Angel

Question: I’m beginning to feel like Anya in the Buffy episode "The Body": No one could explain to her why people die, and no one can explain to me why Angel is being canceled. It’s been shuffled around on the WB’s schedule, but is still one of its highest-rated shows. It has increased in viewership. It has a strong, vocal fan base and, to top it all off, is a quality show! Is the WB offing it because it’s five years old, like they did with Buffy? Because this makes no sense to me. And I have to admit, with no Buffy-verse show on the air, the TV landscape will lose something really special. I think the worst part of it is that I feel like they’re getting rid of the show when it still has so many stories left to tell. Unlike so many long-running shows that go off the air, Angel has not lost steam (although losing Cordy and Fred were huge blows). Can you please explain to me why this show was canceled? Please make some sense out of this. - Katie F.

Matt: The root of your incomprehension is that there’s no adequate explanation to make fans understand why this is happening. Part of it is that the show hit the magic five-year mark, and WB had to weigh whether it was worth the investment to keep yet another long-running cult show going. The network is also facing an uncertain future a year or so from now when WB is expected to lose some of its more reliable franchises: 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, even possibly Charmed - which is the show so many Angel fans can’t believe survived the cut at Angel’s expense. (I’m in that camp as well, but then, it’s no secret I’ve never cared one way or the other about Charmed.) WB management feels the rebuilding needs to start sooner than later, and that strategy hastened Angel’s demise as well.

Question: I wanted to get your take on the current "Saving Angel" campaign. What do you think Joss and crew think of this monumental effort to save their show? Have you ever seen such a well-organized campaign? And most importantly, do you think the campaign will actually work to keep Angel on the air? - Melissa

Matt: I don’t want to give false hope or unduly extinguish the enthusiasm of this unprecedented campaign. As my recent review column noted, I’ve never seen a groundswell this creative or widespread. I’m sure everyone on the show’s creative side is gratified by all the fans are doing, but do I think it will result in more episodes next season? I doubt it. But come the day that Angel and/or Buffy stories are told in some new TV format, I think all of the fans can take some credit in never losing the faith.