Angel - Season One

Rating:
Summary: Angel Season One equals a knockout of a tv series
Review: The first season in the spinoff of Buffy The Vampire Slayers is a knockout of a tv series. We first was introduced to Angel back in the day where he became Buffy's vampire lover and he was turned into Angelus..he was sent to hell and he was brought back to amend his past. At the end of the 3rd season of Buffy he leaves for L.A. The first episode of Angel has Angel helping out those in need and he has his own little swinging pad as well. Angel is visited by Doyle who is irish and sees mind splitting visions from those who are called The Powers That Be. Angel also meets Cordelia Chase in L.A. as well. After that they form a angency...Angel Investigations. the third episode has Seth Green (Oz) and James Marsters (Spike) guest starring. Later on in the fifth season James Marsters becomes a regular cast memeber in season 5. There was supposed to be a sixth season of Angel where Seth Green's Oz returns to help out with that werewolf girl from season 5 and when I heard that I was pissed...the WB are a bunch of mother****ers. in episode 8 Sarah Michelle Gellar guest stars as Buffy. Episode 9 HERO is the last episode for Glenn Quinn's Doyle in which Doyle dies saving peoples lives from a deadly device. Almost 3 years after this episode aired Glenn Quinn passed away from a drug overdose. in season 10 Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndham-Pryce) guest stars and in episode 11 takes Doyle's place. In episode 18 and 19 Eliza Dushku guest stars as the bitchy leather clad rouge slayer Faith and in episode 19 Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy stars and thats the final appearance of Gellar for the series and she was gonna guest star in season five but they wanted to focus more on the main characters. episode 2o, the episode after episode 19..ha...has the first appearance of J. August Richards (Gunn) and later in season 2 he becomes a regular. This season also introduces 3 main baddies who guest star in the rest of the seasons..Julie Benz's Darla, Stephanie Romanov's Lilah Morgan and Christian Kanes' Lindsey McDonald. Christian Kane orginally auditioned for Riley on Buffy but he got this and to note also that David Boreanaz and Christian Kane are the only two actors who appeared in the first and last episodes of the series. This also brings in the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart who later Angel gets a hold of and runs the place. Fast, funny and intoxicatingly addicting..this is one of my favorite shows of all time. If your a serious fan like I am..you rock! Favorite Episode of this season is a tie between HERO and TO SHANSU IN L.A.

Rating:
Summary: HUGE BUFFY FAN NOT AS INTO ANGEL. i'll tell you why...
Review: ***NO SPOILERS in this review***

The reason i bought Angel season 1 was for the Buffy crossovers. i watched the DVD sets of Buffy 4 and Angel 1 concurrently, as they would have been aired, so that the timeline of the crossovers made sense. that's probably why the differences in the two series were more apparent. two main things that i think Buffy has over Angel: wittier dialogue, and a more resonating central character. the Buffy character probably has much more depth and appeal because of Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance. While Angel is an interesting character, David Boreanaz' acting was a little weak. it improves in later seasons though. i'm also a sucker for shows with a strong female central character, so i could be a little biased.

besides the crossovers, there are things that make this particular season worth the money though. part of the success of Buffy was the supporting cast. the same goes for Angel. Doyle is a great character given a nice storyline. Cordelia gets to be much more than just the wise-cracking diva that she was in Sunnydale. and i loved seeing my favorite Angel character, Wesley, when he was still the uptight, unsure, ex-watcher. He has the best comedic moments of season one. The evolution of a character is the best reason to watch a series. Wesley and Willow come a long way during the span of their series. And anything that Faith appears in is probably worth buying. Her sexy, strong, complicated character is one of the best of either series.

and of course, if you are a Whedon fan, you're dying without any Buffyverse on TV right now. if you like Buffy, i think that Angel 1 is worth buying. it still has strong tie-ins to Buffy. however, i'm not a believer in Angel on it's own. i've bought Buffy 1-7 and Angel 1, but i'm not sure about buying the rest of the Angel series, especially since there are guest appearances by Buffy stars, but no true crossover storylines.

Rating:
Summary: Darker, more adult-oriented than 'Buffy's lighter 4th season
Review: It was such an interesting idea to move 'Buffy's brooding vamp with a soul into his own series. With the first season, we get introduced to Angel Investigations, formed by Angel, Cordy, and Doyle. This season played more like a 'Monster of the Week' series, each week a different case, all conclusions coming to an end. There were no real arcs this season. There's not really a Big Bad except for Wolfram & Hart, who come into play more in the next season and up until 'Angel's fifth and final season. What's missing are the soap opera elements (love interests, etc...) that fans of 'Buffy' looked forward to more than what demons Buffy would kill. There was some fun flirting between Doyle and Cordy and the hint of a relationship for Angel in Det. Lockley, but that's about it. Making up for that though is "I Will Remember You', the heartbreaking ep. where Buffy and Angel question if their love can still last. But there is so much to appreciate here. We get visits from our favorite Sunnydale pals (Buffy, Oz, Faith, and Spike) in the Buffy-Angel Crossovers. But the season stays true to what it's hoping to acheive: showing Angel's quest for redemption by helping others. The second half of the season brings wimpy ex-watcher Wesley back and the show begins to find its' way.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! One of the best spin-offs ever!
Review: Give Angel a try!! The show was as good as Buffy, better in some ways. Fans of X-Files and Roswell should enjoy it. A gothic detective show. The acting was top notch, as was the story writing.

And if you're craving even more vampires since Angel and Buffy were cancelled--try FOREVER KNIGHT, starring a vampire cop searching for redemption--yes, they did it first (before Angel)!