Goodbye to the Champion

In honor of the ending of the show Angel, here's a good article that looks at the message of the final two episodes: "keep on fighting," a theme that fits the story behind the show, of course, but is also a resonant theme for our times in many ways. With Buffy gone, Angel's been my favorite show, and I'll be sad to see it go. Talk of doing tv movies has fallen apart (with Boreanaz resisting), but I'm still holding out hopes for a big screen treatment someday.

TV Gal, she who has tried to spoil so many episodes for me, compiled a fantastic list of the best Angel episodes of all time--all my favorites are here, aside from a few of my picks from the current season, and the rankings are quite good. As I read, I kept thinking, yep, I was so excited by that episode, watched it over and over, pulled strangers in off the street and made them watch it while I explained how brilliant it all was. The only thing I don't see her is the Faith cross-overs, which were all very good.

Meanwhile, preparing for tonight's finale, I'm wondering who's gonna die? Spike already died, as well as Angel. Fred more or less died. That leaves Wesley, Gunn, Harmony and Lorne. I reason that it's between Wes and Gunn for maximum emotional impact. I hate to see either go, but somehow given character history, I'd have to guess...Wes. Argh!

As a footnote, the Frasier send-off was funny, better than that for Friends. It's the first time I've watched the show in years, but I was happy to see it go out with good writing and...wow, an understated ending!!