Rapid Reviews - Angel Season One DVDs - Part XI

Angel [1-21]: Blind Date: A little bit of the drama of this episode was lost on me, as I knew a bit of Lindsey's future, and so I know he wouldn't die. I also wasn't too thrilled by the blind assassin. We got pretty much nothing on her since she didn't speak more than a couple of lines. There was the whole prophecy thing, but that wasn't really enough to pull this one out. It was only slightly good.

Angel [1-22]: To Shanshu In L.A.: Building go "boom!" Even though I think it was mentioned in the commentary on the first episode, I really didn't see that coming. The set up on this episode was extremely good. Cordelia psychotic, Wesley injured... even the Oracles... but the remainder of the episode didn't live up to the promise of the start. I'm not sure anything could. The cliff-hanger at the end is impressive... except that I'm not sure why she was "raised" that way. Did Darla get staked at some point, and is that why she had to be brought back? (note: don't answer that, I'll find out for myself) In any case, it was a fairly strong season closer, but not as exciting as could be hoped for.

Lastly, I guess I should comment on the Season One DVD package as a whole. Let's see... not many extras, just a few commentaries and scripts. I didn't find any easter eggs, but I wasn't looking very hard, either. There is an odd choice of special features on the third and sixth discs. They should have been switched, as the featurette on the third disc contained spoilers for the final episode, while the stuff on the sixth disc was harmless as far as spoilers go. I guess whoever put the package together wasn't thinking of the folks who might be watching the show for the first time. All told, it's a good package. Thank you, Lisa, for letting me borrow it. I'll get through the second season faster, I promise.