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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Spin-off shows rarely match the success of their parent programmes, especially in the superhero/fantasy genre (cf. The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., The Bionic Woman, The Green Hornet). Characters who were perfectly useful as supporting figures dwindle when forced into the spotlight, and Angel takes a special risk by building an entire series around a character who is: a) supposed to be a mystery man; b) a vampire who once spent half a season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a dastardly villain who killed without remorse; and c) played by David Boreanaz, who is well up on handsome and broody but still can't do an Irish accent to save his life and is visibly learning this acting lark as the series progresses. The premise is that Angel, the vampire with a soul, has finally admitted he will never get it together with Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), unless a reunion crossover episode or two are scheduled. He moves to Los Angeles, a city haunted not only by demons and vampires but lawyers and agents. Angel sets up as a private eye and solves cases with a supernatural aspect, and is partnered with Doyle (Glenn Quinn), a half-demon with a proper Irish accent and the useful psychic ability to know when someone is in trouble (thereby predicting any given week's plot), and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), another Buffy refugee here trying to reinvent herself as a struggling big-city single girl. Far less consistent than its parent show, but also not saddled with quite so much of a continuing story arc, Angel has a very different feel, cued by its effective semi-Goth violin theme tune and lots of film noir-ish LA street scenes, with a dose of cynical inside-the-entertainment-industry stuff. It has its share of familiar ideas (like a "fight club" episode) and simply daft premises (a demon-centred show which allegorises the debate about female circumcision, for example). Angel alienated a lot of initial fans by killing off its most appealing regular a third of the way into the run, dusting off hideous English comic stereotype Wesley the Watcher (Alex Denisof) as a replacement. However, it also comes up with some ingenious moments: in a two-parter guest starring sometime Buffy villainess Faith (Eliza Dushku), the show finally delivers something scary and emotionally powerful as Angel proves he can solve cases his ex-girlfriend can't. Meanwhile, the last couple of episodes--which beef up a Satanic law firm as regular foes and resurrect a long-dead character as a major troublemaker for the future--go from promising to delivering. --Kim Newman--This text refers to the whole of the series, not just this box set.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely brilliant and totally addictive.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Angel - Season 1 (Box Set 2) [VHS] [2000] (VHS Tape)
Having watched the entire first season of Angel on Sky, I am totally addicted! As a number of reviews have already pointed out, it is a darker and more 'grown-up' series than Buffy. Cordy and Wesley are allowed to grow as characters, so it's nice that we don't just see Angel brooding with them on the sidelines. Having said that, David Boreanaz is a superb actor and has obviously relished getting his own storylines. I do miss Doyle as I personally think he was a much better additional character than Wesley, bringing some light-hearted humour to the eps whereas Wesley just seems to offer us the opportunity to laugh at his bumbling inefficiency. However, his arrival does take the show in a new direction, as he has the knowledge of demons etc that Giles provides in Buffy. I can't quite understand why this box-set is 18 rated, as the first is 15 and I think that's got some scarier episodes than the second. I'm just glad that the new series has started on Sky, as I was beginning to get Angel withdrawal symptoms! I would highly recommend this to anyone who's a fan of Buffy, as this will surpass all expectations!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finding it's direction, moving with purpose now,
By
This review is from: Angel - Season 1 (Box Set 2) [VHS] [2000] (VHS Tape)
After a difficult start, "Angel" has begun to move more purposefully along it's plot arc. Indeed, that very arc defines "Angel" more succinctly than words; rather than have a vampire, or any other demon, as the foe of the series, it is instead, a law firm. Maybe not rated higher on the Nice-scale than demons, but a great deal more placed in the real world.With it's direction sorted, and it's regular cast 'finalised' with the return of another old "Buffy" character - poor Wesley, the man about who everyone wonders 'How did HE become a Watcher?' - episodes seem to get better and better. Of particular note is the two-parter in which Faith, having returned from a coma and causing trouble in "Buffy", comes to LA to cause trouble there. The issue of evil is tackled here, as well as a message that some who are labelled 'evil' are those who can and want to be helped back into good ways. It also proves how much more mature "Angel" is than "Buffy"; Angel solves the problem of Faith, whereas Buffy could only flounder and ultimately fail. It also shows the darker side of Angel and Buffy's new relationship: that of ex's, who fight and yell and get angry, whereas Buffy shows the pair being friendly and almost happy with each other. Similarly, new ideas are introduced into the "Buffy/Angel" universe in the box set. "Buffy" season four has shown a new player in the demon-hunting field: the Initiative, government-trained soldiers with technology on their side. "Angel" gives us something different: kids, living on the streets and fighting vampires simply because they have to in order to survive. Gunn, the leader of this gang, is destined to become a regular, and brings a cocky defiance and humour that is missing from "Angel"; while Wesley has replaced Doyle's timidness, Gunn can replace his ability to make us smile. Both are more than a replacement, of course, and the cast all work well together, as do the writers, and the overall direction that Whedon is taking this series. The return of Darla, Angel's sire and once-lover, shall make things very interesting indeed...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
David Borenaz's best videos ever!,
By Becky (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Angel - Season 1 (Box Set 2) [VHS] [2000] (VHS Tape)
This box set is gr8! You get to see David Borenaz/Angel in a new and darker light, away from the cloud Buffy, where she takes all the lead roles. You also get to see Cordelia and Wesley( and Doyle) in a way that explains more about the character behind them, for example, you see why Cordi is usually so mean. I would recomend this to anybody who has any interest in Buffy or Angel at all. The best episodes are the ones with Faith, as you see her behind the make up and tight clothes.
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