Angel

The Good;
Impressive opening scenes, funny yet moving. Love Angel choosing the wrong car and very suprising that he doesn't save the girl, at least not the guest star (they use the same time difference trick as they did in Helpless to convince you he will). Especially loved him killing Winters at the end, real vicious stick it in and break it off revenge, great stunt, great effect. Cordy realising that Winter's is a vamp and him initally denying it is also fun.
The Bad;
If Winters had all this security at his house how can Angel just walk into his office?

Best line:
Angel; Can you fly?

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Winters killing the heroine is very brutal. Also the whole sugardaddy/casting couch scenario shows the stark reality behind the Hollywood glamour.

Apocalypses: 4
Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; 1
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; Doyle rams the gates of the Winter's mansion but they seem suprisingly resilient. Also Angel fails to save the girl.
In disguise; Angel does his rube in the big city act for the first time
DB get's his shirt off; in order to allow Doyle and Cordy to remove the bullets. Yeah, right!

Fang Gang in bondage: no but he knocks out and ties up the guard at the mansion
Cordy: 5
Angel: 4
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out: no but Angel knocks out about 4 guys
Cordy: 6
Angel: 6
Wes: 1

Kills:
Cordy: none this ep. 3 vamps, a demon from her time in Sunnydale
Angel: kills 4 vamps in the opening episode which is remarkable as according to Boo's figures he only killed 3 in the whole 3 seasons of Buffy. So that gives Angel 7 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human.

Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 1
Angel: 3


Characters killed:
2; Tina and her missing friend Denise (offscreen)

Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel, Doyle and Cordy

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 4, pumped full of lead by Winter's bodyguards


Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 1?
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:
Tina appears to be Winter's kept woman. She describes him as 'liking pain' (his own or other peoples?). Cordy also considers him for a sugardaddy much the same as she'll consider doing later to David Nabbit. Tina offers herself to Angel as a reward for saving her but like the white knight he is he gently turns her down.
Captain Subtext;
Oliver at the party considers Angel a 'beautiful man' but only on a professional basis, he's currently in a long term relationship with a landscape gardener. 'Drunk' Angel also gives the appearance of hitting on the guy in the bar.
Questions and observations;
Doyle drinks Colt .45 beer, the equivalent of Tennants Extra in the UK, pretty much in keeping with the down at heel nature of his character. First appearance of Lindsey, he and Angel are the only characters who appear in both the first and last eps of the series. Angel goes all Punisher finding his way to Winters, not hesitating to beat and threaten his way to his goal. The series already appearing much darker and more adult than Buffy. Angel's narration is similar to Angelus' in Passion and Whistler's in Becoming. It's also reminiscent of the classic noir crime fiction set in LA, could easily be the The Black Dahalia or LA Confidential or Chinatown. When I first saw this I wasn't sure if Winters was a vamp or not, the vamp makeup is subtly different but will eventually fall back into resembling that on Buffy once more. Angel was in Montanna during the depression, maybe Spike's line about vampire cowboy wasn't too far off the mark? Angel tells Cordy there's no cure for vamparism but we'll actually find 3 in the first season alone. Cordy refers to Angel having never developed an investment portfolio but he must get money from somewhere, he seems very well to do. The money he and Darla stole from their victims or does he just have loads of bank accounts with 200 years of interest to collect, Highlander style? Angel shows some knowledge of explosives which he'll also use in Dad but according to the dialogue he's seen 14 wars and Vietnam in his time. Nice crossover when he phones Buffy in Sunnydale.
Marks out of 10; 6/10, good beginning but not compared to the heights Angel will eventually soar to.

Pilot episodes usually have a lot of problems, mainly because the cast are new to working together and/or the writers haven't fully gotten used to writing for these characters.



The pilot episode for Angel is very different. It's actually superb. It's a modern take on the detective show with enough humor to make it similar to Buffy but enough dark violence to make it completely different to its sister show.



Angel is still haunted by his past and arrives in LA, intent on seeking redemption for the terrible acts he committed as Angelus. At the end of the third season of Buffy, Angel had to feed on Buffy to save his life. This left Angel with a thirst for blood and it's evident in the opening scene of City Of that he's finding it difficult to resist it. When he saves a young woman from three vamps, he notices that her head is cut. He closes in on the blood and orders her to get away from him. It's like a recovering alcoholic, desperately trying not to go in for one more drink.



David Boreanaz excels in this episode, from drunkenly telling a black man that he reminds him of Buffy to the pain and anguish he suffers when he discovers that the woman he is meant to protect has been killed. Boreanaz never really had the chance to show off his acting skills on Buffy, instead when he was as Angelus, and thankfully, with this spin-off show, he's able to show that he isn't just a pretty face, he's instead a brilliant actor with a majority of different acting abilities at his disposal.



Charisma Carpenter is a riot. Underused in the third season of Buffy, she finally gets to have her time in the limelight and is superb in this episode, especially during the scenes at the party and when she finally realizes that Russell is a vampire.



Glenn Quinn is hilarious and his character is immediately likable and his crush on Cordelia promises loads of funny scenes in coming episodes.



The storyline, in which Angel protects an aspiring actress from vampire talent agent Russell Winters, is a perfect introduction to the series and Russell's death is inventive, shocking and the FX used are immediately excellent.



We get a small glimpse of law firm Wolfram & Hart, which will become a pivotal part of the series over the next five years.



All-in-all, this is a promising start to the series which is absolutely amazing. Managing to have a healthy balance of violence, humor and slapstick. Perfect.



Director: Joss Whedon

Writers: Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt

Rating: A

Angel’s series premiere gets the series off to a good start with some shaky footing here and there, but that’s to be expected.

The important elements that set up who he is and what he is doing are taken care of early—within the first 10 minutes. The efficient back-story moves the plot forward quickly. Perhaps it jumps too quickly at times. Of course, I realize that the writers only had 42 minutes to introduce Angel, the other characters, and get him going on his first adventure. I think the episode’s positives outweigh the negatives. I find that to be true of the series as a whole as well.

To start with the good, Angel’s character and persona are clearly established early on. Fans of Buffy already know him, but as the show now revolves around Angel entirely it’s more important to establish who he is. His broody, violent introduction in the alley shows the audience that Angel fights hard and bears a heavy burden.

Angel ultimately becomes about struggling to do what’s right. At the beginning, Angel thinks he is doing what is right by keeping himself detached from humanity. His new friend and partner, Doyle, helps him realize that he is meant to be a part of humanity by helping it and ultimately helping himself grow. Angel does not actually help his first soul. She is murdered by her tormentor. Angel takes this tragedy and makes the killer pay while saving Cordelia and all of the others he would have hurt eventually. Angel kept fighting.

Over the course of the series this message and theme are reiterated in different ways. By the final episode, Angel understands that doing what’s right means to never stop fighting even if you know that you will lose. The fight—journey—is the more important part. “City of…” sets this concept up very well.

for all of us "buffy-fans"



comes the pilot to a new series that shows us what angel did after saving sunnydale from the mayor



angel being one of the coolest vamp's on buffy deserves his on spin-off





this show has everything it should: a team saving a city from demons, vamp's, and zombies; action; and drama



perfect!

The series opens with a montage of Los Angeles. Angel is narrating over the shots, saying how people, and other things, are drawn to Los Angeles. His reason started with a girl.



In a bar Angel is pretending to be drunk, babbling on about Buffy to a large, bald black man who is not amused. Meanwhile a young man cashes out at the bar while Angel mumbles ?girls are nice.? Angel watches the crew leave, drops his drunken faûze, and follows them: he is ready for action.



In a nearby alley, the three guys are attempting to seduce two girls, telling them they have connections at a club, but the girls are not interested. Suddenly one of the men grabs a girl as his face vamps out. Angel stumbles in, once again pretending to be drunk, asking about his car. Annoyed, the guys confront Angel, threatening him. After a moment Angel drops the act and starts fighting, taking attacking two of the vamps simultaneously. They rush at him from both sides. Confident, Angel activates two spring-loaded stakes at his wrists, sticks his arms out, and dusts both vamps. The third vamp attacks Angel with a garbage can causing Angel to show his vampire face. The vamp paused in confusion until he is thrown through a car windshield. The girls try to thank Angel, but he sees their blood and warns them to get away. Angel walks out of the alley, staking the last vamp against the windshield, and disappears into the night.



Angel walks into an apartment complex and takes an elevator to the basement. He removes his wrist sheaths. Suddenly a strange man with an Irish accent steps out of the shadows. He introduces himself as Doyle, a half-demon sent by the ?Powers That Be?. He begins to tell Angel a bedtime story and recaps Angel?s entire past. We see short clips of Angel?s life from Europe to Sunnydale. Doyle warns Angel that he can?t just hide in Los Angeles. He says his craving for blood is going to grow. Doyle stops his lecture and suggests they go to a bar.



Doyle and Angel are walking away from a bar. Doyle says that Angel needs to reach out to people and show them there is still hope: he needs to save souls, not just lives. He explains that he gets visions- messages from the Powers That Be accompanied with horrible headaches. He says Angel has potential to help people. When questioned by Angel about why he is here Doyle remarks, ?everyone has something to atone for.? He gives Angel a piece of paper that says ?Tina, Coffee Spot.? He tells Angel he had a vision and that Angel will have to get in this girl?s life to find out what is wrong.



Angel?s drives to the Coffee Spot. Inside he uncomfortably observes the scene. He sees Tina, a pretty blonde girl. He attempts to talk to her, but she doesn?t hear him. She drops a cup, but Angel catches it before it can hit the floor. Even more uncomfortable, he asks her if she?s ?happy.? He introduces himself, saying he is new in town. Angel convinces her to talk with him and she says she will get off work at ten.



Later, Angel is waiting outside by his car. Tina comes out and points mace at Angel, saying to have Russell leave her alone. He calms her by asking where she is from and saying he was also in Montana during the Depression, or ?his depression.? Tina came to Los Angeles to be a movie star, but it didn?t work out, now she just wants to go home. Right now she has to go to a Hollywood party, Angel offers her a ride.



At the party, where many people all dressed eloquently, one girl is videotaping. Angel asks again who Russell is. Tina gives him the ambiguous answer ?someone I made the mistake of trusting.? A flamboyant and confident man, Oliver, approaches Angel, telling him and that he will be his manager. Then Angel hears Cordelia Chase?s voice in the background. He approaches her. She asks if he is still ?grrr.? She says she is living in Malibu and doing very well with acting. After a small chat she leaves and Angel finds Tina. Some thug, Stacey, is talking to her and forcing her away. She runs to Angel and says she wants to go.



An elevator opens and two men rush out, grabbing Angel and pulling him inside. Another grabs Tina. Stacey says that Russell wants to talk to her. She complies. In the car garage she tries to run away, but they grab her. The screen goes black as she screams.



In the garage a car pulls away. Angel gets out of the elevator, the two men in it are unconscious. Angel hops in a car, but it?s not his. He finds his car and follows Stacey. He drives directly at them, forcing Stacey off to swerve and hit another car. Stacey gets out with a gun. Angel beats him up, takes the gun, and points it at him. Stacey says Angel won?t pull the trigger. Angel agrees and knocks him out with his free hand.



Inside Cordelia?s apartment she is hanging up her only dress. Her apartment is small and rugged. She looks tired and sad. There is a message from her agent on the answering machine, he had no luck booking any auditions.



In the library Angel is researching on the computers. He brings up a picture of Denise and a picture of a murder victim. They have matching rose tattoos on their arms.



The next day Angel is in the sewers. He enters his apartment from them and hears Tina crying in her sleep. He tells her Russell his a killer and that he picks people with no family and no one to care. Then Tina notices Doyle?s note about her. She loses trust in Angel and runs away, saying it is some sick game by Russell. She goes outside. Angel tries to grab her, but his hand goes in the sun and bursts into flame. His face vamps out. Tina looks at him and runs.



Tina is in her own apartment, rapidly packing her things. She picks up a gun. Russell appears and she points it at him. He claims Denise is alive and that he bought her a ticket home. Tine says she wants to go home. She tells him about Angel, and how he turned into something. Russell turns to her, vamps out, and bites her. Angel rushes into the apartment and finds Tina dead on the floor. The coroner takes her away as Angel watches from a different building.



In his apartment, Angel talks with Doyle, determined to get Russell. He wants to research Stacey, saying that he will have to get his car fixed.



In her apartment Cordelia is doing positive energy yoga. She is extremely hungry. The phone rings. Margo from the party tells her that Russell Winters wants to meet her tonight and will send a limo to pick her up.



Meanwhile Angel is packing supplies for his raid on Russell?s. He says he has seen 14 wars in his time. He tells Doyle he is driving. Doyle complies reluctantly.



Cordelia notices Russell?s curtains are drawn. She explains how her family lost everything due to tax fraud. She describes her lack of success in acting, saying Los Angeles isn?t what she thought it would be.



In his apartment Angel tries to call someone. He hears Buffy?s voice and hangs up. Doyle asks about Russell. Angel is somber and says he didn?t help anyone, he just killed a vampire. Cordelia screams upstairs, she saw a cockroach. She says they will need an exterminator and a sign painter. She wants to join his mission and make a business. She offers to organize everything, for a flat fee. Angel smiles in compliance. Doyle is happy about the decision, noticing Cordelia?s beauty. He says a lot of people in this city need help. Thus the stage is set.

New show, new priorities, and a new boss: The Powers That Be.



What [i]are[/i] those wacky funsters up to?



We meet Angel, and our assumption is he's spent a while nursing his broken heart by hanging out in a gay bar (those decorative flags above the bar are pretty much unmistakable).



He slays the vampires, and rescues the damsels, but they are looking *especially* nummy.



So enter Doyle. Doyle tells him that Angel's on the road to redemption, but he's hardly there yet. And that the PTB have sent Doyle to Angel because he's got potential as a champion (they do not articulate it that far). And they give him his first mission: Tina.



Let's look at this: The PTB seem equipped with varying levels of omniscience. Do they care about Tina? Doyle says they want to help people, but we can explore what they think that means as the series continues. Or do they know that if they send Angel after Tina that he will run into Cordelia?



Because if that's the case, the whole series is in play. Because if they need for Angel to run into Cordelia so Doyle can hand the visions off to her and she can become a higher being and return, sleep with Angel's son and give birth to Jasmine, then Jasmine could be their ultimate attempt at manifestation on this plane and the PTB could be in complete support of the, y'know, eating people for the "greater good."



Or is time as malleable as Skip says? Where Angel never meets Cordy and the whole Jasmine arc is in the toilet?



Or ...



Is, as I've suggested elsewhere, Skip's manipulation of events the manifest activity of a *rogue PTB*, bringing about Cordy's ascension so it can hitchhike back with her, possess her, and try to effect by force of will the PTB's apparent "helping people" agenda worldwide?



It's enough to make one go cross-eyed.



But in that Angel's hooking up with Cordelia is a direct result of his hanging out with Tina, we have to assume it's in the mix.



In that it is the only tangible good that came out of that contact -- along with destroying a powerful, predatory vampire and putting Wolfram&Hart on notice -- we have to take that into consideration.



Angel tracked down past crimes by Russell Winters, but he was unable to save Tina.



Now, let's explore free will.



If Angel is sent to Tina and Tina is entirely on her own in fleeing Angel, then the PTB seem genuinely concerned about individual lives and her death was just part of an unfortunate series of events.



If Angel is sent to Tina simply to hook up with Cordy, and Tina's death is merely incidental to the grand scheme of things from the PTBs' perspective, then they aren't significantly better than, say, the gods of Mount Olympus, who intervene or not depending on their whim -- this does seem to be reflected in the whole fashion scheme of the Oracles, but I digress -- and he's just their errand boy.



Already, however, we have an interesting parallel. Evil, in the form of The Senior Partners, have a direct conduit to Wolfram & Hart. The powers of presumable good, the PTB, as introduced in "City Of," have a conduit -- Doyle -- but no agency. In identifying Angel as their champion to face off against the evil represented by W&H, they now have an agent.



So let's for the moment assume Doyle is right -- that no one could've foreseen that Tina was going to run away. The PTB were actively focused on helping her, they sent Angel to help her. Angel failed, but did manage to track down a powerful villan and neutralize him.



It's the impression we're left with. But I'm going to maintain a shred of doubt -- because my free will allows me to. :)



Cordy, of course, is terrific. Bright, bubbly, motivated, schmooze-worthy, an actress through and through -- and with a long learning curve when it comes to vamps. She got stuck in a room with an evil vampire in "City Of," and we find her in exactly the same situation a number of times, including "Offspring" and -- if I'm remembering the situations correctly, "Parting Gifts" and "Somnambulist" and "Disharmony" and "Eternity."



This girl just doesn't seem to *want* to learn.



Winters was hilarious, however, when she accused him of being a vampire. "What? No I'm not." Much with the funny. :)



I liked Doyle. I wish things had happened differently. Maybe a few guest appearances could've kept Glenn Quinn on the straight and narrow.



His "bedtime story" at the beginning was a good introduction to the series for the folks just tuning in, and explained exactly what people had just seen in that alleyway. Nice Batman references, btw, with the stakes in the sleeves and Doyle's "batcave" comment.



Angel also seemed very resourceful in his mousework in this eppy. He got quite a bit less tech-savvy as the series progressed -- probably because he relied upon Cordy to take over that aspect of the knowledge, he forgot he'd ever developed any himself. Later on, he seems mystified by "chatty rooms," for example.



It was a good intro, capably managed, it introduced the major players admirably, and he was able to pull a win of some sort or another out of the screwup he made of his first mission.



If, that is, he was ever meant to save Tina in the first place.



G-d, I hate that nagging doubt.



That being said, I believe we are off to a very good start. :)

‘City Off…’ was a fantastic way to start a fantastic and breath taking show.

The beginning, the first episode where all the horror, laughter and sadness begins of the wonderful show called ‘Angel’.



Angel who left BTVS at the end of ‘Graduation Day, part II’ went to L.A. to fight evil and atone for his crimes. But his problem is, he’s cut off from the world. Soon he meets a half demon called ‘Doyle’ who explains it all to him,. Angel still has cravings for blood after sucking Buffy’s neck, and if he continues going on like he does, one day he will think that he deserves some blood from a helpless victim.



Doyle is someone that gets visions from ‘The Powers That Be’, pictures of people that Angel has to save. He gives Angel an address with a name, Tina. Angel finds it very hard to communicate but when he finally gets her attention she thinks he’s someone else who works for a guy named ‘Russell’.



Angel explains Tina that he only talked to her because she looked lonely and so is he, he convince Tina pretty soon and she asks him to take her to a fabulous Hollywood party. While Tina goes to a friend for money, Angel finds Cordelia who tells him that acting is like her life now. But Cordelia’s secret is that nobody wants her, she lives in a very dirty old apartment and hardly has different clothes.



Anyway, when Angel and Tina go home, some man-beasts attack them and they want to abduct Tina but Angel jumps in his car to save her, well first he jumps in a car that looks quite like his own. When he’s finally in his own car he stops the men and saves Tina from them. Angel takes her to his place and she thinks that he wants to ‘take advantage’ of her, but he says he doesn’t, he wants to help her and know who that Russell guy is. Angel believes that he has infact killed some people before but when he comes back, Tina finds out that he has a card with her name on it. She thinks that he works for Russell and flees, Angel tries to stop her but his hand comes in the sunlight which makes him vamp out. Tina sees his face and runs away.



Tina goes to her own place where Russell is waiting for her. He tries to calm down but then vamps and kills her. This is the reason why Angel is a different show than most, Angel doesn’t always save his victim’s. This isn’t a show where it always ends up in a happy way, infact it usually doesn’t.



While Angel prepares to kill Russell and take Doyle with him, Russell has dinner plans with Cordy and guess who’s on the menu?

But Cordy, smart girl like she is. Finds out that Russell is a vampire because he has no mirrors or curtains. But Angel comes to save Cordy, even though he didn’t know she was there (what a coincidence) and Angel leaves with her after a couple of gunshots. Doyle is there waiting for them, he proved not to be a coward. He even tried to slam the gate with his car but it was a very good gate.



Back home, Doyle and Cordy take out Angel’s bullets. He wants some payback now and goes to Wolfram & Heart,. Some lawyers that work for evil, he finds Russell there who tells Angel that he can do anything he wants. But Angel asks him if he can fly, and then pushes him out of the window making Russell burn into blames and dust before he hits the ground.



Back at his home, Cordy wants to work with him because she thinks that she can help, as long as she gets a fee.

This is one of the best and most unique pilots. The feeling was a bit batman-ish, dark but still with a lot of comedy/humor and drama.

The best way to start a show.

‘You game’

‘I’m game’

I watched Buffy The Vampire Slayer when I was a kid, and pretty much enjoyed it! Occasional kick-ass with an interesting storyline kept me hypnotiZed on the screen!



Now, the same recipee returns with 'Angel', and this first episode of it, which plays the important role of setting play, competitors, and goal of the game!



Now, I love how it builds up on Tina's character, so that you grow up on her, identifying with her, only to be virtually cut off from her, abbruptly and with no point of return. This leads to Angel's plan of killing Russell, a modern, aristocrathic type of vampire, that takes pride in his guile and feeds only on expendables! Quite smart I must say, but not as smart as Angel's way of putting Russell out of his misery!



A great build up for something new and interesting, with Doyle and Cordelia filling the gaps of the main voice in the show!



We shall see further!

A solid start, for one of my favorite shows.....



In the end, I actually prefer "Angel" more than its predecessor "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". "Angel" has always been darker and more mature in its storytelling in my opinion. I also enjoy its wry humor much more, but both shows are among my favorites.



Here is how I rate (on a scale of 10) the episodes of the first season:



ANGEL Season 1

Angel 1- 1 City Of - 7

Angel 1- 2 Lonely Hearts - 7

Angel 1- 3 In The Dark - 9

Angel 1- 4 I Fall To Pieces - 3

Angel 1- 5 Rm W/a Vu - 9

Angel 1- 6 Sense & Sensitivity - 6

Angel 1- 7 Bachelor Party - 6

Angel 1- 8 I Will Remember You - 10

Angel 1- 9 Hero - 8

Angel 1-10 Parting Gifts - 8

Angel 1-11 Somnambulist - 8

Angel 1-12 Expecting - 5

Angel 1-13 She - 7

Angel 1-14 I've Got You Under My Skin - 7

Angel 1-15 The Prodigal - 9

Angel 1-16 The Ring - 8

Angel 1-17 Eternity - 8

Angel 1-18 Five By Five - 10

Angel 1-19 Sanctuary - 10

Angel 1-20 War Zone - 8

Angel 1-21 Blind Date - 9

Angel 1-22 To Shanshu In L.A. - 10

I am a true fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the only problem was that there were characters who had a story of their own that people wanted to see. I always thought Angel should have his own show until

it happened in 1999. But when it started I was afraid that it was going to be a clone of Buffy. But it wasn't. I loved how Joss made Buffy's story and Angel's completly different, since they were to completly different people in to completly different

places. This is why I give this episode an A+ for originality.





Good job again Joss!

Very Good, Good Destruction and fighting. Thankyou for this show!

Oliver: You're an actor.

Angel: No.

Oliver: That wasn't a question. I'm Oliver. Ask anyone about Oliver. They'll tell you I'm a fierce animal. I'm your manager as soon as you call.

Angel: I'm not an actor.

Oliver: Funny. I like the humor. I like the whole thing. Call me. This isn't a come on. I'm in a very serious relationship with a landscape architect.



Classic! Could you imagine someone like Oliver saying that to Angelus? Like he'd last a second, this proves how far along Angel has come since his throat tearing days.



This episode needed no cross over from Buffy, it needed no "Well good luck in Los Angeles" from anyone, the only thing it needed is three things:



1. Cordy

2. Doyle

3. Lindsay



Cordy in Buffy was a fantastic character, she left soon after breaking up with Xander and that's a great thing, she goes to Los Angeles to try and become an actress, Angel and her reunite and she leaches on to him helping him fight crime.



Doyle was played by an actor that used to be Mark in Roseanne, I think he was awesome in Roseanne as the tough guy married to Becky and I think he was awesome in this series too, it's a shame that he ultimately died due to drug abuse in 1999 because I think that he could have returned to the series at some point, but he's the guy that gives Angel a purpose and a direction.



Lindsay is first seen in this episode and he's seen in the last episode, while leaving in Season 2 I missed him thoroughly and his return in Season 5 was a welcome breath of fresh air, this episode he looks so young, inexperienced but that's soon to change.



This episode started Angel off on his journey to redemption, will he get it? Who knows.

This is a pretty good start to "Angel". In the beginning Angel id sulking over loosing his beloved Buffy and then he meets Doyle. (Doyle I must say is really fun to watch) Doyle has visions and has one about a girl named Tina. Angel gets close to Tina (as a friend), but then she thinks he is lying to her so she runs off and gets killed by her "Ex Vampire Boyfriend". now Angel feels guilty. Doyle has another vision but this time it has the crazy dude that killed Tina with Cordy. Angel saves Cordy and so begins "Angel Investigations".

Spin-offs are often considered the inferior cut-offs of the original. The reason is that it is 'more of the same.' For an example, look at most of the Law and Order shows and especially CSI shows. Some are better then others, but it is still 'more of the same.' So the challenge Angel has as a show is to make it different because it is different people, while keeping the parts that make the other show great. It's hard, but doable.

"City Of" doesn't include a villians plot, any research, no revelations and very sparse expository scenes. In spite of that, it always keeps your attention and is not even short on story. It is only a character piece, showing how Angel gets his purpose and direction(Doyle), a girl (Tina) who has lost hope and needs saving from a bad guy, and how a very unlikely candidate from Sunnydale becomes his ally (Cordelia).



Glenn Quinn shows a lot of promise as what his character is suppose to do. Doyle is funny, sympathetic, and noble, yet still very human, or really half-human. His relay of Angels and his life was specific enough to undestand the story and concise enough to not bog down the proceedings. Cordelia's introduction came as a happenstance thing, but Charisma Carpenter gave the right mix of head cheerleader and humbled friend to make us happy she is a part of the group. Like what Doyle said, we all have something to atone for, even though Cordelia is mostly in it for the money.



The story with Tina was very personal and felt right. Angel obviously wants to protect her, and he surprises himself when he really cares what happens to her. Her fate is the only surprise of the episode, most stories don't end up like that.



The witty dialogue and sly jokes is what is carried over from Buffy, there is at least a dozen one-liners and other exchanges that produce a chuckle. But everything else, from the lighting, direction, and theme seperates this show well, and gives it great promise.

When it was first announced that the Buffy spin-off would focus on Angel, my basic reaction was omgwtf! I mean, Angel? He's so... well. Buffy-whipped and boring. I mean, yeah he's cool when he goes evil (or is acting like it) but really? His own show? Um. Okay.



So when I settled in to watch City Of I didn't have the highest of expectations. I mean yeah, it's Joss. But still. Angel. I just couldn't get over that.



Opening voice over. I'm a sucker for voice overs. Plus even though I didn't think he could carry a show, David Boreanaz is pleasing to the eyes and ears. (Except when he's doing his Irish accent! But we'll come back to that in later reviews.) First shot of Angel, drunk in a bar. Smiling! Slurring his words! Talking about Buffy! I think I might be in love already.



Ha! Don't think I don't see you Josh Holloway. And then just like that Angel shakes off the drunk act and becomes the hero in the long billowy coat. Is it possible to love a show after 5 minutes? Cause that's about how long it took me to get over my reservations and fall ass over tea kettle. Between drunk!Angel and then conflicted!Angel staring at the blood on the woman he just saved, I'm hooked.



We then meet Doyle, a character that I loved like a giant loving thing and though I didn't know it at the time I would be sobbing my eyes out in a few episodes time. But I'm getting ahead of myself again.



I like the set up of TPTB speaking to Angel through visions. And while this will get tiresome once we hit later seasons, it works here and I enjoy it.



Cordelia! Her introduction is fantastic. She's so Cordelia. Which shouldn't be an adjective, but really is.



The thing that really struck me the first time I saw the pilot is that the girl Angel is trying to save dies. I mean she actually dies. And okay, so maybe the actress wasn't wild about this development but wow. Everything doesn't end up shiny happy people. Which again, Joss, but still it's fun to watch a show that makes a stab at showing life as not always working out the way you want it to.



Cordelia again! "You're a vampire!" I really couldn't love her more. Angel saves the day, but it almost looks like the bad guy might survive. But then we get what will become one of things I love most about this show. Angel goes into the heart of the evil and plays the game on his own terms. "Can you fly?" Beautiful.



And the first references to Wolfram and Hart. Lindsey McDonald in all his sexy hot badass lawyery goodness. Or badness. Whatever.



Overall the episode isn't perfect. Frankly Russell as the big bad is boring and lame. And yes, I realize he was just a plot device to introduce W&H, but still.



I didn't know it was possible to happen again after Buffy. But look at that. I'm in love. :)

Angel takes his weepy, angst-ridden self to L.A. to forget about Buffy, and atone for...ah whatever. What we have here is an excuse to take a popular character, from an existing popular TV show, and make more money. Since the character wasn't all that strong to begin with, let give him another character from the parent show.



Now, what the hell do we have him do? Uh, he's a vampire with a soul...she's a self-absorbed, former cheerleader...they fight crime!



So, I guess we'll have him jumping from rooftop to rooftop, listening for the screams of damsels in distress. Nah, howzabout we spoon-feed him plots from a half-demon who has...uh...visions! Yeah, that's the ticket..Why would this half-demon help Angel?...Hmm...The half-demon was sent from the powers that be!...Yeah, because Angel is a champion!...or something.



I dunno...seems like a thin premise to me...



Anyway on to the review.



This was a slightly-above average episode. I like the fact that *SPOILER FOR CURRENT EPISODE* he can't save the girl. I also liked the way in which the main vamp was killed. This guy had the right idea, he's obviously invested in vamp futures as he had a kick-ass pad, and a Trump-like business. You would think that over 200+ years of unliving, Angel would have amassed some small fortune, yet I'm sure Angel is too angsty/broody or good/above for that, take your pick.



Anyway, we now have the setup for the series, Angel as the broody Dark Knight(tm) and his companions, a refugee from a successful show to bolster ratings and a half-demon to provide things for Angel to get broody and reflective about. Sounds like we're in for a long ride.



Ratings:



A word about the TV.Com "ratings". TV.com ratings seem not to be about which episode is really good or bad. It seems to be about members of "Insert Favorite Show Here" fan club coming here and giving every episode of their farking show 9.5's or 10's. I mean, for Jeebus sake, the worst episode of Buffy, "Beer Bad" got a 6.8 from approx. 10 reviewers. Thats only because a few people gave the episode 0 or 1 to counteract the 9's and 10's. 9's and 10's?!?!?! Were you people watching the same episode I was?



So in spirit of the glass full of 10.0 votes people, here is my rating:



Rating: 10 - I'm naming my first child Angel!

-1 - Angel has lame wrist blades.

-1 - Angel is a big chunkhead.

-1 - Cordelia

-1 - Doyle has a vision.

+1 - Villain dies in a cool way (albeit similar to many Steven Segal action movies).



Final Rating: 7

One of the greatest episodes yet to come from this new serie. Perhaps a spinn-off from the Buffy episodes, but still this serie really can take you all the way. Angel just arrives in LA and allready is helping the innocent, but still he closes himself off from the world.

In doing so, he will never become a tru champion, thus he needs a good push from the half demon Doyle to get him on the right path...

“City Of Angels” is the pilot episode of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin off Angel. And what a great start it is too. The episode starts off with Angel drunk in a bar, some vamps show up and then Angel goes all Blade on their ass. I remember the first time I saw this episode and I thought it was like Batman meets X-files, as Angel seems to be a bit superhero like. The Credit music was cello based, and sounded a bit depressing. Yes, Angel had arrived and it was much darker than Buffy. This episode sees Angel, just settling down in his new home of L.A, the City of Angels. He meets Doyle, an Irish half demon who gets visions of people in trouble. Doyle leads Angel to help a young girl who is in trouble with a mysterious wealthy vampire. He helps the girl and she takes him to a party, for the up and coming that are looking to become famous. Here he meets an old Sunnydale chum, Cordelia. The episode carries on, and Angel rescues Cordy from the same wealthy vampire. The end of the episode is great; Angel walks into a skyscraper and throws the vampire threw one of the top story windows. Brilliant. I have to say as I big Buffy fan I was sceptical that Angel was going to be any good, but thankfully it was more than good it was great.

Los Angeles, the city of Angels where "everyone's a star". Everyone that is, except for Cordelia and a lonely vampire named Angel. Both Angel and Cordelia, fresh out of Sunnydale, head to Los Angeles after the events of 'Graduation Day Part 2'. One of them dreams of fame and becoming known in the world while the other prefers to remain unknown. Going about his daily life, Angel meets Doyle, someone who offers to help Angel help others. Through Doyle's visions from the 'Powers That Be', Angel meets a girl whom he's supposed to help named Tina. Angel becomes part of her life, hoping to help her. Even though he tries to help her, Tina is murdered, leaving Angel to realise that there are bigger forces than him in LA. Undettered, Angel continues his investigation into her life and realises that the next victim is none other than Cordelia. With the help of Doyle, Angel manages to save the day and Cordelia. After the loss of Tina, Angel comes to the conclusion that he will help those that need it with the help of Cordelia and Doyle. An amazing start to an amazing show. I recommend it to all Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans and fans of supernatural shows. A must-see episode.

It is weird watching the beginning again after so many seasons of Wesley and Gunn and even Fred being included in the cast. I've always loved Wolfram & Hart. That angle was definitely one of the best things about the show. It established some kind of weird normalcy to all the Demon activity. Angel is not just some "lovable" vampire with a soul. He seems to struggle with being a vampire still and Doyle acknowledges that he will have a craving for human blood (something that gets ignored throughout the series). He doesn't have to be Angelus to need human blood, he is still a vampire. They never created a "formula" like what Blade uses to help him with the cravings; pigs blood has got to get old at some point. Anyway the vampire faces are uglier and meaner in these episodes. The earlier episodes really reflect the 9pm time slot with the darker themes.

This was an awsome episode that just got me completley hooked. Starts off with Angel in a bar pretending to be completly wasted talking to some guy until a couple of suspicious guys and a couple of girls leave the bar so he follows them to an alley. The guys turn into vampires and try to suck the girls blood so Angel kicks in and goes all vampireish and starts beating the living daylights out of them and stakes the three of them and when the girl goes to thank him he tells them to run. This is the scene that shot off a series. He gets home and is welcomed by an Irish man that we all come to know as Doyle, and Doyle tells him a story of Angel's life and after he's done he sneezes and it's revealed to all of us that he's a deamon. Doyle sends him off on his first mission, a girl. Towards the end of the episode where he's going to kill the vampire and thats where we are introduced to WolfRam and Hart. Thats what shot the series off.

This is the beginning of a new life a life that fall of love and hate and alot of action a life that you have to fight to live it no matter what Angel is going to see a new things he will have to handle alot of presure and the experience of a new love that will make him make a lot of decisions thuogh if it was wrong just to protect someone else who is that one you will find out soon you watch the third season and the end of the second watch it cause it's going

the start of angel and what can I say. great!

angel was the best show on air during the first four seasons and sadly went crappy the last. this ep is how it all should have been with cordy doyle and angel fighting crime and having a case every day. the first ep was funny especially becase cordelia was a huge b#tch and we all love that. we also meet doyle who is cute and funny and angel who we all know from that show called buffy the vampire ho. after one episode i could tell that the show was much better than the mother show. much much much better.

Although I'm only just watching this now and partly know what happens later on, this episode was really great. It was better then I expected it to be. Angel moving to L.A and then Doyle showing up - gotta love that accent. And then, we have an old favourite show up - Cordy! It all was pretty good, with funny quotes and lines from Cordy, and Angel being so moody all the time. It's hard to believe if you watch the bloopers!! :)

Well this is the first episode of angel which is a spinoff fron buffy the vampire slayer. In this episode Angel is all alone in Los angeles and he meets a demon named doyle that gets visions and he also meets Cordeilia another character from Buffy. Angel has to help this girl but fails and she dies and angel kills the vampire that killed her. By the end of the episode they start a detective agency named angel investigations and it consists of angel, doyle and, cordeilia. I also think that this is a very great start to a new series. I think that the funniest part in this episode is when angel tries to save the girl and jumps in a car that looks exactly like his and he looks over and says Damnit. later...

Well, Angel has moved on to sunny Los Angeles from Sunnydale. No more Buffy or Scoobies to help out, so Angel is kind of flying solo...or so we thought. We get to meet Doyle (Glenn Quinn) in this episode. He is there to help Angel by passing on the details of the visions he gets. He is very close mouthed about his past, but we know there is an interesting story there. We also get to catch up with Cordelia Chase (remember her?) and find out she is a poor, struggling actress. She quickly becomes part of team Angel..and there you have it, the new regime. This was a great pilot. We are also briefly introduced to Lindsay, an up and coming lawyer at Wolfram & Hart.

Fun words to learn and know: Cordelia: You don't know who he is, do you? Oh, boy! You're about to get your ass kicked!



Dialogue to lose inside the sofa in Hell: SawyerVamp: Shut up and die!



This was a great start to what would prove to be an excellent show. Of course fans of BtVS are already familiar with Angel’s (the character’s) back story, but the refresher course isn’t too long and drawn out, so it’s bearable. Plus, it’s told by Doyle, who is quite likable, though a bit of a caricature (well, color me shocked -- I had no idea Irishmen liked to drink!) Cordy, as always, reigns. Obviously, she's still got some growing up to do, but she's already made huge strides since high school.



One thing I liked about this episode was that Angel didn't save the girl (at least not the one he had originally intended to save). I like shows where the heroes are fallible. After a while perfection begins to grate.



One thing (or group of things, depending on how you look at it) I really didn't like about this episode were the horrendously ugly vampire faces, all mottled and decaying... Tres horrible! Russell Winters has got to be the ugliest vampire we've seen thus far.

We re-meet Angel, the vampire with a soul and soul mate of our favorite slayer Buffy Summers, as he begins to try and redeem himself for his past sins in Los Angeles. As he heads down this road he meets Doyle, a half human half demon, who will help him navigate not only Los Angeles but will help him on his path of redemption and suffering. He himself also re-meets someone, Cordelia Chase another traveler from Sunnydale. Cordelia falls prey to another creature, very much like himself who actually introduces us to real villain of the series. Wolfram and Hart.



This is defenitely an introductory episode, reintroducing us to character and showing us a lot of new characters. We also get introduced to a new much darker world then we had seen on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, darker or not though this was defenitely the right way to start off the series. I'm not really a big fan of pilots but this episode wasn't completely intolerable and that's saying something coming from me.

This episode was really good start for the whole show! All actors fit their roles perfectly.



I enjoyed seeing Doyle talking to Angel with his irish accent and his sense of humor Angel doesn't understand.



Cordelia is so great...she's Cordelia!



Angel is now a grown up person after he left Sunnydale and came to Los Angeles! The scene in the alley is my favorite when Angel kills the three Vampire in that street fight before meeting Doyle.



I loved that place where he lived and I was sad when they decided to move to the hotel first. It was so great to have the underground apartement and the office above, but I know that the directors wanted more space for the scenes.



So in one sentence: It was a great start for the show!

This is one of the greatest pilots ever made for TV. It probably helps that we already know the characters from Buffy (except Doyle).But they give you a good idea of what's going on without over explaining the characters and the plotline. The Los Angelos setting is great. It gives us a break from Sunnydale and gives the show it's independence, but being in California it still has ties to Buffy and her friends. Another one of the things I love about Angel though are the scene transitions, they're original and interesting. The show also introduces it's concept of three friends fighting crime towards the end of the episode. As similar this is to Buffy and her friends fighting evil and supernatural demons it has different goals (to help Angel find out who he really is) and a different way of going about it (Doyle gets visions, Angel fights, Cordelia and Doyle [try to] back him up, Cordelia answers the phone, etc.) There's also a differnet type of creativity involved with Angel than there is with Buffy. There's different levels of maturity and Angel is more appealing to males, because Buffy and her friends are very into, boys, the mall, etc. One of the best things from Angel to Buffy though, is the humor. It's funny, which is good.

Tis pilot introduces all of this is an interesting way an it's a great start to an amazing show. Definitely one to check out and a great episode to hook people.