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When
the idea of taking two under used characters from Buffy
the Vampire Slayer and placing them in their very own,
darker series was first mentioned by the program creators
fans were divided on whether such a platform would work. The
result, Angel, seems to have garnered favour amongst
the hard-core Buffy fans as well as standing pretty
strongly as a show in its own right.
From
the start the writers were eager to distance their new show
from the extremely popular Buffy. Whisking the cast
away from the high school jinks familiar to Buffy -
Angel is set in the underworld of LA. The series gets
off to a flying start with some strong episodes but these
quickly descend into farce giving the whole production a Louis
& Clark feel to it.
While the split between Buffy and Angel fans
seems to come down on the side of Angel as the better
show, those early episodes almost finished the series before
it started - who can forget the cheesy I fall to pieces?
or the badly thought out RM W/A VU, which ends so badly.
While none of the episodes are dire, they don't seem to sit
well and look very out of place when compared with the later
episodes.
Though
not a particularly strong episode, In the Dark, sees
welcome guest stars in the form of Spike and OZ, in an attempt
to win over a few more Buffy fans. And it is a particularly
strong and dark episode. And if that wasn't enough then Buffy
herself makes a guest appearance in I Will Remember You.
The
majority of the episodes from season one are incredibly strong,
paving the way for an exceptionally good second season. The
series also has its 'played for laughs' moments including
the very funny The Bachelor Party which help to place
Angel in the right light.
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Season
One DVD Extras
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Disc
1: Commentary on 'City Of' by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt.
Disc 2: Commentary on 'Rm W/A/ View' by Jane Espenson.
Disc 3: Featurette - 'Season One', Trailer - 'Angel Season
1 Video', Cast BIOS pages, Stills gallery.
Disc 5: Script for 'Five By Five', Script for 'Sanctuary'.
Disc 6: Featurette - 'I'm Cordelia', Featurette - 'Introducing
Angel', Featurette - 'The Demons'. |
One
complaint that Angel fans will no doubt have is that
whilst the original series was filmed in the widescreen ratio
20th Century Fox seemed to have released the DVD in a shabby
pan & scan version. This is really not excusable as a
simple anamorphic transfer would have been so much better.
In
addition the extras, on the whole, will appeal to Angel nuts
only - with only disc 6 really offering anything that can
be watched more than once.
However
this is a nice presentation and the pretty good image quality
make this a must own DVD.
Amber
Leigh
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