I forget whether I’ve ever mentioned it before, but I’m a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series, Angel. These two shows are, without a doubt, among the very best sci-fi/fantasy (and they contain elements of both, against a backdrop of our real world) ever committed to film for television. One of my favorite things about these series are the range of human experiences they reach out to. One episode might have you laughing your ass off, while the very next one might rip your still-beating heart out of your chest. Unlike most TV writers and their shows, the writers of Buffy and Angel are willing to do horrible things to the characters they’ve brought you to know and love, a fact which delivers a level of emotional interaction and drama that few shows will ever achieve.

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It’s with a sad heart that I post this, but Andy Hallett, who starred on the defunct but awesome show Angel for nearly 5 years, passed away from heart failure just 2 days ago.

If you’ve never seen Angel, I highly recommend it as one of the best drama series’ ever written. It contains elements of both sci-fi and fantasy but remains firmly grounded in the real world with a hand reaching for idealism. Andy Hallett played the lounge singing demon “Lorne” from the first season to the last (if I recall he was introduced late in season 1), and his character brought a happy charm and warmth that was often the touchstone of the series’ optimism. On more than one occasion his portrayal of the character was exactly what brought the show back to a lighter, brighter place after a descent into darkness.

Andy, you’ll be sorely missed, but I have no doubt your contribution to a great show will continue to bring smiles to a lot of people for a long time to come.

I might as well just admit it: I wasn’t really impressed with the first episode of Doll House. Although the premise is quite interesting, I felt like there was a little too much emphasis on cheesy action. Dear Mr. Whedon, please never do another motorcyle chase again. They’re boring and dumb. For the most part, if Evil Knievel isn’t involved, I really couldn’t care less about motorcycles, and in fact I think they detract from the show. But I digress. Before I go too far in, I’ll add this note: Episode 2 was much better than the first, so I think there’s still plenty of hope for the series.

If you haven’t tuned in yet, Doll House is the latest Sci Fi series from cult icon Joss Whedon, who’s behind two of the greatest Sci-fi (and let’s face it, fantasy) television series of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He’s also the man behind the excellent (and prompty cancelled) series Firefly, which was inarguably the most “Sci” of his “Sci fi” series. The premise of Doll House is in some ways much more low key than any of Whedon’s previous works. Buffy and Angel were filled with vampires, demons and evil lawyers; Firefly had cowboys on space ships; but Doll House is conspicuously devoid of the more fantastical trappings into which its creator has historically tapped for his metaphors. Now, that’s not to say that DH doesn’t have a fantastical premise, it certainly does. But though the premise is extraordinary, everything surrounding it is amazing in how ordinary it in fact is.

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