Laurel’s TV Picks

Cordelia returns for the 100th episode of Angel (WB, 8pm)
The West Wing (NBC, 8pm)
Law & Order (NBC, 8:59pm)
Senator Bob Dole on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight)
Matt Lauer, Tom Cavanaugh (of Ed) on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm)

If you aren’t familiar with the universe of Buffy and Angel, this “featured pick” won’t likely make much sense to you. Sorry about that. I doubt the 100th episode of Angel would be a good one to start with if you’ve not seen the show before, fortunately you can rent or buy Buffy and Angel DVDs or catch reruns on FX and TNT (and in syndication) to see what you’ve missed. And yeah, I think both shows are worth watching (and may, in fact, play better when seen in rapid succession on DVD or in cable reruns). I try to let y’all know when runs start back at the beginning.

I came to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer party late, despite how many people recommended the show to me from the start. When I did finally start watching, I never quite understood what was the big deal about this character named Angel. Yeah, I got he was a vampire (with a soul), but why all the fuss? I didn’t find him remotely attractive or interesting.

That was before I saw key episodes from seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy, by the time I saw parts 1 & 2 of “Becoming,” I totally got it. It was quite the romantic tale (“A vampire in love with a Slayer, it’s rather poetic”), Angel was the ultimate bad boy trying to turn good. Still, I wasn’t sure the character was interesting enough to be the main character of a spin-off series. Boy was I wrong.

I recently watched Season 1 of Angel on DVD, which meant seeing many of the episodes for the first time. Wow. What a show! I loved Cordelia more than I ever did on Buffy, loved seeing her work with Angel and Doyle and then later with Angel and Wesley. Was fun to watch the three leads bond and work together, working to help the helpless (and hopeless) because it’s the right thing to do and because Angel felt he owed the world as much good as he could do. I liked Detective Kate (Elisabeth Rohm, who eventually moved on to Law & Order), and was intrigued by those Wolfram & Hart lawyers who showed up from time to time. Both Lilah and Lindsey were introduced in interesting ways, so was Gunn.

I need to revisit seasons 2 through 4 and see how they hang together when you watch episodes in a shorter period time (rather than spread out over a TV season). I know I liked the show better when Angel was just doing good because it was right and he had those tips from the visions. Once it became about a prophecy and being a champion, that’s when I began rolling my eyes. All the good Angel does will never make up for his past evil, that’s what makes him interesting; I like him better when he’s fighting the good fight ‘cuz it’s right, not ‘cuz he thinks he can earn redemption or a chance to be a real boy again. The humor in later seasons became more obvious, too, there’s a different tone really. Really dark arcs, and then odd humorous standalone episodes. I dunno. I still like the show, but never quite know what show I’ll be seeing. There have been some breathtaking arcs, there’s also been some muddled stuff. Enough good that I usually recommend the show overall, though.

I’ve been mostly frustrated by this season, though recent episodes have showed promise. I was hugely relieved to see Spike seem to acknowledge his past wrongdoing last week, because while I used to enjoy Spike as a villain, he’s been driving me nuts with the lack of remorse he’s shown upon getting a soul. I feel the cast has become huge and unwieldly; I like the characters, but watching Season 1 just reminded me how many more lines everyone had when there were fewer leads. This season has also made my head hurt every time I try to figure out what different characters must remember from the past two seasons and what their relationships are. Of course a lot of times on this show (and on Buffy) the early part of a season is just setting groundwork for the big arc that kicks in later in the season.

All of this . . . brings me to this 100th episode of Angel (WB, 8pm). I’ve seen it. I love it. Well, that was my initial reaction when I watched it the first time. I’ve had a week or more to digest the episode and there’s a whole lot of food for thought and my ultimate opinion may depend on where the show goes from here. But I really liked the episode and feel hope for the rest of this season of Angel.

I won’t spoil anything for you, but I think it’s safe to tell you that the episode is mostly about Cordelia and Angel and Lindsey. Fans of Cordy will be delighted to see her again, she’s really a breath of fresh air. She also served for me, at least, as a bit of a voice for all my problems with the season thus far. Do you think she’ll be a bit surprised by what the gang is up to these days? Um . . . yeah. And it’s not like Cordy to not say what’s on her mind, I love her for that.

I do like Wesley, Fred, Lorne, Gunn, Spike, and even Harmony; but I’d trade ‘em all to keep Cordy around, I think. Or at least I’d ditch Fred and Lorne and Harmony and maybe Spike or Wes, that’d be a fair trade, right? Sigh. I see this episode as a love letter to Cordelia Chase and that, my friends, is why it’s so very good.

Sci-Fi to launch a new Battlestar Galactica series.

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6 DVD set will be released on May 25th (not in July as previously reported). [More TV on DVD]

Just another reminder that the Freaks and Geeks DVD set is now available from amazon.com (there’s also a limited edition available from the Freaks and Geeks website). [More TV on DVD]

Sci-Fi mini-marathon du jour: Star Trek (Sci-Fi, 10am – 3pm).

Seth Green (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and so many other things), Tyra Banks (of America’s Next Top Model), Meredith (of The Bachelorette) on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Duane Martin (of All Of Us), Jane Seymour (who guest stars on Law & Order: SVU on February 10th), Susie Essman (of Curb Your Enthusiasm), Katy Rose performs “Overdrive” (from her debut CD Because I Can) on The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Jennifer Beals, Colin Mochrie, Winsor Harmon, Sam Moore, Mary Wilson, Marjorie Johnson on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Financial Fiascos” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

It’s a new “Follow-Up Show” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Hell’s Bells” and “Normal Again” episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 3pm, 4pm).

“Sanctuary” episode of Angel (TNT, 4pm).

“Inauguration: Over There” episode of The West Wing (Bravo, 6pm and 10pm).

Clark’s schoolmate Jordan predicts that Lana will soon die in a fire on Smallville (WB, 7pm).

There’s an “elaborate scheme” to try and get the creator of a Xindi superweapon to lead Archer and company to the place where the weapon is being built on Star Trek Enterprise (UPN, 7pm)

Kelso wants help breaking in someplace and Fez prepares to take an important test on That ’70s Show (FOX, 7pm).

“Larry King; Uday and Qusay Hussein’s brutality; police raid a high school” on 60 Minutes II (CBS, 7pm).

The “I Am The Greatest” episode of Now and Again (Trio, 7pm and 10pm).

Charisma Carpenter returns as Cordelia Chase for the 100th episode of Angel (WB, 8pm). I talked about this more in the “featured pick” section above. Pity she’s just guest starring, not sticking around for good (as far as I know).

“Toby (Richard Schiff) convinces the President (Martin Sheen) to secretly sanction his solo effort to make history by reforming Social Security” and then things go very very wrong on a new episode of The West Wing (NBC, 8pm).

Stuffed Pizza on Good Eats (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm).

Angela Lansbury, Dianne Wiest, Gina McKee, Keith McErlean, and Sam Robards star in the new Hallmark Hall of Fame movie The Blackwater Lightship (CBS, 8pm). A man who is dying of AIDS returns to his Grandmother’s home on the coast of Ireland to die. While there he and three generations of women from his family, plus a couple of his friends, must come to grips with all of this while working to reconcile. Based on the novel by Colm Toibin.

Ed Bradley on Larry King Live (CNN, 8pm, 11pm, 2am).

Oliver Beene (FOX, 8:30pm) returns to the airwaves. What? You’ve never heard of it? Or you thought it was canceled? You aren’t the only one. Grant Shaud (of Murphy Brown fame) plays Dad and husband in this family sitcom (without a laugh track) set in the ’60s. There’s a voiceover by the kid a la Malcolm. I’ve seen this episode and the best thing about it is the production design– I loved the sets and wardrobe. Beyond that? Pretty pedestrian stuff. A swedish foreign exchange student moves in across the hall the the two brothers develop crushes on her (and one of ‘em calls “dibs”). Meanwhile, the parents are worried that they’ve become an old married couple so they try to shake things up (they end up discovering jazz and a beat club and this funny smoke . . . ). Yeah, you’ve seen this all before.

The initial call is about a “high-paid motivational speaker” who seems to have been pushed off the balcony of some fancy hotel. But somehow there’s a kidnapping involved too on a new Law & Order (NBC, 8:59pm). Note odd start time.

James Stewart and Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much (TCM, 9pm). Classic Hitchcock film.

Rerun of the “Mr. Monk and the TV Star” episode of Monk (USA, 9pm).

Senator Bob Dole on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Pasta Unwrapped (Food Network, 10pm).

Dried pasta on Good Eats (Food Network, 10:30pm).

Cindy Crawford, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, possibly also Chris Elliott on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Dr. Phil McGraw, Nick Lachey, Eamon on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Matt Lauer, Tom Cavanaugh (of Ed), Paul Teutul & Paul Teutul Jr. on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).

Kylie Minogue, Adam Rodriguez, the Black Eyed Peas, guest co-host Kathie Lee Gifford on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Carrie Fisher, David Alan Grier on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (CBS, check your local listings).

David Boreanaz (of Angel), Pete Correale, Candy Butchers on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

Noah Wyle (of ER), Steven Cojocaru on Today (NBC, 7am – 10am).

Kurt Russell, more with Michael Deaver (author of Nancy: A Potrait of My Years With Nancy Reagan) chef Daniel Boulud (author of a bunch of cookbooks), a medical report with Dr. Tim Johnson on Good Morning, America (ABC, 7am – 9am).

Gardening expert Charlie Dimmock on houseplants on The Early Show (CBS, 7am – 9am).

Jon Bon Jovi, more wedding week stuff on Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated, check your local listings).

Noah Wyle (of ER); Pat O’Brien (of Access Hollywood); Alicia Minshew, Rebecca Budig, Terri Ivens, and Amelia Heinle (all of All My Children) surprise a viewer with a makeover on The View (ABC, check your local listings).

Sci-Fi mini-marathon du jour: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? (Sci-Fi, 10am – 3pm).

Charlize Theron (Oscar-nominated for her work in Monster), Brooke Shields (who guest stars on both I’m With Her and That ’70s Show soon) on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Sharon spends a day on the set of Days Of Our Lives on The Sharon Osbourne Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

Kelly Ripa (of Hope & Faith, Live With Regis & Kelly), Engelbert Humperdinck, Tuc Watkins, Marjorie Johnson on The Wayne Brady Show (syndicated, check your local listings).

“A Family Divided: Marty and Erin’s Marriage” on Dr. Phil (syndicated, check your local listings).

“Romantic Room Makeovers” on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings). Decorator Nate Berkus spends half a million dollars on a room makeover. Wow!

“Entropy” and “Seeing Red” episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 3pm, 4pm).

“War Zone” episode of Angel (TNT, 4pm).

“California 47th” episode of The West Wing (Bravo, 6pm and 10pm).

In primetime, expect new episodes of C.S.I., Without A Trace, Friends, Will & Grace, ER, Survivor, The Apprentice, Tru Calling, Extreme Makeover, and more. Full coverage in tomorrow’s picks, which should be online by Noon Thursday if not earlier.

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