Bad;
Only thing I can find wrong is that the commentary is not as good as you'd hoped despite having Joss and Alexis. Again though wouldn't Liam notice his lack of heartbeat etc?
Best line:
Gunn; "What happened to you man?"
Wes; "I had my throat cut and my friends abandoned me"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cheap Angel; 5
Fang Gang in bondage: poor Lorne gets taped
Cordy: 5
Angel: 12
Wes: 6
Gunn; 4
Lorne; 5
Fred; 2
Fang gang knocked out: poor Lorne againx2 plus Gunn
Cordy: 12
Angel: 15
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 2
Lorne; 6
Groo; 1
Kills: Gunn says he's been killing vamps since he was 12 . He threatens to cut Lorne's head off although we actually know that wouldn't kill him. Another vamp for Connor who is starting to catch his old man up.
Cordy: 6 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 41 vamps, 57 and 1/2 demons, 8 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 12 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 11 vamps+ 12 demons.
Groo; 1 demon
Fred; 3 vamp+ 1 demon
Connor; 9 vamps and 2 demon
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2
Gunn; 1
Wes; 1
Alternate Fang Gang: teenage everyone
Cordy: 4
Angel: 10
Fred; 2
Wes; 1
Gunn; 1
Characters killed:
46
Recurring characters killed;
8;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
Angel, Gunn, Fred, Lorne
Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 6
Doyle; 1
Angel; 3
Gunn; 1
Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 4 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 3; Virginia, the bleached blonde and Lilah
Gunn; 1 Fred
Fred; 1 Gunn
Groo; 1Cordy
Kinky dinky:
Wes' projecting stake and Fred's fear of aliens probing her helpless naked body. Liam is all for the sinful desires. Connor get's felt up by a hooker and CC promises to sleep with him if he kills Angel. CC is delighted with her bountiful adult breasts, Fred disappointed she seems not to have much. CC says 'Hello salty goodness' when she sees Liam which is exactly what she said about Angel when they first meet. CC in her towel. She thinks that danger makes her hot, she said the same about Xander and her in 'Dopplegangland'. CC thinks Angel is deviant because he didn't try anything with her.
Captain Subtext;
CC thinks Gunn and Wes wrestling is homo-erotic. CC wonders how Wes got the title 'head boy'? Note CC treats Fred EXACTLY as she treated season 1 Willow.
Know the face, different character; 4
Parking garages;
6,
Guantanamo Bay;
Liam is alarmingly racist (as indeed is Keith Topping in his book) both against Wesley as an Englishman and Gunn as a slave. Ironically he later comments that people are ganging up upon him because he's different and he accuses THEM of being hypocrites. CC comments that she know's who's president and wishes she didn't. Weird, I'd have always thought of her as a right wing girl. Gunn suggests that if something looks wrong it should die which is a lot different as to how he thought in 'That Old Gang of Mine'.
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Fred is a cannabis smoker. Maybe it doesn't make you dumb after all? Liam thinks the cars outside are demons which is exactly what C17th noblewoman Buffy thought in Halloween. Interestingly Wes refers to the Watcher's academy being in Hampshire which means it may have survived Caleb's attack on the London base and helps Buffy&co in season 8. Interestingly Angel doesn't trust magic, much like Connor. Wes is very Bond as has been commented on before. Gunn's fears that he's just the 'muscle' (the BA Barracus?) of AI once more come to the fore. Interesting to see him as an angry young man just as we saw in 'Double or nothing'. Some funny mocking of Angel's very poor Irish accent. Gunn votes that they don't put Wes in charge, a ref back to 'There's no place like plze grb'. Note that when Gunn goes for a weapon he instinctively selects his hubcap axe even though he's amnesiac. Note also Fred fondles the palms, Illyria later able to mind meld with them.
Lorne smokes again. Even though he's his teenage goof self Wes is still heroic, pitting himself unhesitatingly against a vamp to save Fred and CC and quite a good leader. Lorne tells Fred 'look into your heart' which is the famous line from 'Miller's Crossing', the greatest gangster film ever. Our first glimpse of The Beast.
Marks out of 10; 10/10 stunning
