AOQ Angel Review 1-5: "Rm W/ A Vu"
Arbitrar Of Quality
episodes in these review threads
ANGEL
Season One, Episode 5: "Rm W/ A Vu"
(or "To the ghost in the wall/She just ain't nothin'/But she's
got a great view")
Writer: Jane Espenson; story by Espenson and David Greenwalt
Director: Scott McGinnis
I sorta knew only bad things could come of my comment last episode
about getting to like Cordelia better. This time we give her her own
episode, and try to reconcile the person she was and the person she's
becoming. It's important to the series to highlight the way the
character has changed without discarding her fundamental Cordy-ness.
I'm not so happy with the results.
First, let's take Angel's comment that "I know she can't type
or file. Until today I had some hope regarding the phone." So
she's pretty much completely incompetent for this job that she
herself created? Then we see that she can be as irritating when she
hits rock-bottom as she was on top of the ladder, since (as we know),
she tends to cover her sadness with pushiness. Here she forces her way
into Angel's place, bringing along a strong sense of entitlement. (I
should mention that in and of themselves, these scenes are fine, and
amusing enough. And they give Boreanaz another chance to demonstrate
his lickability [according to those who're able to judge such things,
I mean... Okay, maybe I'm a little attracted...]). Cordelia quickly
proves to be the Roommate From Hell, and seems totally unaware of how
intolerable she is. To summarize, she's in a bad position in life,
but is also basically inept, self-centered, thinks the world owes her a
favor, and is absolutely intolerable to spend any length of time with.
Did I miss anything? And everyone else just lets her go on being that
way, why?
The explanation we get for why Cordelia is so obsessed with the new
apartment (to the point of gross stupidity, trying to hide the haunting
from our other heroes) is that it's a big part of her self-image.
She'd see getting a nice place as a sign that life has stopped
punishing her; she's far more into karma than most people, but given
the way the Buffyverse works, that might not be so far off.
The ghost gets into Cordelia's head, and Angel tries a standard pep
talk, the kind that might have worked on the chick from the last
episode. It goes nowhere. In the end, what brings her back to a
position of power is the chance to re-bitchify. This self-important
fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
episode. Be amused by her vapidness, viewer, and embrace her for it!
No. Hey, I liked the marginally kinder and gentler version better.
Anyway, I'm sure we'll see more about whether this new/old attitude
will last or whether it'll just be a temporary derailment (a la
"The Wish"/"Amends"). Given that sense of karma, any lessons
she might learn from the experiences of the last few years?
"Foamy" is not an acceptable answer here.
Also appearing in RWAV but not getting addressed much is Doyle's debt
to the Jem'Hadar-esque demons, and more broadly, his whole life
story. He seems so young-looking to be so jaded, but not only do some
people get sucked in early, but he might be an immortal too. Angel is
curious but not pushy about figuring him out; well, he's not getting
any older. Somehow, call it a hunch, I feel like Doyle's past will
catch up again before he gets the time he wants to sort it out.
So Angel doesn't eat, but he keeps food around his place? And drinks
coffee?
Mrs. Pearson is a ghost with a lot of attitude, and I think Beth
Grant's performance adds a lot to the episode. Some of the scenes in
the apartment succeed through sheer force of glower, in fact, as well
as moments like "you broke it!" Also worth a quick note: the
character, besides being dead, crazy, and evil, is another for the list
of ME villains who tell heroes either the truth or what they're
afraid is the truth. "You don't deserve anything," and so on.
The part in which Angel tries to knock some sense into Cordelia during
the ghost attack is quite unpleasant to watch. I think a big part of
it is that watching someone cry and shriek in uncontrolled terror for
five minutes is unlikely to be fun to watch under any circumstances.
That combined with the random noise and crap flying everywhere makes
this the episode's worst scene.
The investigation and resolution of the ghost story are pretty good. I
especially like seeing Angel and Kate combing the computers. They need
to make a few assumptions to put the pieces together, and they're
correct enough to get a sense of what's involved, but there're
enough gaps in their information and thinking that they get a lot of
things totally wrong. This bit also has a good exchange: "Now
you're talking like a detective." "I *am* a detective."
"Well, you see, the thing about detectives is that they have
résumés and business licenses and last names. Pop stars and popes,
those are the one-name guys." "You got me. I'm a pope." The
revelation of what really happened is suitably disturbing. In the end
Dennis gets his satisfying revenge (and a chance to hurt one he loves).
And he goes on ghosting afterward. Wouldn't it be nuts if he became
a recurring character?
This Is Really Stupid But I Laughed Anyway moment(s):
- Angel on the Cordettes: "It was like the Soviet secret police, if
they cared a lot about shoes."
- The apartment-search (one moment reminded me of one of the places I
turned down en route to settling on my current apartment. I'll leave
anyone who cares to guess which part.)
- "I've got a roommate, but it's cool, I never see him."
So...
One-sentence summary: There's a good story and there are loads of
questionable moments.
AOQ rating: Decent
[Season One so far:
1) "City Of" - Good
2) "Lonely Hearts" - Weak
3) "Into The Dark" - Good
4) "I Fall To Pieces" - Good
5) "Rm W/ A Vu" - Decent]
angelbuffy0
cause I kept laughing outloud.
Keep up the good work.
Opus the Penguin
> The revelation of what really happened is suitably disturbing. In
> the end Dennis gets his satisfying revenge (and a chance to hurt
> one he loves). And he goes on ghosting afterward. Wouldn't it be
> nuts if he became a recurring character?
Va gur pbzzragnel, Wnar Rfcrafba pbzcynvaf tbbq-angherqyl nobhg guvf.
Nccneragyl, jura n jevgre perngrf n punenpgre sbe n fubj, gurl unir n
fznyy cebcevrgnel fgnxr. Vs gur punenpgre trgf hfrq va n shgher
rcvfbqr, gur jevgre trgf n gbxra nzbhag. Fbzrguvat yvxr 300 ohpxf, fur
fnlf pnfhnyyl, abg erpnyyvat gur rknpg svther. (Znl V unir fbzr
"gbxraf" cyrnfr?)
Ohg nccneragyl gung qbrfa'g nccyl gb vaivfvoyr punenpgref. Fb rira
gubhtu Qraavf erphef yvxr gur qvpxraf, fur arire fnj nabgure qvzr sebz
uvf perngvba.
--
Opus the Penguin
The best darn penguin in all of Usenet
Opus the Penguin
Eh. 2nd best review for Ats Season 1. 36th best review overall.
OtP Rating: Decent
eli...@gmail.com
calls at the end of the episode, was one of the girls in 'Welcome to
the Hellmouth'.
Don Sample
eli...@gmail.com wrote:
She was the girl with the dead guy in her locker.
--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>
(Harmony) Watcher
news:dsample-57AC63...@news.giganews.com...
> In article <1145431941.7...@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> eli...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > A point of interest (and some neat continuity): Aura, whom Cordelia
> > calls at the end of the episode, was one of the girls in 'Welcome to
> > the Hellmouth'.
>
> She was the girl with the dead guy in her locker.
>
from Sunnydale who had a dead guy in her locker"? Just like we can only
infer that Mrs Finkle was probably the owner of April Fools Clothes where
Cordy once worked?
==(Harmony) Watcher==
vague disclaimer
"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
> So Angel doesn't eat, but he keeps food around his place? And drinks
> coffee?
A notable change from The Prom. Presumably he needs the jitters in LA.
--
A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend
Don Sample
"\(Harmony\) Watcher" <nob...@nonesuch.com> wrote:
> "Don Sample" <dsa...@synapse.net> wrote in message
> news:dsample-57AC63...@news.giganews.com...
> > In article <1145431941.7...@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> > eli...@gmail.com wrote:
> >
> > > A point of interest (and some neat continuity): Aura, whom Cordelia
> > > calls at the end of the episode, was one of the girls in 'Welcome to
> > > the Hellmouth'.
> >
> > She was the girl with the dead guy in her locker.
> >
> Perhpas we can only infer that the "Aura on the phone" was the same "Aura
> from Sunnydale who had a dead guy in her locker"?
Come on, how many girls can there be named "Aura?" According to the
Baby Name Wizard, there have been less than 1/1,000,000 girls named
"Aura" throughout the 20th century. (There were some in the 1880s, with
its popularity being as high as 30/1,000,000.)
> Just like we can only
> infer that Mrs Finkle was probably the owner of April Fools Clothes where
> Cordy once worked?
All we know is that Mrs. Finkle was Cordy's boss. She may have been the
owner, or a manager. There is really no way to tell which.
kenm47
I thought it a solid Good. Big growth spurt on Cordy's part, not unlike
"I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer. And you are...?"
Dark humor is still humor.
Ken (Brooklyn)
Apteryx
news:1145420207....@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for later _Buffy_ and _Angel_
>episodes in these review threads
>Did I miss anything? And everyone else just lets her go on being that
>way, why?
Because she has the good luck to be a dead ringer for Charisma Carpenter?
:)
>episode. It goes nowhere. In the end, what brings her back to a
>position of power is the chance to re-bitchify. This self-important
>fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
>episode.
I'd say just that her past taught her a set of behaviours (bitchiness) that
although ordinarily counter productive, can be usefully adopted in certain
situations.
>Mrs. Pearson is a ghost with a lot of attitude, and I think Beth
>Grant's performance adds a lot to the episode. Some of the scenes in
>the apartment succeed through sheer force of glower, in fact, as well
>as moments like "you broke it!"
I'm not normally a fan of ghost stories, but she makes a good ghost.
>This Is Really Stupid But I Laughed Anyway moment(s):
>- Angel on the Cordettes: "It was like the Soviet secret police, if
>they cared a lot about shoes."
>- The apartment-search (one moment reminded me of one of the places I
>turned down en route to settling on my current apartment. I'll leave
>anyone who cares to guess which part.)
You turned down a chance to chant with the Great Leader?
>One-sentence summary: There's a good story and there are loads of
>questionable moments.
>AOQ rating: Decent
I'd call it Good. Certainly closer to Decent than to Excellent, but still
Good. Its my 28th favourite AtS episode, 3rd best in Season 1.
Unfortunately, being 3rd best in AtS S1 isn't quite the same as being 3rd
best in any BtVS season (even Season 7 of BtVS has 6 episodes I'd rate ahead
of this, while Season 1, despite having only 12 episodes, has 8 better
ones).
--
Apteryx
gree...@gmail.com
Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
> So
> she's pretty much completely incompetent for this job that she
> herself created?
Have you not yet noticed that they are all pretty much incompetent at
the job(s) Cordelia created for them?
> To summarize, she's in a bad position in life,
> but is also basically inept, self-centered, thinks the world owes her a
> favor, and is absolutely intolerable to spend any length of time with.
> Did I miss anything? And everyone else just lets her go on being that
> way, why?
Because Angel and Doyle too have their issues. I mean, Doyle's problems
involve guys with guns who shoot first and ask questions... Well,
never. At least Cordy isn't going to get anyone killed. Yet. Angel...
If you think he's Mister Wonderful, you'll never get _Angel_.
> This self-important
> fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
> episode. Be amused by her vapidness, viewer, and embrace her for it!
You completely miss the point. And if you're still stuck on vapid, you
probably always will.
> 5) "Rm W/ A Vu" - Decent]
I rate it higher than that. One of the best episodes the series has to
offer, in my mind.
Terry
Michael Ikeda
news:C7q1g.15244$JZ1.5...@news.xtra.co.nz:
> "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1145420207....@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>>A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for later _Buffy_ and _Angel_
>>episodes in these review threads
>
>>episode. It goes nowhere. In the end, what brings her back to
>>a position of power is the chance to re-bitchify. This
>>self-important fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real
>>Cordy, says this episode.
>
> I'd say just that her past taught her a set of behaviours
> (bitchiness) that although ordinarily counter productive, can be
> usefully adopted in certain situations.
Amd that the confidence etc. that were ingredients of the bitchiness
are more generally useful and don't need to be discarded by the new
improved Cordy.
--
Michael Ikeda mmi...@erols.com
"Telling a statistician not to use sampling is like telling an
astronomer they can't say there is a moon and stars"
Lynne Billard, past president American Statistical Association
Captain Infinity
>To summarize, she's in a bad position in life,
>but is also basically inept, self-centered, thinks the world owes her a
>favor, and is absolutely intolerable to spend any length of time with.
>Did I miss anything? And everyone else just lets her go on being that
>way, why?
She's got great tits.
**
Captain Infinity
Arbitrar Of Quality
> I rate it higher than that. One of the best episodes the series has to
> offer, in my mind.
That's not a pleasant thought.
-AOQ
Slayah
It's not even remotely true.
One Bit Shy
news:1145420207....@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> I sorta knew only bad things could come of my comment last episode
> about getting to like Cordelia better. This time we give her her own
> episode, and try to reconcile the person she was and the person she's
> becoming. It's important to the series to highlight the way the
> character has changed without discarding her fundamental Cordy-ness.
> I'm not so happy with the results.
I'm a little disappointed that you didn't like it, but I suppose you have to
be true to your Cordeliaphobia. I thought it was a pretty entertaining
episode.
> First, let's take Angel's comment that "I know she can't type
> or file. Until today I had some hope regarding the phone." So
> she's pretty much completely incompetent for this job that she
> herself created?
I think they're all amateurs making it up as they go. But I remind you that
Cordelia is the one who pushed Angel into making it a busines, got the
business cards, and takes care of the billing. I personally take Angel's
remarks to be as much a statement about his fussiness as it is Cordelia's
incompetence. Which extends into their poor fit living together. This
episode may focus on Cordelia, but it's still Angel's show, and I think
they're shining a light on Angel too.
> Then we see that she can be as irritating when she
> hits rock-bottom as she was on top of the ladder, since (as we know),
> she tends to cover her sadness with pushiness.
Which also shows a determination to do something about her problems rather
than just wallow in them. Pushy is *how* she knows to do things, but manner
is not the totality of character.
> Here she forces her way
> into Angel's place, bringing along a strong sense of entitlement. (I
> should mention that in and of themselves, these scenes are fine, and
> amusing enough.
Sure are. This strikes me as a lot funnier than the series has been thus
far.
Cordelia: Not that you're the last resort. It's just that I have nowhere
else left to go. (Classic Cordy logic.)
Cordelia: You have mousse?.... Of course you do. (Does this portend more
Angel hair jokes? I also liked Doyle's remark about Angel's overhanging
forehead.)
Doyle: Hey, Cordy, you look great by the way.
Cordelia: I wouldn't know. The man doesn't even have a mirror. Like it
would kill him to not see himself? (I liked Cordy using a metal pot as a
mirror.)
> And they give Boreanaz another chance to demonstrate
> his lickability [according to those who're able to judge such things,
> I mean... Okay, maybe I'm a little attracted...]).
LOL! That's the spirit. Yeah, they pushed the hunk factor Pretty funny
too, dripping wet and bewildered trying to hold Codelia's luggage while she
does her riff.
> Cordelia quickly
> proves to be the Roommate From Hell, and seems totally unaware of how
> intolerable she is. To summarize, she's in a bad position in life,
> but is also basically inept, self-centered, thinks the world owes her a
> favor, and is absolutely intolerable to spend any length of time with.
> Did I miss anything? And everyone else just lets her go on being that
> way, why?
I think Angel has always liked Cordelia - not like Buffy of course - but in
a simple fond way. He remembers finding her in a dumpster. There was the
scene at the Bronze in Halloween where he sat there laughing at Cordelia's
jokes. And here he seems positively nostalgic remembering the Cordettes.
I don't even think it's the pushiness that's the problem here. It's that
Cordy's kind of a slob and Angel is a compulsive neat freak. "And the
reason there's a wet towel on my leather chair?"
> The ghost gets into Cordelia's head, and Angel tries a standard pep
> talk, the kind that might have worked on the chick from the last
> episode. It goes nowhere. In the end, what brings her back to a
> position of power is the chance to re-bitchify. This self-important
> fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
> episode. Be amused by her vapidness, viewer, and embrace her for it!
> No. Hey, I liked the marginally kinder and gentler version better.
Or you could look at it as the real Cordy doesn't get pushed around.
> Anyway, I'm sure we'll see more about whether this new/old attitude
> will last or whether it'll just be a temporary derailment (a la
> "The Wish"/"Amends"). Given that sense of karma, any lessons
> she might learn from the experiences of the last few years?
> "Foamy" is not an acceptable answer here.
I don't know if she needs more lessons from the past. She did live in a
slum for a while. And the question of whether she deserves anything was
already on her mind and thrown in her face this episode. But I agree
something needs to happen. To somebody, if not Cordelia. I'm not figuring
out the series tension yet.
> Also appearing in RWAV but not getting addressed much is Doyle's debt
> to the Jem'Hadar-esque demons, and more broadly, his whole life
> story. He seems so young-looking to be so jaded, but not only do some
> people get sucked in early, but he might be an immortal too. Angel is
> curious but not pushy about figuring him out; well, he's not getting
> any older. Somehow, call it a hunch, I feel like Doyle's past will
> catch up again before he gets the time he wants to sort it out.
It's my sense that Doyle's part is supposed to be more significant ongoing
than Cordelia's part. Certainly there must be some kind of hidden history
that's going to boil up into trouble. But what happened here doesn't
provide much of a handle on it.
> Mrs. Pearson is a ghost with a lot of attitude, and I think Beth
> Grant's performance adds a lot to the episode. Some of the scenes in
> the apartment succeed through sheer force of glower, in fact, as well
> as moments like "you broke it!" Also worth a quick note: the
> character, besides being dead, crazy, and evil, is another for the list
> of ME villains who tell heroes either the truth or what they're
> afraid is the truth. "You don't deserve anything," and so on.
I liked Cordy catching the scissors - and the nasty drawer.
Actually, until near the end when Cordy finally feaked out, she hung in
there pretty strong. Those Sunnydale girls are tough.
Anyway, that's one powerful ghost.
> The part in which Angel tries to knock some sense into Cordelia during
> the ghost attack is quite unpleasant to watch. I think a big part of
> it is that watching someone cry and shriek in uncontrolled terror for
> five minutes is unlikely to be fun to watch under any circumstances.
> That combined with the random noise and crap flying everywhere makes
> this the episode's worst scene.
I didn't mind the crying and the noise, but there were some awkward things
about the scene. I couldn't follow the stuff about finding her center and
the starts and stops of the spell. Probably too many inputs. But not
awful. What bothered me was the culminating moment with Cordy finding her
inner bitch. Something about it was flat to me. Maybe too many words.
> The investigation and resolution of the ghost story are pretty good. I
> especially like seeing Angel and Kate combing the computers.
Kate seems to like Angel. I want to see more Kate.
> They need
> to make a few assumptions to put the pieces together, and they're
> correct enough to get a sense of what's involved, but there're
> enough gaps in their information and thinking that they get a lot of
> things totally wrong. This bit also has a good exchange: "Now
> you're talking like a detective." "I *am* a detective."
> "Well, you see, the thing about detectives is that they have
> résumés and business licenses and last names. Pop stars and popes,
> those are the one-name guys." "You got me. I'm a pope."
Excellent line. I also like Doyle's line when Angel calls. "Angel
Investigations. We hope you're helpless."
> The
> revelation of what really happened is suitably disturbing. In the end
> Dennis gets his satisfying revenge (and a chance to hurt one he loves).
> And he goes on ghosting afterward. Wouldn't it be nuts if he became
> a recurring character?
Phantom Dennis
> So...
> One-sentence summary: There's a good story and there are loads of
> questionable moments.
> AOQ rating: Decent
I like it better. I appreciate Cordy more. I thought the early scenes in
Angel's apartment were wonderful. The ghost action was mostly good. It was
a generally tight and interesting episode - a big improvement on the last.
It makes it to Good, but not by a lot.
OBS
MBangel10 (Melissa)
Actually, Angel was a pretty good show. I just never bought any of the
DVD's (except for S5) and I can barely remember the episodes or I would
comment on them.
Don't worry, Ats will keep you entertained.
Arbitrar Of Quality
> Actually, Angel was a pretty good show. I just never bought any of the
> DVD's (except for S5) and I can barely remember the episodes or I would
> comment on them.
You could at least spare a comment on my alternate title for this one.
(I was kinda proud of it, and I figured you in partiuclar would like
it...)
> Don't worry, Ats will keep you entertained.
I hope so. It's been doing all right thus far, slightly better than
BTVS at this point in the season, but not as good as last "year."
-AOQ
Arbitrar Of Quality
> I don't even think it's the pushiness that's the problem here. It's that
> Cordy's kind of a slob and Angel is a compulsive neat freak. "And the
> reason there's a wet towel on my leather chair?"
Yeah, I can't see why Angel gets so uptight about minor things like
people comandeering his home as if it's theirs, getting crap on the bed
and expecting him to clean it up, slicing apart the place...
> > This self-important
> > fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
> > episode. Be amused by her vapidness, viewer, and embrace her for it!
> > No. Hey, I liked the marginally kinder and gentler version better.
>
> Or you could look at it as the real Cordy doesn't get pushed around.
But note that before this episode, the short-lived (well, I still hope
that it's this regression that'll be short-lived, but I'm not holding
my breath) New And Nicer Cordelia didn't get pushed around much either.
> It's my sense that Doyle's part is supposed to be more significant ongoing
> than Cordelia's part. Certainly there must be some kind of hidden history
> that's going to boil up into trouble. But what happened here doesn't
> provide much of a handle on it.
Yeah; it's only the B-story, but it's still impressive how little new
information this episode gives us considering the amount of screen time
it gets. The show is being patient with it, much like Angel himself.
> Kate seems to like Angel. I want to see more Kate.
Me too.
-AOQ
MBangel10 (Melissa)
> MBangel10 (Melissa) wrote:
>
>> Actually, Angel was a pretty good show. I just never bought any of the
>> DVD's (except for S5) and I can barely remember the episodes or I would
>> comment on them.
>
> You could at least spare a comment on my alternate title for this one.
> (I was kinda proud of it, and I figured you in partiuclar would like
> it...)
I could tell you put some DEEP thought into it. :)
P.S. (and WAY OT) Is it sad that I've listened to the new songs like 50
million times and I still can't wait for May 2nd? If you've been holding
out, I just have to tell ya, it's awesome.
>
>> Don't worry, Ats will keep you entertained.
>
> I hope so. It's been doing all right thus far, slightly better than
> BTVS at this point in the season, but not as good as last "year."
See, now I want to go and get Ats S1 so I can follow along better.
>
> -AOQ
>
George W Harris
wrote:
:Phantom Dennis
Angel: Episode Five: The Phantom Dennis
--
They say there's air in your lungs that's been there for years.
George W. Harris For actual email address, replace each 'u' with an 'i'.
rcamp...@gmail.com
can't understand why anyone would put up with her bullshit. Also,
something about the way she's handling her life just doesn't ring
true to me. I can't help but compare the way Buffy handled her
self-impossed exile in "Anne" with the utter patheticness Cordelia's
demonstrating here. So, basically the self-appointed Queen of
Sunnyhell High and Ivy league high bound high school grad (who by the
way did find and keep a job in sunnyhell) needs to find herself a
sugar daddy substitute to make it in the big bad city. Whatever.
(Harmony) Watcher
news:1145513129.7...@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
Agreed. Buffy was willing to hold menial jobs such as waitressing in LA or
flipping burgers in Sunnydale to make ends meet, whereas Cordelia went into
a limousine of some investment guy (aka vampire Russell Winters) who was
about to give her the big movie "break". Of course somebody with the
intelligence of Cordelia knew what the real deal was supposed to be even if
Winters weren't a vampire. Between Buffy and Cordy, there was a world of
differences in how they view personal integrity and self-esteem, especially
when they were facing hardships--at least for the Cordy of early AtS.
As I said elsewhere, the first girl Angel saved in LA was Cordy (who was not
a blonde).
==(Harmony) Watcher==
BTR1701
rcamp...@gmail.com wrote:
> heh, I can't help it I don't like Cordelia. Great breasts or not, I
> can't understand why anyone would put up with her bullshit.
Pretty much my attitude toward the entire "House" television series. At
least Cordelia's smokin' hot body would buy her some slack
behavior-wise. That House dude is just a cranky old man and the people
around him just keep putting up with it.
mariposas rand mair fheal greykitten tomys des anges
> talk, the kind that might have worked on the chick from the last
> episode. It goes nowhere. In the end, what brings her back to a
> position of power is the chance to re-bitchify. This self-important
> fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
> episode. Be amused by her vapidness, viewer, and embrace her for it!
> No. Hey, I liked the marginally kinder and gentler version better.
cordelia had been being battered for a long time
rebar through her body
then rejected by the cordettes in the wish
daddy lost everything and she had to become a name tag person to get a prom dress
she held it together through garduation
and then went to la to promptly be rejected and stuck in a dismal apartment
even considering a form of prostitution to get a break
when her life might actually be improving
she gets a new homocidal vaporous roommate
remember the line from anne
im buffy the vampire slayer and you are
buffy continues to make mistakes as a human and a slayer
but shes no longer willing to be a passive victim
cordelia gets to do her im cordelia the uberbitch and you are
and that point chooses to fight back
even if she remains an insensitive vaporhead
shes no longer the passive victim
vapidity has to do with available braincells
and perhaps theres nothing she can do about that
sensitivity has to do with being exposed to other peoples pain
and making the emotional connection of them
perhaps cordelia will eventually reallize
there are others that hurt as bad as she does or worse
arf meow arf - nsa fodder
al qaeda terrorism nuclear bomb iran taliban big brother
if you meet buddha on the usenet killfile him
Tammy Stephanie Davis
BTR1701 <btr...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
:In article <1145513129.7...@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>,
That last episode of House was pretty much the nail in the coffin for me.
I'm so sick of the "not one appealing character in the bunch" syndrome.
Callus, wimpy, whinny, assholes.
--
Opus the Penguin
> Kate seems to like Angel. I want to see more Kate.
Kate's a babe. Interestingly, that low, smoky tone is not Elizabeth
Rohm's natural voice. They have her talking about her role on one of
the specials on the DVD. She speaks in a higher, slightly grating and
unpleasant voice. It almost destroyed her sexiness.
It made me think, hey lady, if you CAN talk like Kate, why not do it
all the time. But maybe it would feel like too much of a put-on.
chr...@removethistoreply.gwu.edu
>> Kate seems to like Angel. I want to see more Kate.
>
> Kate's a babe. Interestingly, that low, smoky tone is not Elizabeth
> Rohm's natural voice. They have her talking about her role on one of
> the specials on the DVD. She speaks in a higher, slightly grating and
> unpleasant voice. It almost destroyed her sexiness.
>
> It made me think, hey lady, if you CAN talk like Kate, why not do it
> all the time. But maybe it would feel like too much of a put-on.
This reminds me of something someone posted here a few months ago. Alas,
it contains spoilers. Nccneragyl Ryvmn Qhfuxh cvgpurq ure ibvpr ybjre
guna ure pbzsbegnoyr enatr jura fur svefg fgnegrq ba OgIF. Jura Snvgu
erghearq va NgF4/OgIF7, fur unq gb fgbc gung naq hfr ure abezny, yrff
fhygel ibvpr, orpnhfr fur unq npghnyyl fgenvarq ure ibpny pbeqf jvgu gur
qrrcre gbarf. Znlor fbzrguvat fvzvyne unccrarq jvgu Ryvmnorgu Ebuz?
--Chris
______________________________________________________________________
chrisg [at] gwu.edu On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog.
BTR1701
chr...@removethistoreply.gwu.edu wrote:
> In alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer Opus the Penguin <opusthepen...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> Kate seems to like Angel. I want to see more Kate.
> >
> > Kate's a babe. Interestingly, that low, smoky tone is not Elizabeth
> > Rohm's natural voice. They have her talking about her role on one of
> > the specials on the DVD. She speaks in a higher, slightly grating and
> > unpleasant voice. It almost destroyed her sexiness.
> >
> > It made me think, hey lady, if you CAN talk like Kate, why not do it
> > all the time. But maybe it would feel like too much of a put-on.
>
> This reminds me of something someone posted here a few months ago. Alas,
> it contains spoilers. Nccneragyl Ryvmn Qhfuxh cvgpurq ure ibvpr ybjre
> guna ure pbzsbegnoyr enatr jura fur svefg fgnegrq ba OgIF. Jura Snvgu
> erghearq va NgF4/OgIF7, fur unq gb fgbc gung naq hfr ure abezny, yrff
> fhygel ibvpr, orpnhfr fur unq npghnyyl fgenvarq ure ibpny pbeqf jvgu gur
> qrrcre gbarf. Znlor fbzrguvat fvzvyne unccrarq jvgu Ryvmnorgu Ebuz?
Dushku's voice problems stemmed from her smoking habit and her doctor
basically told her quit, or you'll be whispering by age 30.
BTR1701
It really is a singularly unpleasant group of people, the few times I've
watched the show. I have no idea what the appeal is.
One Bit Shy
> One Bit Shy wrote:
>
>> I don't even think it's the pushiness that's the problem here. It's that
>> Cordy's kind of a slob and Angel is a compulsive neat freak. "And the
>> reason there's a wet towel on my leather chair?"
>
> Yeah, I can't see why Angel gets so uptight about minor things like
> people comandeering his home as if it's theirs, getting crap on the bed
> and expecting him to clean it up, slicing apart the place...
I'm not entirely certain why you wrote that, but I'm not suggesting that
Angel doesn't have reason to be huffy. If somebody acted like Cordelia with
me I'd be looking to boot her out too. Irrespective of that, the show also
took the opportunity to highlight Angel's own fussy ways, which adds another
level to making them especially poor roommates.
>> > This self-important
>> > fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
>> > episode. Be amused by her vapidness, viewer, and embrace her for it!
>> > No. Hey, I liked the marginally kinder and gentler version better.
>>
>> Or you could look at it as the real Cordy doesn't get pushed around.
>
> But note that before this episode, the short-lived (well, I still hope
> that it's this regression that'll be short-lived, but I'm not holding
> my breath) New And Nicer Cordelia didn't get pushed around much either.
Uh, have to disagree with that. Again, this isn't just about her manner.
Life has been kicking Cordelia around. Angel and Doyle talk about how far
she's fallen. In the first episode we saw her surviving on food lifted from
a party and willing to turn to a sugar daddy (until she realized he was a
vampire) to get by. At the start of this episode we saw her turned down for
a lousy part - again.
Being stuck in a roach infested slum apartment is representative of that.
She speaks of how she believes it's punishment - and shows her fear that
it's deserved. The ghost baldly saying she deserves nothing represents
those fears - and how they're Cordelia's obstacle. Being a bitch is just
Cordy doing what she knows. That's not the point. Fighting back is. Being
the passive victim - as mariposas... described it - isn't the real Cordelia.
Cordelia is stronger than that - not just bitchier - stronger. Queen bitch
is just how she knows to do it.
Maybe circumstance and experience will eventually lead her to adjust her
world view - I don't know. But in the meantime a personality transplant
doesn't make sense. And while I think it is natural for the audience to
enjoy her self centered way because it's funny, that's not why we would like
the character as a person. There are other qualities to see, such as her
innate toughness coming through in this episode.
Michael Ikeda
news:124g7rr...@news.supernews.com:
(snipped)
> Being stuck in a roach infested slum apartment is representative
> of that. She speaks of how she believes it's punishment - and
> shows her fear that it's deserved. The ghost baldly saying she
> deserves nothing represents those fears - and how they're
> Cordelia's obstacle. Being a bitch is just Cordy doing what she
> knows. That's not the point. Fighting back is. Being the
> passive victim - as mariposas... described it - isn't the real
> Cordelia. Cordelia is stronger than that - not just bitchier -
> stronger. Queen bitch is just how she knows to do it.
>
Just recalled Cordy's priceless line as she starts to fight back...
"I’m not a sniveling whiny little Cry-Buffy."
Arbitrar Of Quality
> > But note that before this episode, the short-lived (well, I still hope
> > that it's this regression that'll be short-lived, but I'm not holding
> > my breath) New And Nicer Cordelia didn't get pushed around much either.
>
> Uh, have to disagree with that. Again, this isn't just about her manner.
> Life has been kicking Cordelia around. Angel and Doyle talk about how far
> she's fallen. In the first episode we saw her surviving on food lifted from
> a party and willing to turn to a sugar daddy (until she realized he was a
> vampire) to get by.
That was in her "hopeless" period. I'm talking about the time since
joining up wiith Angel. Life has still been giving Cordelia a hard
time, but the three episodes before this one (and the very end of "City
Of") show her fighting back as best she can. I'm not implying that
she's been particularly happy or anything, just that I'm not seeing
this personality trait of apologizing and letting herself be pushed
around existing so prominently prior to RWAW. It feels manufactured,
to "justify" her regression at the end.
-AOQ
Arbitrar Of Quality
> See, now I want to go and get Ats S1 so I can follow along better.
Don't let us stop you. I can't vouch for the whole thing, but I hear
that three of the first five episodes are good, and another one is
enjoyable enough.
-AOQ
vague disclaimer
So you've never come across the concept of bottling up? She still sees
working for Angel as a stop-gap until she gets discovered for the
re-imagining of Gone With the Wind (or whatever). Being knocked back
would shake her very easily.
--
A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend
One Bit Shy
That's reasonable - which would be a bit of a story arc problem. And since
I don't have much of a feel for what - if anything - we've seen of that yet,
I'm in no position to defend it.
For now I guess I'll settle for the notion of Cordy living with Dennis,
which is a pretty neat idea.
OBS
rcamp...@gmail.com
Bones and I couldn't figure out why anyone put up with that jerk.
rcamp...@gmail.com
the same circumstances. I have never been able to understan her
inexplicable anti-buffy obsession while making me wish Buffy hadn't
saved Cordelia's uselss butt so many times.
(Harmony) Watcher
==Harmony Watcher=
(Harmony) Watcher
news:1145585265.6...@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
jealousy. She was jealous that a "hip-enough-according-to-Cordy-standards"
Buffy would steal her "limelight" at SHS and became the center of the
universe, so-to-speak. And she wore that attitude overtly "on her sleeve":
If it ain't about Cordy, it is not important.
==(Harmony) Watcher==
(Harmony) Watcher
news:dsample-6D4817...@news.giganews.com...
> In article <9xm1g.38730$P01.10089@pd7tw3no>,
> "\(Harmony\) Watcher" <nob...@nonesuch.com> wrote:
>
> > "Don Sample" <dsa...@synapse.net> wrote in message
> > news:dsample-57AC63...@news.giganews.com...
> > > In article <1145431941.7...@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> > > eli...@gmail.com wrote:
> > >
> > > > A point of interest (and some neat continuity): Aura, whom Cordelia
> > > > calls at the end of the episode, was one of the girls in 'Welcome to
> > > > the Hellmouth'.
> > >
> > > She was the girl with the dead guy in her locker.
> > >
> > Perhpas we can only infer that the "Aura on the phone" was the same
"Aura
> > from Sunnydale who had a dead guy in her locker"?
>
> Come on, how many girls can there be named "Aura?" According to the
> Baby Name Wizard, there have been less than 1/1,000,000 girls named
> "Aura" throughout the 20th century. (There were some in the 1880s, with
> its popularity being as high as 30/1,000,000.)
>
>
LOL. Very resourceful, and I expected nothing less from you, Don, :-) I
will concede that I agree with you on this 99.9999% (notwithstanding the
fact that Baby Name Wizard IRL might not be applicable to Buffyverse).
==(Harmony) Watcher==
kenm47
BTR1701 wrote:
> In article <ldL1g.1127$hi2...@news.itd.umich.edu>,
> t...@umich.edu (Tammy Stephanie Davis) wrote:
>
> > In article <btr1702-9DEE83...@news.giganews.com>,
> > BTR1701 <btr...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> > :In article <1145513129.7...@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>,
> > : rcamp...@gmail.com wrote:
> > :
<SNIP>
> >
> > That last episode of House was pretty much the nail in the coffin for me.
> > I'm so sick of the "not one appealing character in the bunch" syndrome.
> > Callus, wimpy, whinny, assholes.
> > --
>
> It really is a singularly unpleasant group of people, the few times I've
> watched the show. I have no idea what the appeal is.
It's often funny. Terrific acting and production. They're all
brilliant. House comes through in the end. Patients, more often than
not, are very sympathetic.
It's not tired, yet. Maybe it will be soon. Their efforts to expand the
formula have not really succeeded, and the mystery disease of the week
is getting a bit stale.
Ken (Brooklyn)
Arbitrar Of Quality
> > > See, now I want to go and get Ats S1 so I can follow along better.
> >
> > Don't let us stop you. I can't vouch for the whole thing, but I hear
> > that three of the first five episodes are good, and another one is
> > enjoyable enough.
> >
> >
> Heard? From Mrs AOQ? A joke, I hope. I thought you *watched* them, :-)
You've found me out. I haven't actually watched any of these episodes,
and am basing my opinions on what other people say.
-AOQ
~also, I don't write the reviews, I plagarize them from schoolsucks.com~
George W Harris
<nob...@nonesuch.com> wrote:
:> > Perhpas we can only infer that the "Aura on the phone" was the same
:"Aura
:> > from Sunnydale who had a dead guy in her locker"?
:>
:> Come on, how many girls can there be named "Aura?" According to the
:> Baby Name Wizard, there have been less than 1/1,000,000 girls named
:> "Aura" throughout the 20th century. (There were some in the 1880s, with
:> its popularity being as high as 30/1,000,000.)
:>
:>
:LOL. Very resourceful, and I expected nothing less from you, Don, :-) I
:will concede that I agree with you on this 99.9999% (notwithstanding the
:fact that Baby Name Wizard IRL might not be applicable to Buffyverse).
So what does Baby Name Wizard say about
girls named Aphrodisia?
:
:==(Harmony) Watcher==
:
--
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar." -Wash, 'Serenity'
Eric Hunter
news:124dpnn...@news.supernews.com...> news:1145420207....@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> > revelation of what really happened is suitably disturbing. In the
end
> > Dennis gets his satisfying revenge (and a chance to hurt one he
loves).
> > And he goes on ghosting afterward. Wouldn't it be nuts if he became
> > a recurring character?
>
> Phantom Dennis
I totally missed this as a riff on Star Wars Ep. 1, until I
listened to the commentary. *whoosh*
Eric.
--
Opus the Penguin
Jane mentions in the commentary that it seemed really important at
the time to change his name so they could make that joke. She then
observes dryly that it seems less and less important as time goes
by.
Randy Money
what you say, Arbitrar.
Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
> ANGEL
> Season One, Episode 5: "Rm W/ A Vu"
> (or "To the ghost in the wall/She just ain't nothin'/But she's
> got a great view")
> Writer: Jane Espenson; story by Espenson and David Greenwalt
> Director: Scott McGinnis
>
> I sorta knew only bad things could come of my comment last episode
> about getting to like Cordelia better. This time we give her her own
> episode, and try to reconcile the person she was and the person she's
> becoming. It's important to the series to highlight the way the
> character has changed without discarding her fundamental Cordy-ness.
> I'm not so happy with the results.
One of my favorite 1st year Angel eps, the one in which Cordy starts her
trek toward ... well, something. They had her there and they needed to
do something with the character. I think over the next few eps she
matured and started to gain true self-confidence, rather than merely
pushiness, and independance, but without releasing a hold on her
essential ... um ... Cordy-ness.
Yeah. That's it. Cordy-ness. And a pretty neat trick Mutant Enemy mostly
pulled off, I think
> First, let's take Angel's comment that "I know she can't type
> or file. Until today I had some hope regarding the phone." So
> she's pretty much completely incompetent for this job that she
> herself created?
Yup. Smart, but not practical and pragmatic.
Does that mean she's hopeless? Well, maybe. At this point in the first
season it was not all that clear.
> Then we see that she can be as irritating when she
> hits rock-bottom as she was on top of the ladder, since (as we know),
> she tends to cover her sadness with pushiness. Here she forces her way
> into Angel's place, bringing along a strong sense of entitlement. (I
> should mention that in and of themselves, these scenes are fine, and
> amusing enough. And they give Boreanaz another chance to demonstrate
> his lickability [according to those who're able to judge such things,
> I mean... Okay, maybe I'm a little attracted...]).
Yup. Cordy's beautiful, full-body smile and non-stop chatter cover her
desperation and how badly she needs help. Makes it seem as though she's
doing Angel a favor to barge in and take over. The chatter is vital,
though; if you talk fast enough and voluminously enough, the person
you're talking to has no time to say, no.
I don't think she had "a strong sense of entitlement" so much as she
knew a strong display of confidence and belonging can bulldoze
opposition. Call it a display of "entitlement," but the arrogance she
showed was an entirely different sort of arrogance from people who truly
feel entitled.
> Cordelia quickly
> proves to be the Roommate From Hell, and seems totally unaware of how
> intolerable she is. To summarize, she's in a bad position in life,
> but is also basically inept, self-centered, thinks the world owes her a
> favor, and is absolutely intolerable to spend any length of time with.
> Did I miss anything?
Yeah, I think you missed a bit of nuance. Building on my last graph: She
was desperate in her apartment, but until the invasion of the Panzer
cockroaches she had been determined to tough it out. She even considered
going to Doyle before barging in on Angel, but then turned to Angel as a
last resort. If she shows a real failing there, it's that she doesn't
trust him to say yes to a simple request for shelter and sanctuary; or
possibly she can't simply ask because her pride is already battered by
her circumstances and she's too far down to ask for help without it
completely demoralizing her. So she just barges in and acts -- stress
the word "acts" -- like it's all natural for her to take over.
> And everyone else just lets her go on being that way, why?
Because Doyle and Angel saw through it. Not that they -- especially
Angel -- were greatly pleased, but I think he realized she wouldn't do
what she did without being out of other options.
If this be fan wanking, so be it. That's how I read the situation and
the interplay between the characters.
> The explanation we get for why Cordelia is so obsessed with the new
> apartment (to the point of gross stupidity, trying to hide the haunting
> from our other heroes) is that it's a big part of her self-image.
> She'd see getting a nice place as a sign that life has stopped
> punishing her; she's far more into karma than most people, but given
> the way the Buffyverse works, that might not be so far off.
It's a sign she's gonna make it on her own.
Her idea of karma and Angel's makes for some interesting, and deeply
funny cross-talking.
> The ghost gets into Cordelia's head, and Angel tries a standard pep
> talk, the kind that might have worked on the chick from the last
> episode.
Ummmm... I'm not so sure of that. This is the same girl who was pretty
intimidated by the vamp in ep 1, and wasn't all that unhappy to get be
hidden from Spike until it became apparent someone needed to rescue her
protector.
> It goes nowhere. In the end, what brings her back to a
> position of power is the chance to re-bitchify. This self-important
> fashion-obsessed pain-causing bitch is the real Cordy, says this
> episode. Be amused by her vapidness, viewer, and embrace her for it!
> No. Hey, I liked the marginally kinder and gentler version better.
>
> Anyway, I'm sure we'll see more about whether this new/old attitude
> will last or whether it'll just be a temporary derailment (a la
> "The Wish"/"Amends"). Given that sense of karma, any lessons
> she might learn from the experiences of the last few years?
> "Foamy" is not an acceptable answer here.
Wow, do we "read" this differently! The old lady uses "bitch" as an
insult and it stings Cordy, it reminds her that the real Cordy does not
take guff from anyone, can talk with enough attitude and aggression to
convince a vampire she's a slayer and send him scurrying away to a hidey
hole, and re-establishes that, except for a short and somewhat rocky
time with the Scoobie gang, a refuge now about a year behind her and a
few hundred miles away, the only one she's ever been able to
consistently rely on has been herself to get her out of trouble.
The fashion-obsession isn't core, but close. The core is independance
and the kind of mental, emotional toughness in dealing with life that,
oddly Buffy mostly lacked. Cordy still is characterized, in some sense,
as the not-Buffy, the how-Buffy-could-have-been-without-powers.
> Also appearing in RWAV but not getting addressed much is Doyle's debt
> to the Jem'Hadar-esque demons, and more broadly, his whole life
> story. He seems so young-looking to be so jaded, but not only do some
> people get sucked in early, but he might be an immortal too. Angel is
> curious but not pushy about figuring him out; well, he's not getting
> any older. Somehow, call it a hunch, I feel like Doyle's past will
> catch up again before he gets the time he wants to sort it out.
>
> So Angel doesn't eat, but he keeps food around his place? And drinks
> coffee?
Uh huh. I've heard he cooks good eggs, too.
> Mrs. Pearson is a ghost with a lot of attitude, and I think Beth
> Grant's performance adds a lot to the episode. Some of the scenes in
> the apartment succeed through sheer force of glower, in fact, as well
> as moments like "you broke it!" Also worth a quick note: the
> character, besides being dead, crazy, and evil, is another for the list
> of ME villains who tell heroes either the truth or what they're
> afraid is the truth. "You don't deserve anything," and so on.
Agreed on all counts.
> The part in which Angel tries to knock some sense into Cordelia during
> the ghost attack is quite unpleasant to watch. I think a big part of
> it is that watching someone cry and shriek in uncontrolled terror for
> five minutes is unlikely to be fun to watch under any circumstances.
> That combined with the random noise and crap flying everywhere makes
> this the episode's worst scene.
Actually, I thought the scene effective, and generally well shot, but
you're right that it feels a bit too long. Shave a second or two off in
a couple of places and I think it would work better.
> The investigation and resolution of the ghost story are pretty good.
See also, "The Cask of Amontillado" by E. A. Poe; also an episode of
_Miami Vice_, of all things.
[...]
> This Is Really Stupid But I Laughed Anyway moment(s):
> - Angel on the Cordettes: "It was like the Soviet secret police, if
> they cared a lot about shoes."
> - The apartment-search (one moment reminded me of one of the places I
> turned down en route to settling on my current apartment. I'll leave
> anyone who cares to guess which part.)
> - "I've got a roommate, but it's cool, I never see him."
>
>
> So...
>
> One-sentence summary: There's a good story and there are loads of
> questionable moments.
>
> AOQ rating: Decent
Randy M. rating: somewhere between Good and Excellent
George W Harris
<rbm...@spamblock.syr.edu> wrote:
:
:It's a sign she's gonna make it on her own.
Cue twirling hat toss and - - freeze frame!
--
"The truths of mathematics describe a bright and clear universe,
exquisite and beautiful in its structure, in comparison with
which the physical world is turbid and confused."
-Eulogy for G.H.Hardy
Randy Money
> On Tue, 16 May 2006 15:18:34 -0400, Randy Money
> <rbm...@spamblock.syr.edu> wrote:
>
> :
> :It's a sign she's gonna make it on her own.
>
> Cue twirling hat toss and - - freeze frame!
I wondered if anyone would pick up on that. Thanks, George.
Randy M.
William George Ferguson
wrote:
>George W Harris wrote:
>> On Tue, 16 May 2006 15:18:34 -0400, Randy Money
>> <rbm...@spamblock.syr.edu> wrote:
>>
>> :
>> :It's a sign she's gonna make it on her own.
>>
>> Cue twirling hat toss and - - freeze frame!
>
>I wondered if anyone would pick up on that. Thanks, George.
>
>Randy M.
Lrf, lbh pna urne vg va ure ynhtugre.
Bbu, lbh pna frr vg va ure fzvyr.
Lrnu, lbh'yy or unatvat sebz gur ensgref.
Bbu, lbh orggre fgnl njuvyr.
Bbu, orggre fgnl njuvyr.
Lrf, gur jubyr jbeyq vf shyy bs ynhtugre.
Bbu, lbh tbg zl urneg n yvggyr jverq.
Lrnu, lbh'yy or unatvat sebz gur ensgref.
Bbu, orggre fgnl njuvyr.
Bbu, lbh orggre fgnl njuvyr.
Bbu, orggre fgnl njuvyr
--
HERBERT
1996 - 1997
Beloved Mascot
Delightful Meal
He fed the Pack
A little
Scott Lurndal
>
>Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
>> ANGEL
>> Season One, Episode 5: "Rm W/ A Vu"
>
>> The investigation and resolution of the ghost story are pretty good.
>
>See also, "The Cask of Amontillado" by E. A. Poe; also an episode of
>_Miami Vice_, of all things.
_Out Where the Buses Don't Run_. Along with _Definitely Miami_ justify
purchasing season 2 on DVD. Add in _Phil the Shill_ as a bonus.
scott