Re: OT: "Angel" and "Firefly"

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

>I'd rather watch fruit ripen than Connor.

Well, I'll agree that I don't like what they've done with the arc. He's
no longer my wonderfully evil Stephen, **playing** at being a sulky teen
while his Holtz-trained brain plots at lightning speed.

(I absolutely loved the bit in "Tomorrow" when he reads Holtz's letter,
Angel comes in, Connor attacks him in a rage, and when Angel stops him,
he instantly spins it into "teach me how to do that". Covering his ass
**and** learning Angel's secrets to use against him, all in one swell
foop--damn, I liked that. And Vincent Kartheiser played it so well.
Outside of several of Alexis Denisof's performances, this was my pick
for the best acting of the year, on either show.)

Nowadays, alas, Connor **is** a sulky teen, while Big Daddy Angel gives
him the Tough Love, until (eventually, I'm sure) he's welcomed home with
a big hug. I think the show was severely damaged in the last act of
"Deep Down", when they pretty much ruined Connor's "Prophecied
Invincible Destroyer from Quar'
toth" rep by having him be bluffed into breaking by an almost
incapacitated Angel. (It didn't help that I didn't like that plot
resolution in "The Princess Bride", either, or that Angel's speech was,
IMO, boring.)

That said, I think it's odd that the three characters who have been
shoved to the side are Angel's girlfriend, his best friend/betrayer, and
his prodigal son. Way more important than Fred, IMO. (Although they
certainly are making Amy Acker very pretty this year.) Frankly it seems
like they're just stalling these arcs until sweeps, or possibly
February.

Regarding "Firefly" 's Jayne, while Adam Baldwin is named "Baldwin" and
may very well be someone's brother, he is not, in fact, a "Baldwin
Brother". Long Island's gift to acting, Alec Baldwin, has three
brothers: Daniel, Billy, and Stephen. Adam is not related.

And, much as I'm ambivalent about Jayne, I don't know that I'd wish
unemployment on Adam Baldwin. I mean, the man once co-starred in a
movie with Mr. T! ("D.C. Cab") Surely he's suffered enough :)

Dan