Angel: The Complete First Season

Review by Tom Johnson
TomJohnson@TheCinemaSource.com

Imagine “Buffy”, dropped into Los Angeles, wit and humor intact, with a shot of seedy, noir-ish attitude, and you’ve got a pretty good picture of “Angel: Season One”, currently available on DVD. Despite being a slightly grating presence on “Buffy”, the title character(David Boreanaz) makes the transition to lead role with grace, becoming far more interesting and engaging than anyone could have imagined before the spin-off. With Angel comes Cordelia(Charisma Carpenter), the other “Buffy” transplant, who comes into her own as well. While “Angel” would eventually go on to boast seven Regulars and a challenging, deeply complex plot on an epic scale, the first season hardly hints at such a format. Only three regular characters appear in each episode, and the structure lends itself to an anthology style, with episodes largely disconnected from each other outside of character progression. It’s an odd season, but a very enjoyable one, kicking off a spin-off that would eventually match “Buffy” pound for creative pound.

While the series is now enjoying its creative peak going into its fifth season, the road was a bit rocky to get there. This isn’t to say that the episodes here are sub-par, only that the curtain is clearly missing in the early episodes. We see the writers trying out new ideas and sending the show in different directions right before our eyes. This includes swapping characters, beefing up villains and developing a new running back story, independent of “Buffy”. “Angel” weans viewers off some of the former show by featuring a revolving door of guest stars in its early episodes, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Marsters and Seth Green. It’s Eliza Dushku’s late, two-episode appearance that steals the show, however, and showcases a side of her character, Faith, that would have been buried on a more densely packed show such as “Buffy”. If only for Dushku’s two stunning episodes, “Angel” is an easy buy for fans of the vampire slayer. Ultimately, “Angel: Season One” is the groundwork for the show to come, much as Buffy’s first season was. The difference is that this groundwork should be missed by no one looking to get into the show.

DISC ONE: “City Of”, “Lonely Hearts”, “In the Dark”, “I Fall to Pieces”

“City Of” introduces us to an even darker side of creator Joss Whedon’s universe and throws in a new character for good measure. Upon meeting the young, Irish half-demon Doyle(the late Glenn Quinn), Angel is forced to realize his destiny. Working from Doyle’s hazy visions of demonic activity, Angel sets out to help the helpless and atone for the sins that Angelus(the Mr. Hyde to his Dr. Jekyll) committed over centuries of blood and destruction. After reluctantly recruiting the suddenly poor Cordelia, he goes with her idea and opens Angel Investigations, a detective agency specializing in the demonic underbelly of Los Angeles. “Lonely ...