Angel: Smile Time

"Smile Time" is the fourteenth episode of season five of the vampire television series Angel and the 102nd episode of the series overall. It was written and directed by Ben Edlund based on a story treatment by Edlund and Joss Whedon. It first aired on the WB Network on Wednesday, February 18th, 2004 at 9:00 pm. In this episode, Angel becomes a puppet!

Notes & Trivia

 * Angel was created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt.


 * This episode is rated TV-14.


 * This episode is production code number 5ADH14.


 * This episode had a rating of 4.0/6 in the overnight Nielsen ratings.


 * This episode is included on disc four of the Angel: Season Five DVD collection, which was released in Region 1 format by Warner Home Video on February 15th, 2005. It is also included in the Angel: The Complete Series DVD boxset collection.


 * This is the first episode of the series to air after the announcement came down that Angel was being cancelled.


 * David Greenwalt is credited as a consulting producer on this episode, but had actually departed from the series prior to filming.


 * Executive producer David Fury plays the role of Gregor Framkin in this episode.


 * Actress Jennie Vaughn is credited as Jennie Vaughn Campbell in this episode.


 * This episode marks Ben Edlund's debut as a director. It is his only episode of the series in this capacity. He is also known for directing two episodes of Supernatural.


 * This is Ben Edlund's fourth episode of the series as a writer. He writes five episodes of the series in total. This is his third episode from season five. He previously wrote "Life of the Party". His next episode is "Time Bomb".


 * This is Joss Whedon's fourth episode of Angel as a story developer. He previously conceived the story treatment for "Happy Anniversary". This is the final episode of the show where he is given a "story by" credit. As a writer, he next works on "A Hole in the World".


 * This is the second appearance of Nina Ash - Angel's werewolf paramour. She makes three appearances in the series in total. She previously appeared in "Unleashed". Her next appearance is in "Power Play".


 * Actress Abigail Mavity also played a character named Sara (age 8) in the "Hell's Bells" episode from season six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


 * This episode was adapted in the Angel: Smile Time comic book series by IDW Publishing. The series ran for three issues between December, 2008 and April, 2009. All three issues were collected in hardcover format in September, 2009.

Allusions

 * The title of this episode is taken from the "Smile Time" children's television series, which is a fictional show presented in this episode, and serves as the plot device used to transform Angel into a wee-little puppet man.


 * Lorne makes reference to Geppetto in this episode. Geppetto is a fictional wood carver from the children's story The Adventures of Pinocchio and is responsible for the creation of the hand-carved wooden puppet, Pinocchio.


 * Knox makes reference to the Joker in this episode. The Joker is a comic book super-villain featured in titles published by DC Comics. He is the arch-foe of Batman and first appeared in Batman #1 in 1940.


 * Lorne makes reference to Papa Smurf in this episode. Papa Smurf is a fictional gnome-like being and a member of a race called Smurfs, which was popularized in their own 1980s cartoon series, as well as a series of computer-generated animated films in the 2010s. Papa Smurfs is the wise leader of all of the Smurfs of Smurf Village.


 * Doctor Sparrow makes a notation about "Flowers for Algernon Syndrome". Flowers for Algernon is a 1959 novel by Daniel Keyes, that was later adapted into a film. The story involves Charlie Gordon, who is a simpleton that undergoes a process that turns him into a super-genius, but ultimately reverses itself.

Body Count

 * 1) Gregor Framkin - Unconfirmed; turned into a human puppet by Polo.
 * 2) Groofus - Decapitated by Charles Gunn on the set of Smile Time.
 * 3) Ratio Hornblower - Shot by Winifred Burkle in the Nest Egg room.
 * 4) Flora - Shredded by Charles Gunn on the set of Smile Time.
 * 5) Polo - Impaled by Angel on the set of Smile Time''.

Quotes

 * Angel: I was turned into a puppet last night.
 * Nina Ash: I... uh... wow. Are you - are you okay?
 * Angel: I'm made of felt. [takes off nose] And my nose comes off.

....
 * Lorne: Is there a Geppetto in the house?!

....
 * Harmony Kendall: Oh my God! Angel you're a...
 * Angel: Shut up! What are you people looking at?! Well...?
 * Spike: They're looking at the wee little puppet man.

....
 * Wesley Wyndam-Pryce: It's clearly some sort of hex. Or a powerful warding magic.
 * Lorne: Maybe its some type of puppet cancer.
 * Angel: I do not have puppet cancer!

....
 * Winifred Burkle: Oh my God, Angel, you're cute!
 * Angel: Fred... don't.
 * Winifred Burkle: But... oh, look at your little hands. And the hair!
 * Angel: Hey! You're fired.

....
 * Polo: I'm gonna tear you a new puppet hole, bitch!

Crew

 * Skip Schoolnik - Co-producer
 * David Greenwalt - Consulting producer
 * Steven S. DeKnight - Supervising producer
 * Ben Edlund - Supervising producer
 * Sandy Gallin - Executive producer
 * Gail Berman - Executive producer
 * Fran Rubel Kuzui - Executive producer
 * Kaz Kuzui - Executive producer


 * David Fury - Executive producer
 * Jeffrey Bell - Executive producer
 * Kelly A. Manners - Producer
 * Joss Whedon - Executive producer
 * Ross Berryman, A.C.S., A.S.C. - Director of photography
 * Stuart Blatt - Production designer
 * Mark J. Goldman - Editor
 * Robert J. Kral - Composer