'Angel' is a fantastic show
...but for several reasons it’s very difficult to explain to people WHY.
It's a genre-bending
fantasy spinoff of the cult show
'Buffy the Vampire Slayer',
about a vampire detective agency,
starring that one guy from 'Bones'.
Wait, wait, wait...
...don't close the video yet.
I think I can make a compelling argument for why this is a show that needs to be in your Netflix queue,
...whether you’ve seen 'Buffy' or not.
The show was created in 1999 by
Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, and features the continuing stories
of Angel,
the vampire who has had his soul restored through a curse.
Angel exited Sunnydale and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' 3 months before.
His life continues in L.A.
as he tries to atone for the horrible things he did before his soul was restored.
When he runs into some familiar faces
they decide maybe a more organized approach to do-gooding
is to start a business rather than
just roaming the streets Batman style and thus...
"Angel Investigations."
"We help the hopeless."
...is born.
If 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' is at its core a show about growing up,
'Angel' is a show about being an adult
and the challenges that come with it.
From starting a business,
and being a parent,
to questions about what makes a meaningful life.
There’s even bits about corporate employment, and can you change it or does it change you?
And all of this is told against the backdrop of a well realized fantasy world that is surprising as it is familiar.
But I know what you might be thinking?
I know. Ridiculous right? Like, like...race car driving pope. Or.....post civil war space cowboys. I mean...
Wait…
[COWBOYS...IN SPACE]
Ah yeah. That’s just textbook Joss Whedon.
Whedon inventions are nearly all genre benders.
His original concept for 'Firefly' started after reading a book on the Civil War and wondering what could come about if that was set in the distant future.
From that we got post Civil War Space Cowboys.
Buffy began from wondering "what if the blonde that always got eaten in horror movies,
instead kicked the monster's ass?".
From that we got horror tropes set in high school.
But these aren’t your normal vampires sleeping in coffins:
“Coffin!"
"I hate that stereotype.”
Other than the fact that these are just great writers, these shows work for two reasons.
The first is Whedon understands that a genre does nothing except provide a setting.
You still have to tell a great story.
And he happens to tell my favorite kind of stories
...intensely character driven ones that we see ourselves in.
The second reason it works is because the writing is self aware enough to not take itself too seriously:
"What's next,"
"...vampire cowboy?"
"Vampire fireman?"
"Oh,"
"...vampire ballerina."
The show is very dark
but also whimsical and that
prevents the material from slipping too far into gothic self importance.
Take Lorne,
the red horned, green skinned demon who owns a bar for non-humans.
Lorne is from another dimension
and can read your aura if you sing to him.
So of course, his bar
...is a karaoke bar.
"OH, MANDY"
"OH ,YOU KISSED ME AND STOPPED ME FROM SHAKING"
"AND I NEED---"
I actually don’t disagree with this.
On 'Buffy', Angel’s emotes were pretty much limited to
balsa, pine, and aspen.
But even on that show he’d already developed a richer back story than any of the other ancillary characters
and as I mentioned Whedon felt he’d outgrown it.
He grows considerably on his own show once he isn’t stuck just being the dark broody boyfriend
And it’s also important to keep in mind that 'Angel' isn’t as single minded a show
as 'Buffy'.
Where Buffy’s season arcs relate specifically or metaphorically to Buffy herself
and her friends are often satellites in that orbit,
'Angel'’s season storylines are broader epics that are less about him.
That allows the other cast of characters to feature nearly as prominently as Angel himself.
And as a result, the show has two of the greatest character arcs from either series,
those of Cordelia
and Wesley.
Wesley began 'Buffy' as a spineless comic relief character.
“I’m telling the Council.”
After leaving Buffy, he becomes a self-employed, rogue demon hunter
"What's a ROGUE DEMON?"
He joins up with Angel Investigations and we witness his naivete get slowly stripped away making him nearly unrecognizable.
It certainly can be.
Also hilarious,
tragic,
exciting,
and fiercely inspiring.
Both 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and
'Angel' fall into a category
I would describe as “Meaningful Entertainment.”
That is, stories and characters that provide us a medium through which to consider ourselves and our own lives.
But far from doing so through heavy handed moralizing,
these shows accomplish that feat through the characters, and them asking themselves questions like
What makes a meaningful life?
To what extent do you shape your own destiny
and how much is fate?
Are there some things for which there can be no redemption?
Some acts you can never atone for?
And because Whedon places SUCH an emphasis on creating vivid characters
we identify with them,
and confront those questions ourselves.
In a unexpectedly informative news story about the Russian Winter Olympics on the fake news show 'The Daily Show',
Jason Jones found one woman at an anti-government rally protesting Russia’s recent anti-gay laws.
Though 74% of Russians don’t think homosexuality should be accepted by society,
THIS woman was still on the streets protesting for basic human rights.
When asked if she was hopeful Russia could change she stated,
I'll put a link to the 'Daily Show' story in the description.
Though you certainly don’t need to have seen 'Buffy' to watch 'Angel',
if you're already a 'Buffy' fan you have no excuses.
The reason to watch 'Angel' is simple:
you get to spend more time in this universe you already love.
There are crossover episodes between the two shows,
guest appearances by beloved characters,
and complete character arcs you may have missed.
You even get to see some of the consequences to Buffy’s decisions at the end of Season 7.
Of course that’s not to say that there aren’t any rough edges.
Not to fret.
I’ll be doing an 'Angel' episode guide on this channel once we get to 'Buffy' Season 4.
But strangely, where most shows roughest seasons are their early ones,
fans generally seem to agree that 'Angel' Season 4 is its most problematic.
Though Season 1 while entertaining, CAN be dry at times.
"You fight demons."
"At any moment one of them could walk RIGHT THROUGH that very door."
[Door double-checking]
"Don't make this hard."
But then comes...'Angel' Season 5
Terrible,
wonderful,
awe-inspiring
Season 5.
The finale is one of the greatest of any television series I’ve ever watched.
A symphony of separate moving parts.
At once epic and intimate,
culminating in a final scene that harmonizes perfectly to the show's internal philosophy.
That sometimes right is right, regardless of its futility.
That all that matters is what we do today.
Right now.
And, to borrow a phrase,
a thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
'Angel', Season 1 - Episode 1 - Scene 1.
It’s on Netflix, Amazon Instant, YouTube, and Hulu.
Go watch.
Go watch it now.
It’s worth it.
I promise.