"Angels on the Air"

A review by Jenni:

I'm trying something a lil different this time.  Usually I watch on TV and take notes then type them up.  This time I'm watching on my computer and writing as I watch.  All while tracking my parents' flight.  Multi-tasking!

What I love about this episode:
OMG!  It's James... excuse me... Jimmy Marsden!  Ha!  I love it!  Now I'll have to fight thinking of Enchanted this whole viewing.  But I love these "before they were famous" moments.  And there's another one later.  :-)  An even better one IMO!

"I have a big heart and it needs room."  From Tess in response to Sandy making a crack about her size.  Love that.  And then she disses Sandy right back in a witty way.

I hate to say it but this episode makes the all-too-true point that sometimes trash sells.  Sandy saying that her ratings soared after she got angry and sarcastic and mean... that's a lotta "successful" reality TV in a nutshell!

Awww.  I like the teacher.  Feel kinda bad for him.  He's smitten.  And ain't nothing gonna happen with Monica.

Sandy the character really annoys me but that is some good acting from Ms. Ashley.  She goes right from this giddy, self-assured facade in the boss' office to that quiet, defeated moment in the hall.  Sure, it coulda been shot on totally different days but it looks good.  Point is, the character really is almost like two characters and she pulls both personalities off well.

Ha.  Tess just zapped Sandy again when she went on an anti-prom rant.  I do so love how Tess won't take any crap from this lady.

This episode does set up some good character-based continuity.  Monica getting swept up in her assignment's romantic drama seems to pop up a lot.  Like "Groundrush" and "Something Blue."

I'm shocked they actually use the B word twice in this episode.  Yet, I like it.  It's real.  That is probly the word that would be used in a conversation of that type in real life.  Sometimes I miss that unpolished quality of the very early episodes.

HA!!!  Here's the other "before they were famous" moment.  Jack Black is a thuggy would-be attacker!  Being a thuggy would-be attacker is bad.  But seeing Jack Black on TBAA is hysterical.  It's kinda Pavlovian, though.  I see him and start laughing even though it's really not appropriate.  I love that lil cry he does when he realizes he's been swooped off into some random area. 

"The day comes in every daughter's life when she sees her mother not as her mother but as another woman with a heart that can be broken."  My relationship with my mom could not be any more different from Claire's with her mother.  But Monica's line there always reminds me of my mom and that day for me.  It's one of the few moments in this episode that really touch me personally.

I love how Tess tells Sandy that even if she doesn't believe in God, God believes in her.  I'm not sure how compelling that would actually be for an atheist but it's pretty profound to me.

I can also relate to making yourself so busy that you won't have to feel anything.  I've gone through those stages in my life.  So I guess in that I can relate to Sandy.

Poor Jeff.  Really I do feel bad for him.  Falling in love with an angel wouldn't be entirely awesome.  That's a pretty song they're playing during that scene, though.  The melody reminds me of some of the TBAA score.

What I didn't love about this episode:
Sandy is really cringe-inducing.  I know that's the point but doesn't make it any easier to watch!

It's kinda funny that Monica takes "field trip" to mean a visit to a literal field... but isn't that a lil unbelievable from a 5,000 year old?  I suppose maybe it's not a term that would come up a lot in Search and Rescue or Annunciations but still...

I'm not sure I really like Monica helping Claire to get her grounding delayed.  She disobeyed.  Physically fighting at school is bad.  I could see asking for an exception for prom but to have Monica ask for it to be delayed altogether so Claire would have time to mingle and be asked out?  Please!  She can do that at school.

Lingering questions:
Did I look this goofy in the 90s?  Their jeans are so pale...  And why did we wear overalls so often?  I had them in magenta, denim, gray, brown, black...  And that was just the full length ones.  They were comfy.  Wow... some girl at the prom has HUGE puff sleeves.  I used to love those.  Now I can't imagine wearing them!  Strange how your tastes change.

I'm not sure if I'd wanna go dress shopping with Monica or not...  Hmm...

Couldn't offering up a date with your daughter as a prize be some sorta crime? 

Okay, all Jack-Black-is-on-TBAA! funnyness aside... what happened to Monte?  Is he still wandering the desert somewhere?

Parts that made me feel swoony:
No AOD.  And while James Marsden may be fetching, here he's just a lil too drippy looking to be swoon-inducing.  Not to mention morally questionable.

Random thoughts:
Okay, this episode actually does seem dated.  Not a complaint, just how it is.  I've been struck lately about how relevant and new some shows seem but the music and fashion are screaming 90s here!  Kinda fun.  Yet... they are talking about going into a recession.  Weird.

This episode makes me wanna watch "Frasier."

I wish my school had offered Home Ec.  So much of the stuff they made me learn proved useless and yet that which I totally missed sure woulda been useful when I moved out alone!

Well, my typing sometimes blocked out dialogue which was bad but otherwise I think I may stick with this reviewing as I watch instead of taking notes and writing it up later.

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(The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not being used to seek profit.)