Good Omens: God's Sense Of Humor

Had I written this post but a week ago, I would have opened with a touching story about a special significance this book has to me. Sadly, this is no longer relevant. Fortunately, the book itself remains awesome.

This book can be a hard sell to some; it is best summed up as a comedy about the end of the world, which can be slightly off-putting to some. One of the review blurbs in my edition refers to it as, "The Book of Revelations, as told by Monty Python", which is another good description, but once again can turn some people off (mainly people who thought that Life of Brian was blasphemous garbage). But like many satires that target organized religion (Life of Brian, Saved!, Dogma), the goal of Good Omens is not to bring down Christianity, but to point out a few of its shortcomings and foibles.

According to Gaiman, the book evolved from a short story idea he had that eventually became Adam's story in the book. Adam, by the way, is the Antichrist. Gaiman was unsure where to take the story, and he began talking to friend and fellow author Terry Pratchett. Based on the way they describe each other in the afterward sections, I joked that Pratchett is a humor writer with a good sense of sci-fi/fantasy while Gaiman is a sci-fi/fantasy writer with a good sense of humor. Eventually, they began working on a much bigger story together.

While a few different plots intertwine in Good Omens, I believe that it is safe to say that the main characters are an angel, Aziraphale, and a demon, Crowley, both of whom have been stationed on Earth since at least the Garden of Eden. Over the roughly 2000 years they've known each other, Aziraphale and Crowley have formed a sort of friendship, described in the book as similar to that of American and Soviet agents who spend more time embedded with each other than with their distant superiors. They often get together to discuss the plans of the universe and pick apart ideas humanity has towards God and Satan. They have also come to understand humanity much better than any of their Heaven- or Hell-based compatriots (Crowley understands that it is easier to do one small bad deed and let humans react poorly than to try to perform difficult, hands-on methods when trying to get people to commit acts that will lead to Hell).

Since they have some divine powers, life on Earth has been pretty good for them, especially Crowley, who indulges in many of life's luxuries without have to earn or pay for them. He owns a large London apartment, a vintage sports car (which does not require him to purchase fuel, except once when he wanted some free giveaway prize that came with a gasoline purchase), and can sleep through entire decades if he so chooses. Therefore, when news comes that the time of the Antichrist is upon the world, they are both somewhat upset that their cozy time on Earth will end within twelve years, but they understand that the plans are much bigger than either of them. Crowley is the demon responsible for making sure the baby Antichrist is placed with the correct family, that of an American diplomat living in England (if you've ever seen the 1976 film, The Omen, feel free to laugh now). Unfortunately, the Satanic Nuns running the hospital fumble the switch, and a random British family from a rural town end up with the baby by accident (if you aren't already chuckling, now is the time to start).

Eleven years pass, and Aziraphale and Crowley have continued to meet, and have occasionally checked in on Warlock, the boy believed to be the Antichrist. But when a portent fails to occur (or at least fails to occur to Warlock), the pair realize what has happened, and are horrified when they think of what might happen to them if their bosses find out. They start looking for the baby, who is now going by the name of Adam.

As the story progresses, we are introduced to multiple other storylines; for example Adam and his friends, who compose a gang known as "Them", are a key storyline, as we see how he transforms from "innocent" young boy into the potential destroyer of the world. Of course, this being a satire and all, Adam isn't going to destroy the world because he is evil, but because he is a child! Yeah. Think about it for a second. Then there is Anathema Device and Newt Pulsifer, two characters brought together by a bizarre twist of fate. Anathema is the last surviving descendant of Agnes Nutter, a witch, and the most accurate seer in history (unfortunately, since she had no words for some of the things she saw in her visions, such as motorcycles, it was sometimes hard to decipher what her prophecies meant until after the events had occurred). Newt is the newest member of the witch hunter army, and the descendant of the witch hunter who put Nutter to death by burning at the stake. The story of Anathema and Newt follows them trying to find the Antichrist themselves in order to prevent the end of the world.

Finally, the gathering of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse slowly occurs over the course of the book. Alone, each of them causes their dreaded name to occur at various parts of the world (War, posing as an arms dealer, causes fighting to break out wherever she goes, while Famine causes not only crop failures, but also can cause people to eat food of no nutritional value). But as they come together, they leave fear and destruction in their wake.

As I said, this is my favorite of the three books in this series of posts. It mixes (and outdoes) the humor of Anansi Boys with thematic brilliance that made American Gods great. In the opening of the book, the authors talk about some of the copies they've seen at signings; since many people read and reread the book numerous times, many of the copies have seen a lot of wear and tear (they gave an example of one copy being nothing more than a bunch of loose pages in a ziplock bag). On the other hand, they also brought up one person who built an oak chest with silver trim to house his copy. As I'm writing this, I am getting a huge urge to reread the book, despite the fact that I am currently in the middle of another book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I would really like to see Gaiman and Pratchett team up again (though it is unlikely since Gaiman now lives on our side of the pond), or I should probably start reading some of Pratchett's solo work. But this is a perfect introduction to both authors. It gives a small taste of their greatness.

Up next: Trying to decide...

Anansi Boys: Animal Instincts

Sorry about the title, I couldn't think of anything incredibly witty, and I thought it'd be kind of funny to reference the final joke of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, even though it has nothing to do with this book.

Of the three books, this one is the most fun, in the sense that it exists more to tell a story than to wax poetic on grand themes (however, I could be completely wrong). The story is still deep and uses the rules set in American Gods, but Anansi Boys is a story about sibling rivalry, stepping out of your father's shadow, and learning to stand up for yourself. The two main characters, "Fat" Charlie and Spider, are the sons of the spider god Anansi (who went by the name Mr. Nancy in American Gods). Anansi was a trickster god from African mythology; his stories were about his interactions with other animal spirits, like Monkey, Snake, Lion, Bird, and Tiger, who he often deceived for various reasons. Anansi could get anything he wanted through his deceptions, whether it be material (such as food) or intangible (such as credit). This didn't make him very popular with the other animal spirits, who have come to resent and/or hate the god.

The Mr. Nancy incarnation of the god settled in America and settled down. His son Charlie (who received the unwanted moniker "Fat" from his father) has been, for as long as he can remember, a timid and unmotivated man, a bit of a George McFly type character. He does not rock the boat, refuses to do anything that may embarrass himself even the least bit, and will take any and all crap given out to him by his boss and future mother-in-law (it's a wonder he has a girlfriend due to to his sheer inability to do anything daring, which includes asking people out).

The tiniest things cause Fat Charlie to become embarrassed, so it goes without saying that his father's over-the-top antics didn't sit will with Charlie. Fat Charlie moved to London, which is where he was when he received news of his father's death. Events at the funeral led to the discovery of a long-lost brother named Spider who seems like he is Anansi's true son; Spider is a bit of a trickster and has god-like powers of persuasion and deception.

The story follows the brothers as they learn to accept each other and themselves. Of course, this wouldn't be a Gaiman story without some mythology thrown in; a few of the animal spirits show up to help, hinder, or do both to the boys.

This sounded a lot more like a review than an observation of the story, but like I said, this book was more about story than theme, and it is a great story. In addition to the mythology, it has Gaiman's trademark wit, and that alone is worth reading the book for.

Up next: Incredible Omens...

American Gods: Modern Mythology

We'll begin with American Gods. It is the longest, most complex, and, in a way, most fulfilling book of the three (my favorite is Good Omens, but this one is more "pure Gaiman", since Omens was written alongside another author; however that is not a bad thing). The story focuses on a man named Shadow (I'm fairly certain that was his nickname, but his origins and real name are only vaguely hinted at), who is released from prison a few days early due to the death of his wife. Laura was his raison d'etre, and without her, Shadow is directionless. He soon meets an enigmatic man who uses the pseudonym Wednesday; Wednesday offers Shadow the job of personal bodyguard, and takes him on a journey that makes Shadow come to some strange realizations about the world he lives in.

Wednesday is a representation (or bastardization) of the Norse god Odin (the word Wednesday comes from Woden's Day, with Woden being one name for Odin, while Thursday originated from Thor's Day), and he explains to Shadow that a war is brewing between the "old gods" and the "new gods", though he is reluctant to describe who these "new gods" are.

The thematic aspects of the book examine what gods are, as well as the nature of the American people and their beliefs. Gods and their worshipers form a mutually dependent relationship; man needs the gods to do the things we think of when we think of religion (explain death, suffering, and the unknown), while the worship of man gives life to gods. Today, the gods of ancient civilizations, including Odin, Kali, and Anubis, are weak, since few people believe in them. Yet they live because we remember them. A god doesn't completely die until they are completely forgotten.

Throughout the course of the story, Shadow travels across America, where he encounters many of the old gods who are trying to live their lives in peace. They are in America because they were brought here in the hearts and minds of the many people who settled here throughout the years. They are the leftover ideas of long-forgotten traditions. Chicago, which is home to a large Polish community, houses Czernobog and the Zorya, Slavic deities, while Eostre, a pagan goddess, calls San Francisco home. They have been brought here and largely forgotten about, since America is very quick to embrace the new and deify it.

This brings us to the new gods: technology. Yes, I'm serious. When I first realized that telecommunications, television, and media outlets were the new GODS, I was a little surprised and slightly let down. I knew that Gaiman could make an interesting story out of that kind of situation, but there seemed to be something off about the idea. Technology isn't divine, it's completely man-made. Then I realized a few things. First, the book stands behind the idea that everything we consider divine originated in the human mind (a claim that I tend to agree with). But more importantly, I realized that Americans do in fact deify technology. I came to this conclusion when I returned home from the swimming pool, where I was reading the book in the sun, in a vain attempt to get some color that wasn't red. On the kitchen table was a miniature beach chair that my sister won at a carnival. The U.S. Cellular logo was emblazoned across the chair, and I had no idea what use a chair that size could serve. My dad reasoned that it was a chair for cell phones, a cute place to put them while they were not in one's pocket. And right there, I realized that we as a society certainly lift up technology beyond what it truly is, a means to make life easier for us (similar to the purpose of gods), if we make furniture for these inanimate objects.

These are the main themes of the book, but the way they are explained/experienced by the characters is what makes the book great. Different people have different ideas of how these ideas should affect the world. The book is an epic story, will certainly make you think about your relationship with the world around you.

Up next: Spider-men...

Three Novels By Neil Gaiman

I can't believe it's taken me this long to do posts on the works of Neil Gaiman, but here we are. For now, I will focus on three of his novels: American Gods, its spin-off Anansi Boys, and Good Omens, which he coauthored with Terry Pratchett. Neil Gaiman is my Joss Whedon of the printed word; they have each done works that are printed and filmed, but while Whedon is best at film, Gaiman excels in print (though both are still awesome in the opposite realm). Gaiman is incredible at mixing mythology with modernity, leading to incredible tales of science fiction and/or fantasy that draw on incredible ideas but take place in modern, "mundane" times (whoa, that reminds me that I need to talk about Bill Willingham's Fables at some point).

I will definitely do a series of posts on his magnum opus The Sandman, but that won't happen until I have finished it. I am collecting the series in the oversized Absolute editions, and two more still need to be released (one is coming up, and the final one will hopefully be out by the end of the year). But in the meantime, here are three reasons to become Gaiman fans if you aren't already.

Up next: A place for gods...

The Drowsy Chaperone: And All That Jazz Age

Whereas Reefer Madness used comedy to tell its chilling cautionary tale, The Drowsy Chaperone uses satire mostly for the sake of being funny. The frame story with the Man In The Chair is not exactly light-hearted (it's about how something you love can both make you feel better about being alone as well as isolate you), there is no message that links the present to the time being parodied. The 1920s is often portrayed as an endless party (as long as you were wealthy, reminds the Man In Chair), and the show does a fantastic job of pointing out some of the flaws of that view as well as the many cliches from and about the time.

The basic story is about a lonely man (known only as the Man In The Chair) whose only source of pleasure is an old recording of a play from 1928 entitled The Drowsy Chaperone. It appears that he has a kind of love/hate relationship with it; before it begins, he talks about how wonderful it is, but as the show progresses, he pauses the record to comment on the silliness of the scene/dialogue/musical number. The show-within-a-show is an over-the-top, cliche-ridden story of "mix-ups, mayhem, and a gay wedding"; the bride is a narcissistic showgirl who plans on giving up the stage to marry a man she hardly knows. A man who is even more full of himself than she is, and is the biggest klutz imaginable. Janet, the bride-to-be, is being hounded by her producer to call off the wedding, since he will have no show if she quits. And the maid of honor (the titular chaperone, who never receives a name other than, "chaperone") is an over-the-hill boozer (despite the fact that it was prohibition) who is only around for the alcohol. Robert (the groom) has a best man (George) who is convinced that he is responsible for making sure the wedding goes well (he tells Robert that the role of best man is more difficult than that of the groom), the woman who owns the luxurious mansion the wedding is being held at is delightfully senile, and two gangsters posing as pastry chefs are around to make sure that the producer can convince Janet to call off the wedding (their employer is the biggest investor in the show Janet is the star of). However, the gangsters are 1920s-style ideas of gangsters, meaning that they speak in bad puns and engage in overly stylized gestures and movements. As you can see, the cast of characters is not exactly realistic.

As the show goes on, the Man In Chair tries to explain why certain things happen, such as the Chaperone's song about alcoholism; the "actress" who played the Chaperone (he gives backstories on most of the fictional actors and actresses who played the parts) demanded rousing anthems in every show she ever performed, even if it wasn't appropriate. Another example involves Aldolpho, possibly the funniest character in the show. His character is nothing more than a collection of outrageous stereotypes about Europeans (he is some mixture of Spanish , Italian, and French), and the Man In Chair tries in vain to justify the character's existence.

For the audience, the simplistic plot (the Man In Chair remarks that the entire show is summed up in one sentence at the beginning of the play-within-the-play), outrageous characters, implausible twists, and awesomely bad ending (wherein nearly everyone in the show gets married) add up to an incredibly funny experience. I am realizing while writing this that there isn't much beyond the surface to analyze, but I think that is the point. The show satirizes meaningless, awesomely bad entertainment. If a modern audience were to go see the show-within-a-show that was being played seriously, they would most likely hate it (then again, there is a shit-ton of mindless crap today that people eat up), but the product we have show that not only can mindless entertainment be fun (as long as you know what you're in for), it can also be smart (I love oxymorons).

Part of the reason the play works so well is because of the way the story is told. The Man In Chair's apartment becomes the stage of the play, and he attempts to interact with the actors, even though, from their point of view, he doesn't exist. When he pauses the record, the actors freeze. When something in the "real world" disrupts the show (like a ringing telephone), it drowns out the show. And when the incorrect record is played when the second act begins, all kinds of hilarity ensues.

I didn't realize until I started writing this that this is more of a recommendation than an examination, but this is definitely something worth seeing. Fans of musical theater will love it for the same reasons non-fans will; it makes fun of (but also praises) the genre in very accurate and fun ways.

Up next: Neil Gaiman's first appearance in The Other Worlds...

Reefer Madness: Sharp Satire From A Blunt Subject

I really wish that I had taken the time to write this yesterday, since it was 420 all day long. Anyway, like Sweeney Todd, I have not seen this one on the stage (partly because it wasn't around for long), but I saw the Showtime movie adaptation, which starred much of the same cast. Reefer Madness is a parody of a 1936 PSA film (I guess PSAs were longer back then, since it clocked in at 60 minutes); the PSA was funded by a church group and was filled with bit actors, thus creating some pretty low production values. The story was told by a stern lecturer addressing a group of parents about the dangers of marijuana, the "demon weed". The lecturer warned that people under the influence immediately become giggly, and eventually, manically violent. To prove his story, he shows a movie about a "real" case involving three unsuspecting teenagers.

Bill Harper, his girlfriend Mary Lane, and Mary's sister Jimmy are high school students who are tricked into smoking pot by a smarmy dealer who preys on young children, despite the protests from his "girlfriend", who doesn't want to corrupt the youth. Jimmy becomes so stoned that he runs over a man with a car, while Bill hallucinates seeing Mary making out with another stoner (in reality she is resisting his advances), and begins fighting the other guy. When Jack, the dealer, tries to intervene, his gun accidentally goes off, killing Mary.

The musical follows the same basic plot, though Bill and Jimmy are combined to create Jimmy Harper, Mary's boyfriend. In this version, the lecturer (played menacingly by Alan Cumming in the Showtime version) will do anything to get his point across, even if it means discrediting his questioning audience. When one man questions the dubious facts of the case, the lecturer accuses the man of being a communist. Throughout the story, the lecturer shows up as characters of authority within the story, including a cop, a preacher, and even President Franklin Roosevelt.

The story of Jimmy and Mary (who is played by Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars, and is a surprisingly good singer) is played with a dark wit; Mary and Jimmy are delightfully innocent, since the 30s were characterized by reactionary policies meant to suppress any ideas seen as "anti-American". The two teens are so naive that they cannot imagine that any story could have an unhappy ending, even Romeo and Juliet, and when they are offered marijuana, neither one could ever imagine that someone would be dishonest with them or not have their best interests at heart.

The effects of the drug are also exaggerated; in addition to the claims made in the original PSA, such as being more addictive and dangerous than heroin, the film shows one person becoming a cannibal when the munchies become overpowering, while Mary changes from a sweet and naive girl into an S&M queen who attempts to rape the man who gave her the reefer.

The best part of the show is the ending; I will try not to give too much away, but I cannot hit the themes I want without mentioning details, so if you haven't seen it yet, you may want to skip ahead (then again, the details of the ending are much less important than the message). The ending is, of course, "happy", since there could be no other kind of ending in the 30s. The twist is that the happy ending is about how the characters resolve to brainwash people into believing what they feel to be "the truth". In fact, one of the final scenes is a book-burning, wherein the lecturer claims that, when there is trouble, exploit the fear, since the end will justify the means.

The show is extremely funny and over the top, but it is also a scary reflection of the way things seem to be going today. In the 30s, there was a mild recession occurring (heh) and a terrible war brewing across the ocean, and yet, to some, the more important issues involved threats to "American values". Since this isn't a political blog, I won't harp on this too much, but let's just say that, despite the current war, climate change, and declining infrastructure, the big issue in the last election had to do with gay marriage. What?

Up next: Mix-ups, mayhem, and a gay wedding (not that kind of gay)...

Modern Classics

The following two plays are parodies of certain parts of American history. The first, Reefer Madness, is a comic retelling of a 1936 public service announcement about the evils of marijuana use. I saw the original in one of my classes in college, and it is pretty funny to today's audiences (so many facts are incorrect, and the story is outrageous). The musical finds great way to point out not only the inaccuracies of the film, but also satirizes the 1930s as a time of rampant fear-mongering (sound a little familiar?) and supposed conformity, somewhat like the 1950s.

The other is The Drowsy Chaperone, billed in Chicago as "the funniest musical you've never seen", and that description isn't far off. Making fun of the 1920s and the Jazz Age, the show is the story of a pathetic man who doesn't like modern life and takes solace in a cliche-ridden play from the roaring 20's. The show expresses the idea that life was a party (for the rich) and everything turned out happily ever after for everyone involved.

Battlestar Galactica: Whys And Wherefores

Sorry for the long delay, but I had some trouble figuring out what I wanted to say in this post. Anyway, while Galactica has its share of (incredible) space battles, it is definitely not an action show. Most of the series is about the characters trying to make decisions about their future and how to survive for another day. It sounds sort of boring and frivolous, but the topics are relevant to the real world, and cause us to think about how these issues affect us.

Religion is an important example; one of the central conflicts between the humans and the cylons is their differing views of religion. The humans are (mostly) polytheists who believe in the Greek pantheon (of course, for the characters, they aren't the Greek pantheon, and this may be a clue about the Earth they will eventually find), while the cylons are (mostly) monotheists who believe in the Christian God. The cylons believe that they are justified in destroying humanity since God desires peace, and the humans are seen as war-mongering pagans. And the occupation occurred as a way to spread God's message to the humans once the cylons determined that they were wrong in their old tactic of eliminating the humans.

Free will is another important topic in the series. There have been many debates over whether the Colonial fleet should do what seems rational or if they should attempt to fulfill obscure prophecies from ancient religious texts. The president, for example, believes that they are playing a role foretold in the prophecies, and lobbies to have Commander Adama order seemingly suicidal missions in order to aid in finding Earth. Adama, a skeptic, thinks that these are nothing more than religious hokum, and is reluctant to send his soldiers to do things that may be completely irrelevant.

On the cylon side, we learn that the humanoid cylons have inhibited free will in the metal centurions so that they don't begin questioning the orders of the humanoids. This comes off as ironic since the humanoids "evolved" from metallic cylons who rebelled against their human masters. Of course, now, it seems like that decision is coming back to bite the humanoid cylons in the ass, but I won't go in to it too much.

Politics and justice are also important aspects of the show. The focus of the show is on both the military and the civilian government, and many of the problems are about how to deal with the fallout from political and military decisions. I mentioned the abortion issue in a previous post, and many other things are dealt with. The twist is that many of the issues have to be dealt with in non-conventional ways since the fleet is not a society in the strictest sense. When a strike starts developing on a fuel refinery ship, the president responds that although the conditions suck, they need people who know how to operate the machines to remain on the ship to keep the fleet moving. And since these people will be in a position to pass on their knowledge to their children (who will have front row seats to the machine operations), for the time being, jobs will be inherited like a class system.

As for justice, events in Season 3 reinforce the idea that justice is a tricky subject. What is justice to some is mob rule to others. The final episodes of the third season are the culmination of an arc that dominated the entire second half of the season. The trial of the millennium occurred, and what was supposed to be a quick and dirty case turned into a discourse on justice.

So that's it for Battlestar Galactica. I may do updates as the series goes on, but I believe that these posts should encourage anyone who hasn't watched yet to jump in.

Up next: Two "classic" plays...

Battlestar Galactica: Why Cally Should Have Been A Cylon

I want to remind readers that this post is extremely spoiler-heavy. If you have not yet seen the show, I would advise against reading this until after you are caught up.

Ok, so I have been saying this since early Season 2, and one of my friends has been calling me crazy for this opinion (he has reasons that lie within the show as well as with his feelings for the actress who plays Cally). But I believe revealing Cally to be a cylon would have made more sense and would have had a much bigger emotional impact on Chief Tyrol than being revealed as a cylon himself, which is what really happened.

To start with, let's look at Cally's story arc. She began the show in the miniseries as little more than a named extra with a few lines. She was one of the deckhands on Galactica, serving under Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol, and like many other characters on Galactica, including Racetrack, Seelix, and Helo, was slowly built up and received more and more lines. Over the course of the first season, it became apparent that she had a bit of a crush on Tyrol. Unfortunately for her, Tyrol was dating Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, a raptor pilot and sleeper agent cylon (Boomer was programmed to believe she was human). My suspicion that she was a cylon arose after Boomer was activated and shot Commander Adama; Boomer was immediately arrested and interrogated, and once Tyrol returned to Galactica (he, Cally, and a few others were stranded on the surface of Kobol at the time), he was imprisoned as well, under suspicion of either being a cylon as well, or aiding and abetting one. Boomer gave up some information, but Colonial brass believed that they could probably get some more, especially since they could use Tyrol as a bargaining chip (they already threatened to kill him if she didn't cooperate). However, as they were leading her away to more permanent lodgings, Cally forced her way to the front of the mob of people yelling obscenities at her and shot her. My first thought was not, "Cally is killing her because she is angry that Boomer betrayed the Chief". It was, "Cally is killing her because Cally is a cylon and wants to make sure that Boomer doesn't reveal anything else". In my opinion, Cally played the Jack Ruby to Boomer's Oswald (fortunately, Kennedy survives this version of the story). I am not a conspiracy theorist in real life, but in the world of fiction, especially when I trust that the writers have the long-term story planned out, I am always looking for subtle hints or situations that can be read multiple ways.

It was after this that I began to think that Cally's increasing role may be due to more than just good fan reaction. By Season 3, the sweet Cally that we had met in the miniseries was nearly gone, and was being replaced by an angrier, subversive Cally. In "Dirty Hands", she goaded Tyrol, now her husband, into getting the fuel processing ship to strike, which made the fleet sitting ducks. With her swiftness to defend Tyrol's honor in Season 2 through violence against other deckhands, along with her mounting subversive nature, I had all the evidence I needed to declare her a cylon.

And to make her a cylon would have created a lot of emotional whiplash for the Chief, which would translate into great drama for the audience. I believe that I am safe in saying that Tyrol has become a fairly popular character. In the first season, he was one side of one of television's greatest love triangles ever conceived. He was in a relationship with Boomer on Galactica, while on Caprica, Helo revealed to another copy of the Sharon model that he loved her too, and was jealous of Tyrol (we almost can't call it a love triangle now, since Helo's Sharon, now given the call-sign Athena, has become a much different character than Tyrol's Boomer). The difference between these two characters was their reactions to learning the truth about the women they claimed to love. Both were shocked and disgusted upon first hearing it, but then things changed. Tyrol could never be with a cylon. It was unnatural, and the cylons are the enemy. But Helo realized that he still loved Athena, no matter what she was. This revelation haunted the Chief throughout the rest of Season 2; as much as he tried to deny his love for Boomer, he still came to Athena's aid (along with Helo) when a cylon "interrogator" was about to rape her. He also suffered intense nightmares that were the product of his fears of being a cylon himself. So when Tyrol learns that the woman he loves now, the woman he is married to, is a cylon, imagine what kind of effect that would have on his psyche.

But as we learn, the Chief turns out to be a cylon, along with Col. Tigh, Sam Anders, and Tory Foster. Of the four of these, the only one I was completely pleased with was Tory. With the other three, I wasn't so much angered as I was perplexed, especially with Tigh (how long have the cylons been able to appear human?!?), but the only person that I would change would be Tyrol. There was so much potential for incredible drama if they had made Cally a cylon, along with compelling evidence. Oh well.

Up next: Religion and philosophy in the Twelve Colonies...

Battlestar Galactica: The Story Is Real

So why is this particular story so important? Why is this retelling relevant? Battlestar Galactica is one of the smartest written shows on television, with stories that draw on current issues in society, and are told in such a way where they don't ask us to take a side on the issue. They only ask us to think about the issue.

The miniseries pilot was very much a reflection on life after September 11th. It played upon the realization that we can not only be hurt by our enemies, but we can be attacked without warning (although, the series will go on to suggest that there may have been warnings after all, a sentiment reflected in reality about the 9/11 attacks). More importantly, the fear of being unable to discern who are enemies are is a major theme of the series. Gone are the days when we can look at someone's military uniform to figure out whether they are on your side. Today, anyone could be a threat. Sadly, since the people responsible for the 9/11 attacks were Middle Eastern Muslims, these groups of people have born the brunt of our fears. It serves as a way for us to try and find a new way to identify our enemies. But skin color and religion are not effective indicators; aside from the obvious fact that not every Muslim or Middle Easterner is a terrorist, there are people of every race, creed, and religion who can be classified as terrorists or enemies of the state.

The cylon threat is a reflection of our fears about who "the enemy" is. The cylons can perfectly imitate humans. Cylons can eat, sleep, have sex (or frak, if you will), even interpret and exhibit complex emotions, even love (this is a topic for a later post, but in some respects, the cylons almost succeeded too well in making themselves appear human). Some cylons have been programmed to believe that they are human; if they don't know that they are cylons, they are not in danger of giving up their secret. With such effective sleeper agents in place, it is impossible not to be fearful of one's neighbors and anyone you haven't previously met. Although, depending on how long the cylons have had the ability to appear human, even old acquaintances may be suspect. Even worse than fear, though, is the strained loyalty some people feel when they begin to suspect their loved ones of being cylons.

This fear is one of the core themes of the series, but other real-world issues are present. One of my favorite examples had to do with abortion. A young Gemenese girl sought asylum aboard Galactica, since the colony of Gemenon is known for strict interpretations of religious texts, and believe that abortion is a sin. The president is a staunch pro-choice activist, but has to deal with the Gemenese representatives who threaten not to back her in the upcoming election. The interesting thing about the resolution is why abortion becomes a crime. The writers remind the viewers, who are most likely hoping that the president chooses their point of view for their reasons, that the situation has fundamentally changed. There are less than 50,000 humans left, and the number of survivors tends to decrease much quicker than it increases. The president goes against her own beliefs in order to preserve humanity.

Perhaps the most important real-world parallel story outside of the ones introduced in the miniseries has to do with the US occupation of Iraq. I will try not to give away too many plot details, but at one point in the series, a situation comes about where the cylons and humans are forced to live together with one group taking over the civilization of the other. Here's the kicker: the humans, who are the heroes of the story, represent the Iraqis, while the cylons are the Americans. Even better is that the writers don't show one side as right and the other as wrong. Instead, both sides are depicted as doing deplorable things. The humans use suicide bombers and exploit the deaths of their own kind in the name of self-preservation. The cylons torture resistance fighters, and they recruit humans to do their dirty work, claiming that the recruits will be doing a good thing by taking the cylon centurions off the streets and helping th give power back to the humans. Also, each side has noble intentions behind their monstrosity. The cylons tried to create a harmonious society in which human and cylon could live side by side. The humans truly are working in the interest of self-preservation. But both sides believe that their ends are noble enough to justify some horrific means.

The occupation only breeds more fear and hatred, even after it ends. Many of the humans who were subjected to the horrors of the occupation came away scarred, and went on to kill the HUMANS that had collaborated. Never mind that there are now about 40,000 people left. These people put their own need for revenge and closure ahead of the need to keep the human race alive. I guess it could be argued that they did not want to live in a society with people who had oppressed them, but what happens when the families of the people they killed come to take THEIR revenge?

Rights issues are also explored in the show. Do the cylons have rights? They are not human, after all. But they can feel pain. And they can feel love, and even be loved. So when the humans kill a cylon, are they justified in doing so? As for killing a cylon who may care for someone else, or has someone who cares for them, some weight is taken off this decision, since, when the cylons are "killed", their consciousness and memories are downloaded into new bodies. But they still feel the pain. When the fleet's admiral and the president found a way to exterminate the cylons for good, are the humans justified in doing so? The cylons nearly exterminated the humans first, and present a legitimate threat. But if the humans commit genocide, even as a means of revenge or self-preservation, doesn't that make them as villainous as the cylons?

What about human rights issues for other humans? I've already mentioned the fallout of the occupation, but when a human who is believed to have sold out the humans to the cylons for the initial attacks, he becomes the most hated man in the fleet, and even though every citizen is entitled to a fair trial, there are talks between the President and the Admiral discussing whether or not he deserves one.

Up next: An essay about my opinions on the revelation of one of the cylon models (note: this will be extremely spoiler-heavy, and not recommended for people who have not yet seen the show)...

Battlestar Galactica: The Frakking Story

So what is the big deal about this show? Why has it captured the attention of both fans and critics in ways that so few shows have? The basic plotline ins't all that creative or original, but it's the message and tone behind the story that gives the series its distinctive voice.

The new Battlestar Galactica began with a 4 hour miniseries; the Sci Fi Network told the creative team to have the miniseries set up the conflict and the characters. If it did well, it would get picked up as a regular series. And so what is the conflict? It actually begins before the miniseries; decades ago, an advanced human civilization in a galaxy far, far away (sorry, had to do that) created a race of robots called cylons to serve as both soldiers and laborers. Unfortunately, the cylons rebelled against their human masters. Sound familiar? When I heard that, my mind jumped to Terminator, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. The idea of robots turning on their creators has been around for decades. So I wrote of Galactica as nothing more than some people trying to make a buck off a known name. But it's what happened after this rebellion that sets the show apart. The war against the cylons ended 40 years before the first shot of the miniseries. There was an armistice declared, and the cylons left to find their own planet and set up a society of their own. These events are described in the prologue; we are told these facts through title cards while the visuals show us a space station created to serve as a neutral location for negotiations, should they ever become necessary. The human government (hereafter called the Colonial government) always sends a representative, but in 40 years, the cylons never sent anyone, and no one has heard from them since the armistice.

At least until the beginning of the miniseries. In the 40 years (and possibly even before), the cylons found a way create biomechanical models that mimic humanity so well that they are nearly indistinguishable from real humans. There are 12 different humanoid models, each with multiple copies, similar to any mass-produced item or piece of software. Their ability to blend in with humans has allowed them to infiltrate Colonial society and sow the seeds of an attack. And what truly sets this show apart is that the attack not only succeeds, but succeeds so well that the Colonial population is reduced from billions living across 12 planets (each one a colony of Kobol, the planet from which human life originated, and each named with a derivative of the western zodiac, such as Caprica, Tauron, and Gemenon) to less than 50,000 living in a a small fleet of spaceships.

Yes, this is a story of genocide. Genocide, terrorism, and fear are the driving forces in the world of Battlestar Galactica. While there is some humor every now and then, this is a tragic story. Episodes often deal with the crew making extremely hard decisions in order to survive another day. The fleet, which flies through space under the protection of the Battlestar Galactica. Battlestars are large, space-faring battleships that are part of the Colonial military fleet. Galactica only survived the cylon attack because its computer system was so archaic, it was not part of a network and therefore could not receive the computer virus used by the cylons to cripple Colonial defenses. Led by Commander William Adama and the newly-appointed President of the Colonies (I won't say who it is right now because I don't want to spoil too much, though I may reveal who it is at a later time), the human race faces food and water shortages, cabin fever, and most importantly, attacks from the cylons. But even when the cylons aren't around, they are still the cause of fear and paranoia in the fleet, since anyone could be a cylon.

Up next: Real world parallels, and hard decisions...

Back To Space

Originally, I hadn't planned on doing another TV show after my last series. However, Battlestar Galactica (the new one) returned tonight, airing the Season 4 premiere. This is the final season of the incredible show, and I have been doing some catching up in the past few weeks. It has been over a year since the Season 3 finale (though we did have Razor to tide us over in December), and I had forgotten how incredible this show is. Yes, like all shows (even Buffy, Angel, and Firefly), there were some episodes that aren't as strong as they could be, but these instances are rare, and even in the worst of episodes (by BSG standards, that is), there are still plenty of reasons to watch.

Telling the story of a near-genocide of the human race, Battlestar Galactica is an allegory for life in the post-9/11 world. The characters have to deal with the fear that the enemy could be anyone and an attack could come at any time. But worst of all, the surviving humans need to deal with their own flaws and insecurities (I like Robert Kirkman's quote about a comic he writes that I think applies here; it is interesting that, even in situations that would demand that we band together, humans can still be self-destructive).

I know that most of my Buffyverse posts were very heavy on the summarization with a little bit of analysis thrown in for good measure, but here, I intend to lay off the summarization and stick to probing the metaphors in the show. I will divulge a few plot points to use as examples, but I would like to have the next few posts be accessible to people who have never seen the show, and encouraging of checking it out.

Up next: What the frak?

Buffy and Angel: After Television

In 2004, the final episode of Angel aired, and the Buffyverse ended. But the fans stayed loyal, and most likely grew in amount. I didn't become a fan until after Buffy ended, and I only saw one season of Angel on television, and I'm certain that there were scores of others like me. And though I was able to enjoy 12 amazing seasons, I wanted more. And so did everyone else. And in 2007, we finally got our wish. Dark Horse Comics, which owns the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, which, unless otherwise stated, are non-canonical, announced that Joss Whedon himself would be writing and "executive producing" a canonical Season 8. In addition to Whedon, a group of other great writers, both Buffyverse vets and not, would write story arcs as well. A few examples include Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, Drew Goddard (who all wrote for the shows), Brian K. Vaughn (Runaways, Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina), and Jeph Loeb (Batman: The Long Halloween).

So far, about 13 issues have been released, with a plan of about 40 or 50 (the original plan was around 25), and the situation has changed for Buffy and her friends. With Sunnydale gone, and every potential now a full-fledged Slayer, Buffy serves as a general to the Slayer army, with Xander running tactical. Now based in Scotland, they run missions worldwide to try and fight the forces of evil. Giles is a sort of diplomat, while Willow is doing various things around the world for the cause. And Dawn? Well, she should be in college, but when she lost her virginity, she gained about 50 feet of height (the Summers girls tend to have strange experiences their first times). And the Big Bad of Season 8? A strange being known as Twilight who has convinced government leaders that the Slayer army will eventually attack humanity.

Although that is the main storyline, there have been some other plotlines, including a rogue Slayer who is using her powers for personal gain (maybe humanity isn't wrong in their fears). The current storyline blew my mind when the villains found a way to remove a Slayer's powers.

As for Angel, it turns out that Los Angeles suffered a comparable fate to Sunnydale, except it didn't occur until after the final shot of the television series. LA wasn't destroyed, but the Senior Partners banished the entire city to a hell dimension to punish Angel for attempting to bring them down. The comic series is called, "Angel: After the Fall", and is put out by IDW Comics (Dark Horse sold the rights to Angel comics a few years ago). For this series, Whedon only serves as "executive producer", while a writer named Brian Lynch actually writes the series. However, Lynch and Whedon work closely together, and this series is considered canon.

As of now, the first 5 or so issues have been released, out of a total of 12 (it seems that Angel will always be slightly short-changed when compared to Buffy). The upcoming three issues will be subtitled, "First Night", and will show the events that happened directly after the final fade to black of the show. But so far, we've seen that Angel, Connor, and two other characters who appeared from time to time on the show are running a kind of underground railroad to keep humans safe. Spike, Illyria, and Lorne are acting as demon lords and set up their domains as safe havens for humans. Gunn is a vampire (a plot twist Whedon said would have occurred in a televised Season 6), and Wes, still bound to work for Wolfram and Hart, is a ghostly adviser to Angel. And if all of this weren't crazy enough, there was one little twist that came out of nowhere, and was incredible, but you'll have to read up for that one...

As long as Whedon's alive, it seems like the Buffyverse will never fully die, and that is a great thought. Even after he dies, I'm sure that the non-canonical comics will continue to sell, but for now, it's great to know that our love for this universe is what keeps it going.

Up next: All frakked up...

Angel: Season 5 - Angel of Redemption

And so at last, we come to the final televised season of the Buffyverse. Like Season 6 of Buffy, Angel Season 5 was full of firsts; the first season Angel existed without its parent show, the first time Cordelia wasn't a regular on either show, and the first show with both Angel and Spike appearing together in the opening credits. Oh, and for the first time, our heroes are knowlingly working for the bad guys.

Taking place about three weeks after the Season 4 finale (another first; all other seasons of both shows would have 3 months occur between seasons, since the first few years of Buffy all took place over the course of a school year), Angel and his team are still adjusting to working for Wolfram and Hart. Angel is the president, Wes heads up the mystical division, Fred is in charge of the science division, and Lorne heads the entertainment division. As for Gunn, his life is sent in a whole new direction when an intricate knowledge of the law is downloaded into his mind. After a season of questioning his purpose in the group, Gunn becomes more than he ever imagined he would (or could) become when he is W&H's newest hotshot attorney.

The premiere is about how the group plans to continue fighting for good while being the leaders of an organization that is a physical manifestation of evil. It shows Angel and co. defending one of Wolfram and Hart's scumbag clients who threatens to destroy the whole city if he is found guilty at his trial. The lesson of the episode (or anti-lesson?) is that, sometimes, to serve the greater good, you have to work with your enemies. This sounds like a terrible moral, but unfortunately, it is not necessarily false. Angel is about the trials and tribulations of adult life, and Season 5 is the season that is about the harsh realities of letting go of your idealism when "the real world" sets in. The episode ends with Angel trying to reassure the rest of his friends that, no matter what happens, they are still on the side of good. And then Spike reappears.

Last year, when Angel was given Wolfram and Hart, he received a strange medallion from the higher-ups to use against the First in Sunnydale (though it is never stated, it's likely that the Senior Partners wanted the First out of the way just as much as Buffy, since they wanted the apocalypse to occur on their terms). To use it, it had to be worn by a champion, a hero (with a soul), but someone who was more than human. Angel intended to use it, but Buffy convinced him to give it to Spike so that Angel could set up a second line of defense in LA in case the attack in Sunnydale failed. The amulet concentrated the sunlight through Spike, taking out the First's entire army of ubervamps, but it also killed Spike (and destroyed Sunnydale). However, someone went to the crater formerly known as Sunnydale and mailed the amulet back to Angel. Upon opening the package, Spike reformed, but as a ghost.

As I said, for the first time in the history of the Buffyverse, Angel and Spike appear together as regulars in the opening credits. The last time they both appeared together in multiple episodes was Season 2 of Buffy, and back then, Spike was evil the entire time, and Angelus was present for about half, so here, we get to see two vampires with souls interacting. Strangely enough, despite the inclusion of souls, the way they act together is similar to how they interacted without souls; they constantly bicker and take shots at each other. When one was evil and the other good, they had meaningful arguments. Now, they act like an old married couple, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I surprised a lot of people by saying the best couple ever featured in the Buffyverse was Angel/Spike (for most people, there are only two choices, Buffy/Angel and Buffy/Spike). They bring out the worst in each other, but when they work together in a fight, they are a force to be reckoned with.

For the first third of the season, Spike is a ghost, forced to remain in the W&H offices, due to being tied to the amulet (which itself is tied to W&H). Also, these episodes are fairly episodic. Angel almost didn't get picked up for a fifth season, and there were many stipulations from the WB Network that came with the renewal. Spike was one of them; he was one of the most popular characters on Buffy, and the network was hoping to capitalize on his popularity. The two other main ones were a decreased budget and a less serialized approach to storytelling. Fortunately, Joss Whedon, being the genius that he is, makes the lack of a larger story arc INTO the season's story arc, but more on that later.

In the first few episodes, the lack of an overall storyline (or so we think) is completely offset by good individual stories ("Hell Bound", "Lineage"), and amazing humor ("Life of the Party"). But the eighth episode, "Destiny" was the first truly astounding episode of the season. Spike is recorporealized (another strange package arrives in the mail, containing a spell that gives him his body back), which allows for a phenomenal fight between Angel and Spike. Throughout the episode, we see flashbacks to when Angelus, Darla, Spike, and Drusilla were traveling Europe (though Darla isn't present in this episode), which show the origins of the rivalry between Angel and Spike. In the present, the presence of two vampires with souls, both of whom are "champions", throws the universe out of whack, since it creates ambiguity for the Shanshu Prophecy. The episode reintroduces that story, which will become important in the rest of the series, and reintroduces Lindsay McDonald, who left at the end of Season 2 in order to find himself. Now, he has returned to get back at Angel, the man he believes is responsible for ruining his life. Lindsay lost his hand because of Angel (though he eventually got a new one), spent two years of his life struggling at work to find a way to deal with the problem Angel posed his company, only to see Angel be given the keys to the kingdom.

As part of a sick game to mess with both Angel and Spike (and a great callback to Season 1), Lindsay introduces himself as "Doyle" to Spike, claiming that he receives visions from the Powers That Be. He sends Spike on missions to help the helpless, setting him up in a small apartment. Eventually, these activities are found out by Wolfram and Hart, and Wes and Gunn pay a visit to Spike, encouraging him to stop what he's doing. Sounds eerily familiar.

Meanwhile, things just get worse at W&H; it is becoming harder and harder for Angel to justify and rationalize his actions. No matter what is said or done about the greater good, the bad acts Angel and co. are performing are beginning to take a toll. The 100th episode sees the return of Cordelia, and serves as a way to set Angel back on track for the rest of the season (though the full extent of how is not revealed until the end of the season). From here on out, the group becomes much more wary of the things they do for Wolfram and Hart. However, it is a different event that ultimately causes the team to break away from Hell, Inc.

Sadly, it is an immense tragedy that prompts this, but in a sense, only a tragedy could do it. Fred dies. Yeah. The sweetest character on the show is killed when Gunn is blackmailed into accepting a package into the building. And this is the last straw for Wes. For the first time since Season 3, he was happy this season (he doesn't fully remember the time since Connor due to a deal Angel made at the end of Season 4), and he was made even happier when Fred finally reciprocated his love. But what's worse for him is that Fred's body continues to walk around. Fred was killed when the essence of Illyria, an ancient demon, entered her body and took it over as its own. Though at first Angel, Spike, and Wes have to fight Illyria, she/he becomes an eventual ally. And though it hurts to see Fred's body without Fred's soul in it, Illyria is a great character. She is a powerful fighter, and her/his inability to understand the world they are living in is humorous to watch (also, the line, "I wish to keep Spike as a pet" never ceases to be hilarious).

So how do all these stories fit together to create the season's arc? As I said, it was brilliant; since Angel and the team now act on Wolfram and Hart's terms, they are no longer heroes. They are taking things only on a case-by-case basis, and acting in such ambiguous ways that they are no longer on the side of good. Adding insult to injury, the one who tells them this is Lindsay. Vowing to undo any wrong they may have done at W&H, the team decides to take out the most powerful W&H assets once and for all.

Since this is a show about redemption, which Angel describes as an unending quest, it ends a little more ambiguously than its parent show. In one way, this fits the tone of the show. In another way, I WANTED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!!! When the series finale aired, I was watching it with the guy that got me into the Buffyverse, and we both yelled out, "NNNOOOOO!!!!" simultaneously when the final fade to black happened.

Before I end this post, I have to talk about the episode, "Smile Time". Across both shows, there has been a musical episode, a silent episode, and an opera episode (sort of). But this one was completely something else. The story involves Angel getting turned into a puppet. No bullshit. It sounds silly, but the plot worked, the jokes were hilarious ("You're a wee little puppet man!"), and I haven't seen puppets acting so bad since Avenue Q (though I'm only putting it that way to bring up the play, since I saw this episode first). Joss Whedon's father wrote a lot of stuff for the Muppets, and doing a show with a puppet was always a dream of Joss' (along with the musical episode), and he pulled it off beautifully.

So that's it. After 12 seasons, 8 years, and 254 episodes, the Buffyverse came to an end on May 19th, 2004. Sadly, unlike Buffy, Angel did not have the benefit of knowing for sure that its fifth season was the last one. They ASSUMED that it would be the last one; the opening scene of the season is reminiscent of the teaser of the pilot. But nothing was for sure. This year, ratings increased; in Season 4, they started going down, but they were at an all-time high in Season 5. I'm pretty sure that the only show on The WB ahead of Angel in ratings was Smallville, which was decreasing in ratings (or so I heard). And so, by the time the writers wrote the episodes in which Fred died and Illyria arose, they believed that they'd be back for Season 6, and began setting up plotlines for the next year. And then they were canceled. So the writers had to squeeze the sixth season into about six episodes. Needless to say, it did feel slightly rushed, but at the same time, they were still great. Adam Baldwin (Jayne from Firefly) showed up as a Wolfram and Hart tough, Connor returned and was REDEEMED (this is the character who sent Angel to the bottom of the ocean and tried to blow up himself, Cordelia, and an entire mall; many people believed he was unredeemable, but Joss pulled it off), and Angel and Spike dealt with their feelings about Buffy.

And so, after 12 great seasons, the Buffyverse came to an end. Or did it?

Up next: "Season 8" and "After the Fall"...

Angel: Season 4 - Dark Angel

I don't know why the penultimate seasons of both Buffy and Angel were the darkest ones, but let's just say that there are some things that happen this year that makes Season 6 of Buffy look light and cheery. Things start off bad for the Angel Investigations team, and they only get worse as the season goes on. Though both series have a serialized format, this particular season rivaled 24 in terms of its season-long arc; episodes often began right at the end of the previous one this season, and viewers would be completely lost if they had missed an episode or two.

Anyway, three months have passed since Cordelia ascended and Angel was sunk to the bottom of the ocean by his son and Holtz's girlfriend. Fred and Gunn are still holding down the fort at the Hyperion Hotel, and are teaching Connor how to live in our world. Though he has come a long way, he still doesn't quite understand human society, and he is still an incredibly angry person. Wesley is still an outcast from the group and he continues to date Lilah, but he spends his nights searching for Angel. Sometime between the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4, he captured Justine and keeps her captive in a cage in his closet. Every night, he takes her out on a small boat and uses a SONAR-based metal detector to scour the ocean floor for Angel. By the end of the premiere, Angel returns to the Hyperion, where he tells Connor that he'll always love him, then kicks him out. Angel also states that their new mission is to find Cordelia, who, in the final shot of the episode, is seen on the higher plane expressing how bored she is.

The next few episodes show Angel trying to make amends with Wes, Lorne returning to Los Angeles, Connor trying to live on the streets (while being watched by both his father and Wolfram and Hart attorneys), and the gang discovering what happened to Cordelia. But soon, Cordelia returns to Earth, but has no memory of her former life (which means that when she sees Angel's vampire face, she totally freaks out). Though this would seem a good thing, her return comes right before a series of tragedies (some of which are direct consequences of her return). Lorne is attacked by Wolfram and Hart, Cordelia and Connor begin living together (much to Angel's sadness and discomfort), and when Fred tries to kill the person who sent her to Pylea, a rift develops between her and Gunn when he steps in and kills him in order to save Fred from herself. But all of these are nothing when compared to the arrival of The Beast.

Rising from the exact spot on the street where Connor was born, The Beast is a large demon with skin made from impenetrable rock. He is incredibly strong (probably about as strong as Adam), and is barely affected by any attack Angel and co. throw at him. At first, his purpose seems to be to sow as much chaos and destruction as possible, which is something he is extremely good at. The end of "Apocalypse, Nowish" features one of the greatest fight scenes in all of Angel, as well as a rain of fire that leaves people across Los Angeles wide-eyed and fearful. Except for Cordelia and Connor, who get it on as a way to reaffirm their lives, since they believe that death is imminent (or at least, that is what we are supposed to think...).

Soon, it becomes clear that The Beast has plans, the first of which is to block out the sun and create perpetual darkness (I told you this season was dark). The twist? He succeeds! But The Beast isn't done yet; he takes out Wolfram and Hart in a single episode (pretty significant, seeing as how Angel has been trying for four years, and has made very little progress), which leads to Lilah eventually coming to stay at the Hyperion. Furthermore, the team learns that the reason that they had never heard of The Beast is that all records of it (including memories) had been purged. But since Angelus' consciousness was out of commission when the purge occurred, he may still remember it, so the gang does something that would under normal circumstances be suicidal. They remove Angel's soul. Since the only way to do this is to make Angel perfectly happy, and there is not much to be happy about, the extraction method (and writing of the episode this occurs in) is pretty ingenious. Of course, Angelus is less than willing to help Angel's friends, and despite the precautions taken, he eventually escapes. Next plan: bring in Faith.

Believing her to be their last hope, Wes breaks Faith out of prison (where she is nearly killed by an agent of the First Evil) to try to stop Angelus. We have seen Angelus in action before, but this time around, he seems even more cruel and demented. He sics The Beast on Faith as a way to knock all the fight out of her, but instead of letting the Beast kill her, he finds a way to kill The Beast, and takes HIM out instead, as a way to force Faith to have to fight him next. Interestingly, the very first episode of Angel that I ever saw was "Release", the second of three episodes involving Faith. At this point, I had seen the entire first three seasons (and possibly the fourth as well) of Buffy, so I was pretty surprised to see Faith as a good guy, Wes as an anti-hero badass, and a character who is the teenaged son of Angel. Oh yeah, and at this point, we learn that Cordelia is evil! It would seem that she's controlling The Beast, and her night of passion with Connor was part of a plan to get herself pregnant. Did I mention that there were a TON of twists and turns this year?

But going back to Wes, he descends deeper this year into depression and anger. Cordelia revealed her evilness to the audience by killing Lilah, which had a bad effect on Wes. His world is crumbling around him; he may be a member of Angel's team again, but there is still a lot of mistrust toward him, especially from Gunn. Fred, the woman he still loves, is going through hard times with Gunn, but Wes cannot act on this, since he is partly responsible (he helped her in her attempted murder). Oh, and the world is crumbling in a literal sense. We see how far he is willing to go to beat whatever is going on, when he tortures a drugged out girl for information.

Eventually, with Willow's help, Angel's soul is restored, but by then, it is too late to stop the advent of Jasmine, the power controlling Cordelia (ok, so SHE wasn't evil, she was being used as a puppet). So at last, the entity that has been responsible for countless deaths, massive destruction, and perpetual darkness arrives, and what does she want? World peace. Yes, world peace. Anyone who meets her is put under a spell which makes them calm, content, and full of love towards their fellow man. But this only works on beings with souls, so vampires and evil demons aren't affected. Not only that, but Jasmine encourages her followers to destroy any creature not under her influence, since they obviously don't want peace as well. But when Fred accidentally discovers a way to break the spell, Jasmine orders that she be killed as well. Oh, one more thing; in order to maintain her hold on the world, Jasmine has to consume human followers once a day.

So here's the morally gray dilemma: if we have world peace but no free will, is it a worthwhile trade? Fred, Angel, et. al. determine that it is not worth it, and try to find a way to destroy Jasmine's hold over the world. Granted, their decision is helped by the fact that they are being hunted down, but even if Jasmine had let them be, I still think that the Angel Investigations team would have fought for free will. And their success leads to one of the biggest twists of the series: they are rewarded by Wolfram and Hart, and are offered control of the newly rebuilt Los Angeles branch. After all, who better to run Hell, Inc. than the people responsible for ending world peace?

Up next: The belly of the beast...