"She"
Airdate: February 8, 2000

When we first heard about the new character that Bai Ling would be playing on Angel, I thought it was all a mistake. I thought to myself, "This must just be the product of some demented copywriter at the WB. They don't actually mean 'intergalactic princess'."

They did. And it gets more disturbing. In the actual episode, she's referred to as interdimensional royalty or something of that sort. People actually call her "Princess". When I visited the website for New York's WB affiliate, seeking the episode's title, I found a small blurb about the episode on the front page where they described Bai Ling's character as "a powerful warrior princess!"

Three points. One: "Princess" is a title reserved for use by Doyle when referring to Cordelia. I don't care if he's dead. This is just the way it works. Two: Bai Ling, you were doing well in films. Should've stuck with it. Three: Xena: Warrior Princess is not my thing. If I wanted to see Xena I'd watch it.

Call me a nostalgic old codger, but I'm missin' the glory days. Remember when Angel's Batman-like gadgets never worked? Remember when Doyle used to make all the right wisecracks? Remember watching in awe as Cordelia was rapidly gaining dimension? Remember the witty banter and the great dynamic? Remember when Doyle took off his shirt and -- oh, wait, that last one never actually happened.

I guess what I'm really saying is that this new Angel just isn't doing it for me. I could mark Doyle's death as the defining moment, though it's been more like a swift and steady landslide than a drop off a cliff. The show had promised to be darker, edgier, more adult -- and yet here it is well into its first season, and rather than holding to that edge, it's resorting to stupid visual gags and a lot of slapstick nonsense, and the reversion from witty barbs to spastic dance numbers has left me cold on the series. As if that weren't bad enough, they had to throw in the intergalactic princess to the mix when they had a perfectly good, bad-ass female cop who's got proven talent but who's also underutilized in the extreme.

And let's talk about our dear Princess, shall we? As if it weren't cheesy enough that she's some sort of interdimensional hero, saving women from lives of servitude and general yech, she also has to be Angel's new love interest. Not that I'm totally against the idea; I liked Buffy and Angel, but there's gotta be an end to the pain, right? So a new love interest could be good. But the spines on her back glow (with incredibly horrible effects, mind you) when she's all hot and bothered? Give me a feckin' break. The whole woman-of-mystery so-hot-she-melts-massive-quantities-of-ice thing doesn't score her any points, either, and then of course there's the shirt. Ah yes, that shirt. This is a character I'd expect to have, say... practical clothing. Maybe Kevlar or something, since people are always trying to kill her. But no, quite the contrary. She's got this shirt -- you know the kind, on Star Trek the Klingon women wear 'em -- that's got this big hole, front and center. Oh yeah, all I ever wanted to see was Bai Ling's breasts. No offense to the actress, of course, as I'm sure she has wonderful breasts and all, but what's the point of that?

When Angel started its season, I was ready to proclaim it better than Buffy. I probably did proclaim it better. It was amazing, it was phenomenal, it was really going places.... But I take it back. I've given the show plenty of chances even after it began its downward slide, but this just isn't my show anymore.

Intergalactic princess, my ass.

-- Lisa Kincaid

Angel airs Tuesdays on the WB.

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