Angel
1999 - United StatesSpinning-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel continued to follow the fortunes of a centuries-old vampire cursed with a conscience, who left the hell-mouth of Sunnydale to take up residence in Los Angeles, the City of Angels, where he aimlessly wandered the streets looking to save a few lost souls and, in turn, possibly redeem his own.
It was at this point that Angel met Doyle, himself a demon, sent by the mysterious "Powers That Be". Doyle gave Angel's existence a purpose and, along with old 'Buffy' associate Cordelia Chase, the trio set up an agency to help those in need. Until season 3 Angel was somewhat darker and certainly more adult in content than 'Buffy.' When Channel 4 in the UK aired the series for the first time it was decided to cut some of Angel's more gory scenes. This led to complaints from viewers and the channel pulled the series from its schedule entirely before re-scheduling it in a later time-slot. But Angel was not toned down and in fact co-creator Joss Whedon was sufficiently confident enough to take those darker overtones into 'Buffy's' season six.
Like the series that gave birth to it what kept Angel's strongest point was the sharp writing, alongside well defined and likeable characters and generous helpings of dark humour. The success of the series was most certainly helped by David Boreanaz's dark and brooding portrayal of the central character, whilst the supporting cast-especially Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, worked well together to make this show a highly enjoyable series.
Published on November 27th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.
