Rating: 
Summary: JOSH
Review: i think this is a good season especially with darla and dru coming back and going into angels history but somethings are kind of weird, personally i like buffy better but its cool 2 watch angel too becaause the storylines together and sometimes there are cross overs which are cool! i give it 4 stars
Rating: 
Summary: Darla is the best!!!
Review: Season two of Angel is the best season thanks to Darla and the always wonderful and amazingly talented Julie Benz!!! Don't miss out on this season! The show has never been as good as season two and will, sadly, probably never be.
Rating:
Summary: Angel: Then and Now
Review: I've been watching Angel ever since it first spun off Buffy, and absolutely cannot wait until it is released. Season 2 is a personal favourite, mainly because of all its flashback episodes. Being able to learn more about Angel's past is something I've always enjoyed. I mean, this guy has lived for hundreds of year's before we even met the character. Seeing who Angel was then helps when trying to understand where he's coming from now. The Pylea episodes are also excellent, and I can't wait for the commentary and featurettes. So, if anyone is anywhere near as obsessed as I am (I doubt it, but you never know) perhaps I'll see you early in the morning on Tuesday 2nd at a DVD store. I'll be the one grinning incessently and jumping up and down in glee.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Buffy
Review: I got hooked on ANGEL about a year or so ago and now claim it as the best show currently on TV!I purchased season 2 a few months back from Amazon's sister UK site and got through the entire season in a weekend, in other words, YES it is that good and engaging! While Buffy continued its path to boring and banal plotlines, Angel really took the bull by the horns and added more excitement and humor. It is hard to choose a favorite epsiode of this season, though "Disharmony" ranks up there (glad to see she'll be back for season 5), every episode added something to the mixing bowl. Who could forget Angel risking his life to win Darla a 2nd (err 3rd) shot at living. The scene where she is crying and admits that now she knows what it is liek to have a soul and finally love him eventhough they were together for centuries, BAM! then only to have Lindsay bust in and Druscilla sire her! Or how about Cordelia being zipped away to Pylea only to be enslaved and called a cow until her visions set her up to be Queen! Great flashbacks too involving Spike and the Master, so make sure not to miss out!
Rating:
Summary: Nice and...sexy...yes, I said sexy.
Review: The thing that's great about Angel is that it improves every year. Season One, Angel stuck to a blah-ish monster of the week format while managing to get in some great moments (Faith's arc, Buffy's guest appearances and Cordy's character development - I want her back as a regular). Angel Season 2 went back to the character/story arcs of the Buffy days and proved that it was finally its own show and could even top its predecessor from time to time. Seasons 3 and 4 were even more satisfying. Angel Season 2 brings back Darla, Angel's old flame who he killed in Season 1 of Buffy. Darla brings an element of raw sexiness that is a nice touch in the Angel-verse. Darla and Drusilla's eventual pairing makes for some wicked fun and shows us a new side to Angel, delving into some very interesting darker areas (a taste of whats to come in the next few - very dark - seasons). Now since I'm a big fan of series-long arcs, I was a little thrown off by the random 4-part finale in Plrtz Glrb. However, it all ends up working and manages to be a pretty exciting adventure. Plus, viewing of these episodes will be improved on DVD since there won't be weeks and commercials in between. Although Season 2 still has a couple of misses (Happy Anniversary), it is all made up for with Darla's seductive nature, the subtle hints of Wesley being a badass and the group's overall chemistry. Although there's a little skimping on the extras, Angel Season 3 promises to be a bit more loaded. But I say you don't need the extras when you've got the impressive storytelling found in both Buffy and Angel.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Knight
Review: I don't know what it is with me and Joss Whedon shows-- I always seem to come to the party late. I didn't start watching BUFFY until its fourth season, and kicked myself for not watching sooner (which is why, like any good cinephile, I bow to the great goodness of DVDs). You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, but no-- I really didn't start watching ANGEL until this past season (coincidentally, also the program's fourth. Maybe it's fate).
In fairness to me, ANGEL did get off to something of a slow start-- I love its first season (and do buy that one, too. In fact, buy it first. Go on, click on the link. I can wait), but it's definitely a looser, more low-key cousin to the high melodrama of BUFFY. Also, not having seen the high school years, Angel (character and show) was something of a puzzle to me-- brooding, mopey, somewhat drab. I didn't get it.
Flashforward to the ANGEL Season One box's release this year-- having caught up on just who our dark, tortured hero was (and being particularly impressed by the events of BUFFY season two-- go on, you know you want to purchase it. It's ok, we have time), having knowledge of wesley and cordelia, I was much better prepared to enjoy season one (and to catch up with the other seasons through friends' videos). Any longtime watcher of Whedon, though, knows that it's usually the second season where things take off. That's true of ANGEL, as well. In fact, while the show has arguably gotten better each year (really, those who missed the events of the last year are in for a treat when season four is released), I maintain a special affection for this year, when the return of Darla (seemingly dusted by Angel in BUFFY's first season) pushes our hero over the edge, and Angel Investigations is thrown into a tailspin. Without giving away more than the above, let me just say that this is the year when ANGEL gets really dark, and in that darkness, finds its own voice. It's darker and more adult than BUFFY, but also, oddly, extremely funny (as in an episode like "Guise will be Guise"). David Boreanaz comes into his own as a leading man, and is ably supported by stalwarts Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) and Alexis Denisof (Wesley), as well as newcomers J. August Richards (Gunn) and, towards the end of the year, Amy Acker (Fred). Best of all, Angel is pitted against twisted law firm Wolfram and Hart, which offers both the kinds of neo-noir dealings ANGEL fans have come to expect, and the opportunity to watch devilishly fun actors like Christian Kane strut their stuff.
If there's one thing Whedon viewers have learned, it's that he has little patience for the easy moral solutions-- there is good and evil in the BuffyVerse, but it's always in shades of gray. Even moreso than its parent show, ANGEL evades easy solutions and clear-cut heroes and villains (as, really, any show about a vampire with a soul really should). By delving into the darkest parts of Angel's soul, this season finds the show breaking through creatively. Or, to put it another way: demon karaoke. How can you not love a show with *that*?
Rating:
Summary: Buffy's sister series comes into its own
Review: The TV series Angel tells the story of brooding vampire P.I. Angel (played by David Boreanaz) and his employees; at the beginning of this season, they include former Watcher Wesley (Alexis Denisof), former vampire hunter Gunn (J. August Richards) and former prom queen Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) - the brains, muscle, and snark of the group, respectively. And in the course of the season, the Host (Andy Hallett) - a psychic demon who also happens to own a karaoke bar - and Fred (Amy Acker) - a batty young physicist - join the Fang Gang as well. In this second season, Angel comes into its own, no longer in the shadow of its parent series. Angel's investigation agency is doing well, when things are derailed by the appearance of his dead sire, Darla (Julie Benz), brought to you by the demonic lawyers at Wolfram and Hart. Over the course of the season, Angel allows Darla and Wolfram and Hart trigger his spiral into darkness, culminating in his willingness to let Darla and the insane Drusilla (Juliet Landau) kill a roomful of W&H lawyers and in the firing of his employees. Only after he's had an epiphany and returned to make an uneasy peace with his former friends does the season conclude, in a rousing several-part finale that involves travelling to the otherdimensional Pylea in an effort to save Cordelia from her own delusions of grandeur. Also, as one might expect from a spin-off TV series, there are cameos galore. Faith (Eliza Dushku), Spike (James Marsters), Harmony (Mercedes McNab), Willow (Alyson Hannigan)...all make appearances of some sort or another during the season. Of special note is Harmony's hysterically funny appearance during her visit with best friend Cordelia in the episode "Disharmony." While it's not necessary to have seen either Buffy or the first season of Angel to understand this DVD set, it is helpful. And with the end of Buffy, fans of that show may want to move on to this one, which at times in recent seasons has eclipsed its parent series. And while this season is not the best, and is unusually dark even for Angel, it's still some of the best TV out there. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Angel finds its own footing
Review: Season One of ANGEL ends with Wolfram & Hart, the evil lawfirm who seem to have become Angel Investigations' archenemy, resurrecting Angel's sire, Darla, whom Angel staked in the first season of ANGEL's parent-series, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. So the second season of ANGEL starts off with the slow, moral decline of our hero as he learns of her return and reacts to her presence. The second season of ANGEL is really the season when this series began to break free from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, and it really does wonders for the show. By developing distinct storylines that have little or no dependence on stories from the earlier show, ANGEL becomes strong on its own. There is only one official BUFFY-ANGEL crossover episode during Season Two, and it really only features a BUFFY castmember in flashback. My biggest criticism would be that the season doesn't really seem to find its strength until the latter half, but it's still a fun ride getting there - much better than the first season, no matter which half you watch. In Season Two, Charles Gunn, the ghetto-raised moster fighter we met at the end of Season One, becomes a full-time cast member bringing with him all new stories. We meet The Host (aka Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan or "Lorne") whose home dimension plays a significant part later in the season. Fred (Amy Acker), a future regular castmember, makes her first appearance as a crazy slave-girl on the run. We get to see old characters take on new dimensions. Cordelia eases into her role as Angel Investigations employee and "vision girl" and begins to shed her shallow BUFFY persona. Wesley shows that he has what it takes to be a leader and not just the comical sidekick. Most of all, Angel takes a walk down a very dark path only to come out on a much brighter side. (It really is great to see David Boreanaz playing the dark side of Angel without having to go to Angelus lengths to do so.) With this increasingly strong show, fans can finally feel free to enjoy ANGEL as a separate series from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.
Rating:
Summary: A Hidden Treasure
Review: This is to the intelligent person who enjoys a good story. I, myself, am not a teenager or a child who is trying to give adults advice on their viewing entertainment. I am a well rounded adult who enjoys intelligent shows. This show is of the same quality as The West Wing, The Practice, The X-Files and other intelligent programs. This was evidently not aimed at children. It is very well written and very well acted. A great adult drama with a touch of fantasy and legend. When you see it you will not be disappointed.
I also recommend these other shows:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which this show spun off from)
Roswell
Smallville
Charmed
Dark Angel
The X-Files
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Stargate SG-1
The Dead Zone
Monk
Rating:
Summary: Finally Its Own Show
Review: With the second season of Angel, it finally found its place. Now surviving without the constant Buffy Crossovers, the writing on the show increased to a level that made it a top WB show. With the addition of 2 new characters, and a third by the end of the season, the show had a perfect cast. And it had villains too. Wolfram&Hart take their place as the "Big Bad," exept in their case, one that would last more than a season. With the addition of the plagues known as Drusilla and the ressurected Darla, Angel Investigations were torn at all directions and were forced to band together and become a true team. In that sense, they truly bound together to make it as a cast, and a show.
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