Angel - Season Three

Rating:
Summary: Hitting it's stride
Review: Just like the show it was spun off from, Angel achieved greatness in it's third season. Beginning with Angel (David Boreanaz) mourning the death of his former lover Buffy, the vampire with a soul finds his old love Darla (Julie Benz) pregnant with his child, while the evil law firm of Wolfram & Hart begins to dismantle everything that Angel and his crew have built around them. Evil seductress Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov) has her own plans as well, and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) faces a destiny that she, nor viewers who have watched her since she was on Buffy, would have never expected. As the season comes to a close, the love triangle between Wesley (Alexis Denisof), Fred (Amy Acker), and Gunn (J. August Richards) explodes, and the super cliffhanger season finale has to be seen to be believed. The cast of Angel excels in this season more than ever (I firmly believe that this is the best season of Angel) and the casting of Vincent Kartheiser as Angel's estranged son Connor is perfect. Andy Hallet is plain loveable as the green skinned, karaoke loving demon Lorne, and Boreanaz is at his brooding best. All in all, season 3 of Angel saw the show step out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's shadow and stand on it's own as one of the best prime time TV dramas on the air.

Rating:
Summary: A full featured set
Review: The show quailty is great in this season. I remember being glued to my TV each night this was on. The story gets twisted and they break all the rules that you though you knew about vampires & demons. In a way, this season is bridge between the early & later seasons. (Not only cause it's the 3rd of the 5 seasons, but for where it takes the story.)

As for DVD features, I have to say this is the best out of the 5 sets. So if you're a medocre fan of Angel, like perhaps it's maybe not your favorite show, but you watch it, and want a copy on an unbreakable format, with features that you can't get from DVRing, then get this.

I have all the set, and if I could only get one DVD set of angel - then this is the one! It's got some deleted scenes, some out takes from the series, 3 great commentaries, and more.

Rating:
Summary: if I had to choose a least favorite, this is it
Review: this season is when Angel gets REALLY DRAMATIC, don't get me wrong, dramatic is good, but this season to me just isn't as entertaining and appealing to me as the other seasons. To me, this season gives me this kind of feeling: " I don't feel like watching it again, but if I think back, this season really does have great story arc and lots of important and deep things happened."

since I really don't have much say about this season- because it's my least favorite (well, if I have one that is), I'm just gonna point out the episodes that are my favorite:

Heartthrob- the first episode of each Angel's season is always good, although I believe this season's season premire is my least favorite, but it's still one of the best of the season.

That Old Gang of Mine- when Gunn's loyalty been tested, it was a great episode!!!

Fredless- Reveals Fred's wounds, how she is in a denial and thinks she lives in a fairy tale- I LOVE THE IDEA!!!!

Lullaby- the whole Darla pregnate sequence the only one I think is particular strong is this episode, when Darla sacrifices herself for the child and the conversation on the roof. I guess the reason I didn't like the sequence that much is because of Holtz- I really didn't like him too much. And the whole "Angelus killed my family therefore I'm looking for revenge" thing didn't appeal to me or make me sympathize for him because DUDE, you should know that when you are a vampire hunter it's a really dangerous job, you should've protected your family better. I mean DUH, of course Angelus is gonna come after your family, I mean, you've chased for Angelus for this long so what's Angelus gonna do? stand back and go like "come and get me???" If I were Angelus I would've done THE EXACT SAME THING. it's like you put your family in a lion's den and the lion killed your family and you blame it on the lion and seek revenge on the lion, god! if Holtz is smart enough to plan out such a cruel vengence for Angel, he's stupid enough to left his family and not leave SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS on who to invite in and tell his wife to watch his daughter???- STUPID!!! Anyways, I really don't feel holtz's character and watching him is probably the only times I feel frustrated or bored from watching Angel.

Dad- when Angel fooled the whole crowd who come after Connor!!! WOW!!!

Birthday- the turn for Cordelia and her choice!!!

Sleep Tight,Forgiving- Wesley's stong point!!!!! and Angel trying to kill Wesley is also very shocking and very strong, it shows that although Angel can be more kind and forgiving than most people, he is still, deep down, a human, and can get really pissed. I mean, wouldn't you be when your ONLY child that you'll ever have gets kidnapped by your best friend and ended up in a hell dimention??? POOR WESLEY!!!

that's about it, any ways, this season was a great lead-in for season four and five, worth owning and worth watching, and the cover for this season is like Dusk- before sun sets into darkness, which is a nice transition for season four- dark and green- evil rises. Dusk contradicts Dawn, which is season five.


Rating:
Summary: yeah
Review: I haven't watched a single season of Angel that I didn't love. Can't say the same for Buffy.

The cast fit's as one this season. They are dynamic together. Best Cliff-Hanger ever! I you don't like cliff-hangers you'll hate this. So sad for you...

I'd recomend the show over Buffy any day! Buy it!

Rating:
Summary: I <3 Whedonverse DVD sets...
Review: This set isn't packed with goodies (how I usually prefer my DVD purchases to be), but what is there is fantastic. Gag reels are always great, and the deleted scenes with commentary tell you everything you could want to know. I missed a lot of the third season when it originally aired, and catching up this way has been fun. This is a purchase worth some money, but not as much as specialty stores would charge (upwards of $55).

Rating:
Summary: A classic season that finally seperates itself from BTVS.
Review: With Buffy on a new network and crossovers impossible Angel dug into the trenches and worked all on it's own. The intro of Holtz as a villian was a terrific touch.

Holtz and Lorne are really the greatest examples of the writers beginning to find their footing as far as creating a self existing universe independent of Buffy. The greatness of Holtz is that he has a genuine beef with Angel and is more a vigalante than villian.

The character progression of Cordy and her relationship with Angel is great and much needed. It is nice to see Angel's jealousy over other men and his affection for Cordy growing. It is great to see that Angel still wants to connect with people on an intimate level and his ship with Cordy is unfairly bashed by Buffy/Angel folks.

Fred is just a delight to have around and her love triangle with Wes and Gunn is angsty to the core. Poor Wesley goes through every emotion on the scale in Season 3 and you can't help but feel sorry for him.

The characterizations are rich and detailed. The moral dilemmas are hard and uncompromising. The storylines are fiery and fantastic. This was a great season no matter how you slice it.

Rating:
Summary: Probably 'Angel's finest moment
Review: Season three was certainly the most intriguing of 'Angel'. After the events that occured in the previous season, Darla returns to inform Angel that she is pregnant with his child... Yeah. This season is full of surprises that actually surprise. The real drama doesn't even start until Angel's son Connor is actually born, but is then thought to play a part in what else but the apocalypse. Wesley betrays the group by stealing Connor only to have him taken away to a dimension where he grows up quite quickly and returns to this world as a young man. The characters go through some changes this season. We see both Angel and Cordelia take on roles as parental figures for the young Connor and Fred and Gunn's relationship begins to strengthen. Both 'Buffy' and 'Angel' season finales normally provide closure so this finale comes as a huge shock. Connor locks his father into a metal box and sinks him into the bottom of the ocean... Ouch. This is a great season of 'Angel' with so much depth in its characters.

Rating:
Summary: Great series
Review: This is my favorite season of Angel. I started watching it because the premise was so similar to another vampire series that is a long-time favorite of mine -- Forever Knight. If you liked Angel but haven't seen the Forever Knight series, you'll probably like that also.


Rating:
Summary: Extremely good season
Review: I never managed to watch an episode of Angel while it was on television. However, I have been watching the show season per season on the DVD sets. The thing that has impressed me the most about Angel, is that the show has gotten better with each passing season. The first two seasons were excellent, but did not put Angel on the same level as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season three was the first season to really make Angel feel less like a spin-off and more like a show coming into its own. I was dragged into season three right away, and I was kept there until the end. With the acception of one bad episode, every episode in season three managed to be enjoyable.

Perhaps one of the best aspects of season three, is the fact that Fred is established as a main character now and brought into the group. Amy Acker does such a wonderful job in the role and really makes Fred become an enjoyable character and pivotal part of the group. Season three also let us see a different and more darker side to Wesley as well. I do have to admit however that I was extremely skeptical at the start of season three, due to the fact that the main storyline would be focused around Darla being pregnant with Angel's child. But, it actually helps to drive the season forward very effectively. Season three also does a great job at showing that your past can come back to haunt you, when a vampire hunter named Holtz whose family was killed by Darla and Angelus, is brought over 200 years into the future to kill Angel. Holtz ends up becoming an extremely important character throughout the season which helps to make season three that much better.

A few episodes worth mentioning in season three are "Birthday" which is a fabulous "what if" episode in which Cordelia gets to experience what her life would have been like if she had never run into Angel, "That Vision Thing" in which Cordelia's visions start to hurt her physically, "Lullaby" in which we see the final stages of Darla giving birth to Angel's and her son Connor, "Sleep Tight" in which Angel begins to crave for human blood, and his son Connor is kidnapped by Holtz into a hell dimension, "Waiting in the Wings" which involves a haunted ballet, and the season finale "Tomorrow" which supplies a cliffhanger that will blow you away.

Overall, I enjoyed season three of Angel from beginning to end and it was the first season to really let Angel stand on its own away from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Aside from the episodes themselves, the DVD also features some pretty good extras as well.

A solid 5 stars...

Rating:
Summary: a great season, but weakest of Angel
Review: this season does not altogether blend well as the other seasons. But rather serves as a "bridge" from the first two seasons to the last two seasons. And it was a good "bridge", just the show is not as strong as the other seasons.
This season is like "sticking" shows to explain the future shows to come. It moved from the transformation of Fred, the coming to Angel's son, Angel's final relationship with Darla, and the betrayal of Wesley( the climax of the season).
alot of people thinks the coming of Angel's son is the climax of the third season, which is not really true. the fact that we don't know anything about Angel's son, or what does it mean, makes it not the climax of this season. instead, the betrayal of Wesley is the strength of this season. It showed the uniqueness of Wesley, that he is loyal to Angel in both ways- that he cares for Angel and would do anything to save him. but also is willing to do whatever it takes to bring Angel down if Angel goes into the dark side. Wesley believes connor is what will bring Angel to the dark side again- that Angel will devour his own son by the temptation of connor's blood. So Wesley was afraid and confused and acted on his own by taking connor away. But Wesley was also manipulated. This marked Wesley's downfall by depending too much on prophecies to make their next move. I thought this was brilliantly done- the point that Angel shouldn't be always using prophecies as fighting strategies, because it may not come true or there may be another loophole.
The most touching part of this season is the death of Darla. That the coming of Angel's son makes his connection with Darla complete. That after all the evil they've done they are finally be able to do something good, and Darla's redemption was complete when she killed herself in order to save Angel's son. And Angel is finally able to grieve for Darla he couldn't in season two ( when Angel swore to stay with Darla until she dies). This marked the perfect ending for Darla and her relationship with Angel.
This season also introduced the twisted villian- Holtz, the one who has the pure hatred for Angel and therefore became a villian himself by letting the darkness of the hatred take over him. And the coming of the "really bad thing" is really when Sajhan transported Holtz into this world that started the chain of connor, cordelia and finally jasmine, the source of the apocalyse.

The weak part of this season: Angel's character development. I really didn't like the wimpy, hyper, fatherhood obsessing Angel instead of the brooding, cool, dark one. Even though Angel's behavior is excusible because he was drinking spiked blood which turned him alittle crazy. But funny Angel really isn't funny anymore when he does it every single episode. I know in season one whenever Angel does something out of ordinary or funny it's really hilarious and people like to see more of that. But no, it's more stupid than funny this time. I was really glad when Wesley betrayed him and pulled him out of the wimpy guy back to broody, what Angel should be.
overall, you definitely need it in order to get the brilliant season four and five.