Angel Smells Like Fish

So the show hit the shark on its way down, that we're fairly sure of, but this week's episode has me thinking it may at least be trying to crawl out of the water.

Cordelia and Connor definitely rate on the 'ew, that's disgusting' metre even more so this week, added to the fact that it seems weird that two established demon hunters, one who lived on a bloody hell dimension, would just run and hide after receiving a thrashing from some demon that looks like a bad rip-off of Tim Curry in Legend. I mean, hello, when big bad comes a knocking, you do not cower in your hovel and make sweet passionate Sarah McLachlan desperation love. You go to the rest of the Los Angeles Scooby gang and help them beat the bloody shit out of the thing, even if you have to get thrown of a building in the process.

The rest of the episode actually wasn't too bad. It's nice to see some kind of purpose again to the show, even if there are some aspects of it that are falling a little low, as is the continued "working relationship" with Wesley.

Standing In Line With the Selfish

"And fuck me if I say something you don't wanna hear. Fuck me."

Pearl Jam's a bit of a funny thing with me.

Like many my age, demographic, and such (I am not a taget market.), I picked up Pearl Jam's Ten, and I fell instantly in love with it. It encapsulated a lot of what was "me" at the time, as well as some of what I wanted to be. Anger without self-pity, anger with purpose. I think that's part of the reason why grunge and alternative music spoke to me, for the most part it was more than just whining and complaining, here there was meaning. That's one of the reasons why a lot of today's rap/rock offerings do very little for me, it's empty rage. Sure, you're angry, but what are you angry with? Why are you angry? Most of today's heavier material doesn't focus it, and it just winds up with a lot of negative energy spent busting stuff. Maybe I'm just getting old. Anyway, with Pearl Jam I followed them along with Vs., which I quite liked still, and Vitalogy, which I didn't. Part of the problem was something as ridiculous as the case itself, which didn't fit in any of my CD racks at the time, but it also represented a change from the music I did like at the time, to music that just wasn't for me. I'd say the same thing about No Code, which I would categorise as Pearl Jam's worst album.

In the years following Vs., mind you, I didn't track Pearl Jam's course so closely, and understood why they were boycotting TicketMaster and their essential media blackout, but in all honesty, I didn't really care too much. Knowing me, I probably should have, but for the large part, Pearl Jam was off my radar. I didn't even buy Yield when it came out, No Code had burned me so. It's a good thing I did eventually, though, because I would have missed out on at least one great album, in addition to the two that followed it. Still, if you asked me, I would never consider Pearl Jam one of my favourite bands. I realise that is somewhat odd because I own all of their studio albums, a few of their singles, the label released live album, in addition to three of the bootlegs (the Toronto show being one of them), and bought the No Boundaries disc specifically for the Last Kiss song. If you asked me, I'd say that Pearl Jam was a solid rock band, producing for the most part, solid rock songs, carrying on in the tradition of folk-rockers like Neil Young. It's good music, it will endure, but it will always just be there. What's also strange is that I consider Pearl Jam to be the one American band that maps the closest to what is one of my favourite bands in the Tragically Hip; they both have a core integrity to producing good rock music, great lyrics, and an experimenting spirit that allows them to adapt and grow.

...and that brings us to why you're here, Pearl Jam's new album, Riot Act. What can I say but that it's a solid rock album, and little more. You probably won't be instantly hooked by it, it's not "Eleven" (none of Pearl Jam's following albums have been, and it's ridiculous to expect that at this point), but the songs do grow on you quickly, and there are a few assorted gems that will probably prove positively wonderful when performed live. In all honestly, this is a bit of an ecclectic album, swinging quickly from slow ballads to psychadelic rock to folk rock to what could almost be considered punk, so I would say that like many of Pearl Jam's previous albums (only really Binaural escapes this) the songs stand alone and don't necessarily form a cohesive whole, but still work as a collection of different voices. It also builds on their previous two albums Yield and Binaural in its overall quality and rededication to its rock roots. This isn't a grunge album, it's not an alternative album, it's just a rock album. Most fans will probably have already seen this curve.

Track by Track review:

Can't Keep -- "you can't keep me here"
-- You know what's scary about the lyrics to this song, is that if you read them with a particular cynical and pessimistic bent, they read almost like a suicide note. I'm sure it's not meant as such, more a testament about freedom and wanting to do what you yourself want to do, but still..."I want a last breath", "I wanna rise/ and say goodnight/ wanna take/ a look on the other side", and "you can't keep me here", how would you interpret that? As to the music itself, it's a subtle tune similar to some of the ballads from Yield and Binaural, with a particular pulsating rhythm throughout provided by Matt Cameron and Jeff Ament, along with some interesting echo effects (it's kind of hard to describe, but it "feels" like a ripple on a pond). The guitars themselves remind me of the short, quick strummings of the Eastern-inspired offerings of the Tea Party and Led Zepellin.

Save You -- "don't go on me now"
-- In the tradition of "Go", which "Save You" aptly quotes, this is a full-ahead rock song and an interesting counterpoint to the previous track. Whereas "Can't Keep" was a little depressing, "Save You" brings you back. It also features one of my favourite chorus lyrics ever, that I quote above at the beginning of this review. People who love Pearl Jam's more upbeat songs are definitely going to love this one.

Love Boat Captain -- "it's already been sung, but it can't be said enough, all you need is love"
-- So, of course, after something strong that "rocks", we have a wild mood swing back to an introspective and "slow" song, which makes you wonder if Eddie or the band is manic depressive. Similarities will point towards "Insignificance" both in terms of structure and content, but it never really rocks out. It's quieter. It doesn't build itself up to a fervor. It seems like the "insignificance" has been accepted here and Vedder's just trying to deal with it. This is also one of the tracks that remind me of the Tragically Hip and bring about the comparison. There's some nice use of keyboards, but what brings it out is the guitars themselves, which sound similar to the Hip's "Poets".

Cropduster -- "every life is falling down"
-- Another quasi-depressing song wrapped in a fairly impressive rock background. It's an interesting song about every life becoming part of the earth, regardless of plans and whatnot, and that the world itself is an accident. You've got me, I thought we already covered this back in "Push Me, Pull Me"

Ghost -- "the mind is grey"
-- Another nice, tight rock song, the content of which rings familiar to "Given to Fly". There's definitely an underlying current of wanting to get away, wanting to be free to do new things, and "Ghost" presents this in a little more positive light than "Can't Keep". You have to wonder a bit about what Vedder is talking about (or Jeff Ament as it were, given that the lyrics were co-written by he and Vedder), but it's a nice ditty on its own.

I am Mine -- "the selfish, they're all standing in line"
-- I don't know why, but this sounds like an REM song to me for some reason. It just has the same dirge-like quality of early to mid-90's REM songs, along with strings of odd notes from a guitar thrown in at strange places. It's certainly not a bad song, and easy to see why it would be put out as the first single. It has that easily accepted alt-rock feel about it and is very listener friendly.

Thumbing my Way -- "thinking that's what held me back"
-- This one I'd almost categorise as being folk rock. It's an understated, quiet ballad that reminds me of a bizarre blend of Bruce Cockburn and Neil Young, with all of their energy drained from them, and a bit of country twang added for good measure. Tom Petty on 'ludes, maybe. It's a good song, nonetheless.

You Are -- "sometimes i burn like a dot on the sun"
-- Easily, "You Are" is one of my favourites on the album. Overdriven guitar and bass propel this simple hard altrock love song at a rather measured pace. Whenever it plays in my head, it seems to be faster than it really is, as it actually is a fairly mid-tempo song.

Get Right -- "swear if you must"
-- This is a more typical early Pearl Jam song, which is somewhat strange, considering that it's written by their newest member, and former member of Soundgarden, Matt Cameron. There are some really nice guitar solos peppered throughout the song.

Green Disease -- "No white or black just grey"
-- "Green Disease" is another song that has the same construction that older Pearl Jam listeners will recognise from all over Vs. and Vitalogy, in Pearl Jam's almost "punk" style.

Help Help -- "tell me lies"
-- Uh, yeah. You've got me. There's some nice instrumentation, but the lyrics and vocals will probably start grating on you after a while. The chant at the end, coupled with some nice guitar work, is well worth listening to, though.

Bushleaguer -- "born on third, thinks he got a triple"
-- This is a good song in and of its own right, a nice chorus, some great music, and a great spoken vocal reminiscent of Bob Dylan from Eddie Vedder, as a political song, however, it leaves a lot to be desired. Vedder's jabs at Bush seem half-hearted, or the level of contempt just isn't quite up to where it should be. I'd certainly say that Bush is a pathetic doofus, and perhaps that's where some of the apathy comes from, but even pathetic doofuses can be dangerous from time to time. Especially when they're being controlled by right-wing fanatical special interest groups and trying to fight daddy's war.

1/2 Full -- "don't see some men as half empty, see them half full of shit"
-- Straight up roadhouse blues rock. Great bloody song, with the wit and bite of some classic Pearl Jam.

Arc -- "aaa aaa aaa ohm"
-- Hey, look at that, Pearl Jam covered the THX start-up noise. It's kind of surprising that they put it second to last, mind you, considering that it really doesn't seem to fit there.

All or None -- "it's a hopeless situation"
-- Here's another one that I'd definitely consider one of the best of the album, a simple loungish, down-tempo ballad. It shares some of the droning, haunting qualities with "Nothing as it Seems", but none of the psychadelic pretension. The chorus itself features some really nice piano in the background, that leads into one of the better guitar solos on the album.

On Rainy Days We Go Swimming

I know that it probably sounds a bit odd reviewing a "Best of..." collection, considering that most of the material will have been covered and be familiar to the listeners who would buy it, and even doubly odd given that it's a U2 disc. Meaning, basically, that most people will have heard at least part of all the songs on the disc. That's the reason why I won't be doing a track by track review, however, there is material on this limited edition package that you might be interested in reading about before you rush out and make a mad dash for the record stores. ...and, honestly, if you haven't already picked up the CD, I suggest going this week if you want the limited edition. I know that it's only "limited" in the sense that it won't be going back to print, but there were some unscrupulous stores that, when the first U2 "Best of... & B-Sides" compilation was released, jacked up the price to $60 (from $23) Canadian the following Monday.

Now, personally, I've thought that U2's output throughout the 90's has been considerably lacking. They started off strong with Achtung Baby (a disc I consider to be stronger and more well-rounded than even The Joshua Tree), but the excesses and extravagancies of the Zoo TV tour that followed just soured me on the band through most of the 90's. Although looking back, I can appreciate some of the things they produced on Zooropa and Pop, it just seemed like a great rock band had become a Vegas act (think the general reaction to David Bowie's Glass Spider tour, and you'll have my reaction to the PopMart tour). There was also the Passengers "soundtrack", which was certainly interesting, but I could only listen to it in small doses. The only thing that really had any impact between Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind was, of all things, the song from the Batman Forever soundtrack, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". [Just as a side note, isn't it sad when the soundtrack to your film is better than the film? As was the case with Batman Forever.]

Coming from that angle, you can probably guess my reaction to this new collection: less than overwhelming. It's a nice catalogue of the past ten years of the band, but it honestly doesn't hold a candle to the sheer power of the first collection chronicling 1980-90. It's still decent listening, and despite featuring the band at their strongest (Achtung Baby's seminal track "One" is one of my favourite songs ever) it also features them at what I consider to be their weakest: the extravagant, flashy, and overall empty "pop" songs. After All that you can't Leave Behind and the new song on this disc, "Electrical Storm", I have hope for future albums, getting back to the rock heart of the group, but that's not what's presented here.

The main "Best of..." disc strangely doesn't feature everything you'd expect, there's no "The Fly", no "Elevation", no "Walk On", yet does contain some odd choices like "The Hands that Built America" (a new track from the Gangs of New York soundtrack, good song, sure, but still an odd choice) and "The First Time" (from Zooropa and not one of the better ones). There are also new mixes of Discotheque, Gone, Staring at the Sun and Numb, which I do have to admit sound pretty good, but again, it seems somewhat odd when doing a retrospective you remix the songs that you're presenting. To me it just seems a little bit like missing the whole point. Also, sadly, "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" (from the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack) doesn't make the cut, which is a little disappointing considering that it was one of their better songs in recent years.

The lure of the B-Sides is what really got me purchasing this set. I can honestly say that the collection from the 1980-90 collection, were nice, some "new" songs that were released with singles along with song great covers (you haven't lived until you've heard Bono doing "Unchained Melody"). What you get here is more in line with modern singles; remixes of songs you already own, often times badly done at that, as though they were an afterthought. The first half of the new b-sides disc is decent, culminating with a cover of "Happiness is a Warm Gun", but the rest of the tracks are empty, heartless, and cold "dance" remixes of songs that were already a little empty to begin with.

All in all, this collection reminds me as to how little and how disappointing the 90's were for U2. I'm sure that many consider Pop to be a great album, and with that mentality, you'll probably love this collection, but to me it represents U2's creative low.

I'm Not Sure Who's Fooling Who Here

Ostensibly, Tori Amos' new studio album, Scarlet's Walk, is about one woman's journey throughout America, finding out who she is, what her country is, and what it means to be here, alive. At least, that's what I get from listening to the album. I know that other people have come up with different reactions, reactions to what Amos herself and Epic records have put a spin on, and reactions to various other media, coming up with ideas that this is a political record and so on. Honestly, I don't get that out of the album at all, but maybe that's just me. ...and from what I could understand from Amos' commentary on the DVD portion of the limited edition boxed set, what I say in the first sentence is about it.

Certainly not exactly new territory for a Tori Amos album.

It's filled with the same sometimes bizarre, nigh unintelligible lyrics (think latter day Radiohead lyrics that actually form sentences, but are still incomprehensible), sometimes overly precious, sometimes highly poetic and beautiful, sometimes abrasive, that all of her previous albums have. So, in other words, if you like previous Tori Amos albums, you're liable to like this one as well. To me, it feels like a blend of the preciousness of Under the Pink, the edge from From the Choirgirl Hotel, the electronic experimentation on the first disc of To Venus and Back, the putting on of airs and other identities of Strange Little Girls, and the rambling, seeming unendingness of Boys for Pele. In other words, it's a blend of most of what she's done before. Perfectly sensible as such. 18 tracks that blend every era of Tori's previous work, perfectly fitting a new 'renaissance' at her new label.

Now, before I go on with a track by track review, I'd also like to say something about the other stuff in the box as well. In the limited edition set, there's also a little charm thing (don't ask me its significance, I haven't a bloody clue), a fold of various polaroids taken during "Scarlet's" walk across America (in other words, twelve pictures of Tori, or parts of Tori -- similar actually to what was included with Pearl Jam's No Code), a map of "Scarlet's" journey for each song with the lyrics and musician information printed on the back (which I have to say is rather annoying, I hate fold out lyrics, I much prefer the standard booklet format), and a bonus DVD featuring the songs "gold dust", "a sorta fairytale", and "Taxi Ride" played over top of either video footage of Tori travelling America or a photraphic montage of such, and honestly, it's not a bad thirteen minutes spent. You could probably be doing other things in those thirteen minutes, but at least it's good music. There's also an audio commentary track in addition to that, and to be honest, I couldn't listen to it very long. I mean, as much as I respect Tori as an artist and her music, whenever I hear her in interviews or in pre-song banter in concerts, she comes off as a fripping loony, and much is the same here. I couldn't get through it, so I can't really say much about it, but those of you who can stand or enjoy listening to her talk about her influences and the impetus for the journey, you'll probably love this.

Oh, and there's also stickers that you can, like, stick on things and stuff.

Track by Track review:

I'll say a litte caveat before I begin, if you're looking for some kind of analysis of meaning from me of the songs that is in any way accurate in regards to the lyrics, you'd probably be better served by looking somewhere else. I haven't got a clue what's going on in Tori's head, and won't pretend to.

Amber Waves -- "tell the Northern Lights to keep shining"
-- It's an interesting, light way to introduce us to the new album. The opening track is pretty much Tori and the piano (oh drums and bass are still there, but they're never overpowering to Tori's keys). Very similar to her early work on Little Earthquakes with an emphasis on melody in both the piano and her own voice.

a sorta fairytale -- "till you lost me"
-- This is of course the first single, that I've seen damn near no promotion for up here, on the radio or television, I wouldn't even have known about the album if I didn't check HMV regularly like a hawk. It's a nice strong pop song, with some catchy rhythms and chorus, a little more upbeat that "Hey Jupiter" and "1000 Oceans" but in a somewhat similar vein. It seems like a straight forward story-song, about travelling and relationships, kind of encapsulating the entire concept of the album to begin with. Matt Chamberlain's drums are more present, often times just the drums and Tori's voice, but it's still almost wholly a supporting role, almost like a drum track rather than a "real" percussionist. There are some really nice guitar plunkings from Robbie McIntosh and Mac Aladdin, but they're few and far between.

Wednesday -- "can someone help me, I think I'm lost here"
-- This is probably one of my favourites on the album. It's just a short little jazzy number heavy on bass and the band actually has a greater presence. There's a feel similar to some of the Beatles work, specifically Lady Madonna, and Tori's own wonderful song "Mr. Zebra", which I admit is also one of my favourites of hers. I think I just love that bass, heavy on the funk. Sometimes you just need a catchy fast groove. It's just a fun song, despite the fact that there's actually more meaning and darkness in the lyrics themselves.

strange -- "when will I learn"
-- That feeling of "fun" doesn't last long though, as the uber-seriousness and preciousness felt all over the album comes screeching back on this somewhat haunting track. It's fairly down tempo, low key, and a little sad. There's a feeling of self-pity evident in the song, as well as one of the sillier lyrics I've seen in Tori's metaphors for relationships in "I put our snowflake under the microscope". It's kind of like a counter-argument to "1000 oceans", which shows the after effects of reaching too far.

Carbon -- "just keep your eyes on her"
-- Percussive movement forward in short succinct lyrics, in addition to short pulsating rhythms in the drums, piano, and guitars all of which have presence here together, drive this song forward. It also incorporates Neil Gaiman into the song, with Tori wanting him to read his rendition of Snow White (which if I were you, I'd check out in Smoke & Mirrors, or in audio format on Two Plays for Voices. Actually, I'd say check out both, but then I'm like that.)

Crazy -- "paper tigers"
-- Okay, now I'm about up to here with slow, soft pop songs on this album, with long drawn out sequences and lilting melodies. I mean, they're not exactly bad, but there can only be so many on a single album before said album starts putting you to sleep. Case in point, pick up an Enya record or the new Beck disc, Sea Change and try to listen through the entire thing. It's not bad, it just puts you to sleep.

wampum prayer -- "greed is the gift for the sons of the songs"
-- Speaking of putting you to sleep, I guess the only good thing about this is that it's only 44 seconds long.

don't make me come to Vegas -- "she's telling me of all the trouble you're in"
-- There's more presence of bass and drums here, but it's a lot like many of the songs on From the Choirgirl Hotel to me, kind of monotonous and annoying on first listen. Again, it has quite a slow tempo, with Tori's own kind of story-singing guiding overtop the rhythm. I think I could accurately call this and the previous two songs the "lull" on the album.

Sweet Sangria -- "tell my why does someone have to lose?"
-- ...and here's where things start picking up again. Again, it's similar in style and execution to what you'll find on the studio disc of To Venus and Back and From the Choirgirl Hotel, but there's a rousing chorus similar to what you'll find in the song "sugar" and you can almost hear the punched out version that Tori will incorporate into singing it live. Honestly, though, it feels almost like Like a Prayer-era Madonna on tranquilisers.

Your Cloud -- "pick out your cloud"
-- Only the upbeat tracks don't last too long, as Tori seems to be doing her best at creating a slow, haunting lounge song, the likes of which Bobby Darin or Frank Sinatra would have sung a little bit faster and with a greater pinache. It's a nice song, really, with some nice vocal work, interlaying two different lyrics, but again, we're off to slumberland. It's nice background music, actually, but I'm finding that while I'm listening to it intently trying to write this, it has too great a soothing effect, and it's starting to really put me to sleep. It's still beautiful, just incredibly somber.

pancake -- "separate the man from body, from soul"
-- A little bit darker turn here with the music, a haunting chorus behind the main lyric featuring Tori with a rather scratchy voice that will wake you up fairly quickly, along with the overdub pianos with who knows how many effects going into them. It's a nice examination of religion, actually. "messiahs need people dying in their name", how true.

I can't see New York -- "I can't seem to find my way out of your hunting ground"
-- Supposedly the destruction during September 11th is what sparked this album in the first place, even though it's not entirely overly evident in the music itself, but here's the song in which it's presented front and foremost. The song starts off fairly similar to Tori's take on "Raining Blood" from Strange Little Girls, slight discordant sounds and harsh raspy vocals, but goes off into more familiar territory with some beautiful piano and guitar play from the centre of the song on. As the longest song on the album, it truthfully doesn't feel as such.

mrs. jesus -- "your walking on the water bit by far my favourite"
-- This one's another that draws from a similar state of mind as Tori's first three albums and a bit of Beatles influence here again, with a nice, sweet pop song that plays on religion again. The strings are certainly a nice touch.

Taxi Ride -- "I'm glad you're on my side"
-- Which brings us to my favourite song on the album. By far, this one's the most upbeat on the entire album, similar in style and structure to "Concertina" and "Cruel" in its construction, I can see this one being a single in the near future. Again, it's another song about relationships and how they seem to fail and get drawn out. Makes you wonder.

another girl's paradise -- "Does it all come down to the thing one girl fears in the night"
-- We're back to Under the Pink realm with this song, hinting at some of the stronger melodies and bite of Little Earthquakes, with a darker chorus than most of what you'll find on the former album. It's a nice, well constructed song actually, there are hints of the saccharine nature of Under the Pink, but not too many.

Scarlet's Walk -- "yes they're free to leave"
-- Then we get more of the "ambient" noise to kick of the album's title track, that I personally found old and tired when Tori first used it on From the Choirgirl Hotel. Thankfully, though, most of the rest of the song takes on a better structure that reminds me of something else if only the chorus had one more beat. It's a fairly strong song, but it feels as though it's building to something more powerful that just isn't there.

Virginia -- "and even wait for their saviour to come"
-- ...and what would a Tori Amos album be without yet another song that shares stylistic approach to "Sugar". Oh wait, we already had one? ;-) Darker, stronger melodies pepper the song.

gold dust -- "I have your photograph"
-- Just so you're not still awake at the end of the album, here's another long, slow song just to put you to rest. The strings and piano opening is certainly strong, and the strings say as such throughout, but here it seems like the vocals are out of the place. The music is hauntingly beautiful, but it seems at odds with Tori's voice.

From all of that, you may get the impression that I don't like the album. That's not the case. I certainly don't think it's her best album, that goes to either Little Earthquakes or Boys for Pele, but it's still a decent album about as good as Under the Pink and certainly better than the three prior to this one.

Angelus, Oh Angelus, Wherefore Art Thou Angelus?

...rotting in a wooden box at the bottom of the ocean is where. I purport that Angel didn't jump the shark, but managed to strike it and crush it as the coffin sunk to the seabed. Thus far, this season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has shown incredible promise, reinvigorating the series, and making it fun to watch, Angel on the other hand, seems like it's just going through the motions.

On thing that I always loved about Buffy was that each season, despite having character threads that carried on, was essentially self-contained. There have never been any bloody season ending cliffhangers that drive audiences nuts, up until last season Angel was pretty much the same, but we got one hell of a cop-out in this last one. The whole thing just feels tired, there's no pep, no interesting character development, no surprises, and in a word, I'd honestly have to say that Angel has become: boring.

No amount of Wesley sleeping with the enemy or beheading an upper eschelon member of Wolfram & Hart is going to change that feeling right now. This show needs an enema.

Revenge of the Incoherent Sissy Boy

You know, I'm really liking this new season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The first episode was pretty good set-up, and the second episode was damn good. The main focus is on a new woman and her ex-boyfriend who got turned into a giant dog-eating worm, but what's really interesting is the new characterisation of Spike.

Toward the end of last season, Spike really let loose the monster in him, attempting to rape Buffy. In a season that has us empathising with him and essentially cheering him on as a "good guy", it was truly a horrifying turn of events. What he did, in response was to travel of to somewhere in Africa and essentially ask to be returned "the way he was". For some reason, I had the notion that he was turned into a human being, period, but that's not the case.

The season premiere had him as an incoherent sissy hiding in the basement of the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High School, but this episode had him trying to help Buffy with the guy turned into a worm. Pretty normal, seeming back like himself, but it begins to fall apart when Spike gets into a tiff with Anya over keeping his secret, and eventually at the end, when he injures an "innocent". That's when the big reveal (technically, we already know the fact that he's gotten his soul back, I just expected slightly different circumstances) happens and Spike just falls to pieces.

He seems to have been driven absolutely fripping loony by the guilt he feels over everything he's done, everything he thinks he is, what he should be in Buffy and god's eyes, and I can honestly say it's one of the most wrenching portrayals I've seen. I wonder if this happened to Angel when he first got his soul back. I definitely think I'm going to like this season, if it remains as strong as the first two episodes.

Are You My Mother

There's a new show you may or may not have seen on Fox on Friday nights, (actually two new shows, but I only really care about one, the one I don't being Joss Whedon's Firefly), under the title John Doe. I missed the episode last week, but the premiere caught my attention.


Basically, it's a show about a man who awakes naked, off the Western seaboard, can't remember who he is, but can speak a variety of languages, learn how to operate anything, and has no bloody clue who he is. This man "John Doe", in his quest to find out who he is, moonlights as a piano playing detective, solving murders and kidnappings on the side. Did I mention that he doesn't know who he is? The premiere was actually pretty decent, the only question I really have is, why does he have what looks almost like Joe Quesada's signature on his chest?