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Post by Gin on Feb 4, 2009 23:31:32 GMT 1
from imdb
#5.14 Smile Time
Original Air Date: 18 February 2004 Directed by Ben Edlund Writing credits: Ben Edlund & Joss Whedon
Episode Cast David Boreanaz ... Angel James Marsters ... Spike J. August Richards ... Charles Gunn Amy Acker ... Winifred 'Fred' Burkle Andy Hallett ... Lorne Alexis Denisof ... Wesley Wyndam-Pryce Brad Abrell ... Puppet (voice) Tim Blaney ... Grufus Ridge Canipe ... Tommy Leslie Carrara ... Puppet (voice) (as Leslie Carrara-Rudolf) Alice Dinnean ... Puppet David Fury ... Gregor Framkin Donna Kimball ... Puppet (voice) Drew Massey ... Puppet Angel Abigail Mavity ... Hannah Mercedes McNab ... Harmony Kendall Jenny Mollen ... Nina Ash Marc Vann ... Doctor Sparrow Jennie Vaughn ... Tommy's Mother (as Jennie Vaughn Cambell) Jonathan M. Woodward ... Knox Victor Yerrid ... Polo
Plot Angel and the gang set out to foil an evil puppet show that is sucking the brain power of all the children who watch. During their fight, Angel is turned into a puppet himself and must rely upon his friends in order to reverse the spell which holds him at one foot tall.
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Post by Cynni on Feb 5, 2009 19:08:52 GMT 1
from http://www.cityofangel.com:
Episode 14, Season 5 Title: "Smile Time"
Written by: Joss Whedon & Ben Edlund Directed by: Ben Edlund Original Air Date: February 18th, 2004
Teaser:
A child lies on the sofa watching 'Smile Time', a children's TV programme with puppets. He is ill and his mother takes his temperature as relays her concern to her own mother on the phone, she is worried about him and she has to go to work soon. As she leaves the room, one of the puppets, Polo, comes to the front of the screen and tells Tommy that he knows what to do and as the child shakes his head Polo reminds him he should never break a promise. Polo's face becomes sinister as he says Smile Time is not free and orders Tommy to touch the screen as he presses his hands to the screen on the other side. As Tommy touches the screen there is a blue light around his hands and Polo seems to draw power from him turning his face blue and causing his eyes to roll in their sockets as finally he collapses to the floor. Suddenly Polo gasps as he sees Tommy's mother enter the room and as the show continues his mother finds Tommy lying on the floor with a strange smile on his face.
Act I:
Knox hands some medical files to Fred in her lab; there is a mini epidemic and 11 children between the ages of 5 and 8 have been hospitalised over the last 5 weeks, none have woken up and she shows Knox a photo of one of the children who has an eerie smile much like Tommy leading her to believe that the illness is of a mystical nature. Fred finds a valentine card in amongst the files and she reminds Knox they have talked about this as he asks if they can talk about it again but she hands him the card back saying she is sorry.
Nina steps out of the elevator and walks over to Angel, he smiles and says hello as she reports in; the full moon cycle starts tonight and she admits she is a little late as her sister is still unaware she is a werewolf and thinks Nina has gone camping. Angel takes Nina to her suite.
Gunn arrives and asks Harmony if she obtained a receipt for the motion he filed on the Wayburn case but she tells him the clerk phoned as he filed the wrong papers. Gunn looks really confused and Harmony asks if it was a deliberate trick to which he replies that he has to keep them on their toes. He looks really worried as he leaves.
As Angel shows Nina into her cell she admits she is starting to enjoy her visits as she gets to see him, in fact she looks forward to seeing him all month. Angel, seeming very uncomfortable, closes the cage and prepares to leave but she calls him back asking about his breakfast plans tomorrow so he tells her he will be drinking blood and makes a hasty exit, leaving her deflated.
In his office Angel tells Wesley that Nina asked him for breakfast but she wanted more than breakfast and he doesn't know what happened, they had a great platonic relationship and all of a sudden things have changed but Wesley tells him he must be blind as she has been casting signals his way for months as Angel shakes his head in disbelief. Angel panics as he has no right to that with the gypsy curse and what could happen, but Wesley laughs reminding him that 99.99% of people make do with acceptable happiness and that perfect state is so rare. He tells Angel to go for it but Angel is adamant that it is not going to happen as he is not 'that' guy, he thinks he has too much baggage so Wesley shouts that he should get over it before quietly adding that if there is a woman out there who he constantly thinks about and who represents even part of what he thinks makes the world worth fighting for he has to do something about it. Angel guesses Wesley is talking about himself and begins to question him when suddenly Fred enters with the case files, explaining about the children's illness and her suspicion of its mystical nature, she confirms that she has checked all their blood samples and found nothing. Angel notes that all the children were taken ill whilst watching TV early in the morning and announces that he will clear his schedule and get right on it.
Once Angel has left, Wesley tells Fred that Angel has discovered Nina's feelings for him and as Fred laughs at that, Wesley admits Angel is a little dense. Fred's tells Wesley her car is still in the shop and she begins to ask if they can do something but Wesley, oblivious to her advance, has already picked up the phone to request a driver for her.
In Angel's office, he and Lorne discuss the case and Lorne, holding the child's photo, picks up on the fact that the illnesses occurred between 7 and 7.30am which is funny as there is a children's show on then called Smile Time.
Angel enters the KTCE Television studios, it is night time and a cleaner passes him, seemingly in a trance. Angel enters a room full of Smile Time props where he senses something and drawn to a filing cabinet he discovers a tunnel behind it which he enters. At the end of the tunnel is a padlocked cellar type room where a man sits, head bowed, face covered by a towel, suddenly the man quivers and tells Angel he shouldn't be there as a large egg shaped object on the wall above him lights up and blasts a ray of light at Angel, sending him through the air into a pile of boxes. Angel struggles up from the boxes and discovers he is a puppet.
Act II:
Fred answers the phone in her lab, it is Angel and he confirms that the illness is definitely mystical.
Fred, Gunn and Wesley enter Angel's office and Gunn asks if there is a problem, "Oh there's a problem", says Angel as he spins around in his chair to reveal his puppet status. Fred thinks he is cute, with the little hands and the hair, he is not amused and as Lorne joins them Angel explains last night's events much to their amusement. Suddenly Angel notices the time and shouts out that Smile Time is on before rushing to watch it only to become frustrated as his puppet hands can't handle the remote control. Lorne switches the programme on for Angel to watch as Fred phones through to ensure the show is recorded for analysis but Angel suddenly becomes angry and irrational, calling for war, and has to be calmed by Wesley. Lorne tells Angel that Smile Time is run by Gregor Frampkin and Angel asks him to go with Gunn to put pressure on him whilst Fred and Wesley investigate the nature of the hex on Angel and the kids.
Alone in his office Angel is devastated at his new state of being and dives behind the desk when suddenly Nina enters, wishing to explain about last night. She asks why he won't look at her and he says it's because he is under his desk and asks her to leave which, with a sigh, she does. As Angel climbs up again Spike suddenly enters and is shocked to see Angel who asks him to leave but he just laughs and the next thing they are both fighting and diving through the window into the lobby as nearby staff watch in horror. Angel asks them what they are looking at and Spike scoffs that they are looking at the wee puppet man provoking Angel more as he hurls himself at Spike. The fight continues but eventually Angel wins and orders his staff to get back to work, asking Harmony for his call list as he walks by her desk.
Gunn and Lorne find Mr Frampkin in his office, working on a new puppet, he knows they are from Wolfram & Hart and has heard of Lorne, admitting they at Smile Time are impressed at how much he has achieved despite his deformities; they even have a song about him which he begins to sing. Gunn interrupts him and tells him they are going to shut him down but he can't seem to remember the legal grounds and ends up shouting at Frampkin, accusing him of turning Angel into a puppet. Frampkin denies all knowledge and will not be intimidated, telling them that they will not be extorting money from him as he knows the sort of things they get up to. They decide to leave and after they have gone, Polo withdraws his hand from Frampkin's back and as he slumps to the desk Polo makes a call, ordering everyone in to see him as they have a problem.
Act III:
Frampkin twitches on the desk as Polo asks the other Smile Time puppets which one of them changed Angel into a puppet; they each deny it and the dog puppet, Groofus, deduces that Angel must be the one who entered the 'Don't Room' last night. Polo is angry as anything could have happened to them or Angel - you don't mess around with the nest egg! Polo adds that the nest egg already has enough power to keep the cloaking spells active and make the connections with the children and Ratio, one of the other puppets, has perfected their system so during the next show they should drain the life-force of all the children in the whole demographic and save their asses. The life-force they are pulling from the kids is 100% pure innocence and has a huge street value in Hell so they are all going to be rich. Frampkin asks them to let him die so Polo inserts his hand in his back telling him to 'talk to the hand' and causing him to cry out in agony as the puppets laugh.
Nina is in her cell at Wolfram & Hart and Angel, hiding from her view, apologises for his earlier behaviour. She thinks she understands that he has a lot of things going on and doesn't need a crush from her but is shocked as Angel suddenly steps out into view and explains what happened to him. Angel admits he didn't want her to see him like that but she wonders why he cares as he is a real hero and besides she finds the vampire thing sexy, but that isn't how he feels and acknowledging that she admits it is part of his attraction. He turns away confessing that he is not good at this sort of thing, he has spent so much time worrying about the past and the future but he is now trying to pay more attention to what is going on around him. Just then a werewolf claw pulls him into the cell, Nina has transformed.
Angel collapses on the carpet in the corridor, clutching his stuffing and calling to Lorne, who runs to him and, picking him up, asks him to hold on as he searches for a medic or a Geppetto!
Gunn arrives at the office of the doctor, Sparrow, who performed his implant, confessing that he is losing all his knowledge. Sparrow confirms it is fading out but if that is the case then that is what the Senior Partners want but Gunn can't lose this as it has given his life meaning so Sparrow offers him a deal, he will make it permanent but only if Gunn takes care of an ancient curio that he needs which is stuck at customs. Gunn refuses to make a deal and Sparrow admits he wouldn't consider a deal either, not with Gunn the street kid but he would with Charles Gunn, Attorney at law; Gunn thinks about this.
Fred and Wesley watch Smile Time over and over, still looking for clues, as Knox arrives with coffee for Fred advising them to quit as they have already been over it lots of times. Wesley points out that magic works differently and Knox challenges his authority so Fred suggests he leave as she needs someone to take care of the lab in the morning. Knox reluctantly leaves, stopping to watch Fred and Wesley at the door, and once he has gone Wesley asks how their relationship is going. Fred admits that it was over before it started as he doesn't make her laugh and Wesley asks if she is looking for someone funny to which, gazing at Wesley, she replies that it is a certain kind of funny she seeks. She attempts to confess her feelings again but he is oblivious and suddenly notices something strange on the recording, Polo is talking to the audience directly as the other puppets perform a cloaking spell with their song.
A frustrated Angel is attempting to repair the tears in his leather jacket when Fred and Wesley enter his office and after asking what happened to him, Fred informs him of their findings and judging by the strength of the signal they have deduced that Frampkin is ready to take out the whole audience. Wesley tells him that they need to break the binding spell around the repository that Angel found which is holding the children's life force and Fred adds that this should free them from the spell and him from his puppet status. He rushes to hug Fred, happy with the news, then suggests they get moving to stop Frampkin but just then a confident sounding Gunn arrives to inform them that the puppets are demons. Frampkin made a deal with some devils last year when the shows ratings were at an all time low, but on missing some of the fine print he allowed them to take over so in order to take out Smile Time, they have to take out the puppets and puppet Angel draws a huge sword ready to do just that as the gang head off.
Act IV:
A young girl watches Smile Time in her bedroom and as the puppets sing and dance, Polo approaches the front of the screen saying that today's show will be special and they all need to join in. He calls the girl to the screen and as she puts her hands on it he tells her to let it all go and as her face begins to turn blue he shouts, "Its smile time!" but Angel arrives to change that. As he leaps at Polo the entranced crew continue to film and as Angel and Polo fight, Groofus complains that they are ruining the show before Gunn slices his head off. Polo orders Ratio to get the nest egg.
Fred and Wesley stand before the nest egg and Wesley, taking out a scroll, begins to chant a spell when suddenly the nest egg lights up; he orders Fred not to look at it. Just then Ratio grabs Wesley from behind and, as they fight, he tells Fred she must keep reading.
On the main set the fight continues as Gunn is attacked by the female puppet that goes for his eyes as the little girl, still under the spell, watches through the screen. Gunn gets the upper hand and throws the puppet at the screen where it lands with a thud and slides to the floor.
Meanwhile Fred continues chanting as Ratio and Wesley fight but she sees Ratio prepare to pound Wesley with a fire extinguisher and stops for a moment to shoot the puppet.
Angel has Polo on the floor by the neck as Polo taunts that he [Angel] has a little demon in him to which Angel replies that he has a lot of demon in him before vamping out and throwing Polo through the wall.
Fred continues to chant as Wesley pulls out Ratio's squeaky nose, killing the puppet as it deflates. The nest egg burns with light and explodes and at the same time the girl is released from the TV screen.
Nina wakes up in her cell and panics when she finds puppet stuffing on the floor but just then Angel knocks and as he enters she is shocked again at his puppet features. He reassures her that he should change back within 2 to 3 days and invites her to breakfast.
Wesley is tidying away his desk when Fred arrives to inform him that the children are coming round. Pleased that they did a good job he thinks they should now get some rest and he prepares to leave but Fred blocks his way and asks him if he has sensed something different coming from her and has it occurred to him that she is looking at him in a different way. Wesley just stares at her and she says, "Oh Screw it", and kisses him before informing him that was a clear signal to which he smiles and kisses her back.
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