FWIW, I hated the series. I kept trying to like it, but they kept turning me away. And they’d introduce these fantastic plot twists (like bringing back Drusilla and Darla) that just went nowhere.
So my opinion is that the show hasn’t been worth watching at all until the current season, which has been extremely good. Sure, characters are introduced in the earlier season, but it’s not as if the show is all that hard to follow without seeing the introductions.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That was great. Was that really in season one?
Anyway, I was thinking that those two episodes should’ve been part of “Buffy,” they were so good. They took a fairly one-dimensional character who was only saved by the charisma of the actress, and then actually gave her a real character to work with. Too bad they went and ruined her just recently, but whatever; those two episodes are still good stuff.
Wah-huh? Went nowhere? They’re still playing out the repurcussions of Darla coming back. It’s arguably the single most important event in the series to date. How do you mean it “went nowhere?”
Um, please keep in mind I’ve seen about a half dozen episodes of season one, so anything that reveals stuff from after that is spoilers for me.
Thanks for the suggestions. I suppose that during the stinkers I’ll have to be content to enjoy the eye candy while I wait for the good stuff. Is the later stuff that references season one retcon, or does it seem to be fully integrated enough to have been planned ahead of time.
Miller: I’ve heard the same suggestion re: Babylon 5, Skip to season 2, but I’ve also heard that the series is one long story arc from episode one to 110. If this is so, wouldn’t I miss out on a lot of the good stuff in seasons 2-5 by having missed the set-up from season one? Or could I just skip to the season finale and get most of what I need there? Much of what I saw of season one was just plain bad. Maybe not “Spock’s Brain” bad, hey, what is?
Oops, sorry 'bout the spoilers. Forgot which thread I was in.
Anyway, yes, B5 is one big story arc, and you will miss some important stuff if you miss the first season. Some stuff won’t make sense, and you’ll miss a lot of nuance, but you should be able to follow the story. And once you get into the overall story, you’ll probably find it easier to get into the first season stuff, so you can fill in the blanks.
FWIW, I saw the premiere when it aired and wrote the whole thing off. Awful, lame, poorly acted, f/x sucked, plot went nowhere. Didn’t come back until season three, when a friend talked me into watching, and was almost immediately hooked. I later caught up piecemeal through reruns. Didn’t catch the entire run (including most of the first season) until they re-ran in order on Sci-Fi.
I mean that as good as the show has been this season, it’s still been an enormous ret-con. They’ve done an excellent job of getting out of the corner they’d painted themselves into (and dealing with a cast pregnancy to boot), but I don’t for one second think that they had this all planned out.
[SPOILER]They managed to tie it back to Darla, and to their credit her recent cameo, echoing the whole “redemption” theme of the series, was very well done. But the plot link between her and what’s going on now is tenuous at best. (Although not as tenuous as Skip the demon’s suggestion that everything, including Fred’s appearance, were planned to bring Jasmine into being.)
It feels as if they were floundering around trying to figure out what to do with her, gave her a baby, killed her (again!), and only THEN did they get on the right track and plan their escape. The show only started getting a real direction once Connor came back.[/SPOILER]
So maybe I should’ve said “went nowhere for the longest time.”
I am simultaneously watching Season 1 (on DVD) and Season 4 (on tv). The good thing about Season 1 is that it’s good enough to entertain me (and I love the character, Kate) but not so good that I feel the need to watch all 24 episodes in one day. Not good when you have 2 kids who want dinner.
I agree the episode “The Ring” was crappy. But the worst one, so far, IMO, is the one with the surgeon who can re-attach his detached body parts ("I Fall to Pieces? Or is that the name of a Buffy ep?). That episode is downright embarrassing.
The only thing bad about Season 4, IMO, is that David Boreanaz has put on a lot of weight. Shallow as I am, I prefer my heroes to have turtle abs. 
22 episodes.
I also find it funny that Boreanaz has put on some weight.
When Angelus came back this year, I was hoping for him to look around at first and say, “Man, what’s Angel been doing to himself that past few years?”
Would have been a great joke.
Number Six did you watch the first episode with the Joss Whedon/David Greenwalt commentary? They talk a lot about how they were trying some different things with Angel to set it apart from Buffy. They both admit that some things worked and some didn’t. (I love the commentary part of DVDs)
Something they mentioned that I had noticed, is that the city of LA played as almost a character in the first season. For instance, they do a couple things on the world/culture of actors in LA and just how surreal it can get. By the fourth season, they moved so far away from that idea that the show could be taking place in almost any city.
It took a little time for the series to hit its stride, by the second season they also got away from the “Monster of the Week” thing.
Ah, but The Ring is redeemed by Wesley and Cordy procuring invites to the show. “This is detective… Yelsew.” “There’s something going down tonight. Something with the man!!” Hee hee…
Oops. When I talked about the episode “The Ring” being awful I used the wrong title. “The Ring” is the “Fight Club” episode, which I actually thought was pretty good.
The episode I thought was awful was the one where Spike returns and they torture Angel over the ring that would let them walk in the sunlight.
I also love the episode where Cordy gets to live her fantasy as a sitcom star. Don’t remember the name, but it’s in season three, I think. Wonderful satire over Hollywood.
If you can borrow or rent 1st season episodes there’s only about 4 episodes you really need to see.
“Signs and Portents”
“And the sky Fall of Stars”
“Babylon squared”
“Chrysalis”
Those should pretty much set up the plot strands for you
The 2-parter “Voices in the Wilderness” wouldn’t be a bad idea but it’s not essential
Let me see - you’re a Buffy fan, who’s presumably watched all 7 seasons. Then there’s a spin off show set in the same universe, with the same writers, with half the same characters … For goodness sake, how can you not give it a chance?
In answer to your question: Season 1’s okay, season two’s stunning, season three and four are good. It’s never as a whole better than Buffy, but some of the episodes are. Definitely worth watching.
Deptford: Thanks for the info.
Mr. Thompson: Yep, I’ve seen all seven seasons with the exception of a couple of season six episodes (never got to see the one with Buffy in the mental institution). The whole point of this thread is that I did give it a chance, four episodes worth, and it wasn’t looking good. I wanted to know it it got better as it went along.
It’s possible for a spin-off to be good right from the start (Frasier, Law and Order Criminal Intent), and it’s possible for a spin-off to start slow and develop greatness (The Simpsons). As it was obvious that Angel isn’t in the former group, I was hoping it would be in the latter.