We had some fun doing this with BtVS a while back so now that AtS has joined the ranks of the gone-but-never-forgotten I thought it would be fun to start some fights by ranking the five seasons of AtS. I have a feeling that it’s going to be harder to do this ranking (it’s harder for me; I still haven’t made up my mind as I’m typing this) than ranking Buffy.
S2. I love Darla and this was her first major season arc. The stuff with her and Drusilla was uniformly terrific. I think there was a definite tonal shift between S1 and S3 and this season bridged that well. The start of the shift away from Wes as a complete dolt to a badass. I like this season best mostly I think because of the excellent groundwork it laid.
S3. Darla’s arc continues. Fred (who I remember just hating when she was first on the show) comes into her own. The complexity of Wesley’s betrayal after the Sajahn’s manipulation. Sajahn is one of my favorite bad guys. The seeds of Lilah/Wesley are planted. We meet Summer Glau, who will go on to be genius in Firefly. Might be number one were Connor not such a petulant brat.
S4. Faith. The Beast. Angelus. Jasmine. More Lilah/Wesley. Wesley/Fred/Gunn. One of the longest sustained story arcs, if not the longest, and even despite the on-the-fly reworks it all pulls together. The last ep of the season is one of the best hours of the series.
S1 and S5 (tie). I’m totally wussing out on this but these two seasons rank so closely for me that I can’t decide which I like better. Some amazing stuff in S1, including Faith’s setting forth on her road to redemption, Angel’s regaining his humanity and giving it up again, the introduction of the Shanshu prophecy (paid off so brilliantly IHMO in the series finale). But S5 had perhaps my favorite ep of the series, with Number 5. Harmony as a semi-regular was great. You’re Welcome was one of the best goodbyes to a major character ever on TV. The series finale was just genius as far as I’m concerned. S5 might rank higher were it not for the presence of Eve, or if Eve had been played by a different actress. That plus some weak early episodes (especially the girl werewolf ep) kind of drag it down in ranking. There were problems with the season which were caused by WB’s pulling the plug but it’s hard to fault ME for that, given the short notice they had to end a series that they already had large chunks of another season thought out. S1 had the single worst ep of the series in I Fall to Pieces. But it also had Doyle going out as a hero, the beginnings of Cordelia’s evolution, the introduction of Gunn and the re-introduction of Wesley.
I’m sure if this thread gets any traction I’ll probably change my mind on the order, but let’s hear from y’all.
I can say with certainty that Season 2 is my favorite-- beige!Angel is just beyond yummy in every way possible, plus Darla, plus Drusilla, plus Wes and Gunn becoming close friends, plus Pylea. What’s not to love.
Season 3 is a close second. I love the whole Connor-arc, from start to finish. I thought the story arc with Holtz was poignant and sad and really dramatic. The 'ships were great too. I liked both triangles because they were important, but not emphasized too much. And of course, the beginning of Dark!Wes…sigh
1, 4, and 5…here’s where it comes a bit harder to say. I think I love them all equally. I can’t really rate one above the other, especially since 4 is so unlike 1 and 5. 5 has my boy Spike, but 1 has Rogue-Demon-Hunter!Wesley. In 1 we lose Doyle, which broke my heart (and I think breaking-of-hearts is always good TV) but in 5 we lost Fred and Cordy which doubles the heart breaking. I had problems with 4 (I didn’t seem to like it as much as everybody else did) but it had Angelus, and I like sullen!teenage!Connor. I just can’t decide.
The thing I love about Angel is that it doesn’t break down so easily by season like Buffy did. I can’t pick between seasons two, three, and four because to me, they’re just one giant meta-season. One and five stood out because they were trying to avoid the plot arc thing, and they both suffered from it (season one considerably more than season five, IMO). So, I’d say I’d order them 2-thru-4, then 5, then 1.
#1…Season 2: I’d be surprised if anybody voted differently for best. #2…Season 1: Call me crazy, but I liked it when Cordelia was Cordelia. #3…Season 4: Was on the edge of my seat through much of the season. #4…Season 3: Connor & Fred were not my favorites at that time. (Love Fred now.) #5…Season 5: The best “worst season” of any series ever.
Season 2. Yeah, hardly original in this thread, but there you go. I liked most everything in season 2, including the Art Deco hotel.
Season 1. I liked Doyle; I liked Cordy (and the Phantom Dennis); I liked Wes’s introduction to the team.
Season 5. Mostly because of Spike. The season was spotty with some of the stand-alone episodes standing out in a not altogether good way for me, such as the one about the submarine in WWII (on again on Space in Canada tonight). I did appreciate the brief reappearance of Cordy, who shone in a way she hadn’t since season 3 …
Season 3. Liked Darla and her “redemption” so to speak; liked Wesley’s complexity. I didn’t much like Connor (who was too teenage angst-y for me although I did warm up to him in season 5 when he returned after having not grown up in the hell dimension. Amazing what that can do)…
Season 4. Which explains this being ranked as my lowest. Unlike most, obviously, I got tired of Connor, and very tired of Jasmine, and the whole darn story line. Not that I stopped watching of course. If nothing else there was always Wesley.
Already I think there’s been more diversity of opinion in this thread than there was in the Buffy thread.
pepperlandgirl, what’s with the “!” thing?
I think I may already be changing my mind as to my order but I’m not sure yet. I can’t think of any other show (including Buffy) that’s maintained such consistency of excellence over its entire run. It’s like, first place is scored at 9.5 out of 10 and fifth place is at a 9.2.
I agree that it was consistently strong. I think my comment on season 5 applies to everybody’s last-place ranking, regardless of which season they rank last:
Has anybody ever noticed the strange parallels between Angel and that other 5-season modern cult classic, Babylon 5?
Season 1: Still getting it’s bearings, having trouble settling on a tone, and without the permamnant cast - but still, lots of potential, and hints of a massive sory arc.
Season 2: Finally sttling apon the right tone, with the story picking up momentum and the cast sliding into place.
Season 3: The fit hits the shan. Things get much more intense and dark, with startling plot twists and reversals and the best all-around drama.
Season 4: Structurally, suffering from outside problems (imminant cancellation, pregnancy), but probably the darkest yet and with the best mini-arcs.
Season 5: Somewhat superfluous, repetitious and disjointed, and with a major imposed cast change, but with some terrific episodes and a kick-ass ending.
(Ok, it’s not a perfect analogy, if only because Angel never had a single arc - despite what they tried to convince us in S4.)
Anyway, my ranking is:
I’ve watched most of the episodes (excluding season 1, part of season 2, and season 5) as reruns on TNT. Thus, I don’t have a clear idea of where each season begins and ends. That said, I’ll give it a shot.
From worst (relatively speaking, they’re all good) to best:
4: The most uneven season by far. When it was good, it was very, very good (Angellus, Jasmine), but when it was bad it was horrid. I simply didn’t buy Cordy’s take on evil. It was a painfully bad performance by Charisma, and obviously an authorial attempt to write-around her pregnancy.
1: Still getting there. Doyle was a waste. RDH Wes was his weakest incarnation. Still, it was consistantly watchable and oozing with potential.
2: Now we’re into the good stuff. Dru and Darla kicked ass. The W&H crew become well-developed interesting baddies. I do wish they wasted less time on “Angel’s Wet Dream Theatre”, but whatever. Gunn and Wes start to come into their own.
5: Smile Time, Spike, and a radically different turn for the crew. They spun their wheels for a time trying to figure out how to use Spike, but once they got it, it was solid gold. Best series finale ever.
3: Holtz was the best villain, with Sahjahn not too far behind. Wes’ betrayal and counter-betrayal and the emergence of Dark Wesley, thus bringing one of the most interesting character arcs in television to its apex. Great, great stuff.
My order, from favorite to least favorite (since on a series this great there is no “worst)”:
Season 4. Behold the power of serialization. Every episode from 7 on was a cliffhanger (to one degree or another) leading straight into the next week’s episode. And I loved it all. Aside from icky Connor-Cordy sex. I can see why the show hemmoraghed ratings this year, though: too hard to keep up.
Season 2. Mainly for Pylea. Sadly, the season arc this year got scrunched up when they lost Darla and Drusilla, and “Dark Angel But Not Angelus” got a tad tiring. However, this is the season that gave us Fred and Lorne and Gunn and Groo. Can’t argue with such greatness.
Season 3. Connor arrives, Holtz is cool and the gang is at their most “natural” with each other. Fred is a nice addition, but Gunn’s stuff gets annoying. I love the betrayal by Wesley. It was all the good of Season 2, but not as flawlessly executed, in my opinion.
Season 5. Disjointed, but fun. Some of the best episodes in the series are in this season, including Smile Time, Not Fade Away and You’re Welcome. Marred by two episodes which guest starred Buffy’s hair. You know a show is good when it can kill off a character as lovable as Fred but still not be ruined.
Season 1. Humble origins for such a great show. The first season was more disjointed than the last, and without the satisfying final arc. Wesley’s arrival is great, if sadly brought about by the loss of Doyle. Without Gunn, Lorne or Fred, however, the show doesn’t feel complete.
It illustrates how much of a geek I am that I assumed the Adjective!Character affectation (“Souled!Spike”) was a remnant of the old UUCP email addressing bang paths. ::insert salicious comment about Spike and bang paths here::
S5: It could be because it just ended, and its the freshest in my mind, but I loved this season. With Smile Time and The Girl in Question, there was some very funny stuff, then you go to Hole in the World and Shells, and you have some of the most touching, heartbreaking moments Joss has created. Overall, there were very few weak episodes, and many outstanding ones.
S3: I love S2 and S3, but I think S3 beats out S2 becasue for one, Fred is there…I love Fredless (much harder to watch after Hole in the World), and I really enjoyed (in a horrible way) the Wes betrayal arc. Good stuff.
S2: Dark!Angel (not the Jessica Alba one) was so cool. Darla and Dru were great, and this also brought us one of my all time favorite episodes: Epiphany. Not to mention the fun that was Pylea.
S1: I liked Doyle, and Rouge Demon Hunter Wes, and Cordy was at her best.
S4: I still liked this season, but Connor got on my nerves and they destroyed Cordy’s character (IMO).
Season 2 - the whole Reunion/ Redefinition/ Reprise/ Epiphany arc really helped to set Angel apart from Buffy. Buffy was always relatively more black and white about the moral issues - Angel made it beige in this season.
Season 3 - anchored by the best work we’ve ever seen out of Alexis Denisof to date. The Connor arc bothered a lot of people, perhaps understandably, but the emergence of Dark!Wesley was a wondrous thing to behold.
Season 4 - starts out strong with “Deep Down,” and yet another iteration of the Angel mission statement. The Cordy-Connor sex thing was icky, and there were some space-filling clunkers, but otherwise a relatively strong season.
Season 1 - as with any show, the first season is hit or miss, with very strong episodes (“Somnabulist,” “Five By Five/ Sanctuary”) being interspersed with really awful ones (“The Ring,” anyone?) But Buffy also had its awful first season episodes.
Season 5 - some of the best episodes of the season (“Lineage,” “Smile Time”) and absolutely unwatchable crap (“The Girl In Question.”)
Ironically, my ranking of Buffy seasons is remarkably similar:
This order subject to change once the DVDs for all seasons are out, I own them, and get a chance to review everything again. Who knows… given enough time, I might even end up liking the series finale.
(I say all of this because I’ve found out that, after viewing it on DVD, Season 6 of Buffy ain’t as bad as I remembered it being. Of course, I might also be just suffering from a loss of Buffy.)
