people why. Its is a genre bending fantasy spinoff of the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer

about a vampire detective agency starring that one guy from Bones.

Wait wait wait...

don't close the video yet. I think I can make a compelling argument for why this is a show

that needs to be in your Netflix queue, whether you've seen Buffy or not.

"But What Is It?"

The show was created in 1999 by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt and features the continuing

stories of Angel, the vampire who has had his soul restored through a curse.

Angel exited Sunnydale and Buffy the Vampire Slayer 3 months before. His life continues in LA as he tries

to atone for the horrible things he did before his soul was restored. When he runs into some

familiar faces they decide maybe a more organized approach to do-gooding is to start a business

rather than just roaming the streets Batman style and thus Angel Investigations

(we help the helpless) is born.

If Buffy at its core is a show about growing up, Angel is a show about being an adult and

the challenges that come with it. From starting a business, and being a parent, to questions

about what makes a meaningful life. There's even bits about corporate employment, and

can you change it or does it change you? And all of this is told against the backdrop of a well realized

fantasy world that is as surprising as it is familiar.

But I know what you may be thinking…

“Don't Spinoffs normally kinda suck?”

Not necessarily. No.

”But ampire Private Eye sounds pret-ty stupid.” I know. Ridiculous right? Like, like...race

car driving pope. Or.....post civil war space cowboys. Wait…

Ah yeah. That's just textbook Joss Whedon. Whedon inventions are nearly all genre benders.

His original concept for Firefly started after reading a book on the civil war and wondering

what could come about if that was set in the distant future. From that we got Post civil

war Space Cowboys. Buffy began from him wondering what if the blonde that always got eaten in

horror movies, instead kicked the monsters ass? From that we got horror tropes set in

high school. But these aren't your normal vampires

sleeping in coffins:

“Coffins, I hate that stereotype.”

Other than the fact that these are just great writers, the shows work for two reasons.

The first is Whedon understands that a genre does nothing except provide a setting. You still

have to tell a great story. And he happens to tell my favorite kinds of stories, intensely

character driven ones that we see ourselves in.

The second reason it works is because the writing is self aware enough to not take itself

too seriously:

-"what's next, vampire cowboy?"

"vampire fireman?"

"oh, vampire ballerina?"

The show is very dark but also whimsical and that prevents the material from slipping too

far into gothic self importance. Take Lorne, the red horned green skinned demon who owns

a bar for non-humans. Lorne is from another dimension and can read your aura if you sing

to him. So of course, his bar is a karaoke bar:

“Fine...it's character driven. But Angel was a dull character on Buffy…”

I actually don't disagree with this. On Buffy, Angel's emotes were pretty much limited

to balsa, pine, and aspen. But even on that show he'd already developed a richer back

story than any of the other ancillary characters, and as I mentioned Whedon felt he'd outgrown it.

He grows considerably on his own show once he isn't stuck just being the dark

broody boyfriend.

It's also important to keep in mind that Angel isn't as single minded a show as Buffy.

Where Buffy's season arcs relate specifically or metaphorically to Buffy herself and her

friends are often satellites in that orbit, Angel's season storylines are broader epics

that are less about him. That allows the other cast of characters to feature nearly as prominently

as Angel himself and as a result the show has two of the greatest character arcs from

either series, those of Cordelia and Wesley.

My first time through I didn't love Cordelia on Buffy. The blunt, hard speaking no nonsense

high school alpha girl character seemed to float between episodes sometimes, a round

peg in a show with no holes. It became especially true once she lost her direct connection to

the scooby gang. But on Angel she proves a perfect outspoken foil to Angel's initially

broody introversion. And we get to watch that alpha schoolgirl facade fall away as she becomes

the beating mature heart of Angel investigations.

Wesley began Buffy as a spinless comic relief character. A Buffyverse knock off Niles Crain.

“I'm telling the council.”

After leaving Buffy he becomes a self employed Rogue Demon hunter

“What's a rogue demon.”

He joins up with Angel investigations and we witness his naivete get slowly stripped

away making him nearly unrecognizable.

"Sounds a bit Morbid"

It certainly can be. Also hilarious, tragic, exciting, and fiercely inspiring. Both Buffy

the Vampire Slayer and Angel fall into a category that I would describe as “Meaningful Entertainment.”

That is, stories and characters that provide us a medium through which to consider ourselves

and our own lives. But far from doing so through heavy handed moralizing, these shows accomplish

that feat through the characters, and them asking themselves questions like what makes

a meaningful life? To what extent do you shape your own destiny and how much is fate? Are

there some things for which there can be no redemption? Some acts you can never atone for?

And because Whedon places SUCH an emphasis on creating vivid characters we identify with them,

and confront those questions ourselves.

In a unexpectedly informative news story about the Russian winter olympics on the fake news

show The Daily Show, Jason Jones found one woman at an anti-government rally protesting

Russia's recent anti-gay laws. Though 74 percent of Russians don't think homosexuality

should be accepted by society, this woman was still on the streets protesting for basic

human rights. When asked if she was hopeful Russia could change she stated, “I have

to do it to not be ashamed...I want to look in the eyes of my children and say that I

did all I could. I'll say a quote from an American TV show. Its called Angel There is

a wonderful phrase: If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.” I'll

put a link to the Daily Show story in the description.

Though you certainly don't need to have seen Buffy to watch Angel, if you're already

a Buffy fan you have no excuses. The reason to watch Angel is simple: you get to spend

more time in this universe you already love. There are crossover episodes between the two shows,

guest appearances by beloved characters, and complete character arcs you may have missed.

You even get to see some of the consequences to Buffy's decisions at the end of Season 7

Of course that's not to say that there aren't any rough edges. Not to fret. I'll be doing

an Angel episode guide on this channel once we get to Buffy Season 4. But strangely where

most shows roughest seasons are their early ones, fans generally seem to agree that Angel

season 4 is its most problematic. Though Season 1 while entertaining, can be very dry at times.

-"you fight demons! at any moment one of them could walk right through that very door!"

But then comes Angel Season 5.

Terrible, wonderful, awe inspiring Season 5. The finale is one

of the greatest of any television series I've ever watched. A symphony of separate moving

parts. At once epic and intimate culminating in a final scene that harmonizes perfectly

to the shows internal philosophy. That sometimes right is right, regardless of its futility.

That all that matters is what we do today. Right now. And, to borrow a phrase, a thing

isn't beautiful because it lasts.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Angel, Season 1 - Episode 1 - Scene 1. It's on

Netflix, Amazon Instant, Youtube, and Hulu. Go watch. Go watch it now. It's worth it.

I promise.