Dollhouse, Firefly, Angel, Buffy : news, photos & videos

Angel and Spike make #3 in 10 Top Pop Culture Vamps list

Webmaster — 2009-10-23T20:09:31Z

Click on the link :

http://my.cineplex.com/showbiz-news/2009/10/10-top-pop-culture-vamps/

"Angel" Tv Series - Celebrating Angel's 10th Anniversary - Sequentialtart.com Review 1

Webmaster — 2009-10-13T14:39:56Z

Part One : A Wolf Gets the Disco Ball Spinning

In 2006, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer ; this year, we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its spin-off, Angel : The Series, which was about Buffy's boyfriend Angel (the first vampire-with-a-soul in that universe) becoming a defender of the night in LA.

This column is dedicated to the memory of Andy Hallett (the actor behind the demon Lorne), who passed away earlier this year (and was only two weeks older than me — scary !). As column editor, I'll start off our discussion ....

But where do the hell do I start ? There's so many things that made this series one of the best to ever grace the small screen : a highly imaginative concept ; intricately-woven stories with twists upon twists ; deeply complicated characters ; snappy and insightful dialogue ; sets with character all their own (the hotel ; demon karaoke club Caritas ; the offices of Wolfram and Hart) ; well-crafted make-up and props ; stunning special effects ; brilliant acting ... and to think I almost missed it all !

I admit, the series held no interest for me in the beginning ; I didn't care much for Angel in Buffy, save for as a villain. And, well, I had fallen out of the loop with Buffy, having missed the third season — I worked nights, and I had no TV or VCR of my own at the time. After the fourth season of Buffy started airing, though, I started watching it, thanks to a manager I had who was watching it — I didn't know until then that the TV in the office was usable for anything more than work-related videos ! That manager scheduled my dinners so that I could watch Buffy with her. And then they had an episode of Angel which Buffy was on, "I will Remember You", so she scheduled us so that we could watch both shows that night ... and I was hooked. After that, she scheduled me so that my lunch was two hours (I came in an hour early to make up for it). And as the show progressed, with each new character that was added to the roster, it seems to me that it got better and better ! I came to love it so much, I started writing a monthly column for Tart about it, along with Buffy (see the link at the bottom of the page). I also have a rather Pavlovian reaction to the lovely theme music.

Angel himself (David Boreanaz) became about a hundred percent more interesting here — as a good guy. I mean, he was already more interesting when he was Angelus, but does that really count ? Even so, while I appreciated Angel getting a personality outside of his alter-ego, I'm glad that we got to see Angelus now and then on this show too. And that's kind of avant-garde for fiction, isn't it ? Having the lead good guy, The Hero, become the big evil — several episodes in a row, even ? Between the two personas (and adding a pre-vampire Liam in, as well as a dirty old man who took over Angel's body), David Boreanaz proved that not did he actually have acting skill, but that he's actually a phenomenal actor ! All the cast are, really.

I can't say much about Doyle (the late Glenn Quinn, of Roseanne fame) — I don't think I even saw all of his episodes. He seemed sweet and amusing, the Humour of the band — or rather, the Trickster.

While Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) was good comic relief in Buffy, I didn't like her in that, and couldn't see her as a lead. Carpenter certainly proved me wrong on Angel ! Cordy could be called the Heart or the Strength or the Wisdom of Angel Inc., yet she wasn't quite any of these either. Well, maybe we can call her The Snark ? Or The Guide. Or The Voice of Reason.

I cheered when Charles Gunn (J August Richards) was added as a regular. The writers have said that the character was hard to write for, as they didn't quite know where to put him ; though Gunn even calls himself "the muscle", that makes him too two-dimensional. Well, I think the answer is simple : he's "The Strength", like in the tarot, which is far more complicated. His struggle between doing things as he felt they should be done and his need to be a part of the group, the leader having to bow to other leaders, was compelling.

I loved the addition of (Wini)Fred Burkle (Amy Acker), whom I consider to be the Heart of the group, and I enjoyed watching her find a backbone without losing that heart. I was devastated at her loss, but watching Illyria struggle with her emotions and to understand humanity, things which were so natural to Fred, was fascinating, and I came to love the demigoddess just as much.

I was thrilled when Lorne was made a series regular, as I generally enjoyed all of his appearances before then. When he was funny, he was a riot, and when he was playing den mother, his scenes were often deeply touching. Maybe Fred was the Heart of the team, but Lorne was the Conscience. (I guess it suits that he was musical and green — Jiminy Cricket, anyone ?)

I love Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) in general. I loved how he turned Angel's world upside down, and I loved watching him struggle against his programming, as it were. He's the Instinct of the group. But while the "Cordy is preggers with Connor's baby" arc was well-written, I didn't much like it. Connor spent much of the time both a bit nuts and separated from his family, which was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to see, and Connor/Cordy was icky. It was a relief when the deliciously evil Jasmine was born, and Cordy went onto the backburner, although it was still frustrating to see Connor continue to be on the wrong side. (And truth be told, I always wished he'd get paired up with Buffy's sister, Dawn.) Anyway, I was glad that he got to spend a few episodes working happily alongside Angel at the end of the series.

Harmony was an inspired addition to the cast ; I mean, if you need to have employees, why not add one that the audience is already familiar with ? And she also contributed to the story by giving Spike a connection other than Angel and, to a small degree, Wes. And the episode that focused on her, "Harm's Way", was a hoot !

I enjoyed Skip the demon, and was a bit disappointed that he turned out to be evil after all (a twist on a twist !). I loved Gwen, the thief with the electrical powers, and really wish they'd used her more (she's apparently in the comic, but I don't think, from what I've read, that I would like where they took her story.) The struggles of the Wolfram and Hart demonic law firm employees Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov), Lindsey MacDonald (Christian Kane), Gavin (Daniel Dae Kim), and Eve (Sarah Thompson) were quite compelling, especially Lindsey and Lilah. I adore "grey" villains with a possibility for redemption.

Which of course is why I always loved Spike (James Marsters), the penultimate in redeemed characters, as he's a vampire who chose to regain his soul out of love. I was over the moon when they brought him on to the show, thankful that I could at least continue to see him, if not the rest of the Buffy cast, for another season. In a way, he took Doyle's place as the Rogue, the Chaotic element, the Trickster — and The Snark, replacing Cordelia. He was also the biggest Rival for Angel — a role he carried over from his old series. It was great fun to watch his love/hate relationship with Angel ; I love that he could still be something of a bad guy to Angel while still staying a "good" guy, and yet I also I appreciated the more friendly moments between them. And his blossoming friendship with first Fred (which in turn reminded me of his friendship with Dawn), then Illyria, was beautiful to behold. And I love that we got canonical evidence that Spike and Angel have slept together — once — in "Power Play".

Click on the link for mroe :

http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php ?id=1525

"Angel" Tv Series in the Ten TV Spin-offs That Were Better Than the Original Shows

Webmaster — 2009-10-10T10:56:38Z

(...)

4. "Angel" (Spun off from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") No, we're not crazy enough to say that "Angel" was better than "Buffy" overall, but Angel's darkest moments during his show's second and third seasons, which included the return of Darla and Wesley's betrayal, were more compelling than the annoying Dawn/Glory and resurrection storylines in the fifth and sixth seasons of "Buffy."

(...)

Click on the link for more :

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/ten-tv-spinoffs-that-were-better-than-the-original-shows—664

Denofgeek.com's Top 10 Angel The Series episodes

Webmaster — 2009-08-05T11:05:04Z

Click on the link :

http://www.denofgeek.com/television/297867/top_10_angel_episodes.html

Angel in USA Today's guide to the various "rules" for modern vampires

Webmaster — 2009-07-03T11:18:55Z

Click on the link :

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-07-01-vampire-rules_N.htm

Angel in the Top 10 sexiest vampires of all time

Webmaster — 2009-06-21T10:32:22Z

5. David Boreanaz as Angel

“Angel” is actually a spin-off of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The main plot of the show revolves around the ongoing trials and tribulations of Angel, a yummy vampire whose human soul was reinstated to him by some gypsies as a form of revenge because he killed a gypsy. After more than a century of torturing and killing innocent people, His restored soul now tortures his damned soul with guilt on a daily basis. He works as a private detective in the TV series where he and a group of friends “help the helpless” and save the souls of those who have veered away onto the wrong path.

Angel is actually considered to be one of the sexiest men in TV - and we're definitely not surprised ! With a name like Angel, no wonder he's a heart stopper !

The 1. Is Edward Cullen from Twilight.

Click on the link :

http://daily.starcentralmagazine.com/daily-top-10/2009/06/20/top-10-sexiest-vampires-of-all-time/

Whedon Characters in Vampire Blood Bath

Webmaster — 2009-06-13T08:26:25Z

Click on the link :

http://www.sidereel.com/_post/159077

"Angel" Tv Series - Tvsquad.com Review

Webmaster — 2009-05-10T19:58:21Z

Well, I've covered Buffy the Vampire Slayer here on Jane After Dark, and my nephew, who loaned me his Buffy DVDs, also got me into Angel. Nearly everyone I talked to about Angel said they just couldn't get into it. After Buffy, maybe everything else pales in comparison.

I have to say, I really only started watching Angel out of respect for Buffy and Joss Whedon, and because I really loved the character of Angel (and David Boreanaz is not hard to look at). I was alternately watching Buffy and Angel at the same time (one disc of Buffy, one of Angel, and so on) ; it was a good way to do it, because there were a few crossover episodes that made a lot more sense watching them that way.

Now, down to brass tacks. Angel ran for five seasons, and it took me three seasons to really get into it. The first three were just sort of meh for me, but I got through them by forcing myself to alternate with the Buffy discs (look, Jane, you can't watch another disc of Buffy until you watch a disc of Angel !). It was a good strategy. Part-way into season three of Angel, I was finally looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I will say, though, that by season four, Angel really turned into a very different show than when it started. You had Cordelia basically lying in a coma for much of the season, after the weirdly hot sex she had with Angel's son, Connor (and Oh.My.God. I just realized that Vincent Kartheiser plays Peter Campbell in Mad Men - I had no idea !). But the "case of the week" format that started the series was completely out the window (along with the female cop - whatever happened to her ?), with demons and other-dimensional creatures taking center stage. Andy Hallett's musical demon Lorne is one of my favorite characters, and I was saddened to hear of his recent death.

Vincent Kartheiser of AngelWhile I loved the Connor story overall, I couldn't really get into the thing with him and Cordelia being the "parents" of Jasmine. However, I just watched the last episode of season four, "Home," and it's definitely the best of the series so far, reminiscent of the best episodes of Buffy. Angel making a deal with Lilah about taking over Wolfram & Hart in exchange for giving Connor a new life with a normal family — and everyone's memory wiped clean of Connor except for Angel (I think) — was just heartbreaking. Especially the end scene with Connor looking in the window of Connor's new life, having a joyful dinner with his family before heading off to college.

Skimming the episode list of season five, which I'll start this week, it doesn't appear that Connor makes an appearance (or...does he... ?), and for that, I'm really sorry. I love his character, but I guess my vision of he and Angel fighting the good fight together into the future doesn't come to pass.

One thing missing for me from Angel which was always present in Buffy is romance. There are bits of it here and there, but the relationships are totally dysfunctional — Angel and Darla, Wesley and Lilah, and Cordelia and Connor, to name a few. Fred and Gunn were good together, but not a lot of spark there. I'm still hoping for a Fred/Wesley pairing, as well as an Angel/Cordy pairing. Come on, season five ! Deliver the goods !

So what's my assessment on Angel so far ? Good series, darker than Buffy, love the characters, and looking forward to season five.

What about you ? Did you love Angel as much as Buffy ? Moreso ?

"Angel" Tv Series in the Five TV Shows Empireonline.com would like to see as movies

Webmaster — 2009-04-16T08:42:14Z

Angel

What is it ? A spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel saw the eponymous vampire-with-a-soul (David Boreanaz) travel to LA to set up an agency to "help the helpless". Over the course of five seasons, he morphed into the head of a demonic law film (aren't they all ?) and we last saw him standing with his few remaining allies as the entire city was invaded by hell-beasts. And a dragon.

Why would it work as a film ? The ultra-bleak cliffhanger ending was a reflection of how betrayed and abandoned the show's team felt at their abrupt cancellation (just as ratings were on the rise too), and it'd kinda be nice to see how they got out of it. OK, so there was a follow-up comic, but that wasn't so great (SPOILER : they end up going through a big adventure to undo everything that just happened) and we'd like a better story please. But we'd like to keep the dragon, k thx.

Which pop culture vampire is your favorite ? Angel ?

Webmaster — 2009-02-10T21:18:47Z

Vote for Angel in Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll :

http://www.ajc.com/holiday/content/atlanta-holiday-guide/best-hollywood-vampire.html