A reminder: These threads reportedly killed 2 vampires at a gas
station, then asked
the women he saved if they'd, quote, “like to get a bottle of hooch
and listen to some Sex Pistols records” with them.

ANGEL
Season Five, Episode 9: "Harm's Way"
Writers: Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain
Director: Vern Gillum

A bit of a placement issue here. Does anyone else think that “Harm’s
Way” seems awkwardly situated between the bigness of “Destiny” and the
on-topic but also farce-laden “Soul Purpose?” That aside, Harmony
episodes continue to make me smile uncontrollably. It’s not even a
big laugh riot thing – some of Angel’s dreams next week are more
outright hilarious – but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Now, in my
mind, HW is not, despite appearances, a wild haphazard romp, but
actually the product of a lot of thought. Plot points are neatly and
unobtrusively dropped in advance. The very simple-mindedness of its
outsiders’ perspective ends up giving the audience a perfect chance to
step back and take a direct look at what Team Angel has turned into.
For its cleverest trick of all, HW somehow evokes sympathy for a
character devoid of human compassion, mostly by showing how
inconsequential the world finds her. Whether she does everything
right in her official capacity, commits firing-worthy offenses, or
saves the day, it doesn’t particularly matter to the people she most
wants to impress. While I won’t accuse this hour of getting too deep
or meaningful, I really do admire the meticulousness and cohesiveness
with which it’s crafted for our enjoyment. That, and the concept of
right vs. left biting. The one other big problem with the episode is
that it’s the episode chosen to take one for the show and feature a
less than convincing “explanation,” such that it is, for why Spike
avoids contact with a Slayer whose actor isn’t contracted for ATS (and
wouldn’t really fit in this world).
Rating: Good


Season Five, Episode 10: "Soul Purpose"
Writer: Brent Fletcher
Director: David Boreanaz

This is most famous* for being the episode that I can’t watch in its
entirety. And my repair methods involving not paying for anything
significant only made the scratching worse. I was panicking over
where to get a good copy of that disc for the re-watch, before
realizing that whether or not I can see four minutes’ worth of one
episode where I know what happens is not a life or death situation.
Spike dressing down his rescuee is still beyond my powers, but I
actually did get to see the ending scene by turning the commentary
track off at the opportune time. That does flow a lot better than it
reads.

*okay, not as such

Anyway, it occurs to me, especially after “Awakening” last season,
that Angel’s head is the kind of space that lends itself to pronounced
insecurity, is filled with over-wrought theater, has a weird sense of
humor, and makes its point over and over with the help of any
available sledgehammer. Why shouldn’t we expect his dream-metaphors
to favor “relentless and overwhelming” over “subtle?” I like the
fever-dream timing a lot, and the way Spike grooving on being the
champion of the streets makes the position his own, the show giving
him a lot of personality without forgetting that he’s serving Angel’s
storyline. Not a whole lot besides that happens in “Soul Purpose,”
but that doesn’t prevent it from being a lot of fun to watch.
Provided one’s DVD allows it.
Rating: Good


Season Five, Episode 11: "Damage"
Writers: Steven S. DeKnight and Drew Goddard
Director: Jefferson Kibbe

“Damage” has a lot going on, but the first thing I think of when
calling the episode to mind is Andrew. I became even more convinced
with this viewing that the character exists in some kind of weird
chemical state where his shtick is only funny if it’s in BTVS S7.
Here his scenes just go on and on, with a tired joke to actually funny
joke ratio of at least 3:1. Although it’d be missing the point if I
were to complain about the indulging in the past during a crossover
episode, I kinda want to anyway. The ending redeems it some, despite
the fact that the Slayers as silent soldiers still doesn’t play right
to me. Don’t get me wrong - although the Andrew factor and the
indulgence factor are a bit overwhelming, they don’t totally dominate,
and the stuff that matters for ATS purposes does not get lost.
Ultimately, even though it does take yet another stab at the Angel/W&H
thing, and does follow an interesting plot thread raised by the ending
of “Chosen,” it’s Spike’s episode, and he was due for a self-
examination like this. Some scenes work better than others – the
string of true and false revelations and half-flashbacks are well
staged, while the removal of the hands somehow lacks any real bite.
The way in which the vampires identify with Dana as both victim and
monster (not mutually exclusive at all) takes the episode to where it
needs to be at the end, with the closing scene being possibly the best
A/S exchange of the series.
Rating: Good


Additional comments on S5D3: The show still isn’t overtly “going
anywhere” the way I’d want, but that seems less important given that
the episodes have started consistently delivering the entertainment.
Funny how that works.

Learning that Christian Kane asked for advice about how to play his
role, only to learn that the writers didn’t really know yet what
Lindsey’s motivations were either is one of those stories that
explains a lot. He chose an odd thing to focus on in his half-serious
conditions for coming back: what’s so scary about “getting beat up by
chicks” when you’re on a Joss Mother****ing Whedon show? I give ME
credit for the lengths to which they went to hide his return, though.
It still seemed to have the necessary kick, despite him not having
been relevant to the series since years earlier, when it was a very
different show.

Thoughts?

-AOQ

"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsmtsm@wildmail.com> wrote in message
news:28ad2be9-7377-4a6d-87cb-cffec5873e43@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

> ANGEL
> Season Five, Episode 9: "Harm's Way"

> A bit of a placement issue here. Does anyone else think that “Harm’s
> Way” seems awkwardly situated between the bigness of “Destiny” and the
> on-topic but also farce-laden “Soul Purpose?”

Part of the aim of the season is probably to show Team Angel trapped within
W&H, helpless to act no matter what happens or how aware they are of it. In
that sense, Harm's Way may fit perfectly after Destiny by throwing them all
back into the swing of work because, you know, their jobs demand it.

Harm's Way probably could have been snuck in anywhere after Hell Bound, but
I think it's here because they didn't want it next to Life of the Party and
they didn't want Destiny right before Soul Purpose. Destiny does lead to
Soul Purpose in that it follows up the revelation that Lindsey's back in
town and even more so it follows up on the Angel/Spike rivalry. But on
another level it doesn't lead to it at all. The background of Harm's Way is
showing how strongly Team Angel is caught up in the W&H way of life - and
how out of touch they are with anything else. Destiny doesn't really go
there. But it's an important foundation to Soul Purpose (and Damaged too),
where they are shocked by the realization that others look upon them as
having defected to the wrong side. The revelation carries so much weight
because those folks may be right. Harm's Way shows the truth of the
criticism where Destiny doesn't.

I'm not sure Harm's Way is really up to that burden. It covers the
territory - but as light farce. So you're right that placement feels a bit
odd. But maybe in the context of watching one episode per week that
wouldn't be noticed so much.


> That aside, Harmony
> episodes continue to make me smile uncontrollably. It’s not even a
> big laugh riot thing – some of Angel’s dreams next week are more
> outright hilarious – but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

An uncontrollable smile as opposed to laugh riot. I think that's kind of a
neat distinction that suits the episode.


> Now, in my
> mind, HW is not, despite appearances, a wild haphazard romp, but
> actually the product of a lot of thought. Plot points are neatly and
> unobtrusively dropped in advance. The very simple-mindedness of its
> outsiders’ perspective ends up giving the audience a perfect chance to
> step back and take a direct look at what Team Angel has turned into.
> For its cleverest trick of all, HW somehow evokes sympathy for a
> character devoid of human compassion, mostly by showing how
> inconsequential the world finds her. Whether she does everything
> right in her official capacity, commits firing-worthy offenses, or
> saves the day, it doesn’t particularly matter to the people she most
> wants to impress. While I won’t accuse this hour of getting too deep
> or meaningful, I really do admire the meticulousness and cohesiveness
> with which it’s crafted for our enjoyment. That, and the concept of
> right vs. left biting. The one other big problem with the episode is
> that it’s the episode chosen to take one for the show and feature a
> less than convincing “explanation,” such that it is, for why Spike
> avoids contact with a Slayer whose actor isn’t contracted for ATS (and
> wouldn’t really fit in this world).
> Rating: Good

Yes, Good.


> Season Five, Episode 10: "Soul Purpose"

> Anyway, it occurs to me, especially after “Awakening” last season,
> that Angel’s head is the kind of space that lends itself to pronounced
> insecurity, is filled with over-wrought theater, has a weird sense of
> humor, and makes its point over and over with the help of any
> available sledgehammer. Why shouldn’t we expect his dream-metaphors
> to favor “relentless and overwhelming” over “subtle?” I like the
> fever-dream timing a lot, and the way Spike grooving on being the
> champion of the streets makes the position his own, the show giving
> him a lot of personality without forgetting that he’s serving Angel’s
> storyline. Not a whole lot besides that happens in “Soul Purpose,”
> but that doesn’t prevent it from being a lot of fun to watch.
> Provided one’s DVD allows it.

So in spite of his studied disdain for such things we find that Angel's
sense of destiny positively eats him up inside. Pretty clever of Lindsey to
focus on this. So, is Lindsey that much of a genius? Or just lucky?
Bringing up Shanshu again is a sharp move. On the other hand he may have
chosen that only because it's the thing he knew from S2. It's certainly
clever to conceive of Spike as a threat to Angel's destiny. But surely
Lindsey didn't realize how personal it would be between the two.

> Rating: Good

Some of the dream scenes I'm not that crazy about - like sitting in the easy
chair in the grass. But much of it is stupendous - like eating popcorn
while watching the world burn. But for all of that (and Spike helping the
helpless), the money scene for me is the confrontation between Spike and
Wesley/Gunn.

Spike: Here's to the corporate teat.

As Wesley and Gunn are taken aback at Spike treating them like the bad guys,
the audience is a little stunned to see how much those two have bought into
the idea of them doing so much good working from the inside. (Actually this
is kind of the first real confirmation of how much Wesley has bought into
it. Which disappointed me some since it kinda negates prior images of him
thoughtfully observing.)

Spike: A place like that doesn't change... not from the inside. Not from
the out. You sign on there, it changes you.

The balancing to this scene, which allows the whole of it to soar, is that
even as Spike speaks so insightfully, he himself is caught up believing in
the myth of his superior heroism. The W&H bug has bit everybody now, the
best of their aspirations exploited against themselves. Even Lindsey,
seemingly in opposition to Senior Partner schemes, is effectively working
towards their greater goals as he corrupts and continues to be corrupted.

I really enjoyed the episode this time and am tempted to push it to
Excellent, but I think I'll leave it as a very high Good.


> Season Five, Episode 11: "Damage"
>
> “Damage” has a lot going on, but the first thing I think of when
> calling the episode to mind is Andrew. I became even more convinced
> with this viewing that the character exists in some kind of weird
> chemical state where his shtick is only funny if it’s in BTVS S7.
> Here his scenes just go on and on, with a tired joke to actually funny
> joke ratio of at least 3:1. Although it’d be missing the point if I
> were to complain about the indulging in the past during a crossover
> episode, I kinda want to anyway.

Differing perceptions. One of the things that gets me about this episode is
how restrained the crossover elements come across to me. It feels like an
Angel episode even though it deals so much with the BtVS mythology. Some of
it suppose is that the Slayer isn't like a Slayer - especially not like
Buffy. (Not even blonde!) The center of the story is also dark and
brooding in a very AtS way. And the ultimate message is very Angel-centric.
(Well, Spike too - but in his AtS manner of being.)

I think a big reason may be Andrew himself. In good part because he's such
an unlikely cross-over candidate. It's hard to see BtVS embodied in him -
and kind of funny for him to try to wear that mantle. But more so it's how
he and his story vagues up the BtVS story. His role with the Slayer army
isn't clear. His explanations of what people are up to now not really all
that explanatory. (And according to Season 8 - faked. Though I don't
really accept that as canon.)

Even Dana's condition has less to do with her Slayer essence than it does
with her childhood trauma.

There is a kind of distance maintained from the aftermath of Chosen that
serves to tantalize a little. Then to be mercilessly chopped off. It's not
just that it's another show and another story. Access is actively denied
because Angel now works for the enemy.

Also, Andrew seems to make me laugh a lot more than you.


> The ending redeems it some, despite
> the fact that the Slayers as silent soldiers still doesn’t play right
> to me. Don’t get me wrong - although the Andrew factor and the
> indulgence factor are a bit overwhelming, they don’t totally dominate,
> and the stuff that matters for ATS purposes does not get lost.
> Ultimately, even though it does take yet another stab at the Angel/W&H
> thing, and does follow an interesting plot thread raised by the ending
> of “Chosen,” it’s Spike’s episode, and he was due for a self-
> examination like this. Some scenes work better than others – the
> string of true and false revelations and half-flashbacks are well
> staged, while the removal of the hands somehow lacks any real bite.

I agree. An unfortunate failing that prevents the episode from being quite
as scary/shocking as it might have been. Perhaps that's a function of being
on TV.


> The way in which the vampires identify with Dana as both victim and
> monster (not mutually exclusive at all) takes the episode to where it
> needs to be at the end, with the closing scene being possibly the best
> A/S exchange of the series.
> Rating: Good

One of the blessings of this episode doesn't seem to get the credit it
deserves. It settles the issue of Spike not going to Buffy the best way
possible. Harm's Way kind of screws things up with a lame excuse when it
would have been better for Spike simply to have gotten cold feet worrying
about Buffy's reaction. But here Spike realizes that with his own waffling
and time going by, that the moment has passed. Essentially he's blown it.
Appearing to her now won't mean the same thing anymore to her or to him.
(In his mind's eye anyway.) I think that comes across much better here (in
conversation with Andrew) than the glop he told Harmony. It also parallels
Andrew severing ties with Angel. They're both cut off now.

It's not a perfect episode, but it is my favorite of the season to date.
There's something special abut unhinged Slayers running amok. And Andrew
pulling out a lunchbag with his name on it. Excellent.


> Additional comments on S5D3: The show still isn’t overtly “going
> anywhere” the way I’d want, but that seems less important given that
> the episodes have started consistently delivering the entertainment.
> Funny how that works.

This is essentially where I came to peace with that myself. I'm never
really going to be happy with the premise and the endless banging on it.
(Yes, I know there's a kind of slow movement from struggling with the
challenge of working from the inside to being co-opted to being trapped to
recognizing it - but really that's as much semantics as content.) That's
just the story though. They're in the belly of the beast. That won't be
resolved until the end of the season.

In the meantime, the string of episodes after the so-so first disc have been
steadily very good in themselves. The entertainment value of that can't be
denied.


> Learning that Christian Kane asked for advice about how to play his
> role, only to learn that the writers didn’t really know yet what
> Lindsey’s motivations were either is one of those stories that
> explains a lot.

As part of erasing much of the history of S3 and S4 I've always had the
sense that bringing Lindsey back was first about returning to the show's
earlier roots - even if they weren't certain what that meant plot-wise.
Theme-wise I think they knew all along that they would be returning to
Angel's inner divide and that Lindsey would somehow be connected to that -
as Spike is.

It remains perpetually intriguing to me how Joss so often speaks of long
range ideas - years out sometimes - and seeds his shows so heavily with
future foundation - even literal pre-enactments - yet so much story
developing chaos seems to reign episode to episode. TV is a curious medium.

OBS

On Jun 6, 1:56 pm, "One Bit Shy" <O...@nomail.sorry> wrote:
> "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in messagenews:28ad2be9-7377-4a6d-87cb-cffec5873e43@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>
> > ANGEL
> > Season Five, Episode 9: "Harm's Way"
> > A bit of a placement issue here. Does anyone else think that “Harm’s
> > Way” seems awkwardly situated between the bigness of “Destiny” andthe
> > on-topic but also farce-laden “Soul Purpose?”
>
> Part of the aim of the season is probably to show Team Angel trapped within
> W&H, helpless to act no matter what happens or how aware they are of it. In
> that sense, Harm's Way may fit perfectly after Destiny by throwing them all
> back into the swing of work because, you know, their jobs demand it.
>
> Harm's Way probably could have been snuck in anywhere after Hell Bound, but
> I think it's here because they didn't want it next to Life of the Party and
> they didn't want Destiny right before Soul Purpose. Destiny does lead to
> Soul Purpose in that it follows up the revelation that Lindsey's back in
> town and even more so it follows up on the Angel/Spike rivalry. But on
> another level it doesn't lead to it at all. The background of Harm's Way is
> showing how strongly Team Angel is caught up in the W&H way of life - and
> how out of touch they are with anything else. Destiny doesn't really go
> there. But it's an important foundation to Soul Purpose (and Damaged too),
> where they are shocked by the realization that others look upon them as
> having defected to the wrong side. The revelation carries so much weight
> because those folks may be right. Harm's Way shows the truth of the
> criticism where Destiny doesn't.

Maybe, but "Harm's Way" doesn't really seem too directed towards...

> I'm not sure Harm's Way is really up to that burden. It covers the
> territory - but as light farce.

Ah, right.

HW seems kinda timeless to me. It's a general look at Team Angel at
W7H rather than being tied to any specific phase of their corruption.
Not that there's much of a progression to begin with. The net effect
is that I think it would have played totally unchanged had it been,
say, episode #8, and I don't know that I really would've noticed a
difference in how I view "Soul Purpose" either.
,
> > Season Five, Episode 10: "Soul Purpose"

> So in spite of his studied disdain for such things we find that Angel's
> sense of destiny positively eats him up inside. Pretty clever of Lindsey to
> focus on this. So, is Lindsey that much of a genius? Or just lucky?
> Bringing up Shanshu again is a sharp move. On the other hand he may have
> chosen that only because it's the thing he knew from S2. It's certainly
> clever to conceive of Spike as a threat to Angel's destiny. But surely
> Lindsey didn't realize how personal it would be between the two.

He seemed to know they'd fight over it and possibly kill each other,
but that doesn't require a deep understanding of vampire dynamics -
that Spike and Angel don't like each other probably wouldn't be hard
to learn, and Lindsey likely can't conceive of why anyone wouldn't
fight for a mystical position and try to eliminate one's rivals.

> Spike: A place like that doesn't change... not from the inside. Not from
> the out. You sign on there, it changes you.
>
> The balancing to this scene, which allows the whole of it to soar, is that
> even as Spike speaks so insightfully, he himself is caught up believing in
> the myth of his superior heroism.

I remember you liked that last time too. I'm curious what you think
is the right path, if any. Angel et al are being naive in thinking he
can stay uncompromised, Spike is being naive for thinking he can keep
it simple. Spike's wrong to think that destiny is just going to be
handed to him, while Angel's allegedly Cinco-ifying by not buying into
prophecies and destinies.

> One of the blessings of this episode doesn't seem to get the credit it
> deserves. It settles the issue of Spike not going to Buffy the best way
> possible. Harm's Way kind of screws things up with a lame excuse when it
> would have been better for Spike simply to have gotten cold feet worrying
> about Buffy's reaction. But here Spike realizes that with his own waffling
> and time going by, that the moment has passed. Essentially he's blown it.
> Appearing to her now won't mean the same thing anymore to her or to him.
> (In his mind's eye anyway.) I think that comes across much better here (in
> conversation with Andrew) than the glop he told Harmony. It also parallels
> Andrew severing ties with Angel. They're both cut off now.

That's somewhat debatable, although I wish I could accept that. Spike
doesn't talk about Buffy enough, for obvious reasons, for me to really
say how much this affects him. His mind is on other things. He's
already decided not to go after her (except when he does at the end of
the year in that fever dream that I'm telling myself isn't a real
episode), and it's unclear how much Andrew will share. "Damage" may
well clarify things in Spike's mind the way you think it does, but I
think one would be hard pressed to prove that it does.

> As part of erasing much of the history of S3 and S4 I've always had the
> sense that bringing Lindsey back was first about returning to the show's
> earlier roots - even if they weren't certain what that meant plot-wise.
> Theme-wise I think they knew all along that they would be returning to
> Angel's inner divide and that Lindsey would somehow be connected to that -
> as Spike is.

You could likely be right.

> It remains perpetually intriguing to me how Joss so often speaks of long
> range ideas - years out sometimes - and seeds his shows so heavily with
> future foundation - even literal pre-enactments - yet so much story
> developing chaos seems to reign episode to episode. TV is a curious medium.

It's easier to have a general plan than to connect the dots for some
people. I know that when I'm writing fiction, the ending is one of
the first things I think through, and it's getting there that can be
haphazard.

-AOQ

"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsmtsm@wildmail.com> wrote in message
news:13977d93-babf-4640-95f2-20d3889c47c2@2g2000hsn.googlegroups.com...
On Jun 6, 1:56 pm, "One Bit Shy" <O...@nomail.sorry> wrote:
> "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in
> messagenews:28ad2be9-7377-4a6d-87cb-cffec5873e43@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

>> Spike: A place like that doesn't change... not from the inside. Not from
>> the out. You sign on there, it changes you.
>>
>> The balancing to this scene, which allows the whole of it to soar, is
>> that
>> even as Spike speaks so insightfully, he himself is caught up believing
>> in
>> the myth of his superior heroism.
>
> I remember you liked that last time too. I'm curious what you think
> is the right path, if any.

Heh. M.E. is very determined that no right path is permitted. In You're
Welcome, Angel decides to quit and Gunn goes on about how the Senior
Partners aren't going to let them just walk away - they all knew what they
signed on to. Then they get distracted by Cordelia and suddenly Angel is
defending his work at W&H and the show ends up at least implying that the
PTB want Angel to continue. So that notion is dropped and Gunn's opinion
more or less stands - even though it's decidedly lacking in explanation and
one might wonder how that would represent "letting" Angel do what he wants
any more than they "let" him do what he wanted before he came to W&H. But
really, especially after Connor's memory is restored, what hold does W&H
have that they didn't have before? (And wouldn't that represent a
contractual breach by W&H anyway?)

It's not my biggest concern about the season, especially since it's all
effectively a construct to get Angel to whatever place it is that he's in at
the end. (So the only solution to being trapped in a corporate job is to go
postal?) But it nags me sometimes that the team doesn't at least try to get
out.


> Angel et al are being naive in thinking he
> can stay uncompromised,

I've always had trouble buying into the necessary naivety. But that goes to
what I don't like about the premise. What works better for me is how they
play to people's desires and - sometimes at least - get them to like their
jobs. (Wesley going along doesn't seem to be adequately explained,
however.)


> Spike is being naive for thinking he can keep
> it simple.

Spike's naivety is easier to believe. It suits him - and Lindsey's
deception is pretty thorough. Spike is also following his desires. (It's
curious that he doesn't seem to take the revelation of his foolishness too
hard.)


> Spike's wrong to think that destiny is just going to be
> handed to him, while Angel's allegedly Cinco-ifying by not buying into
> prophecies and destinies.

Not exactly. Angel's problem appears to be that he can't let go of the
prophecies and destiny. When he sees them appear to be transferred to
Spike, he despairs as no longer being worthy. That's essentially what #5
did too. But the true qualities in both are found within themselves - not
the finicky palate of some stupid demon that thinks it knows the hearts of
heroes.

Angel: Doesn't matter what you try. Doesn't matter where I am or how badass
you think you've become. 'Cause you know what? I'm Angel. I beat the bad
guys.

Of course that just handles one problem. He still is paralyzed. Doesn't
know what do about W&H. Especially what to do about the people who depend
on him.

OBS

On Jun 7, 1:38 am, "One Bit Shy" <O...@nomail.sorry> wrote:
> "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in

> > Spike's wrong to think that destiny is just going to be
> > handed to him, while Angel's allegedly Cinco-ifying by not buying into
> > prophecies and destinies.
>
> Not exactly. Angel's problem appears to be that he can't let go of the
> prophecies and destiny. When he sees them appear to be transferred to
> Spike, he despairs as no longer being worthy. That's essentially what #5
> did too. But the true qualities in both are found within themselves - not
> the finicky palate of some stupid demon that thinks it knows the hearts of
> heroes.

Okay, I'll try to work with that. TCTO#5 keeps confusing the matter
by having him believe in nothing, or claim to.

-AOQ

"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsmtsm@wildmail.com> wrote in message
news:28ad2be9-7377-4a6d-87cb-cffec5873e43@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

>ANGEL
>Season Five, Episode 9: "Harm's Way"
>Writers: Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain
>Director: Vern Gillum

>For its cleverest trick of all, HW somehow evokes sympathy for a
>character devoid of human compassion, mostly by showing how
>inconsequential the world finds her.

But it is not alone in that. Harmony has been the acceptable face of evil
vampires since The Initiative. Partly because she's ineffectual enough not
to be threatening. Partly because she is never seen on screen to kill anyone
(human), which would put a damper on her cuddliness. Partly because she is
funny.

>Rating: Good
Good for me too. It's up a little on this viewing, to 13th best AtS episode,
7th best in season 5 (last time was 18th and 8th).

>Season Five, Episode 10: "Soul Purpose"
>Writer: Brent Fletcher
>Director: David Boreanaz

>This is most famous* for being the episode that I can’t watch in its
>entirety. And my repair methods involving not paying for anything

You need to get a good copy if you can. I once had a bad copy of the last
disk of BtVS S1. I found that with repeated attempts, I could finally get to
see the end of OOSOOM. And I worked out that if instead of selecting "play
episode" for PG, I selected the 2nd track of that episode and then rewound
until I got the _precise_ moment the "previouslys" ended (it was a R4 disc)
and the actual episode started it would play fine. But that was too much
like hard work, so I returned it seeking a replacement. The shop told me
they didn't have it in stock, so because the faults weren't actually fatal,
I offered to keep it if they would give me a 10% discount to reflect that it
was damaged. But they said they couldn't do that. So I returned it for cash.

Next week I was back in the shop and they had a copy in their 2nd hand
section. Being naturally suspicious, it did occur to me that this might be
the copy I had returned. But it was 15% less than I had paid for it new, and
under their fluorescents, I couldn't see the flaw in the last disc that had
been obvious under better lights at home. So I got it, and sure enough, it
either was the one I returned or it was its twin, because it had the same
flaw in the same place.

I was torn between concern at the business ethics of my favourite DVD shop
on the one hand, and on the other hand the fact that I was 5% up on the deal
I had offered them when I returned it (or a bit more than that because they
have a loyalty scheme where you effectively get $20 off your next purchase
after spending $200, and I got loyalty points for both times I bought this
set, with nothing deducted for the time I returned it in between). It did
occur to me to return it a few more times to accumulate still more loyalty
points, but in the end I figured I was ahead and let it lie.

But over the years the fact that the disc was defective did bug me, and when
eventually the first 3 seasons were released on separate individual discs, I
bought a replacement of the defective disc. Just for the peace of mind of
getting it to work as intended.

Oh, and by the way, Soul Purpose is currently my 8th favourite AtS episode,
5th best in season 5 (last time was 7th and 5th).

--
Apteryx

"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsmtsm@wildmail.com> wrote in message
news:28ad2be9-7377-4a6d-87cb-cffec5873e43@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
Season Five, Episode 10: "Soul Purpose"
Writer: Brent Fletcher
Director: David Boreanaz
[...]
This is most famous* for being the episode that I can’t watch in its
entirety. And my repair methods involving not paying for anything
significant only made the scratching worse. I was panicking over
where to get a good copy of that disc for the re-watch, before
realizing that whether or not I can see four minutes’ worth of one
episode where I know what happens is not a life or death situation.
Spike dressing down his rescuee is still beyond my powers, but I
actually did get to see the ending scene by turning the commentary
track off at the opportune time. That does flow a lot better than it
reads.

---------------------
Huh. My DVD is screwed up, also, around the time they are having Spike's
congratulation party.

I wonder if it's a problem with the pressing, rather than the individual
DVD's being damaged.