Smile Time

"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. 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... full article at wikipedia