LA the city that never sleeps now has a new hero, Angel. What brought him to LA? Well it started with a girl.
From the creater of Buffy comes the spinoff series Angel. For those of you not familiar with Buffy, she is the chosen one, the one girl in all the world with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires to stop the spread of their evil. She is the Slayer.
Angel is a 240 year old vampire previously called Angelus, cursed with the return of his soul by gypsies after he slaughtered members of their family. Despite being a vampire, Angel cannot kill humans as his soul has brought back his conscience and so he spends his life drinking animal blood and trying to atone for the death and carnage he brought to the world during his time as a killer. Angel is also the object of Buffy's heart. The path of love is never smooth and after a 3 year on off, up and down relationship in which Angel spent a brief amount of time in hell at the hands of Buffy to save the world, he moved to the City of Angels to carry on the good fight against the forces of darkness.
LA isn't short of evil nasties. Where Sunnydale California has the Hellmouth, Los Angeles has an evil law firm called Wolfram & Hart who are hell bent on making Angels search for redemption as difficult as possible.
At the beginning of his time in LA, he meets a strange man called Doyle who it turns out is a demon. Doyle is here to help Angel fight the good fight, with the help of the powers that be who send him mind blowing, excrutiatingly painful visions of people who need help.
Angels first Job is to help a girl who is in trouble with a boyfriend who loves pain. But things are never that simple, it turns out that he is infact a vampire and a client of Wolfram & Hart. Unfortunately Angel is too late to save her, but does meet an old friend from Sunnydale, Cordelia Chase.
Cordelia is so desperate for fame and fortune that she gets tangled up with the same vampire who promises to make her rich and famous. Angel manages to save her and Miss Chase takes it upon herself to set up an investigation team who help the helpless and so Angel Investigations is born.
Season 1 takes you through all of the evil nasties that roam the streets of LA and the beginning of Angels search for redemption. It gives you an insight into the 3 main characters, Angel (David
Boreanaz), Cordelia chase (Charisma Carpenter) and Doyle (Glenn Quinn) as they grow and meet some very interesting characters. There are lots of suprises on the way including some guest apearances from some important people in Angels past, a certain Slayer for instance, the death of a close friend and another familiar face shows up ready to help the helpless.
The episodes in season 1 are as follows:
City Of
Angel moves to L.A., unaware of his purpose in the City of Angels. There, he meets Doyle, his half-man, half-demon spiritual advisor, who gives him much-needed direction. Doyle leads Angel to Russell Winters, a rich and powerful vampire, preying on aspiring actresses. When Winters sets his eyes on Cordelia, Angel must spring into action and rescue her.
Lonely Hearts
Angel brushes up his pick-up lines while tracking a monstrous serial killer that is hunting at a happening Los Angeles singles bar. Meanwhile, Doyle is developing a serious crush on Cordelia and asks Angel to put in a good word for him.
In the Dark
Angel receives an unexpected visit from Oz (Seth Green, guest star-Buffy) who delivers a gift from Buffy, a mystical relic that renders the owner unkillable - not by stakes, not fire, not even sunlight. But Oz is followed by Angel's arch nemesis, Spike (guest star James Marsters, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), who is determined to fight Angel to the death for this awesome power.
I Fall to Pieces
Angel is called into action when Doyle's visions lead them to a young woman who is being stalked by a demonic neurosurgeon who uses his bizarre ability to manipulate the human body to terrorize others. Back at the office, gal Friday Cordelia goes undercover to help Angel research his prey.
Room w/a Vu
When Cordelia flees her roach-infested apartment and lands on Angel's doorstep, the close quarters force Angel to make a deal with Doyle neither can refuse. Meanwhile, Cordelia's riches-to-rags life may be taking a turn for the better when Doyle finds her the perfect apartment - until she discovers that the bargain rent comes with a price - the apartment is haunted by a former tenant.
Sense and Sensitivity
Angel fears that Kate's life is in danger after she nabs a dangerous murder suspect, but she becomes distracted when seemingly innocuous sensitivity training turns the entire police precinct into one big open wound. Meanwhile, Cordelia is miffed at Angel's lack of niceties around the office and frustrated that the middle-of-the-night hours are eating into her social life.
The Bachelor Party
Angel sees his new friend Doyle tortured when his estranged wife comes to town asking for a divorce so she can marry another man. With the wedding just a few days off, Angel agrees to follow her seemingly affable fiance to learn more about this man before Doyle gives his blessing to their union.
I Will Remember You
After learning that Angel was in Sunnydale but stayed out of sight, Buffy comes to Los Angeles to confront him about his unannounced stalking, but a bloody battle with a medieval demon leaves Angel with awesome new powers and Buffy with a chance for true happiness with her beloved.
Hero
Angel joins Doyle's crusade to save a group of helpless demons from The Scourge - a storm trooper-esque army of pure blood demons that persecute mixed blood demons. Meanwhile, Doyle reveals the reason he was sent to Angel, confesses his true identity to Cordelia and makes the ultimate sacrifice for his friends.
Parting Gifts
Angel and Cordelia, still reeling from the loss of their friend Doyle, join forces with an old acquaintance in the pursuit of a demonic bounty hunter. Meanwhile, without the guidance of Doyle's visions from The Powers That Be, Angel finds himself fighting blind.
Somnambulist
Angel is having horrific dreams in which he is again an evil vampire who is slaying innocent people. He awakes every time to discover that the murders he dreamed of have occurred, but he can't remember whether he committed them or not.
Expecting
After what Cordelia thought was a dream date, she wakes up to find herself in the middle of a nightmare- extremely pregnant with something extremely unnatural. Meanwhile, Cordelia's condition leads Angel and Wesley down a path of protection for their friend and colleague.
She
Angel joins forces with a warrior princess to save the enslaved women of her homeland from a dangerous patriarchal society of fierce warriors.
I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN
Cordelia's visions of a boy in trouble lead Angel and Wesley into battle with their first exorcism, but everything is not as it seems with the child who is possessed by a 10,000-year-old demon.
The Prodigal
Angel is haunted by images of his past as a young man in 1753 Ireland, his overbearing father, his vampire birth by his past lover, Darla, and his family's murder by his own hand. Meanwhile, when Angel spots Kate's father at a crime scene, his investigations may change Kate's life forever.
The Ring
A client and his supposedly missing brother trick Angel into competing in gladiatorial games that involve enslaved demons and are staged for wealthy wagerers. To stay alive, Angel must kill his opponent. To earn his freedom, he must kill 21 foes.
Eternity
Angel rescues a popular young actress from a stalker, but when he finds himself taken with her and confesses his true identity, she goes to drastic measures to secure eternal youth and beauty.
Five by Five
Angel's life is on the line when the attorneys at Wolfram & Hart hire Los Angeles visitor Faith (guest star Eliza Dushku, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") to put him out of business - permanently. In the meantime, Wesley, who still feels responsibility to Faith from being her former Watcher, declares he will stop her from bringing harm until he, and Angel, determine she needs more than a just swift kick to snap out of her evil ways.
Sanctuary
Buffy (guest star Sarah Michelle Gellar) comes to Los Angeles seeking vengeance under the guise of protecting Angel from Faith's violent nature, but Buffy is shocked and hurt to discover her former love siding with her nemesis. Meanwhile, Wesley is faced with a crisis of loyalties when the Watcher's Council offers a chance at reinstatement if he gives up Faith.
War Zone
Angel tracks down a millionaire's blackmailer, butgets caught in the middle of a gang war between street kids and vampires and meets the leader of the vampire hunters, Charles Gunn.
Blind Date
Angel agrees to help Lindsey McDonald crack the secret files of Wolfram & Hart to save a group of children from a demonic assassin. Ultimately, Lindsay isn't quite sure if he can stick by his decision to betray the firm and sabotage the deadly mission.
To Shanshu in L.A.
While Angel and friends work to decipher the scroll taken from Wolfram & Hart, the crooked law firm begins the process of "Raising," which purportedly brings forth a great evil into the world.
Special Features:
Audio Commentaries By Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt And Jane Espenson Four Featurettes Cast Biographies Art Gallery Episode Scripts
It is always nice to have bonus features on a dvd, but i prefer to see the making of or outtakes. The four featurettes that are included do have a behind the stunts feature, but the rest of them i never really bother with.
The scripts are a nice idea, but i prefer to watch the episode rather than read them and the commentaries are pointless as they never really tell you anything that you don't already know.
The Angel series is just as good as Buffy. The acting of all of the characters if faultless. Joss Whedon is amazing and along with the characters and the writers have the ability to really draw you into the story.
The series goes through a whole spectrum of emotions, it'll make you laugh, make you cry, make you scared and sometimes angry
Above all i gurantee that once you watch one episode you'll want to watch more.
The packaging is designed really well. The initail DVD was released in a book style format which was very attractive but also costly and occasionally because of the way the discs were stored it caused you to scratch them. The new style cases are the traditional cases which are a lot cheaper and my personal preference.
This is a must have for any Angel fan and i would definately recommend it to anyone
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1978 - Horror - Director: John Carpenter - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis
Production Year: 1980 - Horror - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Denholm Elliott, Brian Cox, Sian Phillips
The vampire Angel leaves Sunnydale for Los Angeles where he uses his powers to help ... more
people. Meanwhile spoiled Cordelia is trying to make her way in the City of Angels - and her path is destined to cross with Buffy's true love. Episodes comprise: 1...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
A centuries-old vampire cursed with a conscience, Angel (David Boreanaz) has left the ... more
small California town of Sunnydale and the only women he ever loved, Buffy, to take up residence in Los Angeles. Once there, he is immediately befriended by Doyle, a ...
Advantages: Storylines get more personal, the stakes (haha) become higher, getting to know the characters better Disadvantages: Getting enough money together to buy the whole box set - but it's Christmas!