Angel is an American supernatural drama television series, a spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, writer and director Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt. It aired on The WB from October 5, 1999, to May 19, 2004, consisting of five seasons and 110 episodes. Like Buffy, it was produced by Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy.
The show details the ongoing trials of Angel, a vampire whose human soul was restored to him by a Romani curse as a punishment for the murder of one of their own. After more than a century of murder and the torture of innocents, Angel's restored soul torments him with guilt and remorse. Angel moves to Los Angeles, California, after it is clear that his doomed relationship with Buffy, the vampire slayer, cannot continue. For the majority of the show, he works as a private detective in Los Angeles, where he and a variety of associates work to "help the helpless", restoring the faith and saving the souls of those who have lost their way. While regularly struggling with his own vampiric nature, he simultaneously battles against demons and humans aligned with them throughout the story. Angel's archnemesis for most of the series is Wolfram & Hart, a preeminent yet malevolent global law firm that is secretly a front for powerful demonic forces.
The show is considered by many critics as one of the best TV spin-off series of all time, with praise for its darker tone, characters and performances.
Characters
thumb|250px|The principal Angel actors portraying their characters (Season 3), from left to right: [[Charles Gunn (Angel)|Gunn, Cordelia, Angel, Wesley and Fred]]
The series focuses on Angel (David Boreanaz), an Irish vampire who is over 240 years old. Angel was known as Angelus during his rampages across Europe, but was cursed with a soul, which gave him a conscience and guilt for centuries of murder and torture. He left Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the end of season 3 to move to Los Angeles in search of redemption.
He soon finds himself assisted by Allen Francis Doyle (Glenn Quinn), another Irish character who is a half-human, half-demon who, although he comes across as a ne'er-do-well hustler, has a heroic side. Doyle serves to pass along cryptic visions from The Powers That Be to Angel. They are soon joined by Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), also a previous cast member of Buffy. Formerly a popular high school cheerleader of Sunnydale High, Cordelia starts her tenure on the show as a more vain and self-centered personality, but grows over the course of the series into a hero. Cordelia acquires Doyle's visions via a shared kiss prior to Doyle's death. With the death of Doyle in the ninth episode of the show's first season, another character from the Buffy series makes the jump to its spinoff: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof) joins the team under the brave guise of "rogue demon hunter," acting as comic relief and initially not well accepted. Over time, Wesley shows bravery and strength as well as some cold-blooded killing ability, like his colleague Rupert Giles, and grows into a leader.
In season 2 of the show, Angel, Cordelia and Wesley are joined by Charles Gunn (J. August Richards), a young demon hunter who must initially adjust to working with and for a vampire. At the end of season 2, they travel to the demon world Pylea, where they save Winifred "Fred" Burkle (Amy Acker), a young Texan physicist whose social skills have become stunted after five years' captivity; she later grows to become more outspoken. Season 3 saw the introduction of Connor (Vincent Kartheiser), the "miracle" human-like child of two vampires, Angel and Darla. Abducted into a Hell dimension as a baby, he is raised by Angel's enemy Daniel Holtz, and only a few weeks after he left comes back as a teenager and reluctantly comes to accept his lineage. Although introduced during season 2, Lorne (Andy Hallett) joins the team during season 3. An outgoing, pacifist demon with prophetic and empathic abilities, Lorne's role is predominantly to support the team.
Season 5, the show's final season, introduces several new cast members, chief amongst them Spike (James Marsters), an old vampire ally/foe of Angel's who also starred in Buffy. In this series, Spike reluctantly fights beside Angel as their rivalry continues—now tinged with Spike existing as another vampire with a soul, and by the romantic feelings that both of them have for Buffy Summers. One of the legendary Old Ones, Illyria (Amy Acker) starts off as an adversary of the team after taking over Fred's body, but comes to join the team as she must learn to cope with the changed world and the new emotions she feels as a result of taking over a human. Finally, there's Harmony Kendall (Mercedes McNab), another Buffy alumna and former friend of Cordelia who was turned into a vampire. Resembling the old personality of Cordelia, Harmony is grudgingly accepted by Angel as his secretary when he takes over the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart.
Many characters on Angel made recurring appearances. The two longest-running recurring characters are Lilah Morgan (Seasons 1–4) and Lindsey McDonald (Seasons 1, 2, and 5), appearing in 36 and 21 episodes, respectively; Lindsey is the only character besides Angel to appear in both the first and last episode of the series. Angel's sire Darla (Julie Benz), first seen in Buffy, plays an expanded role on Angel and appears in 20 episodes over the course of the series. Elisabeth Röhm appears in 15 episodes (Seasons 1–2) as LAPD Detective Kate Lockley, a woman with an often-strained relationship with Angel.
Throughout the series, there were also guest appearances from Buffy characters, including main cast members Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg and Daniel "Oz" Osbourne. The rogue slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) played an important part in episodes of Seasons 1, 2, and 4; Anne Steele and Andrew Wells also originated on Buffy and appeared in two or more Angel episodes. Whedon also used two actors from his cancelled television series Firefly, Gina Torres and Adam Baldwin, to play Jasmine and Marcus Hamilton, respectively.
Setting and filming locations
Much of Angel was shot on location in Los Angeles, where it is also set. "Los Angeles" are the first words spoken in the premiere episode, and the cityscape is the first image seen in the opening credits. Joss Whedon said, "It is set in Los Angeles because there are a lot of demons in L.A. and a wealth of stories to be told." Many episodes feature references to the city, and the opening episode of the second season features Lorne offering this observation of the city:
In the essay, "Los Angeles: The City of Angel" (from the essay collection, Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a Soul), Benjamin Jacob explores why Los Angeles in particular should be important to the series. Jacob suggests several explanations: first, the name connection ('City of Angels'); second, the double-sided nature, the "other side of the stereotypical sunshine city, Beach Boys and Walt Disney", "the place of pain, anonymity, alienation and broken dreams".; third, American noir was originally a "Los Angelian genre". Angel was originally conceived as supernatural noir. Noir had continued investigation of the "dark city, a place of regression and darkness as a counterpoint to the city's promise of progress and civilization" that had begun under William Blake and Charles Dickens.
During Season 1, Angel Investigations is based in Angel's apartment. Actor Alexis Denisof, who played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, said: "Angel had this dark, foreboding, underground cellar apartment with columns, with this antique furniture all around, and this pokey little office upstairs" These offices were blown up at the climax of the first season, and Angel Investigations found a new base in the episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been".
Production designer Stuart Blatt outlined the new base: "An old hotel, something [the writers] could use to evoke the past of Los Angeles and some of Angel's history, something kind of creepy and spooky but not too dark because they didn't want something depressing, it's called the Hyperion Hotel. It's based on many hotels in Los Angeles... Angel lived in a larger suite in the hotel, like a honeymoon suite, the producers wanted Angel to have enough room to relax and get away from it all, do a little pondering, a little brooding, and a little research. Every once in a while, someone will come up to have a little conversation."
Season 1 is mainly told in a "monster of the week" format, with each episode creating a self-contained story that took place around the title character. Later seasons became more serialized, where the majority of episodes contribute to a larger story arc that unfolded over many episodes. The most extreme example of this is season 4, in which almost every episode contributed to the main storyline, and often picked up exactly where the previous episode ended.
The series' narrative revolves around Angel and his colleagues, collectively making up the detective agency Angel Investigations, who fight against supernatural evils and work to "help the helpless". The character Angel was first seen in the first episode and became a regular, appearing in the opening credits during seasons 2 and 3. According to the fictional universe first established by Buffy, the 'Buffyverse', Angel was born in 18th-century Ireland; after being turned into a soulless, immortal vampire, he became legendary for his evil acts, until a band of wronged Gypsies punished him by restoring his soul, overwhelming him with guilt. Angel eventually set out on a path of redemption, hoping that he could make up for his past through good deeds. In Buffy<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Season Three finale, he leaves Sunnydale for L.A. to continue his atonement without Buffy. Whedon believed that "Angel was the one character who was bigger than life in the same way that Buffy was, a kind of superhero." Whedon has compared the series to its parent: "It's a little bit more straightforward action show and a little bit more of a guys' show."
While the central concept behind Buffy was "high school as a horror movie" in small-town America, co-creators David Greenwalt and Whedon were looking to make Angel into a different "gritty, urban show." Whedon explained, "We wanted a much darker show, darker in tone. It's set in Los Angeles because there are a lot of demons in L.A. and a wealth of stories to be told. We also wanted to take the show a little older and have the characters deal with demons in a much different way. Buffy is always the underdog trying to save the world, but Angel is looking for redemption. It's those two things that creatively make the shows different."
Whedon and Greenwalt prepared a six-minute promotional video pitch, often called the "Unaired Angel pilot" for The WB. Some shots from this short were later used in the opening credits. the episode that was originally written to be the second episode, "Corrupt", was abandoned altogether. Writer David Fury explained, "The network was shocked. They said 'We can't shoot this. This is way too dark.' We were able to break a new idea, we had to turn it over in three days." Instead, the tone was lightened and the opening episodes established Angel Investigations as an idealistic, shoestring operation.
A first draft script reveals that Angel was originally intended to include the character Whistler, played by Max Perlich, who had already been featured in two Buffy episodes, "Becoming, Part One" and "Part Two". In an interview, Perlich said, "I never got called again. If they had called, I would have probably accepted because it was a great experience and I think Joss is very original and talented." Instead, the producers created a Whistler-like character, Doyle. Cordelia Chase, also from the original Sunnydale crew, joined Angel and Doyle.
Executive producers
Joss Whedon is credited as executive producer throughout the run of the series. Alongside Angel, he was also working on a series of other projects such as Buffy, Fray, Astonishing X-Men and Firefly, which would later also lead to the film Serenity. during this time, he also took on the role of show runner. He left to oversee Miracles, but continued to work on Angel as a consulting producer for the final two seasons. Tim Minear also served as an executive producer during the second season, contributing heavily to the season's story arc. At the start of the fourth season, David Simkins was made showrunner and executive producer, but after three months, he left the show due to "creative differences" and is not credited in any episodes. Established Angel writer Jeffrey Bell took over for the balance of season 4 and became executive producer for season 5. After Buffy concluded, writer David Fury joined the staff as executive producer for the final season.
Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui, were also credited as executive producers throughout Angel, but were not involved in any writing or production for the show. Jeffrey Bell mentions in his DVD commentary during the closing credits of the Angel series finale "Not Fade Away" that two people were credited and paid for Angel without needing to ever step on the set. Angel crew member Dan Kerns also revealed in an essay that two executive producers "received credit and sizeable checks for the duration of Buffy and Angel for doing absolutely nothing". Their credit, rights and royalties for the whole Buffy franchise, which includes spinoff Angel, relate to their funding, producing and directing of the original movie version of Buffy.
Writing
Script-writing was done by Mutant Enemy, a production company created by Joss Whedon in 1997. The writers with the most writing credits for the series include: Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, Tim Minear, Jeffrey Bell, David Fury, Steven S. DeKnight, Mere Smith, and Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. Other authors with writing credits include: Shawn Ryan, Ben Edlund, Drew Goddard, Jeannine Renshaw, Howard Gordon, Jim Kouf, Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, Tracey Stern, David H. Goodman, Scott Murphy, Marti Noxon and Brent Fletcher.
Jane Espenson has explained how scripts came together for Mutant Enemy Productions series Buffy, Angel and Firefly: a meeting was held and an idea was floated (generally by Whedon) and the writers brainstormed to develop the central theme of the episode and the character development. Next, the staff met in the anteroom to Whedon's office to begin "breaking" the story into acts and scenes; the only one absent would be the writer working on the previous week's episode.
Next, the writers developed the scenes onto a marker-filled whiteboard, featuring a "brief ordered description of each scene." Darling Violetta watched pivotal Angel-related episodes of Buffy such as "Passion", "Becoming, Parts One and Two" for inspiration. Eventually, Whedon accepted Darling Violetta's interpretation of an Angel theme as that most suitable to the show. The theme has a slower tempo than the Buffy theme, as well as heavier use of acoustic instruments such as cello. In 2005, the band composed an extended version of the Angel theme called "The Sanctuary Extended Remix", which featured on the soundtrack of the series Angel: Live Fast, Die Never.
The demon karaoke bar, Caritas, is frequently used to spotlight pop hits. There has also been a soundtrack album, Angel: Live Fast, Die Never. The soundtrack mostly consists of scores created for the show by Robert J. Kral along with a remixed theme and four other songs from the show. Douglas Romayne scored 33 episodes of Angel in seasons 4 and 5, along with series lead composer, Rob Kral.
Cancellation
On February 14, 2004, the WB Network announced that Angel would not be brought back for a sixth season. The one-paragraph statement indicated that the news, which had been reported by an Internet site the previous day, had been leaked well before the network intended to make its announcement. Joss Whedon posted a message on a popular fan site, The Bronze: Beta, in which he expressed his dismay and surprise, saying he was "heartbroken" and described the situation as "Healthy Guy Falls Dead From Heart Attack." Fan reaction was to organize letter-writing campaigns, online petitions, blood and food drives, advertisements in trade magazines and via mobile billboards, and attempts to lobby other networks. UPN was a favorite target, as it had already picked up Buffy, but the network declined. Outrage for the cancellation focused on Jordan Levin, WB's Head of Entertainment. It was the second highest-rated program to be canceled on the WB.
Head writer David Fury "guaranteed" that if Joss Whedon had not requested an early renewal, Angel would have been back for a Season 6, saying Whedon's request for an early pick-up decision put Levin in a corner, forcing him to cancel the show, adding simply waiting would have gotten the show renewed. Marsters made a similar statement, saying cancellation took the cast and production staff "completely by surprise". He said in 2021 that Spike's addition to the show prevented cancellation after four seasons, although his request for a salary equal to what he was paid on Buffy caused Whedon to remove Carpenter from the main cast.
Angels final episode, "Not Fade Away", aired on the WB on May 19, 2004. The ambiguous final moments left some fans hoping for the continuation of Angel and the Buffyverse in the future - hopes that came to fruition in November 2007 with the publication of the first issue of the comic book series Angel: After the Fall. The series is Joss Whedon's official continuation of the Angel television series and follows in the footsteps of the comic book Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, whose first issue was published in March 2007.
Themes
While Buffy the Vampire Slayer was built around the angst of adolescence, Angel chronicles the different stages of adulthood after one leaves home and begins working. Cordelia Chase, who had been the most popular and superficial girl in Sunnydale High on Buffy, develops over the course of the series from an insecure young woman struggling in a daunting real world into an unexpectedly mature woman. Similarly, Wesley, the once uptight and bookish Watcher, becomes a man of quiet confidence and often ruthless action.
right|thumb|250px|Angel screenshot from the opening credits. Taking place in a dark metropolis, Angel often alluded to the [[Hardboiled|noir detective genre that influenced the show.]]
In much the same way as Buffy had been both an homage and parody of traditional horror films, Angel gave the same treatment to the classical film noir. Producer Kelly Manners said "Angel is a dark show about a man looking for redemption... We have an alcoholic metaphor with Angel. Angel is a guy who is one drink away from going back to his evil roots" He attempts to find redemption through helping the helpless of Los Angeles in a fashion similar to that of noir detectives. The first episode even included a Philip Marlowe-style voiceover. Angel filled the role of the reluctant, streetwise detective who has dealings with a variety of underworld characters. In this case, the "underworld" is a literal underworld of demons and supernatural beings. In one instance, Angel is explicitly compared with fictional noir private-detective Marlowe. Many traditional noir stories and characters were explored in earlier episodes, including the ditzy but attractive secretary, the cagey but well-informed partner, and clashes with crooked lawyers, femme fatales and meddlesome, too-good-for-their-own-good cops. These were usually given a modern or supernatural twist.
The style and focus of the show changed considerably over its run, and starting late in season two the original noir idea was mostly discarded in favor of more large-scale supernatural-themed conflicts. In later seasons, the mythology and stories became increasingly complex; in Season Four, one of the characters on the show itself described the storyline as "a turgid supernatural soap opera." Whereas the show initially dealt with the difficulty of being kind to people on a personal basis, the show ultimately focused on Angel's status as an archetypal Champion for humanity, and explored ideas such as moral ambiguity, the spiritual cost of violence, and the nature of free will. The enduring theme throughout the series was the struggle for redemption.
Angel explored trust motifs as an increasingly central focus of the show. In the first two seasons, there were sprinklings of deceit and treachery, but in the last three seasons duplicity began to pervade the thematic structure, culminating in Season Five when almost every episode included some kind of double-cross, trickery, or illusion. An idea presented in Season Three was that even prophecy can betray, as they are often deceiving if not plain lies. In Season Five, it is repeatedly emphasized that the characters can trust no one in their new situation. The series is also notable for harsh betrayals within the cast of main characters; such events often having lethal consequences.
Angel depicted the feelings of loneliness, danger, and callousness often attributed to the urban Los Angeles megalopolis. The divisions between the ordered world of the day and the chaotic world of the night have been trademark themes of noir and by depicting a protagonist who literally has no daytime life, the series was able to explore these same themes in more dramatic, metaphorical ways. As the series progressed, the creators were able to explore darker aspects of the characters, particularly Angel, who commits a number of morally questionable actions, and periodically reverts to his evil persona Angelus.
Home media
The series was released to DVD, produced by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, from 2001 to 2005.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" | DVD !! colspan="3" | Original release date
|-
! US
! UK
|-
|The Complete First Season || February 11, 2003 || December 10, 2001
|-
|The Complete Second Season || September 2, 2003 || April 15, 2002
|-
|The Complete Third Season || February 10, 2004 || March 3, 2003
|-
|The Complete Fourth Season || September 7, 2004 || March 1, 2004
|-
|The Complete Fifth Season || February 15, 2005 || February 21, 2005
|-
|Special Collectors Set || October 30, 2007 || October 30, 2006
|}
In 2009, the DVDs were repackaged into slimmer cases, which resemble regular DVD packaging.
Reception
Critical response
An article in The Independent stated, "The LA-set spin-off to Buffy was initially dismissed as the original's poor cousin but gradually developed into a darkly entertaining show in its own right."