Sunday, October 12, 2003
TV, Angel, 24
The best two TV shows this season are, or are sure to be, Angel and 24.
Angel has a terrific ensemble cast - the prettiest girls and the coolest spawns of Satan. The camera loves Cordelia - the screen glows with her presence. Angel is sexy in a late adolescent, early adult way that Buffy never was, or was meant to be, as Buffy's chief appeal was to pre-adolescents (with a large adult following too, of course).
The change of locale, from the dark dilapidated Art Deco hotel of last season, to the modern law offices of their current circumstance, was a great idea. Conceptually interesting, the dank hotel never really worked. Locale has a big effect on your feelings about a show. I loved the Rockford Files for many reasons, but the idea of a private eye living on the beach in a trailer was particularly liberating.
24, which hasn't premiered yet, so this is predictive based on last season, was a show I was prepared to hate. I didn't like the gimmick plot concept. I was sure it couldn't be sustained. Boy was I wrong. They keep you wound. It is wonderfully done.
The production values and direction on TV shows is now on a par with the best movies, even the special effects are top notch.
Back to casting: the unsung heroes/heroines of movies and TV are the casting directors. Star Trek was and is terribly cast. As an example, except for Shatner, who had a humorous ironic quality, the captains of the star ships have uniformly been annoying at best. Picard is uncomfortably close to John Lovitz portraying "The Great Thespian" on SNL. Janeway's absurd theatrical affectations and simplistic choices as an actor left you wondering if nuance is even possible on TV. She even has the misfortune to have, what the actor Paul Hogan calls, "ain't I great" eyebrows.
It was always the simple morality play, well told, that held Star Trek together. Now that they have lost that center, going for techno chases and shoot 'em ups, now that they have cynically attempted to sex it up - leaving out the sexiness itself - the show has imploded.
The cast of Angel by contrast is uniformly good. The inspired character - I think his name is Lorne - the damaged demon, victim of an abusive upbringing, with his karaoke night club, is more human than the human characters. The actor playing Lorne seems over qualified for the cleverly conceived character - he is terrific. The actor playing the black guy from the hood adds a sensitivity and interior quality that surprises and enhances the show. Even the English guy is better than his counterpart in Buffy. For one thing, you can understand him - he took his diction classes and realizes that slurring speech is not an acting style. (This latter is a long time gripe about acting in general - clarity of speech. You can be understandable no matter the distortions of speech you present to establish the character...) Each and every actor appearing in Angel is unique and doesn't seem poured in by a casting director who is hiring members of his/her own gene pool.