City Of...
I cracked open my Angel Season 1 DVDs. I decided to watch the first episode, since I hadn't seen it for a very long time.
It's really very good. It had everything I liked about Angel in it. Joss wrote and directed it, so I expect nothing less. But it was probably here that he started to put Buffy on auto-pilot, which I felt was s detriment to the series. But it sure made for a great series premire of Angel!
It starts out great. A supposedly drunk Angel whining at a bar about some girl (Buffy, no doubt). But it's all a ruse to get the drop on some vampires out on the prowl! There's a great fight, ending with Angel using his spring loaded stakes to dust them, saving the girls!
The credits roll! Darling Violetta's theme is awesome. On a par with Nerf Herder's Buffy theme.
Doyle shows up and gives a scathing exposition of Angel's life. I suppose it's there to fill in people who never followed Buffy, though I wonder who would have watched this without having known about Buffy?
Angel follows Doyle's advice and goes out looking for Tina, the subject of his vision. Eventually he manages to convince her that he's not a psycho out stalking her (he is stalking her, he's just not doing it for a bad reason). They go to a party where he runs into Cordy (*sob*). She's looking nice, but having just watched Prohpecy Girl, I'm going to go out on a limb and say she's not looking as good as she did then. But still, there'd be no kicking of her out of the bed.
Angel actually seems happy to see her. Which is odd, but maybe is shows how much he actually liked interacting with the Scoobies when he's glad to see the annoying Cordelia Chase (*sob*).
Tina is kidnapped, but Angel rescues her from the clutches of the bad guy and brings her back to his basement lair (apartment doesn't really cut it). She's amazed when he doesn't want to have sex with her as a reward for saving her from the meanies. She tells him about her friend that disappeared. While she sleeps, he goes to the library to surf the net to find out more about her friend. So Angel knows how to surf the net for information! Who needs Willow!
He gets back as Tina is waking up. She see's Doyle's note about where to find her and she thinks that the evil Russell sent him to fuck with her mind. Sadly, she doesn't believe him and runs away, but not before first discovering that he's a vampire. Naturally this wigs her out even more.
So she stupidly goes back to her apartment to get some things. I'm unclear why, but she was obviously not thinking straight. Here comes Russell, who, it turns out, is a vampire! He kills her and leaves her for Angel to find.
Angel's failure to save Tina upsets him. He's getting ready for war.
Meanwhile, Cordy (*sob*) is summoned to Russell's house, on the pretext of him wanting to find out more about her and her career. She's her usual cheerful self for a while, but then what she thinks is the reality of the situation hits her. She asks "What do you want me to do?" in the most pathetic voice anyone has ever heard from Cordelia (*sob*) in the four years we've known her. She thinks she knows what he wants and she's willing to give it to him.
But, she's wrong! In a dazzling display of Cordy (*sob*) logic, she deduces that Russell's a vampire, which he at first denies. I think he's a little stunned that she would even consider that vampires exist. But then they both realize it's still pretty hopeless for her.
And here comes Angel to save the day! Cordy (*sob*) is sure that Russell is going to get his ass kicked. And probably he would have if there hadn't been lots of guys with guns coming to his rescue. Angel and Cordy (*sob*) do a strategic retreat back to the waiting Doyle and they run back to Angel's place.
The next day, Lindsay is meeting with Russell in his office. They're going over some nefarious dealings and discussing Angel. When who should walk in? Angel! Russell smugly explains to Angel how LA works. How he can do whatever he wants. Angel's only reply is: "Can you fly?" And kicks him out the window! In a great scene, Russell falls towards the ground and burns up on the way down.
Back at the lair, Angel picks up the phone and calls Buffy, but hangs up on her (as we saw in The Freshman). Doyle and Angel talk about Cordy (*sob*) a bit, when she starts screaming. They rush upstairs and discover she's freaked by a cockroach. And she's taking over, telling everyone what to do. Naturally. And Angel realizes that he nees to interact with people and Cordy (*sob*) needs his help. Plus, Doyle thinks she's a real stiffener. (No shit, Sherlock). Angel Investigations is born!
This episode set the tone for the series (at least the first season). I liked Angel, Cordy and Doyle doing the job. I felt that getting rid of Doyle was a mistake. I felt that adding Wesley, while it has worked out, was a mistake at the time. I felt the addition of Gunn and Fred were mistakes. I still think they are mistakes. Lorne, while fun, should not be a regular. I do actually like Spike and Harmony. But my opinion is that the core group: Angel, Cordy and Doyle and the episodes they did together, was the best Angel.
I feel the show got too crowded, much like Buffy did. And it also lost Joss to Firefly, like Buffy lost him to Angel. Greenwalt's good, but he's no Joss, and neither is Marti.
I'm looking forward to revisiting this first season of Angel. When Cordy (*sob*) was still the Cordy (*sob*) I knew and loved. There is only so much "character growth" I can stand, and I had my fill in Season 3.
It's really very good. It had everything I liked about Angel in it. Joss wrote and directed it, so I expect nothing less. But it was probably here that he started to put Buffy on auto-pilot, which I felt was s detriment to the series. But it sure made for a great series premire of Angel!
It starts out great. A supposedly drunk Angel whining at a bar about some girl (Buffy, no doubt). But it's all a ruse to get the drop on some vampires out on the prowl! There's a great fight, ending with Angel using his spring loaded stakes to dust them, saving the girls!
The credits roll! Darling Violetta's theme is awesome. On a par with Nerf Herder's Buffy theme.
Doyle shows up and gives a scathing exposition of Angel's life. I suppose it's there to fill in people who never followed Buffy, though I wonder who would have watched this without having known about Buffy?
Angel follows Doyle's advice and goes out looking for Tina, the subject of his vision. Eventually he manages to convince her that he's not a psycho out stalking her (he is stalking her, he's just not doing it for a bad reason). They go to a party where he runs into Cordy (*sob*). She's looking nice, but having just watched Prohpecy Girl, I'm going to go out on a limb and say she's not looking as good as she did then. But still, there'd be no kicking of her out of the bed.
Angel actually seems happy to see her. Which is odd, but maybe is shows how much he actually liked interacting with the Scoobies when he's glad to see the annoying Cordelia Chase (*sob*).
Tina is kidnapped, but Angel rescues her from the clutches of the bad guy and brings her back to his basement lair (apartment doesn't really cut it). She's amazed when he doesn't want to have sex with her as a reward for saving her from the meanies. She tells him about her friend that disappeared. While she sleeps, he goes to the library to surf the net to find out more about her friend. So Angel knows how to surf the net for information! Who needs Willow!
He gets back as Tina is waking up. She see's Doyle's note about where to find her and she thinks that the evil Russell sent him to fuck with her mind. Sadly, she doesn't believe him and runs away, but not before first discovering that he's a vampire. Naturally this wigs her out even more.
So she stupidly goes back to her apartment to get some things. I'm unclear why, but she was obviously not thinking straight. Here comes Russell, who, it turns out, is a vampire! He kills her and leaves her for Angel to find.
Angel's failure to save Tina upsets him. He's getting ready for war.
Meanwhile, Cordy (*sob*) is summoned to Russell's house, on the pretext of him wanting to find out more about her and her career. She's her usual cheerful self for a while, but then what she thinks is the reality of the situation hits her. She asks "What do you want me to do?" in the most pathetic voice anyone has ever heard from Cordelia (*sob*) in the four years we've known her. She thinks she knows what he wants and she's willing to give it to him.
But, she's wrong! In a dazzling display of Cordy (*sob*) logic, she deduces that Russell's a vampire, which he at first denies. I think he's a little stunned that she would even consider that vampires exist. But then they both realize it's still pretty hopeless for her.
And here comes Angel to save the day! Cordy (*sob*) is sure that Russell is going to get his ass kicked. And probably he would have if there hadn't been lots of guys with guns coming to his rescue. Angel and Cordy (*sob*) do a strategic retreat back to the waiting Doyle and they run back to Angel's place.
The next day, Lindsay is meeting with Russell in his office. They're going over some nefarious dealings and discussing Angel. When who should walk in? Angel! Russell smugly explains to Angel how LA works. How he can do whatever he wants. Angel's only reply is: "Can you fly?" And kicks him out the window! In a great scene, Russell falls towards the ground and burns up on the way down.
Back at the lair, Angel picks up the phone and calls Buffy, but hangs up on her (as we saw in The Freshman). Doyle and Angel talk about Cordy (*sob*) a bit, when she starts screaming. They rush upstairs and discover she's freaked by a cockroach. And she's taking over, telling everyone what to do. Naturally. And Angel realizes that he nees to interact with people and Cordy (*sob*) needs his help. Plus, Doyle thinks she's a real stiffener. (No shit, Sherlock). Angel Investigations is born!
This episode set the tone for the series (at least the first season). I liked Angel, Cordy and Doyle doing the job. I felt that getting rid of Doyle was a mistake. I felt that adding Wesley, while it has worked out, was a mistake at the time. I felt the addition of Gunn and Fred were mistakes. I still think they are mistakes. Lorne, while fun, should not be a regular. I do actually like Spike and Harmony. But my opinion is that the core group: Angel, Cordy and Doyle and the episodes they did together, was the best Angel.
I feel the show got too crowded, much like Buffy did. And it also lost Joss to Firefly, like Buffy lost him to Angel. Greenwalt's good, but he's no Joss, and neither is Marti.
I'm looking forward to revisiting this first season of Angel. When Cordy (*sob*) was still the Cordy (*sob*) I knew and loved. There is only so much "character growth" I can stand, and I had my fill in Season 3.