Thanks. I was going crazy searching for this! I've really enjoyed the show till now, but this week I fell in love!

crhobbs42 | March 07, 12:54 CET

I am really amazed how long they are keeping the theme of watching and observing (through media). I mean, the first shot of this show was a surveillance camera, we got Alpha watching Caroline on a TV at the end of "Ghost", the camera-reference in Jenny's hallucinations in "The Target", the fan using video as his kindnappers-message in "Stage Fright", a whole bunch of surveillance cameras in "Gray Hour", and now Paul seeing Echo on TV.

Great show.

wiesengrund | March 07, 17:40 CET

This one looks pretty intense! Can't wait to see out it turns out.

Shep | March 07, 18:11 CET

wow can't wait until next week.

Chris the Bloody | March 07, 19:52 CET

Last night's episode was my favorite yet. I hope they keep getting better (as they have other than the third one, which dipped a bit but was still good)!

Dan Corson | March 07, 20:25 CET

Brian Bloom! Gah!

That is all. :)

TamaraC | March 07, 22:44 CET

(First impression.)

So. An episode making fun of a bunch of horrible religious nuts? How... daring, and creative, and unique.

/c:`

filops | March 08, 01:42 CET

What else are you supposed to do when commenting on the horrible religious nuts? Praise them?

I'm wondering how many parallels there are going to be between this episode and Tim's (assumed defunct) show for ABC called Miracle Man about a fake evangelical prophet. Brian, as we all remember, was in Tim's Drive.

TamaraC | March 08, 01:53 CET

Tim Minear did some really intriguing stuff with religious imagery on Angel.

Pointy | March 08, 01:55 CET

Praise them?

You're America, you elect them.

Tamara, that's a good question. I hear Miracle Man is pretty much dead. Tim is, as many will know, the son of a preacher man, so it'll be interesting to see where this goes.

[ edited by gossi on 2009-03-08 01:57 ]

gossi | March 08, 01:56 CET

Hey give us a little credit for our electoral body's recent return to sanity. We're trying over here. ;)

TamaraC | March 08, 02:11 CET

Not to get all political, but Obama is the sign of hope the world needs. I was joking above - you gals and guys did good.

gossi | March 08, 02:18 CET

I can't wait to see how Tim handles this. Friday can't come soon enough!

crhobbs42 | March 08, 02:48 CET

Don't be so hard on Obama, gossi. I don't think many believe he's serious about his Christian profession.

I'll wait until after seeing the ep, of course, to say whether someone in the Whedon stable has stretched, or whether it's the same song, 479th verse — as the trailer appears. Creativity, he's got in spades. In some areas.

filops | March 08, 05:32 CET

filops, I see that you walk way out there on that extreme edge. Wishing you peace with that choice.

BTW, it's a Minear ep. He knows evangelicals and their extreme ilk.

TamaraC | March 08, 05:37 CET

I rolled my eyes when I saw the trailer too, because while the media showcases the extreme cases of religious right wing nuts, the majority of people of faith are okay people. Not that I'm in that camp anymore.

But heck. Brian Bloom? I'm there. :)

redeem147 | March 08, 06:04 CET

There is a HUGE difference between being a practicing Christian and being a fanatical religious cult leader and I find it extremely offensive when anyone implies they are similar or in the same camp.

[ edited by WheelsOfJoy on 2009-03-08 06:15 ]

WheelsOfJoy | March 08, 06:13 CET

Who implied that, WheelsofJoy? The show seems to be about crazy fanatical cult people. It is written by Tim Minear. We don't even know that they are Christian. Someone just made the assumption that it disparaged crazy Christian cults. A logical assumption but not a given. Could be any crazy cult.

TamaraC | March 08, 08:10 CET

I know. just making a general statement.

WheelsOfJoy | March 08, 08:15 CET

I just haven't seen too many crazy cults in the US that weren't Christian. The majority of the nutcases are. But then Christianity is rampant in the US so I guess it is inevitable.

TamaraC | March 08, 09:20 CET

You got it in one, Tamara: just another one of those rampant Christians, living on the edge.

(c;

filops | March 08, 16:39 CET

Just wanted to remind folks that only half of Americans voted for the self-proclaimed "evangelical." Also, when a country has an overwhelming majority that practice one broadly defined religion, most of their extreme fringe groups will fit in that broad definition. Hence, extremist Christian cults in the US and fundamentalist Islamic terrorists in parts of the Middle East. Acknowledging this by portraying such characters in no way implies that most Christians are cultists or that most Muslims are terrorists. Both religions are primarily practiced by decent people who would just prefer to live their lives in peace. However, decent, peaceful people living decent, peaceful lives doesn't make for a very dynamic story, and ignoring the existence of crazy fringe groups doesn't make them go away.

QingTing | March 08, 20:55 CET

Right; and it's all balanced out by recurring, sane, fully-realized, identifiably practicing Christian characters such as... er... and then there was that ... um that guy who, um....

QED

filops | March 09, 02:34 CET

I am really amazed how long they are keeping the theme of watching and observing (through media).

I didn't even catch that, wiesengrund. Thanks for letting me see the light. :)

Since this show has been built on "things are not always what they seem"... I would take a wild guess and think that the *cult* we see in the promo is only the first scan/glance as to what is going on. Maybe it's a good cult... or not even a cult.

korkster | March 09, 20:08 CET