Smile Time (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"Smile Time" is episode 14 of season 5 in the television show Angel
. Written and directed by Ben Edlund
, with story by series creator Joss Whedon
, it was originally broadcast on February 18, 2004 on the WB network
. It was nominated for and won several honors and spawned its own toy line.
In "Smile Time", Angel goes to the studio of a popular show after learning they are stealing the life forces of children, where he triggers a spell that transforms him into a puppet. While Angel and company try to reverse the spell and save the lives of hundreds of children, werewolf Nina declares her romantic intentions towards Angel and Gunn
discovers his given knowledge of the law leaving his mind.
, Knox brings Fred
files on children in L.A. who have been hospitalized in the same condition as the little boy. Knox also gives Fred a valentine and tries to get her to discuss their potential relationship, but she gently declines his advances. When Harmony
tells Gunn he filed the wrong papers, he tries to hide how worried he is about his mistake. Werewolf Nina arrives for her three nights of the full moon in the firm. She flirts with Angel as he leads her to her cell, and uncomfortable, Angel leaves. He heads up to Wesley's
office, saying he's not sure how he feels about their platonic friendship turning into something else. Wesley tells him that Nina has been sending him signals, and Angel is apparently the only person in the entire firm who hasn't noticed them. When Angel says that he can't pursue a relationship because he'll achieve happiness and turn back into evil, soulless Angelus, Wesley says most people have to settle for acceptable happiness, and there is no reason Angel can't do the same.
Fred arrives with the new case. Angel notes that all of the kids were watching TV when they became ill and Lorne says Smile Time is on at that time and in "the right demographic". Meanwhile Fred goes to see Wesley and tells him that she needs a ride home, and is clearly hoping he'll be the one to offer. Unfortunately it's now Wes's turn to miss signals and instead arranges for a driver to take his friend home. Angel heads to Smile Times studio, and, ignoring the “Don't” sign on the door, enters a hidden room where a man with a towel over his head sits under a large egg. The egg opens, forming a glowing smile and a blast of energy tosses Angel across the room. Angel pulls himself up... only now he's a puppet.
When Puppet Angel explains to the group what happened, Fred tells the lab to start recording Smile Time so she can analyze it. Angel orders Lorne and Gunn to talk to the show's creator, Gregor Framkin, at the studio. Nina arrives and Puppet Angel ducks under his desk so she won't see him. She tries to ask him if everything's okay, but he abruptly tells her to leave. Spike arrives, and is shocked and amused to see that Angel is “a wee little puppet man,” which sends Spike into fits of hysterical laughter. Puppet Angel gets angry and lunges at Spike. The two vampires fight, crashing through the office doors into the lobby for all to see Angel as a puppet. The fight then continues into the elevator, the doors of which close, and when the doors open Puppet Angel has somehow managed to beat Spike unconscious.
Gunn and Lorne meet with Framkin at the studio. Gunn tries to tell him the laws he's violated, he can't come up with the right statute, and Framkin says he thinks he would be more likely to win than Wolfram & Hart
in court. After Gunn and Lorne leave, it turns out that Framkin has a hole in his back and is being controlled by Polo. Framkin collapse as Polo pulls his arm out of a hole in Framkin's back and summons the other puppets - Groofus the dog, Flora, and Ratio Hornblower - with the news that Angel messed with the "nest egg." Flora suggests that they remove the zombifying spell on some of the employees so that they can see future intruders, but Polo announces that since their “system” has now been perfected, they'll drain the life from all of their viewers the next day, instead of one kid at a time. Groofus is pleased at how important the next episode will be as he has a song he wants to sing, provoking Polo into hitting him for being foolish. Framkin begs the puppets to kill him, but instead, they continue torturing him.
Back at Wolfram & Hart, Nina is preparing for her second werewolf night when Puppet Angel pays her a visit to apologize for the way he treated her earlier. She's shocked to see that he's a puppet and he notes, "I'm made of felt. And my nose comes off." She tells him that he shouldn't care what people think of him, since he's a hero. Puppet Angel turns away starting to say how hard it's been to be a hero— when Nina suddenly wolfs out and attacks him from her cage. Upstairs, Lorne comes across a tattered Puppet Angel and yells, "Is there a Geppetto in the house?" Gunn heads to the medical wing to see Dr. Sparrow, explaining that he's losing his law knowledge. Sparrow examines him and tells him that the implant is failing in an "Acute Flowers For Algernon Syndrome
"; the Senior Partners gave it to him in the first place because they wanted him to have it, and if it's fading, they must have wanted that as well. Gunn says that he doesn't want to go back to the person he was, so Sparrow makes a deal with him - he'll give him a “permanent upgrade” if Gunn signs something out of customs for him. In the science lab, Fred and Wesley agree they're starting to really like Smile Time, though that may be from sleep deprivation. Knox brings Fred coffee, but she orders him to go home. After he leaves, Fred confesses that she decided Knox wasn't right for her, and tries to tell Wesley that she has developed feelings for him; however, he doesn't get the message. Suddenly, while the sound of the show is muted, Wesley notices Polo seems to be talking to the audience.
Puppet Angel is trying to sew himself up in his office when Wesley and Fred arrive to tell him the puppets' singing acts as a cloaking device, allowing Polo to address the children directly. Wesley says the “nest egg” holds the life forces of the kids, so if they can break the magic on it, they'll save the kids and turn Angel human again. Gunn, who's regained his law knowledge, announces the puppets are actually running the show - Framkin made a deal with some devils to improve his ratings. Elsewhere in L.A., a little girl watches Smile Time and gets the message from Polo that all of the kids in the audience should put their hands on the TV.
Puppet Angel and the gang interrupt and the fighting begins, with Gunn decapitating Groofus the dog and subsequently fighting the female puppet Flora while Angel goes puppet-to-puppet with Polo. Fred and Wesley rush to the "Don't" room with the nest egg, where Ratio fights Wesley while Fred reads the spell to break the spell around nest egg, destroying the egg and saving the kids after Wesley defeats Ratio. In the main studio, Gunn defeats Flora and Angel defeats Polo by throwing him onto the treehouse (after he reverts to 'vamp puppet face'). The next day, Nina wakes up in her cage with fabric around her and fears she ate Puppet Angel, until he comes in to tell her he's okay and will be back to normal in a few days. They agree to have breakfast together, with Nina jokingly wondering what puppets eat.
In Wesley's office, Fred tries to tell him she's been trying to subtly indicate her interest. She grabs him and kisses him; he happily returns the favor as the puppets sing their self-esteem song again.
Framkin, the puppeteer of "Smile Time," is played by David Fury
, who is a producer on the show.
James Marsters confessed that "the puppeteers were so good that it was easy to believe that Angel was actually trying to kick my butt. I blew takes by laughing too much, actually."
Creator Joss Whedon
is the son of former Muppet writer Tom Whedon
; several puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company
were involved in the episode, including Alice Dinnean-Vernon
, Leslie Carrara
, Victor Yerrid
, Julianne Buescher
, Tim Blaney, and Drew Massey
.
announced that the series would not be renewed for another season.
says the writers talked about doing an evil Sesame Street
show before Season Five aired, but "it wasn't until Joss came around going, 'I figured out how to do it - Angel gets turned into a Muppet,' that we kind of went, 'Hallelujah, that's brilliant.'"
in the category of "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form", and was rated the series' second-best episode in a poll done by Angel Magazine
. The BBC
agreed, adding "it's surely one of Angels most inspired and laugh-out-loud episodes. How such an innovative show can be canceled after producing something like 'Smile Time' is baffling."
In their "Year in Review", MSNBC
singled out this episode for the tongue-in-cheek "Best appearance by a guest puppet" award, saying it managed to "send up not only children’s TV but the Angel series itself." Writer Peter David
was impressed that "they seemed to anticipate every single fan reaction" - for example, Knox's suggestion that the Joker
was responsible for the children's illness. "Even more savvy," David writes, "there was rumbling before the episode even aired that this was a 'Jumping the shark
' installment. Foreseeing that, there's a line bitching about how lousy the last several seasons of Happy Days
was, the show from which the (frankly by now overused) phrase originated."
The Futon Critic named it the 21st best episode 2004, simply stating "They made Angel a puppet. A puppet. Nothing more needs to be said."
An Angel guidebook complained that the opening scene "sounds completely perverse, as though the puppets are pedophiles. A child is watching TV, then you hear 'Get over here and touch it' [followed by] loud, sexual groaning noises."
Inspired by the concept of Smile Time, IDW Publishing
released a comic called "Spike: Shadow Puppets
". Spike travels to Japan
, where Smile Time is still the second biggest kids' show, and is transformed into a puppet. Diamond Select Toys created a plush doll for Puppet Angel; after rapidly selling their entire production run of 5,000 pieces they produced a second and a third Angel puppet replica, followed by Puppet Spike.
The concept of Angel being turned into a puppet is revisited in IDW's "Angel: After the Fall
", where Angel is briefly transformed into a puppet due to Illyria's newly-regained time manipulation powers. IDW will also release a 3-issue limited series
adaptation of "Smile Time".
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
. Written and directed by Ben Edlund
Ben Edlund
Ben Edlund is a comic book artist and writer and television screenwriter. Prior to his involvement in TV, he was best known as the creator of the satirical superhero character The Tick. He is currently an executive producer and staff writer for The CW series Supernatural.-Background:Edlund was...
, with story by series creator Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
, it was originally broadcast on February 18, 2004 on the WB network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. It was nominated for and won several honors and spawned its own toy line.
In "Smile Time", Angel goes to the studio of a popular show after learning they are stealing the life forces of children, where he triggers a spell that transforms him into a puppet. While Angel and company try to reverse the spell and save the lives of hundreds of children, werewolf Nina declares her romantic intentions towards Angel and Gunn
Charles Gunn
Charles Gunn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series, Angel. The character is portrayed by J. August Richards, and was named by Whedon after filmmaker James Gunn and actor Sean Gunn, both of whom had worked with Whedon...
discovers his given knowledge of the law leaving his mind.
Plot
As a little boy watches a TV show called Smile Time, featuring puppets singing songs about learning, one of the puppets, Polo, tells the boy to put his hands on the TV. The boy's mother enters the room, horrified to see that the life has been drained out of the boy and his face is frozen in a rictus smile. In the science lab at Wolfram & HartWolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart − Attorneys at Law is a fictional international, and interdimensional law firm featured in the television series Angel, as well as other extended materials in Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.-Fictional history:...
, Knox brings Fred
Winifred Burkle
Winifred "Fred" Burkle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Shawn Ryan and Mere Smith on the television series Angel. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker.-Character history:...
files on children in L.A. who have been hospitalized in the same condition as the little boy. Knox also gives Fred a valentine and tries to get her to discuss their potential relationship, but she gently declines his advances. When Harmony
Harmony Kendall
Harmony Kendall is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. The character is portrayed by Mercedes McNab...
tells Gunn he filed the wrong papers, he tries to hide how worried he is about his mistake. Werewolf Nina arrives for her three nights of the full moon in the firm. She flirts with Angel as he leads her to her cell, and uncomfortable, Angel leaves. He heads up to Wesley's
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...
office, saying he's not sure how he feels about their platonic friendship turning into something else. Wesley tells him that Nina has been sending him signals, and Angel is apparently the only person in the entire firm who hasn't noticed them. When Angel says that he can't pursue a relationship because he'll achieve happiness and turn back into evil, soulless Angelus, Wesley says most people have to settle for acceptable happiness, and there is no reason Angel can't do the same.
Fred arrives with the new case. Angel notes that all of the kids were watching TV when they became ill and Lorne says Smile Time is on at that time and in "the right demographic". Meanwhile Fred goes to see Wesley and tells him that she needs a ride home, and is clearly hoping he'll be the one to offer. Unfortunately it's now Wes's turn to miss signals and instead arranges for a driver to take his friend home. Angel heads to Smile Times studio, and, ignoring the “Don't” sign on the door, enters a hidden room where a man with a towel over his head sits under a large egg. The egg opens, forming a glowing smile and a blast of energy tosses Angel across the room. Angel pulls himself up... only now he's a puppet.
When Puppet Angel explains to the group what happened, Fred tells the lab to start recording Smile Time so she can analyze it. Angel orders Lorne and Gunn to talk to the show's creator, Gregor Framkin, at the studio. Nina arrives and Puppet Angel ducks under his desk so she won't see him. She tries to ask him if everything's okay, but he abruptly tells her to leave. Spike arrives, and is shocked and amused to see that Angel is “a wee little puppet man,” which sends Spike into fits of hysterical laughter. Puppet Angel gets angry and lunges at Spike. The two vampires fight, crashing through the office doors into the lobby for all to see Angel as a puppet. The fight then continues into the elevator, the doors of which close, and when the doors open Puppet Angel has somehow managed to beat Spike unconscious.
Gunn and Lorne meet with Framkin at the studio. Gunn tries to tell him the laws he's violated, he can't come up with the right statute, and Framkin says he thinks he would be more likely to win than Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart − Attorneys at Law is a fictional international, and interdimensional law firm featured in the television series Angel, as well as other extended materials in Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.-Fictional history:...
in court. After Gunn and Lorne leave, it turns out that Framkin has a hole in his back and is being controlled by Polo. Framkin collapse as Polo pulls his arm out of a hole in Framkin's back and summons the other puppets - Groofus the dog, Flora, and Ratio Hornblower - with the news that Angel messed with the "nest egg." Flora suggests that they remove the zombifying spell on some of the employees so that they can see future intruders, but Polo announces that since their “system” has now been perfected, they'll drain the life from all of their viewers the next day, instead of one kid at a time. Groofus is pleased at how important the next episode will be as he has a song he wants to sing, provoking Polo into hitting him for being foolish. Framkin begs the puppets to kill him, but instead, they continue torturing him.
Back at Wolfram & Hart, Nina is preparing for her second werewolf night when Puppet Angel pays her a visit to apologize for the way he treated her earlier. She's shocked to see that he's a puppet and he notes, "I'm made of felt. And my nose comes off." She tells him that he shouldn't care what people think of him, since he's a hero. Puppet Angel turns away starting to say how hard it's been to be a hero— when Nina suddenly wolfs out and attacks him from her cage. Upstairs, Lorne comes across a tattered Puppet Angel and yells, "Is there a Geppetto in the house?" Gunn heads to the medical wing to see Dr. Sparrow, explaining that he's losing his law knowledge. Sparrow examines him and tells him that the implant is failing in an "Acute Flowers For Algernon Syndrome
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960...
"; the Senior Partners gave it to him in the first place because they wanted him to have it, and if it's fading, they must have wanted that as well. Gunn says that he doesn't want to go back to the person he was, so Sparrow makes a deal with him - he'll give him a “permanent upgrade” if Gunn signs something out of customs for him. In the science lab, Fred and Wesley agree they're starting to really like Smile Time, though that may be from sleep deprivation. Knox brings Fred coffee, but she orders him to go home. After he leaves, Fred confesses that she decided Knox wasn't right for her, and tries to tell Wesley that she has developed feelings for him; however, he doesn't get the message. Suddenly, while the sound of the show is muted, Wesley notices Polo seems to be talking to the audience.
Puppet Angel is trying to sew himself up in his office when Wesley and Fred arrive to tell him the puppets' singing acts as a cloaking device, allowing Polo to address the children directly. Wesley says the “nest egg” holds the life forces of the kids, so if they can break the magic on it, they'll save the kids and turn Angel human again. Gunn, who's regained his law knowledge, announces the puppets are actually running the show - Framkin made a deal with some devils to improve his ratings. Elsewhere in L.A., a little girl watches Smile Time and gets the message from Polo that all of the kids in the audience should put their hands on the TV.
Puppet Angel and the gang interrupt and the fighting begins, with Gunn decapitating Groofus the dog and subsequently fighting the female puppet Flora while Angel goes puppet-to-puppet with Polo. Fred and Wesley rush to the "Don't" room with the nest egg, where Ratio fights Wesley while Fred reads the spell to break the spell around nest egg, destroying the egg and saving the kids after Wesley defeats Ratio. In the main studio, Gunn defeats Flora and Angel defeats Polo by throwing him onto the treehouse (after he reverts to 'vamp puppet face'). The next day, Nina wakes up in her cage with fabric around her and fears she ate Puppet Angel, until he comes in to tell her he's okay and will be back to normal in a few days. They agree to have breakfast together, with Nina jokingly wondering what puppets eat.
In Wesley's office, Fred tries to tell him she's been trying to subtly indicate her interest. She grabs him and kisses him; he happily returns the favor as the puppets sing their self-esteem song again.
Acting
After reading the script, in which it was clear that Knox and Fred were not going to be falling in love, Jonathan Woodward says he was "very sad but I think it was nice, because it took Knox from all of the ways you thought Knox would be." He had tried to predict the character's arc, he says, but "they picked the one I couldn't even think of. You know something is going to happen but they pick the thing you know nobody had been able to figure out."Framkin, the puppeteer of "Smile Time," is played by David Fury
David Fury
David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
, who is a producer on the show.
James Marsters confessed that "the puppeteers were so good that it was easy to believe that Angel was actually trying to kick my butt. I blew takes by laughing too much, actually."
Creator Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
is the son of former Muppet writer Tom Whedon
Tom Whedon
Tom Whedon is an American television screenwriter and son of 1950s TV screenwriter John Whedon. He and first wife, political activist Lee Stearns, are the parents of Film and TV Screenwriter Joss Whedon...
; several puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades...
were involved in the episode, including Alice Dinnean-Vernon
Alice Dinnean
Alice Dinnean-Vernon is a puppeteer and creative writer who works at The Jim Henson Company. Dinnean-Vernon has performed on many children's television shows such as Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, Cousin Skeeter, and Jack's Big Music Show...
, Leslie Carrara
Leslie Carrara
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph is an American actress, singer, performer and puppeteer. She is sometimes credited as Leslie Carrara or the mis-spelling Leslie Carrera-Rudolph.-Early life and career:...
, Victor Yerrid
Victor Yerrid
Victor Yerrid is a puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company and has performed Muppet characters in many TV shows, movies, TV commercials. Yerrid is best known in the Muppet World for his work on the online series Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony in which he performed Waldorf along with an...
, Julianne Buescher
Julianne Buescher
Julianne Buescher is an actress who performs in film, television, and on stage and radio. As a voice artist, she is known for many roles including Anko Mitarashi on Naruto. Buescher is also a skilled puppeteer and has worked for both Sesame Street and The Muppets...
, Tim Blaney, and Drew Massey
Drew Massey
Drew Massey is a puppeteer for The Jim Henson Company for the Muppets and has performed in many TV shows, movies, and TV commercials. He also lends his voice for commercials and video games. His film credits include The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, The Producers, Dr. Dolittle, Cats & Dogs, Team...
.
Production details
This was the first episode of Angel to be aired after The WBThe WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
announced that the series would not be renewed for another season.
Goofs
- In the scene where Gunn and Lorne confront Framkin, Framkin sings "Courage and Pluck." Yet, no mention is made of whether Lorne read Framkin, or whether he was unable to read him (although the fact Framkin is under Polo's control at the time may have something to do with it). This may be to allow Gunn to be the one who reveals the truth behind Smile Time after gaining his legal knowledge back.
- After the fight, when Angel reverts back to his normal puppet face, he no longer has the scars put on his puppet body by Nina. But when he visits Nina the next morning the scars are back.
Arc significance
- Gunn essentially sells his soul to keep his law knowledge, which leads to the events in the following episode.
- Wesley and Fred's relationship, short-lived though it may be, begins.
Writing
Producer David FuryDavid Fury
David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
says the writers talked about doing an evil Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
show before Season Five aired, but "it wasn't until Joss came around going, 'I figured out how to do it - Angel gets turned into a Muppet,' that we kind of went, 'Hallelujah, that's brilliant.'"
Reception
This episode was nominated for a 2005 Hugo AwardHugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
in the category of "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form", and was rated the series' second-best episode in a poll done by Angel Magazine
Buffyverse Magazines (UK)
Two magazine titles have been published by Titan Magazines in the United Kingdom for fans of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine commenced publication in 1999. Angel Magazine had a limited run of 24 issues and was published...
. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
agreed, adding "it's surely one of Angels most inspired and laugh-out-loud episodes. How such an innovative show can be canceled after producing something like 'Smile Time' is baffling."
In their "Year in Review", MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
singled out this episode for the tongue-in-cheek "Best appearance by a guest puppet" award, saying it managed to "send up not only children’s TV but the Angel series itself." Writer Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
was impressed that "they seemed to anticipate every single fan reaction" - for example, Knox's suggestion that the Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
was responsible for the children's illness. "Even more savvy," David writes, "there was rumbling before the episode even aired that this was a 'Jumping the shark
Jumping the shark
Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery....
' installment. Foreseeing that, there's a line bitching about how lousy the last several seasons of Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
was, the show from which the (frankly by now overused) phrase originated."
The Futon Critic named it the 21st best episode 2004, simply stating "They made Angel a puppet. A puppet. Nothing more needs to be said."
An Angel guidebook complained that the opening scene "sounds completely perverse, as though the puppets are pedophiles. A child is watching TV, then you hear 'Get over here and touch it' [followed by] loud, sexual groaning noises."
Inspired by the concept of Smile Time, IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
released a comic called "Spike: Shadow Puppets
Spike: Shadow Puppets
Spike: Shadow Puppets is a limited series comic book based on the Angel television series. The Spike centric comic was released by IDW Publishing from June 2007 through October 2007. The four issues were collected together in a single trade paperback in December, 2007.-Continuity:* The continuity...
". Spike travels to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where Smile Time is still the second biggest kids' show, and is transformed into a puppet. Diamond Select Toys created a plush doll for Puppet Angel; after rapidly selling their entire production run of 5,000 pieces they produced a second and a third Angel puppet replica, followed by Puppet Spike.
The concept of Angel being turned into a puppet is revisited in IDW's "Angel: After the Fall
Angel: After the Fall
Angel: After the Fall is a comic book published by IDW Publishing. Written by Brian Lynch and plotted with Joss Whedon, the series is a canonical continuation of the Angel television series, and follows the events of that show's final televised season...
", where Angel is briefly transformed into a puppet due to Illyria's newly-regained time manipulation powers. IDW will also release a 3-issue limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
adaptation of "Smile Time".