Bachelor Party

Season 1, Episode 7, Aired

Episode Summary

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8.3
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Just as Doyle is inches away from finally making a connection with Cordy, his estranged wife shows up at Angel Investigations begging for a divorce so that she can marry the new love of her life. After the initial shock, he consents to the divorce. Doyle agrees to attend the new groom's bachelor party, but soon finds out that the groom's family have some very unusual customs where ex-husbands are concerned.moreless
  • Mrs Doyle?

    6.0
    "Fair"
    The Bachelor Party
    The Good; a lovely ep for Doyle adding a lot more depth to his character whilst providing some pretty gruesome comedy. Also like Doyle and Angel vetting CC's date, really gives them a sense of family.
    The Bad; SUCH a shame we never see Harry again, that would have been terrific. Does she even know Doyle died?
    Best line:
    Cordy; "Doyle taught 3rd grade. The kind with children. Are you sure he wasn't just held back and that was his cover story?"
    I also like Harry's aghast "Stripper! There was a stripper?"

    Jeez, how did they get away with that?
    Eating brains? Yuck! Would anyone really like Quails' tongues?
    Apocalypses: 4
    Angel Cliches
    Damsel in distress; nope, 2.
    Inverting the Hollywood cliche; friendly demons for the first time
    In disguise; 2.
    DB get's his shirt off; 2
    Cordy's tatto;2
    Cheap Angel; the first sign of Angel's notorious meaness as he refers to the resteraunt's suprisingly expensive windows

    Fang Gang in bondage: Doyle in the box
    Cordy: 5
    Angel: 4
    Wes: 1
    Doyle; 1

    Fang gang knocked out: Angel
    Cordy: 8
    Angel: 8
    Wes: 1
    Doyle; 1

    Kills:
    Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, a demon from her time in Sunnydale
    Angel: 2 vamps for Angel. So that gives Angel 10 vamps, 3 demons, 2 humans.
    Doyle; 1 vamp
    What happens to the female vamp at the nest? Does she just run away? Note Cordy actually bites the vamp who attacks her?

    Fang Gang go evil:
    Cordy: 1
    Angel: 1

    Alternate Fang Gang:
    Cordy: 2
    Angel: 4

    Characters killed:
    14
    Total number of Angel Investigations:
    3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

    Angel Investigations shot:
    Angel: 5,
    Packing Heat
    Doyle; 1

    Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy has a date with Mr Armani but he doesn't even get a kiss
    Cordy: 1?
    Angel: 1;Buffy

    Kinky dinky:
    The stripper. Is she human or demon? Either way she wears WAAAYYYY too much eyeshadow. Also Harry has bought herself a a nightie for her honeymoon small enough to fit into a matchbox. The girls meanwhile play pornographic pictionary. Doyle asks if Buffy likes men with an Irish accent (has she ever met one?). Apparently the demon women have legs that can bend multipile ways and this is an aid in the sack?
    Captain Subtext;
    Doyle and Angel's charm seems to be gradually working on CC.
    Know the face, different character;
    2 Carlos Jacott who plays Richard was Ken in the Buffy ep Anne.
    Parking garages;
    2
    Guantanamo Bay;
    Questions and observations;
    A good episode, fun and fleshing out the characters. Cordy refers to Xander as a fixer-upper. Our first set of friendly demons but not THAT friendly. It seems very much that demons in the Buffyverse are slowly being won over to the ways of humanity (ESPN). Some great heroism from Doyle and a very nice double act from Cordy and Harry. Despite Doyle's relating Angel's lifestory to him in City of Angels it seems he's never actually seen Buffy.
    Marks out of 10; 6/10, good ep
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  • My Best Friend's Brain-Eating Wedding

    6.3
    "Fair"
    We already know a lot about our two main protagonists on Angel, but we hardly know anything about are beloved Doyle. In this episode, we discover his past and the human life he had tried to carve out for himself. We even find out his full name!

    In The Bachelor Party, Doyle's ex-wife Harry turns up, asking for his blessing to get married to her fiance, Richard. Angel and Doyle soon discover that Richard is actually a demon and that the "blessing" isn't just to accept their marriage but in fact to let Richard's demon family eat Doyle's brains!

    Although this episode has a lot of brilliant characterization and there's some impressive comedy sequences, it's quite a thin plotline and the revelation that Harry's new fiance is a demon is hardly surprising.

    Glenn Quinn is excellent throughout and shows various different emotions as Doyle, who beforehand was mainly a one-note character who was appeared to only be in the show for his visions and some light comic relief.

    David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter, even with their limited screentime, are also excellent and Cordelia has a hilarious scene in which she breaks into the bachelor party wielding a silver plate, eager to hit any demon in her way.

    The Bachelor Party is hardly anything special but succeeds in it's main mission: to let the audience find out more about Doyle. Simple.

    Director: David Straiton
    Writer: Tracey Stern
    Rating: Cmoreless
  • 'All of a sudden rich and handsome isn't enough for me. Now I expect a guy to be all brave and interesting.'

    9.1
    "Superb"
    'The Bachelor Party' is the first Doyle-centric episode, the episode any Doyle fan was waiting for.
    Doyle is a character that anyone loved at first sight, an episode about him should and could have been better. But still, it wasn't bad, not at all.

    In this episode Cordy finally begins to figure out that there is more about Doyle than meets the eye. She finds out after going out on a date with a guy and realised that he's too boring for her and now she wants a guy to be more than just rich and pretty. On her way home a vampire is waiting to kill Doyle but attacks her instead, her boytoy flees away like a coward but Doyle comes in the rescue and kills the vampire and saves her and the first thing he asks her is 'You Ok'?

    Cordelia is completely fascinated by that and tells it to Angel, but now she realised that she may have to kill herself for it. But then she decides to asks Doyle out anyway. Then walks a woman into the office, her name is Harry and Doyle introduced her to Cordy as his wife.

    I really adored Cordy's reactions to everything. Angel didn't really mind Doyle being married and when Harry 's new husband walks in Angel takes Cordy out of the room. Harry wants Doyle to sign the divorce papers.

    I felt bad for Doyle but it was great to learn more about him. His insecurities with being a half demon which drove him and Harry apart. Doyle makes Angel spy on the guy and finds out that Harry's new husband is a demon but his kind is 'peaceful', yea right. So anyway, Harry says that the reason she left Doyle was because he changed after he found out he was a demon and it became impossible to live with him. So she left because of the human and not the demon.

    Both Doyle and Cordy are invited to the bachelor party's, Doyle takes Angel to Richard's but the cousins don't seem to like Angel and when Angel discovers what they are up to they knock him out and throw him out of a window.

    The problem with this episode was the bachelor party, the stripper was just a bad addition to the episode and so were those terribly irritating demons. Then Doyle gives away his blessing and is put into a box, Richard is going to cannibalise his brain which will make his marriage with Harry turn out for the best.
    Meanwhile Harry and Cordelia know what is going to happen and they leave for the party. When Harry sees everything she asks Richard and explanation but he can't marry unless he eats Doyle so she gives him back the ring and walks away.

    The best thing about this episode was Doyle and ofcourse Cordy beating him when thinking he was one of the bad guys. But the party really brings down an episode that could have been much better.
    The other storyline is Doyle finally seeing a picture of Buffy, at the end of the episode he has a vision of her in trouble which goes on in 'Pangs'.



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  • The unfortunate scheduling of being aired right before the best episode of the series.

    7.9
    "Good"
    Don't get me wrong, Angel is one of my favorite shows all-time, but this was an episode I just really didn't get into. Of course, even the worst episode of Angel is better than a alot of episodes from other series, but this episode still is ranked last in my book. Of course, I think it is due to the fact that it is right before the best episode of the series "I Will Remember You."

    In this episode we learn a lot about Doyle and his past, and I feel that Cordelia starts to mature a bit as she begins to see Doyle in a different way. Of course the only real bright spot, is Doyle's vision at the end of Buffy in danger, which sets up the crossover to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4 episode "Pangs."

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  • doyle has a wife

    7.5
    "Good"
    a cute episode that tells about doyle butfails to do better so and is one of season 1 worst but is still cute and good

    i love cordelia and doyle they should have been together but what i hated about this episode were the demons and doyle's wife bah! why did he have to be married? now he ruined his chance with cordy and never got to be with her! why! why!?moreless
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  • TRIVIA (6)

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    • Angel has a trickle of blood on his left temple that disappears when he changes to his vampire face before going back into the restaurant to save Doyle.

    • Angel casts a reflection in the glass of the restaurant's front door.

    • If Harry had actually been studying demons in Kiribati, she would have known it is pronounced "Kiribass."

    • When Angel first meets Richard in the office, Angel's hands and head alternate rapidly between continuous shots. His hands are behind his back then in his pockets, while his head is bowed and then erect.

    • During the first act, when Richard transforms into demon-appearance, you can see that the make-up on his hands ends right above the wrist and you can see normal skin.

    • When Harry walks into the office, the cross Doyle is wearing jumps in-out-in from his t-shirt in sequential shots.

  • QUOTES (24)

    ADD QUOTES
    • Uncle John: Yeah, who wants a wife whose knees only bend one way?

    • Uncle John: Nick, what's this? Nick: You said [to] get a utensil. Uncle John: This is a shrimp fork. Nick: (in exasperation) Well, pardon me if our ancestors didn't leave behind any ex-husband brain-eating forks.

    • Harriet: I'm definitely the yin to his yang, but it works. He's got a good heart, Francis, just like you. Doyle: Yeah, maybe. But the container -- can I get a side of bland to go with that bland?

    • Cordelia: Well, someone has to go out there and cheer him up. (Angel stands up) Oh please. Someone with a heartbeat.

    • Cordelia: Hi Doyle. Are you gonna become loser pining guy, like, full time? 'Cuz we already have one of those around the office. Angel: Hey! Doyle: Hey! Cordelia: He can get away with it. He's tall, and look at the way clothes hang on him. But you... Angel: Okay. I think you've cheered us up enough.

    • Harry: One word, Francis. Just one word and I'll eat your brains.

    • Harry: Were you or were you not intending to eat my ex-husband's brains? Richard: In a way... Harry: And when were you planning on telling me? Richard: I thought maybe I wouldn't have to. Harry: You were going to start our life out together with deceit? Doyle: Sort of missing the point, isn't she?

    • Aunt: Come on girls. It's pornographic Pictionary time! Harry: Their ways are not... our ways.

    • Harry: Richard said having the former husband present was some sort of tradition. I was just wondering... Aunt: Well, they're certainly not going to eat your ex-husband's brains... for instance.

    • Harry: Sometimes I felt like I was one of his students. Cordelia: That's funny. For a moment, I thought you said one of Doyle's students. Harry: It wasn't fun being treated like a third grader, believe me. Cordelia: Grade third taught Doy... Doyle taught third grade? The kind with children? Are you sure he wasn't just held back and used that as his cover story?

    • Uncle John: Let's see. First we greet the man of the hour. Then we drink. Bring out the food. Then drink. Then comes the stripper. Darts. And then we have the ritual eating of the first husband's brains. Then charades. Brother: Wait! What was that? ... Charades?

    • Doyle: You know they have trivia games on the Internet now? You can challenge against drunks from all around the world.

    • Cordelia: So here I am at Le Petit Renard with Mr. Armani, who could keep me in blue boxes for the rest of my life... Angel: Blue boxes? Cordelia: Tiffany's! God!

    • Cordelia: I was thinking that maybe I haven't been entirely fair to you. Maybe you don't actually have zero potential. Doyle: Wow, Cordelia. Thanks.

    • Uncle John: We don't flaunt our beliefs, but they're very near and dear to us. Harry: Oh, please Uncle John. When's the last time you pried yourself away from ESPN long enough to spill the blood of a she-goat?

    • Cordelia: Maybe Doyle does have hidden depths. I mean, really *really* hidden. But depths. And I'm gonna have to buy him a mochaccino for saving my life.

    • Cordelia: All I could think about was if this wimp ever saw a monster he'd probably throw a shoe at it and run like a weasel. Turns out the shoe part was giving him too much credit.

    • Cordelia: Doyle was pretty beat up, but do you know the first thing he asked? "Are you okay?" I mean, that's like... substance, right? Angel: There's definitely more to Doyle than meets the eye. Cordelia: So I've got to kill myself. I swore when I went down this road with Xander Harris, I'd rather be dead than date a fixer-upper again.

    • Doyle: The only money in my family is underneath the couch cushions.

    • Doyle: Are you okay? Cordelia: I'm fine. That was...you were so...brave! Doyle: You think you could say that again without so much shock in your voice? You're stepping on my moment of manliness here. Cordelia: I'm sorry. I'm... just... Doyle: Surprised? Cordelia: Grateful.

    • Cordelia: (to Angel) All of a sudden, rich and handsome isn't good enough for me. Now I expect a guy to be all brave, and interesting — and it's your fault! Both of you.

    • Richard: You're not trying to back out, are you? Not after you gave your blessing. Doyle: Yeah, yeah I take it back! Richard: Well, I see. Now I'm not so sure I even want to eat your brains!

    • Cordelia: Nice guys don't always finish last. Doyle: You think I'm a nice guy? Cordelia: I think it, I say it. It's my way.

    • Richard: He's right. That was rude. I'd be honored to eat your brains.

  • NOTES (4)

    ADD NOTES
    • It is revealed (or at least confirmed) that Doyle is stronger in his demon form than in his human one.

    • We learn that Doyle was married to Harry, with divorce in this episode, and his full name of Allen Francis Doyle.

    • The ending of this episode briefly sets the stage for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel crossover, as Doyle has a vision of Buffy in trouble. This story is continued in the Buffy episode "Pangs" (4x08) and the Angel episode "I Will Remember You" (1x08).

    • The actor who plays Richard is one of the few "hat trick" actors who has appeared in all three of Joss Whedon's television series. Carlos Jacott has also appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing Ken in the Season 3's "Anne" (3x01), and played Lawrence Dobson in the Firefly episode "Serenity."

  • ALLUSIONS (2)

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Cordelia: I think it, I say it. It's my way. This may be a reference to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer epsisode "Earshot" (3x18). In that episode, Buffy gains the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her. In most cases, she "hears" one thought, but the person then says something at least slightly different. Cordelia, however, is shown to say exactly what she thinks no matter how people will take it.

    • Doyle: Yeah, well, maybe I should get my people to look over this before I go ahead. Just to make sure I'm not buying an ostrich farm.
      In the late 1980's and early 1990's because of the health conscious craze hitting North America and the desire for leaner cuts of meat, some people went into ostrich farming thinking that it would be the next big thing. However, the meat really never caught on and most people ended up losing money on the deal.

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