WB DRIVES A STAKE THROUGH ANGEL? UPDATED
PIERCE BROSNAN OUT AS BOND?

yeah, we're bummed too

Damn.

I had been meaning for weeks now to write up how much I like the current season of Angel but WB had to up and go cancel the show. This sucks on multiple levels especially the show has actually been really good this season (its fifth), blending some of the best writing I've seen on this show ever, mostly good storylines (but ya'll kind of axed Lindsey a little quick, no?), and great chemistry between the main crew, especially with Spike having ported himself over from Buffy.

Speaking of which, if Angel really does end (and apparently, this isn't so certain according to the folks over at Joss Whedon's blog), it more or less spells the end to the Buffy-verse in terms of forming a constant presence on television for the last half decade or so. There's rumors that WB might still be down to air movies built off the Buffy-verse but that's kind of a weak consolation prize.

Anyways, what I wonder is if Whedon and company are going to try to tie up all the strings they can before the end of the season. One expects that, unlike Sex and the City and Friends, we're probably not going to see a round of weddings hitting Angel by May, especially since none of the current characters are really romantically linked to one another right now. And while I'm sure a nation wants to see Buffy and Angel reunited ('cause it feels so goooooood) I just don't really see that happening right now with only 9 or so episodes left in the season, but hey, you never know. (this story originally spotted at radosh.net)

Update: Here's a thoughtful analysis of why being a "cult hit" is far worse than it sounds. (spotted at whedonesque.com)

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Speaking of endings - apparently, Pierce Brosnan's days as James Bond are over. I have mixed feelings about this - I mean, he was surely an improvement over Timothy Dalton but am I the only person who thought that while Brosnan looked the Bond part, he just never played 007 with the kind of charisma that Connery or even (god forbid) Roger Moore did? Brosnan was just far too smug as Bond, lacking a sense of humor.

Then again, maybe the real problem is that the whole Bond franchise has been well-nigh bland the last 10 years. Especially at a time where action films have taken a quantum leap forward thanks to everything from The Matrix's special effects to John Woo's gun-fu to Lord of the Rings' pathos, Bond is still the same formula done over and over: cool gadgets, nice car, hot women and some dialobical plot to take over/destroy the world. Yawn. For once, it'd be nice to see some actual dialogue that wasn't a bunch of one-liners or a storyline with some sophistication. Wouldn't it be great to see a Bond movie directed by David Fincher? Or Bryan Singer? Or the Wachowski Brothers (ok, maybe not them right now)?

As for who can replace Bond - Sharon wants to nominate Johnny Depp which I'm all for (but of course, would never happen). Some have bantied about Jason Stetham (Snatch, The Transporter) and apparently, Clive Owen (The Croupier) was asked but passed - Owen would have been excellent, maybe he'll reconsider? Just please, please, please, not Colin Farrell.