Angel premiere last night. Surprisingly laid-back for a Whedon script, but I guess they're a little tired of ye olde End of The World at Mutant Enemy these days. It was a fun episode - but how could it not, with the reintroduction of Harmony the SecretaryAssistant? I love Mercedes McNab so much...

Carpenter is gone from the credits, and Marsters is top-billed. That's a little disorienting - what, is Marsters Carpenter's shadow, that he always ends up taking her slot on Mutant Enemy shows in their fourth season? They shifted from the cavernous mall of last year's season wrap-up at Wolfram & Hart to an executive suite that looks exactly like somebody redecorated one of the old arts buildings on Penn State's University Park campus (Chambers, for those of you who've spent any time in "Happy Valley"). I understand the logistical reasons for doing it (filming in somebody's mall on a weekly basis would cost *you* through the nose, and drive the property owners up a wall), but it is kind of deflating.

They're working the theme of catastrophic, unearned success this year. I wonder how long they're going to play it befuddled and conflicted? It'll be amusing for a few episodes, but it isn't a sustainable conceit, I don't think. Oh, well. I suppose a couple hours of "how exactly did I end up selling out, man?" won't be too unpleasant a way to spend Wednesday nights.