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Ladies and gentlemen, after a stint in Italy, Tom Johnson, your Buffy and Angel guide is back! Here’s what he had to say about the recently released third season of Angel:

Angel: The Complete Third Season

Review by Tom Johnson

TomJohnson@TheCinemaSource.com

Season One of Angel was dark, gritty and about as gloomy as a show can get. It was trying anything to escape the shadow of its more famous counterpart, and the seams showed through. In the second season, producer Joss Whedon came closer to achieving this goal as the characters gained depth and the scenarios became wilder. Angel abandoned its hard-boiled mystery of the week narrative to become a fantasy show, with elements more akin to Star Trek than Buffy. But the viewer could still see the struggle of the writers, desperately trying to differentiate themselves from their sister show. Ironically enough, what creativity couldn't accomplish, network money battles did, and in its third season, Angel was surgically removed from Buffy when the original packed up its bags and moved to UPN, where more cash per episode and better treatment awaited, leaving the spin-off all on its own for Season 3, looking lonely on the WB by itself. Complicating things further were the new contractual obligations the Frog laid down, stating that no character from either show could cross over to the other, eliminating the occasional Buffy character guest spots that had become staples for the show's first two seasons. The WB also shifted the show around, moving it to Mondays, then Sundays, then Wednesdays, then back and forth, trying its hardest to form a rift between Buffy's Tuesday night audience and Angel's remaining audience. An outsider might even think they were trying to kill their own show"¦"¦"¦

All of this put Angel between a rock and a hard place, but as the scenario usually goes when creative types are involved, this is when the show finally came into its own. The third season was a deeply layered, character-driven serial full of backstabbing, blood-letting and the most sophisticated plotlines seen in the "Whedonverse" yet. Preserved on DVD, the third season now plays better than ever, despite its minor flaws.

Explaining the plot to Season 3 in its entirety would be both confusing and inaccurate in tone. For whatever reason, Whedon enjoys writing plotlines that sound absolutely ludicrous from an outsider's perspective but couldn't play better from the fans' viewpoint. That said, Season 3 revolves around the return of a very pregnant Darla (Julie Benz) who has some big news for Angel (David Boreanaz). The show quickly becomes a race to protect Angel's unborn son, whose life is unexplainable in the first place (vampires are dead, can't make life, yada yada yada). Evil law-firm

Wolfram and Hart are after the baby on one side, while on the other stands a time-travelling 19th century vampire hunter named Holtz (Keith Szarabajka), and an immortal demon named Sahjan(Jack Conley), both of whom have very personal reasons for wanting both Angel and his son dead. While to the uninitiated, all this may resemble plotlines from a crappy soap, be assured that these events, as well as the tragic ones which follow share closer resemblance to the best of Greek mythology.

If there's any casualty of the season, however, it's Cordelia(Charisma Carpenter). The vital heart of the show during its first two seasons, the writers seem desperate here to keep her relevant. Despite Carpenter's natural ability to play lovable bitch, the creative department seems determined to shake things up, and thus, Cordelia becomes a saintly caricature of herself by the final episode of the season. The romance brewing between her and Angel seems forced as well, a match made more from convenience than from any sort of chemistry or need. Carpenter's need to bleach her hair brighter and cut it shorter with each handful of episodes hardly helps her retain any sort of similarity to the character she once was either. As a result, both actress and writers seem more than happy to hand the sex symbol crown off to Fred (Amy Acker), the season's new regular (she appeared in the final four episodes of season two as a guest) and the only thing breathing new life into the first few episodes of the season. Acker, along with Alexis Denisof, who plays Wes, delivers the best acting seen on any "genre" show in recent memory, as she delivers lines with effortless comic timing, progresses her character at a slow and mature pace, and portrays the "Whedon-trademarked woman"(the guy has a serious fetish for those meek, geeky, quirky girls) without ever becoming obnoxious, a fate Firefly's Jewel Staite, Buffy's Amber Benson, and even Alysson Hannigan(the original archetype) couldn't escape. Acker is more than a welcome presence on the show, but, as stated before, is hardly the only actor on the show to admire. This season is also the season Wes (Denisof) finally stopped being treated as comic relief, and Denisof is more than up to the task of going to very dark places with his character. Saying too much would be telling, but suffice to say, he goes on quite a journey, and drags an uncomfortable audience with him every step of the way. It's a shame the Emmys snub shows like Angel, because if they had been paying attention, Denisof would have racked up the featured actor award for the past three years straight.

As always, Boreanaz holds up the title role with integrity, and with the best ensemble this side of The Sopranos backing

him, Angel: Season 3 not only blazes its own unique path away from Buffy, but actually passes its sister show in terms of pure entertainment value. While a late but vital character addition to the show is horribly miscast, and Carpenter's heart doesn't seem to be in it anymore, the creative juices are flowing, and by the final cliffhanger, you'll be begging for Season 4(which is even better, by the way). With Season 3 of Angel, Joss Whedon firmly established his grip on TV fantasy. Viewing the DVD now seems to recall this period as the brief golden age of television that most in TV land never knew existed. Here's your chance to see what you missed. I highly doubt it's a purchase you'll regret.

Grade:A-

The DVD is filled with audio commentaries, featurettes, and recaps of the season. Also of interest are screentests from Amy Acker and Vincent Kartheiser, the former interesting because it reminds you just why she got the job, the latter interesting because it still leaves you wondering why he got the job.

DVD Grade: B+

All in all, a great season presented in a great package. This wasn't the show's best season, but it was indeed the show's turning point, and in this package, it seems to be treated with the reverence in deserves. It makes no attempt to ease new viewers into the complicated character and story arcs, but for those Whedon virgins ready to work, it responds with great rewards. A great prelude to what eventually became the greatest genre show ever created. No offense to Buffy.

Final GradeA-

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