Conversations with Dead People

What initially seemed like a pretty vague thematic grouping of episodes to discuss winds up proving to have some metaphorical meat on its bones. Returning friend Melanie Scala helps me find the significance of episodes 217, “Disharmony” and 218, “Dead End” beyond just the twin sides of the “where do we go from here” coin. In the former, a typically vacuous Harmony recon

“If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.” Reunited, and it feels so good. Mimesis author and Deli Counter of Justice co-creator Eric Sipple is back with me, this time discussing two of the very best episodes of the show, “Reprise” and “Epiphany.” We bid farewell, mostly fondly, to Virginia Bryce, Holland Manners, and Kate Lockley, welcome a contri

“It’ll wash.” NEXT: episodes 215, “Reprise” and 216, “Epiphany.” BREAKDOWN 00:00:55 - Intro / Guest 00:04:09 - Main Topic 01:11:11 - Outro / Next MUSIC “Conversations (feat. Wesley Mead)” by Azura (2017) “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson, Bad (1988)

Welcome back, Dead People! [Insert excuses for another delay between episodes here] Friend and fellow genre nerd Sarah Kosheff joins me for the first time on the ‘cast, and she brought a couple of her very favorite Angel episodes with her. 210, “Reunion” shows us the aftermath of last episode’s shocking cliffhanger; the darkness that has been threatening to settle over our

“Darla” is an absolutely brilliant directorial debut by Tim Minear, which acts as a companion piece to Buffy’s “Fool for Love,” but also stands flawlessly on its own to deepen our understanding of the Fearsome Foursome vampire coterie. “The Shroud of Rahmon” is equal parts engaging (noir homages; character death misdirects; foreshadowing Angel’s coming darkness) and

Conversations with Dead People is back, and with hardly any time at all between episodes! Seriously, for all you could tell I recorded this episode the same night as our last one. Seamless! Hollywood hotshot Michael Holland is here and we share a few words about the Apple TV+ series The Afterparty, which debuted recently and for which Michael served as Post-Production Supervisor, b

Melanie Scala joins me for her first Angel outing, picking up the pieces left in the aftermath of the Season 1 finale as we discuss a slightly uneven but ultimately pretty great three-episode launch for Season 2. Episode 201, titled (appropriately) “Judgment,” and episode 203, titled (also appropriately) “First Impressions,” lay down the important themes of recognizing our

“Don’t believe everything you’re foretold.” ~Angel The prophecy is finally fulfilled as author, scholar, and friend Elizabeth Rambo makes her Angel conversations debut, just in time for the explosive final episodes of the first season. While the previous two Faith-centric episodes are a hard act to follow, “War Zone” steps up to the plate big time with the introduction

“Help me.” ~Faith After a good-not-great season one so far, Angel finds its feet properly, giving one of the best characters from across the Whedonverse one of the best moments of character development from across the Whedonverse. Or that’s my opinion at least. Fortunately, my good friend, Broken Magic author Eric Sipple agrees with me, so I let him come back on the show. Tog

Two episodes that likely don’t feature on anyone’s Top 10 lists. “The Ring” features our heroes releasing a bunch of murderous demons into the city. “Eternity” posits that anyone could have roofied Angel at any time to release Angelus. Both setups draw a fair amount of fan criticism. But Classic Hollywood connoisseur and CWDP repeat offender Michael Holland joins me to