May 20 - I guess this my formal good-bye to mainstream media (unless Justice League shows some spark, and I don't mean the 'shipping) as the last program I regularly watch ended last night.

Some posts marking this sad event from Denise Angel Goes Bye Bye and Laughing Wolf It Will Be Alright.

The rabid fan following must seem weird to those who didn't follow Buffy the Vampire-Slayer and Angel, but when you think about it, it isn't the least bit strange.

In the pre-Sept. 11 world, there was little admission in the entertainment industry that "evil" and "soul" existed much less were significant. Those things were canon in the Buffyverse.

Remember how the news media pundits gravely stated that "irony was dead?" That may have been the first thing that made me belly-laugh after Sept. 11, because I was on strictly moderated Buffy and Angel forums that dealt forcefully with spoilers, flaming posts and off-topic discussions.

Buffy in particular told stories within a framework of metaphor and sub-text, so discussions about the sub-text of the show merged sub-textually with discussions about Sept 11 and the existence of evil which had suddenly leapt from the realm of fiction to a gaping hold in Manhatten.

And, at times, it seemed the only one who didn't "get it" was Joss, because Buffy that season focused on growing up, not because we "wanted" it but because we "needed" it. It's no accident fans called it the Season from Hell and regretted that Buffy had been resurrected. And Spuffy. I'll never get over the long season of Spuffy and those three pathetic evil-doers.

I could so clearly see the demise of irony. Oh yes indeed.

Angel, on the other hand, had an arc that seemed tailor-made to a post-Sept. 11 audience. It told of a good man who knowingly lapsed into evil in his fanatic quest for vengeance. I have no idea how Keith Szarabajka regarded his Holtz character, although the name of his official website might be a clue.

The Holtz arc remains and will probably always be an all-time favourite of mine, and along the way we got the MacOracle and one of the best death scenes of all time.

Angel also gave us "Numfar, do the Dance of Shame."

People who want to examine this from an intellectual perspective might wonder why the same fan base seemingly exists with the three Whedon vehicles, Farscape, and Babylon Five. And a fairly good number of posters were overt Gilbert and Sullivan fans before Gunn had his upgrade. (It was an Iolanthe thing over Connor's mixed heritage. Don't ask.)

I'm off to work, but left some mild spoilers and more analysis in the extended section ... Nice synchronicity too, like having Connor come out of nowhere to deliver a stinging punch to a Firefly alumnus just as Angel had delivered in the Buffy finale to another Firefly alumnus.

We got an answer: Connor knew.

Lindsey died and Eve didn't. (I can't believe Denise didn't comment on that.)

One prophecy was fulfilled: Cordelia did pass her vision thing along to Angel (although he said it was a one-shot deal.)

Another prophecy will be unfulfilled. Is that legal?

Some are speculating that an army of slayers showed up to defeat the Demon Army, but I'd settle for Faith (and maybe Principal Wood.)

Buffy lived in Italy, an ally, but not France. That proves I was right and Joss supported Operation Iraqi Freedom!

On the cliff-hanger ending, Joss always has alternated between seasonal endings being cliff-hangers or conclusions. Last season concluded with the end of the Jasmine arc, so I think he just stayed on form. (Okay, the 6th and 7th seasons of Buffy both ended in arc-conclusion mode. I can shoot down my own theory!)

Denise and LW bring up their observations on the posts linked above, and Denise links to some Jonah Goldberg posts on the Angel finale here and here.

As for the dragon and Angel's calling dibs on it, the Buffy Season 5 finale showed a dragon flying through the portal, and many of us wondered where it went and what happened to it. I haven't had a chance to compare dragons, but wouldn't it be wonderful if Buffy's MIA dragon ended up on Angel?

J. Michael Straczynski called it symmetry. I call it treating the audience with respect.

Thank you, Joss.

May 21 - 08:06: David Janes mixed up his Morks and Angels, but he does link to a nifty piece from Jim Treacher Top 10 Favorite Moments In The Final Angel, In No Particular Order. I really agree with Number 6.

One thing I forgot to include: Lorne sang again!

Posted by: Debbye at 07:24 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 783 words, total size 5 kb.

1 The hazard of squeezing posts in between breaks at work I never got past asking about Lorne killing Lindsay. I was surprised Eve didn't betray them to get her immortality back, but she stayed true. I always liked tha character of Lindsay, but I wasn't as emotionally invested in him as I was with Wesley. I watched Wesley grow and change, and I felt a connection to his story. I cried a lot last night Now all I have left is Stargate.

Posted by: Ith at May 20, 2004 09:23 PM (5FhN3)

2 Did you manage to catch the 2nd season finale of Justice League on YTV? I missed all but the last 20 minutes. And they aren't rerunning it any time soon.

Posted by: Dave Ruddell at May 21, 2004 02:01 PM (PgtWq)

3 But Ith, must I remind you that you were going to get her clothes? We had all worked out, remember? Dave, I am not sure which episode was the season ender. The last ep I saw was the conclusion to Hereafter, which had some nice Conan touches but wasn't at the level of Knight of Shadows. I should visit the web site (we seem to get the episodes months after their US release.) Time to write to Toon and YTV asking for a return of Batman: The Animated Series I guess.

Posted by: Debbye at May 21, 2004 05:36 PM (PELMg)

4 Justice League, as in DC Comics? Heck, I canned WB and their lousy station fare when they canned Birds of Prey, well, except for the occasional Smallville, but have not even caught much of that recently. Awaitin' syndication, I suppose.

Posted by: Tiger at May 21, 2004 06:04 PM (G5PGV)

5 Oh yeah! I'd totally forgotten. I would have traded the clothes for Lindsay [g] I'll have to settle for Loreli Gilmore's clothes on Gilmore Girls now.

Posted by: Ith at May 21, 2004 07:22 PM (5FhN3)

6 I too liked Birds of Prey, which was my first clue that it would get dropped. (Buffy and Angel were the exceptions, and even Buffy was dropped by WB and picked up by UPN.) That psychic ability also worked with the Fox shows Firefly and Brimstone, and the greatly missed Space: Above and Beyond. I tried to get interested in Smallville, but it never took. On the other hand, that's probably why it is still running. I seem to have some kind of reverse-Neilson rating thingy attached to my set.

Posted by: Debbye at May 21, 2004 10:39 PM (PELMg)

7 The season finale was a 3 parter called Starcrossed, wherein Hawkgirl's people visit the Earth...

Posted by: Dave Ruddell at May 22, 2004 07:15 PM (/rhDe)

8 Thanks Dave, only now do I remember reading some spoilers for a episode about something along those lines ages ago, and some speculation about Hawkgirl's relationship to Hawkman (because in the comics she was his wife, or something?) and if it would put the eternal triangle into JL. Seems to me that YTV began Season 2 mid-November, so maybe Starcrossed will re-air in the Fall. (Sure, I'll wait that long! Off to fan sites.)

Posted by: Debbye at May 22, 2004 09:13 PM (HM4Jw)

9 You, like me, are a "Killer Of Quality Television".

Posted by: Ith at May 25, 2004 03:08 PM (5FhN3)

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