DBUK - Angel

Please click on these links below to view the main cast members biographies

1999. It was Autumn and a man named Joss Whedon saw the potential in a man named Angel. A guilt ridden, soul possessing vampire who feels that he has to do good to make up for all the bad he did in his past.
Angel appeared in the first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer as a source of info for Buffy. Giving her heads up on evil that was happening in Sunnydale. It progressed to the point that they became friends and then as lovers. During season two the creator, Joss Whedon saw the popularity of Angel and how it was portrayed by David Boreanaz. He decided to create a spinoff series for Angel because many fans were interested in finding out more about who Angel really is as well as the rest of the other characters. This format is successful and the show has acheived critical acclaim.

A vampire with a soul... the very concept defies the nature of the supernatural. A creature whose sole purpose is to kill, with a conscience, love and grief. Cursed with a soul by gypsies to punish him for the murder of their princess, Angel now atones for over a century of murder and death. But one moment of pure happiness will cause him to revert to a monster. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel found true love, and a fleeting moment of happiness that almost destroyed the world... and sent him to Hell. But for reasons unknown, Angel was returned to our dimension. He knows he can't be with Buffy, so he turns to Los Angeles: a city of lost souls searching for a purpose... and a saviour.

Angel is Fox's spin-off to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Think of it as the Deep Space Nine to Buffy's Next Generation. It's the darker, moodier, red-headed stepchild of the series that spawned it. Grab a few of the lesser used characters and toss them into a new situation and bingo... you've got a wholly new, and almost wholly different, show. What IS the same is that the writing is still, for the most part, top-notch - better even that Buffy: Season One. You're also treated to some of the best dialogue in the business, as well as great production and lighting design. Can you jump into Angel without ever having seen an episode of Buffy? Sure you can. All of the important information is given as quickly as possible.

Compared to Buffy, Angel has always been considered the more cinematic effort, best illustrated by the shift to widescreen-only broadcast in the third season. But Angel: Season One is presented on DVD in the original US broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 (which is the producer's preferred ratio for this season). And the episodes look great. This release is part of a new breed of DVD-before-syndication releases, like Malcolm in the Middle and 24. Because they're brand new, the pristine masters really shine on disc. Little to no grain or artifacting is present here, and this is a definite improvement on the solid, over-the-air signal from my local WB affiliate. You've got deeper blacks and a solid step-up in overall detail here. The fact that some discs only carry 3 episodes each allows for a higher video bit-rate overall, and it really shows. You're not going to see much TV on DVD that looks this good.

Audio-wise, while Buffy tends to only put its musical cues into the surrounds, Angel uses the Dolby 2.0 Surround palette to its fullest. Sound effects float in your rears better than in some 5.1 mixes, so I don't think anyone will be disappointed. As is typical for TV, dialogue plants itself in the center channel and suffers no audible distortion issues.

The extras on this set are more of a mixed bag. Once again, Joss Whedon delivers a stellar and hilarious commentary on the first episode, City of..., joined by Angel's show runner and co-creator David Greenwalt. As with most great commentaries, the participants find creative ways to rip on each other while giving you solid information and amusing behind-the-scenes stories. Jane Esperson really tries to bring you some good information on her commentary for RM w/a Vu, but aside from a few amusing stories and insights into real-world inspiration, most of the time she's describing the scene, or wrecking future season plot twists for you. So those who are spoiler-phobic, you're advised to steer clear.

There are 4 featurettes included, each lasting about 5 minutes. I'm Cordelia and Introducing Angel are fairly EPK in style, with a few interview clips and generic series background. For those not baptized in Buffy lore, these clips do give a quick overview of the character's prior history, so they serve a purpose. Season One Overview and The Demons cover some actual production information, but again in a fairly light, EPK style. Frankly, most of The Demons is spent going "Yup, that one was cool...!" The featurettes on the Buffy DVD sets are much more in-depth. I'm sure this is more of a symptom of first season jitters. Thankfully, Season Two (due in September) promises more of the meat we're looking for.

Rounding out the extras are set blueprints, around 30 still photos (mostly promotional shots) and the scripts for Five by Five and Sanctuary. I'd just like to say that the blueprints are fantastic idea. They really help you get a sense of the layout of the environment. I really wish more TV DVDs sets would include these.

Angel is one of the best shows on television, bar none. Unlike Buffy, which has seasonal arcs, Angel features one long, continuous plot-line, which started about midway through the first season. Sure, there's still self-contained episodes, but the series just gets better and better. We've seen how many overlooked TV shows seem to gain more of a following after they're gone.