31 TV Shows for 31 Days of Halloween Season: Day 17

Series: Angel

Episode: “Smile Time”, in which puppets on a preschool TV show break through the fourth wall to suck the life essence from young viewers until they are reduced to horrifically grinning corpses. Fun! Actually, it is, because vampire-P.I. hero Angel ends up getting turned into a puppet, too. This one has it all, kids: very effective horror with all those dead tots and the really, really disturbing sexual overtones of the essence-sucking and great comedy from Angel’s co-workers when they discover that their brooding leader has been transformed into a hunk of felt.

Review: 'Angel: After the Fall' (slipcase edition)

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” receives the vast majority of geek love, but I personally preferred its spin-off. “Angel” was more adult, less cutesy pie (no talk of “smoochies” or “scoobies” to offend the ear). Although the title character—Buffy’s brooding, befanged ex-beau—was a bit of a drip, the supporting players were almost uniformly fab. And while “Buffy” certainly declined in quality over time, “Angel” hit its stride in season five when he and his gang took over an evil law firm (I know, I know, they’re all evil. Hardy har).