The Angel Casefiles (Paperback)

Each episode includes a detailed synopsis ("Action Taken"), which includes choice dialogue and quotes (e.g., the "How can I thank you, you mysterious black-clad hunk of a night thing?" commentary provided by Spike in the prologue of "In the Dark"), with a specific section working out the "Resolution." Then you will find "Dossiers" on things like Clients, Civilian Support, Informants, and Suspects; "Continuity" on significant ways in which this particular episode fits into the overall series; "Quote of the Week"; "The Devil Is In the Details," which covers things like Expenses, Weaponry, and The Plan appearing in the episode; "Demons, Demons, Demons" covers the rules of the Angel mythos, such as Vampire Rules or The Powers That Be, ; "As Scene in L.A." details locations for the show; "The Pen Is Mightier" includes Final Cut, humorous stage directions from the actual scripts, and an explanation for all those Pop Culture references; "Our Heroes" offers interview comments from David Boreanaz and the other cast members; "Six Degrees Of..." relates where actors pop up from; and "Tracks" lets you know who wrote the music in the episode (e.g., Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Symphony No. 41" or "Para Lennon y McCartney" by A Friend from Rio). Obviously, not all of these sections will appear for every episode, but you get the idea of what you can expect.

So, there is not as much additional information outside the context of the episodes as you had in "The Watcher's Guide," but there is more behind the scenes insights and commentary from the cast and crew. I would call that an acceptable tradeoff. This is where you go to find out whether Angel invoices Kate Lockley when she wants to be a client (it is unclear, sorry), what the Host's gift is called (Loren is anagogic), and where was the last place Winifred Burke was seen (the Stewart Branch Public Library on May 7, 1996). There is a 32-page section of full-color photographs as well as black & white shots from the show on every spread. The trio responsible for this book--Nancy Holder, Jeff Mariotte, and Maryelizabeth Hart--did Volume 2 of "The Watcher's Guide," so they know the show and where it came from. Of course, Holder and Mariotte have proven this with their various "Buffy" and "Angel" novels, which includes the "Unseen" crossover series. I still think that all of the Official Companion volumes for these two television shows, including "The Monster Book," have set the standard for how these things should be done. Next year we should expect the third "Watcher's Guide" and then the year after that Volume 2 of "Angel: The Casefiles," and then...

This is my favourite of them all, with 'Dossiers' of each episode from Season 1-2 and charactor profiles. And the script that was cut due to length or any other reason. It also includes some of my favourite quotes. This is a must have for any Angel or Buffy fan. It's nice to see how the show has evolved on it's own without much input from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, obviously the Vampire thing. I enjoyed reading this book and shall read this book again.