HH's Top AtS Episodes RESULTS (finally)

[Hellbound Hyperion]

OK! Just as JW did with the Buffy episodes poll, here I am on the Angel thread with the final results for my own round of polling on everyone's favorite ANGEL episodes!

But first, an apology: I can't do math. Well, OK, that's an exaggeration. I'm actually very capable at math. I was able to successfully compute the poll votes from round to round all the way until the finals. See, Time Bomb, a late S5 episode featuring Illyria, had 49 votes at the end of Round Nine. This means it should have been included in the top 20 episodes that were voted on in the final round. For some reason, it wasn't, and it was only after I went back and calculated the votes from all the rounds for every episode that I discovered my mistake. It's the only computational error I made, and I deeply apologize to fans of the episode (including myself) for allowing that to happen. It won't happen again, promise.

Now, on to the results! Prepare for a mega-long post from here on out!

First up: total votes for all the seasons!

SEASON ONE TOTAL: 555
SEASON TWO TOTAL: 396
SEASON THREE TOTAL: 403
SEASON FOUR TOTAL: 400
SEASON FIVE TOTAL: 930

And now the results. I've cut up the list of 110 episodes into 5 sets of 20 episodes, with general write-ups for each list, and the top 10 episodes with a write-up by me for each episode. The numbers next to each are the number of votes each episode got. They're organized in descending order because I was organizing to see which episodes would fit in what category, so sorry they're not EXACTLY labeled, but you get the idea.

The Bottom of the Barrel (#91 thru #110)

SPOILER: Click to show

Long Day's Journey - 3
The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco - 3
Supersymmetry - 2
Players - 2
Inside Out - 2
Just Rewards - 2
Couplet - 2
Double or Nothing - 2
The Price - 2
Untouched - 2
Dead End - 1
A New World - 1
Slouching Toward Bethlehem - 1
First Impressions - 1
Blood Money - 1
Happy Anniversary - 1
I Fall To Pieces - 1
Blind Date - 0
The Thin Dead Line - 0
Unleashed - 0

These are the episodes that you just didn't care for. The 0 votes are understandable - Nina's story is kinda meh, and The Thin Dead Line and Blind Date are two stand-alones from the first two seasons that just don't make an impression. The really surprising drop for me in this section is the drop of Supersymmetry. I personally love that episode, it's a powerful Fred episode that sharply contrasts with her character of a year ago and informs the rest of the season for her. Dead End was kind of a loss too - Angel and Lindsey are so petty and childish when they're together.

Your Episode Is Not So Much (#71 thru #90)

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Deep Down - 8
Expecting - 8
Peace Out - 8
Judgment - 7
Guise Will Be Guise - 7
Heartthrob - 7
Sacrifice - 7
Redefinition - 7
Calvary - 6
Dear Boy - 6
That Old Gang of Mine - 6
The Prodigal - 5
Bachelor Party - 5
Benediction - 5
Somnambulist - 4
She - 4
Eternity - 4
Tomorrow - 4
Forgiving - 4
Belonging - 3

Not surprisingly, Season One was purged quickly, but not without company from 2 3 and 4. I was pleasantly surprised to see That Old Gang of Mine get 6 votes - even Tim Minear (who wrote the episode) doesn't like it! I personally dig the Angel/Gunn moment at the end - speaks volumes about the kind of relationship Angel and Gunn have over the course of the show. Three season premiere episodes sink in this part too - Deep Down from S4, Heartthrob of S3, and Judgment of S2.

Well, It's Better Than An Apocalypse Anyway... (#51 thru #70)

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Reunion - 17
Disharmony - 17
Origin - 17
Loyalty - 17
Conviction - 15
That Vision Thing - 15
Reprise - 15
Lonely Hearts - 14
Quickening - 14
Ground State - 14
Sense & Sensitivity - 13
Release - 13
Dad - 13
Provider - 13
Habeas Corpses - 12
Awakening - 11
Offspring - 11
Sleep Tight - 10
I've Got You Under My Skin - 10
War Zone - 10

More S1 purging, also hollowing out S3, which is apparently less-liked than I thought, especially the Angel taking care of baby Connor stuff. Oh well. Say good-bye to the last Gwen episode too - her origin story, contained within "Ground State" is here amongst the replaced S1 ep2 episode "Lonely Hearts" (it replaced the much darker "Corrupt" that was originally planned to be shot) and Wesley's betrayal in "Sleep Tight". (And extra sad-face for losing a S4 Faith episode. Noes!)

A Few Months Swimming With These Episodes Really Gives You Perspective (#31 thru #50)

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Over The Rainbow - 36
Soul Purpose - 36
Birthday - 35
Lineage - 32
Damage - 30
Carpe Noctem - 30
Through the Looking Glass - 29
Home - 29
Why We Fight - 28
Parting Gifts - 25
In The Dark - 25
Soulless - 25
Underneath - 24
Shiny Happy People - 23
The Ring - 23
The House Always Wins - 23
Power Play - 21
Salvage - 20
Apocalypse, Nowish - 18
The Shroud of Rahmon - 17

Oh come on, The Shroud of Rahmon is awesome! There's a great batch of episodes in here, including some that were doing very well in the beginning - so much love for Lorne! One of my favorite S1 episodes, The Ring, lost here, as did Oz's appearance in In The Dark, the beginning of the 3-episode Faith arc in Salvage ("this is a salvage mission, not search-and-destroy"), and Angel gets taken over by an old man's soul in Carpe Noctem. Season Five finally lost more episodes in greater numbers - Why We Fight is an excellent episode, as is Underneath, Damage, and Lineage. And finally, Cordy's birthday!

Not Quite Barry Manilow, But It'll Do (#11 thru #30)

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I Will Remember You - 60
Destiny - 59
Sanctuary - 59
Orpheus - 54
The Magic Bullet - 51
City Of - 50
To Shanshu In L.A. - 49
Harm's Way - 49
Time Bomb - 49
Fredless - 47
Life of the Party - 45
The Girl in Question - 45
There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb - 44
Billy - 42
Hell Bound - 42
Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been - 41
The Trial - 41
Lullaby - 41
Epiphany - 38
Hero - 37

And here's where we get down to the heart of the show. I could ramble on endlessly about the epicness of the finale for the Pylea arc in S2, Tim Minear's artistic approach to the 50s in Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been, or the impeccably wonderful, beautiful, and outstanding Julie Benz as Darla in The Trial and Lullaby. All of this next to Amy Acker, who goes from sweet little Fred in Fredless to the cold shell of Illyria in Time Bomb without missing a beat. Also, Buffy and Harmony - two damn fine blondes, am I right?

#10: Rm w/a Vu (Season One, Episode 5) - 64 votes total

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Anybody who professes a love of Cordelia Chase has this episode in their re-watch repertoire. Cordelia's search for a new apartment and Doyle's personal financial problems with the local demon crowds reflect the darker tone of the show as compared to Buffy. This isn't Sunnydale High, it's the big city, and everybody's working hard just to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. No doubt, this is an episode worthy of mention in a top ten Angel episodes list.

#9: Darla (Season Two, Episode 7) - 65 votes total

SPOILER: Click to show

Right... that praise I had for Julie Benz? Copy and paste like... a thousand times over. Seriously. David and Julie practically carry the show throughout most of its second season (with support from Juliet Landau, beautiful as always), but here Julie just gives it all up for us. Darla has a soul, and boy does she hate it, and every line that spins out of her mouth is more fuel to Angel's fire. This was the only Season Two episode to make the top ten list, but in retrospect, I can think of only one other episode that could even compete from that season to be here. Simply amazing.

#8: Spin The Bottle (Season Four, Episode 6) - 68 votes total

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I have played exactly one game of Spin The Bottle, and it... didn't end well. I guess that's a nice analogy to THIS fine episode from Season Four... which for all intents and purposes is Angel's version of Tabula Rasa from Buffy. Except this episode has way more wacky fun (in my opinion at least) than TR. Fred wants weed and breasts, Gunn wants to fight vamps, Wesley wants to be the best Watcher he can be, Cordy wants to be homecoming queen (again), and Angel... is 200 years misplaced. Oh, also, Connor's acting like a petulant child again and Lorne is talking to himself in an empty cabaret. In all seriousness, though, this episode is finely written and directed by the man himself, Joss Whedon... and like Tabula Rasa, it even has plot development! *gasp*

#7: Smile Time (Season Five, Episode 14) - 68 votes total

SPOILER: Click to show

I'm scarred from children's television for life after this episode. But this is an excellent episode, with plenty of great moments (including one of the most memorable Spike moments in either show) and an engaging storyline that keeps you digging deeper into the mystery. Oh, and Fred and Wesley FINALLY hook up... only to get ruined later by Joss. But don't think about that when you watch this! Think instead of how happy they'll be and all the nerdy brainiac children they'll have... Also, puppets. Can't go wrong with puppets.

#6: Waiting In The Wings (Season Three, Episode 13) - 82 votes total

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"I'm having a lot of trust issues at this time in my life!" And with that, it's off to the ballet. This episode is so magical and beautiful and tragic that I couldn't even be bothered to say something like "ohhh it's alright" or "meh, it's good but not top ten good" because I'd be lying. This episode is damn good. DAMN DAMN DAMN GOOD. No questions asked, thanks and have a great day. Swordfighting, Angel and Cordelia living out a very hot fantasy, and, well, Summer Glau. I mean, I hate to pull the Summer Glau card, but SUMMER EFFING GLAU.

#5: Five By Five (Season One, Episode 18) - 85 votes total

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Oh, OK, I get it. Season Four isn't good enough for you. Well neener neener. I was never the biggest fan of Faith on Buffy, although I do admit she was the best foil for the Buffster on that show. But here on Angel, she grows. And I mean GROWS. I fell in love with her after this episode - is there any better moment than the final shot in the alley and the rain? Eliza does the impossible in sliding from the murderous fiend that we knew from Buffy to a repentant Slayer in a matter of seconds. This episode, the only other Season One episode in the top ten, is worth every second.

#4: Not Fade Away (Season Five, Episode 22) - 87 votes total

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You know, here's an interesting question - which episode of Angel reflects the show's core themes better, the pilot (City Of) or the finale? This is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night! Anyway, at #4 is our cliffhanger-ish finale to an incredible show, wherein Lorne finally shows us how deep off the deep end he really is, Illyria gets mighty pissed and kills things, Wesley pays the ultimate price for Angel's mission (it's what animates us, right?), Gunn gets ten memorable minutes, Spike is... well, Spike, and Angel finally gets back in touch with what made him cool to hang with in the first place. And more alleys and more rain. But hey, who's counting? This alley had dragons anyway, that makes it INFINITELY better than the one in Five by Five.

#3: You're Welcome (Season Five, Episode 12) - 91 votes total

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Another Cordy-centric episode at #3 - I am Joe's Complete Lack of Surprise. But this is a fine episode nonetheless - it's a beautiful farewell to Cordy, especially given Season Four's bizarre events, and ANGEL EFFS UP LINDSEY WHILE HIS HERO THEME PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND. Epic. Truly inspiring stuff. It's also a nice, comforting middle ground between the earlier S5 episodes and the stuff about to come. (Speaking of which...)

#2: A Hole in the World (Season Five, Episode 15) - 92 votes total

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Yeah, Joss killed another one. Are you upset? You should be. It's FRED, dammit. WINIFRED BURKLE. *sigh* But to his credit, at least Joss knows how to kill someone. Although it isn't as artistic as The Body, this episode, beautifully written and directed by the man himself, is heart-wrenching from the first minute to the last line. In Fred's dying hours, we see her as she truly is - at once full of strength and vitality ("I am not going to be cut down by some monster flu, I am better than that!") to fatigue and vulnerability ("But I wonder... how very scared I am..."). Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof completely own this episode - poor Wesley holds so dearly to Fred as the rest of the gang scrambles desperately to find a way to stop Illyria from taking hold. But Spike brings the pain in a very different way at the end: "There's a hole in the world... feels like we ought to have known." Doesn't get any better than this. Well, except for in this list.

#1: Shells (Season Five, Episode 16) - 95 votes total

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And the gold medal goes to... Shells! I am honestly a big fan of AHitW/Shells - although they're two parts of one story, it doesn't feel that way - a true tribute to Joss & Co. who can seamlessly mix stand-alone stories with plot development in unique and interesting ways. Illyria rises and falls in the course of 40 minutes, and what a rise and fall it is! Angel flies out a window that is very high up, Wesley stabs Gunn for his role in Fred's death, Harmony is reassuring (what?!), and Spike finally makes up his damn mind about what he's going to do from here on out. All the emotions toyed with in the previous episode spill out into this one, as Fred is mourned and Illyria's presence becomes the new status quo for the group. And she is indeed the question mark for humanity - is there anything in this world but grief? And Wesley gives such a hopeful response that Illyria's next question is mortifying, cutting down to the roots: "Is that enough... to live on?" There are many outstanding episodes of ANGEL in the list, but few are so eloquently designed as A Hole in the World or Shells, who together dominated the voting. <3

Well, that's that. Thanks to everyone who voted! It was fun.

[zamolxis]

Thanks for the poll. As for the results, well, S5 went on a blast, no wonder so many episodes are in top ten

[Randi Giles]

Thanks and yay for season 5 making it into the top four episodes. Best season ever and Shells deserved the win.

[VampSlayer]

I'm very happy that A Hole in the World and Shells got the top two spots. I'm not sure if I would have had Shells 1st though. Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't. They are both so amazing, it is hard to choose. Amy was her best in both of those episodes. You're Welcome aslo was meant to be third. That episode was a great good bye to Cordy.

Thanks so much for doing this! ;D

[lightandmagic]

I'm still so disappointed in the fact the Reunion got as low as it did. It is without a doubt in my top 10 episodes and it's near the bottom. Depressing. =[

Although the top 3 are all really worthy of occupying their spots, especially A Hole in the World.

[VampSlayer]

Wait, didn't Hole In The World get the most votes in the final round? It got 21, and Shells got 12. I take it Shells got more overall, not in that round?

[Hellbound Hyperion]

Sept 27, 2009 13:50:42 GMT -5 VampSlayer said:

Wait, didn't Hole In The World get the most votes in the final round? It got 21, and Shells got 12. I take it Shells got more overall, not in that round?

That's correct. In fact, up until the last couple of rounds, Shells had the most votes every round. Then when all the major player episodes started being shoved into the same rounds, A Hole in the World overtook Shells for #1 in those rounds, but only by a few votes - not quite enough to win the final vote for #1 overall, as you can see from the vote totals. Three more votes would have put the two episodes together.