The first season of the television series ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'', the spin-off of ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'', premiered on October 5, 1999, on

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

and concluded its 22-episode season on May 23, 2000. The season aired on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm ET, following ''Buffy''.

Origins

Series co-creator

David Greenwalt David Greenwalt (born October 16, 1949) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He was the co-executive producer of the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and co-creator of its spinoff, ''Angel''. He is also co-creator of the sh ...

points out "there's no denying that ''Angel'' grew out of ''Buffy''". Several years before ''Angel'' debuted,

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...

developed the concept behind ''

'' to invert the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

formula of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every

horror movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

." The character

was first seen in the

first episode A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...

of ''Buffy'' and became a regular, appearing in the

opening credits In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen ...

during seasons two and three. After being turned into a soulless, immortal vampire, he became legendary for his evil acts, until a band of wronged Gypsies punished him by restoring his soul, overwhelming him with guilt. Angel eventually set out on a path of redemption, hoping that he could make up for his past through good deeds. In ''Buffy'''s season three finale, he leaves

Sunnydale Sunnydale is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all ...

for L.A. to continue his atonement without Buffy. Whedon believed that "Angel was the one character who was bigger than life in the same way that Buffy was, a kind of superhero." Whedon has compared the series to its parent, "It's a little bit more straightforward action show and a little bit more of a guys' show." While the central concept behind ''Buffy'' was "High school as a horror movie" in small-town America, co-creators David Greenwalt and Whedon were looking to make ''Angel'' into a different "gritty, urban show." Whedon explains "we wanted a much darker show, darker in tone. It is set in Los Angeles because there are a lot of demons in L.A. and a wealth of stories to be told. We also wanted to take the show a little older and have the characters deal with demons in a much different way. Buffy is always the underdog trying to save the world, but Angel is looking for redemption. It's those two things that creatively make the shows different." Whedon and Greenwalt prepared a six-minute promotional video pitch, often called the "Unaired ''Angel'' pilot" for the

WB Network The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

. Some shots from this short were later used in the opening credits. Early during the life of the series, some effort was made to slightly soften the original concept. For example, scenes were cut from the pilot episode, "City of," in which Angel tasted the blood of a murder victim. The episode that was originally written to be the second episode, "

Corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

" was abandoned altogether. Writer

David Fury David Fury is an American television writer, producer, actor and director. Career He is well known for his work on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', ''Lost'', '' 24'', ''Fringe,'' ''Tyrant'' and ''The Tick''. Fury was a co-executive ...

explains, "The network was shocked. They said 'We can't shoot this. This is way too dark.' We were able to break a new idea, we had to turn it over in three days." Instead the tone was lightened, and the opening episodes established

Angel Investigations ''Angel'' is an American television series, a Spin-off (media), spinoff of the supernatural drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The series was created by ''Buffy''s creator, writer and director Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Gre ...

as an idealistic shoestring operation. A first draft script reveals that ''Angel'' was originally intended to include the character Whistler, played by

Max Perlich Max Perlich (born March 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor. In 1990, Perlich won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the hit indie film ''Drugstore Cowboy'' and was nominated for the same ...

, who had already featured in the two-part ''Buffy'' season two finale. In an interview, Perlich said, "I never got called again. If they had called, I would have probably accepted because it was a great experience and I think Joss is very original and talented." Instead, the producers created a Whistler-like character,

Doyle Doyle is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a back-formation from O'Doyle, which is an Anglicisation of the Irish (), meaning "descendant of ''Dubhghall''". There is another possible etymology: the Anglo-Norman surname ''D'Oyley'' with agglu ...

Cordelia Chase Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''; she also appeared on ''Buffy's'' spin-off series, ''Angel''. Portrayed by Charisma Carpenter, the character appears as a serie ...

, also from the original Sunnydale crew, joined Angel and Doyle.

Season synopsis

At the end of the third season of ''Buffy'', the 242-year-old, re-ensouled vampire

left

to give teenage

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Buffy Summers Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998 ...

the chance to live a normal life. Angel is now living in the big city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. With Buffy gone Angel is now completely cut off from society, every day getting closer and closer to giving in to his vampiric hunger. It's not until he befriends the half demon and fellow

Irishman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

, who is sent visions of people in trouble by

The Powers That Be In idiomatic English, "the powers that be" (sometimes initialized as TPTB) is a phrase used to refer to those individuals or groups who collectively hold authority over a particular domain. Within this phrase, the word ''be'' is an archaic vari ...

, and fellow Sunnydale resident

, who grounds Angel's life in the humanity around him, that he truly begins to take charge of his life and seek atonement for his past sins. He sets up his own detective agency,

and begins to "help the helpless". Early in the season, Angel befriends a detective named

Kate Lockley Kate Lockley is portrayed by Elisabeth Röhm, a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series called Angel. Lockley first appears in the episode " Lonely Hearts" as a young, skeptical detective for the Los Angeles Police D ...

who at first helps and befriends Angel but turns on him after she finds out what he truly is. As the season comes to a close, Angel gains a semi-ally in the form of a street smart vampire hunter named Charles Gunn who will officially join the team early in the next season. Throughout the year Angel and co. are frequently set upon by the demonic law firm Wolfram & Hart, and the antics of two up and coming lawyers

Lindsey McDonald Lindsey may refer to : Places Canada * Lindsey Lake, Nova Scotia England * Parts of Lindsey, one of the historic Parts of Lincolnshire and an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 ** East Lindsey, an administrative district in Lincolnshire, a ...

and

Lilah Morgan Lilah: * Lilah - alternative name of planet Eris * Lilah - given name ** Lilah Morgan Lilah: * Lilah - alternative name of planet Eris * Lilah - given name ** Lilah Morgan ** Lilah Yassin {{disambiguation ... ** Lilah Yassin {{disambiguat ...

, who have secret plans concerning the vampire with a soul and the role he plays in the forthcoming apocalypse. In " I Will Remember You" Buffy comes to L.A. during which Angel is cured of his vampirism by the blood of a Mohra demon. He and Buffy then share the perfect day they always dreamed of together. However, Angel asks the Oracles to reverse time so that he can continue to help people in need realizing that he cannot protect the world as a normal human man. He subsequently gives up the one thing he ever truly loved to continue fighting the good fight. A few days later Doyle sacrifices his life as an act of redemption when he saves the lives of a family of half demon refugees. Before he dies he gives Cordelia a long-awaited kiss as the two had slowly been building a relationship all year and passes the godly visions on to her. In his place, ex-watcher

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (also spelled Wyndam-Price and Wyndham-Price) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel''. Played by Alexis Denisof, Wesley first appeared in the fourteen ...

arrives and aids the team with his extensive knowledge of demonology and the occult. In the two-parter, "

Five by Five A signal strength and readability report is a standardized format for reporting the strength of the radio signal and the readability (quality) of the radiotelephone (voice) or radiotelegraph (Morse code) signal transmitted by another station as re ...

" and "

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

", the rogue

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

shows up in L.A. and is contracted by Wolfram & Hart to kill Angel. After torturing Wesley she ends up breaking down in Angel's arms, screaming at him to kill her. She eventually admits to the many crimes she has committed and hands herself in to the police. Seeing someone else so willingly seek redemption allows Angel to re-affirm his role and to willingly cut himself off from Buffy. Angel also develops a friendship with Faith, sharing a powerful bond which would eventually be pivotal in their future alliances. During the season finale Angel comes across an ancient prophecy that concerns his fate. Wolfram & Hart summon the demon Vocah to "destroy all avenues to The Powers That Be" and summon forth an ancient, terrible evil: Angel's sire, Darla. Wesley finishes translating the prophecy and learns that the word Shanshu means to both live and die informing Angel that if he truly saves the world he will be made human again and his burdens will be forever lifted. Meanwhile, the Angel Investigations offices are blown up forcing the gang to work out of Cordelia's apartment who, after having seen all the pain that infests Los Angeles, has vowed to up her stance in the fight against evil and become a better person.

Cast and characters

Main cast

David Boreanaz David Paul Boreanaz ( born May 16, 1969) is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel on The WB/UPN ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' supernatural drama (1997–2003 ...

Charisma Carpenter Charisma Carpenter (born July 23, 1970) is an American actress. She played Cordelia Chase in the supernatural drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–1999) and its spin-off series ''Angel'' (1999–2004). She also starred as Kyra in ...

Glenn Quinn Glenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn (28 May 1970 – 3 December 2002) was an Irish actor, best known for his portrayal of Mark Healy on the 1990s family sitcom ''Roseanne'' and his role as the half-demon Allen Francis Doyle on ''Angel'', a sp ...

Allen Francis Doyle Allen Francis Doyle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Angel''. The character was portrayed by Glenn Quinn. Doyle is a seer who receives prophetic visions from The Powers That Be, usually of people in peri ...

Alexis Denisof Alexis Denisof (born February 25, 1966) is an American actor. He is primarily known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and its spin-off ''Angel''. He also had a recurring role on ''How I Met You ...

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and writer. Green's film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting ...

as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne *

James Marsters James Wesley Marsters (born August 20, 1962) is an American actor, musician, singer, comic book writer, and audiobook narrator. He is sometimes credited in various anime series and video games as David Gray and Sam Majesters in the series ''Dr ...

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

Crew

Series creators

and

both served as executive producers, while Greenwalt would serve as the series'

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

as Whedon was running ''Buffy''. Greenwalt wrote the most episodes, writing or co-writing five episodes and contributing stories for two other episodes. Tim Minear was hired from the offset and wrote or co-wrote five episodes throughout the season and served as producer and then promoted to supervising producer midseason. He was also the first original ''Angel'' writer to write an episode; the first five scripts of the series were all written by ''Buffy'' veterans; Whedon, Greenwalt,

Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared ...

Douglas Petrie Douglas Petrie is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Best known as a writer, director, and co-executive producer on '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. He co-wrote the screenplays for the '' Fantastic Four'' film and ''Harriet the Sp ...

and

. ''Buffy'' writer/producer

Marti Noxon Martha Mills Noxon (born August 25, 1964) is an American television and film writer, director, and producer. She is best known for her work as a screenwriter and executive producer on the supernatural drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1 ...

served as consulting producer and did several uncredited rewrites, and co-wrote one episode with Greenwalt. The rest of writing staff included producer

Tracey Stern Tracey Stern is an American television writer and producer. Stern made her television debut writing for the first two seasons of '' ER''. She has also worked as a writer on '' Pacific Blue'', '' Sports Night'', ''Angel'', '' Law & Order: Special ...

, staff writer Jeannine Renshaw, and consulting producer

Howard Gordon Howard Gordon (born March 31, 1961) is an American television writer and producer. He is well known for his work on the Fox action series '' 24'' alongside the Showtime thriller ''Homeland'', which he co-developed with Alex Gansa and Gideon ...

(who also served as consulting producer on ''Buffy'' season two). After Gordon departed to work on a new pilot,

Jim Kouf Jim Kouf (born July 24, 1951) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for his work on ''Stakeout (1987 film), Stakeout'' (1987). Filmography Film *''The Boogens ...

joined as consulting producer. Garry Campbell was hired to write a freelance episode. Whedon wrote and directed one episode throughout the season, the series premiere "

City of "City Of is the series premiere of the television series ''Angel''. Written by co-creators Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt and directed by Whedon, it was originally broadcast on October 5, 1999 on the WB network. Angel (David Boreanaz) was a c ...

", due to him working on two shows at once. He did however write the story for another two episodes; "

I Fall to Pieces "I Fall to Pieces" is a song written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard that was originally recorded by Patsy Cline. Released as a single in 1961 via Decca Records, it topped the country charts, crossed over onto the pop charts and became among C ...

with David Greenwalt and "

" with Tim Minear. Veteran ''Buffy'' director

James A. Contner James Atwater Contner (born June 12, 1947) is an American film, television director and cinematographer. His work includes episodes of such television series as ''Miami Vice'', ''Angel'', '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', '' Firefly'', ''The X-File ...

(also co-producer) directed the highest number of episodes in the first season, directing four episodes. David Greenwalt directed two, including the season finale.

Episodes

Crossovers with ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''

Beginning with this season, both ''Angel'' and its parent series ''

'' aired on

The WB Television Network The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bro ...

. Both shows aired on Tuesdays, ''Buffy'' at 8:00 PM ET, and ''Angel'' at 9:00 PM ET. The first season of ''Angel'' aired along with the fourth season of ''Buffy''. Both shows would feature crossover episodes where characters would appear on the other show. Along with the title character

(

) appeared as main characters on the new series. The first crossover appeared in the premiere episodes, where Angel calls Buffy but doesn't say anything; on ''Buffy'', she answers the phone. After the events of the ''Buffy'' episode "

The Harsh Light of Day ''The Harsh Light of Day'' is the third studio album by pop-rock band Fastball, released in September 2000 by Hollywood Records. It contained the single release "You're an Ocean," which spent eight weeks on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under ch ...

", Oz (

) visits Los Angeles in " In the Dark" to give Angel the Gem of Amarra (a ring that makes a vampire invincible).

(

) also appears in both episodes. In the "

Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States and sometimes in Canada), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia), is a party held/arranged by th ...

(

) has a vision of Buffy in danger. This causes Angel to secretly visit Sunnydale in the ''Buffy'' episode "

Pangs "Pangs" is the eighth episode of season 4 of the television show '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It was written by Jane Espenson, directed by Michael Lange, and first broadcast on November 23, 1999. On Thanksgiving, Buffy encounters the restless ...

", to protect her. After Buffy is made aware that he was in town, Buffy (

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

) visits L.A. in " I Will Remember You" to express her displeasure in him visiting but not telling her. ''Buffy'' season three recurring character

(

) makes his first appearance on ''Angel'' in "Parting Gifts" and would later become a main character for the remainder of the series. After the events of the two-part ''Buffy'' episodes " This Year's Girl" and " Who Are You?",

(

Eliza Dushku Eliza Patricia Dushku (; born December 30, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Faith in the supernatural drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003) and its spin-off series ''Angel'' (2000–2003). She als ...

) leaves Sunnydale and goes to L.A. in the ''Angel'' two-part episode "

" and "

" and is hired by Wolfram & Hart to kill Angel. Buffy makes her second and final appearance on ''Angel'' in "Sanctuary". Angel visits Sunnydale again in the ''Buffy'' episode "

The Yoko Factor "The Yoko Factor" is the 20th episode of season 4 of the television show '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Plot Colonel McNamara discusses with a superior how to get Riley back in the Initiative under his command and how to deal with Buffy. Spik ...

" to apologize to Buffy after the way he treated her in "Sanctuary." Angel has a tense confrontation with Buffy's new boyfriend,

Riley Finn Riley Finn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Portrayed by Marc Blucas, Riley was introduced in the 1999 season four premiere episode, " The Freshman", and Blucas was part of t ...

(

Marc Blucas Marcus Paul Blucas (born January 11, 1972) is an American actor. Prior to his acting career, he played college basketball with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He had his first starring role as soldier and love interest Riley Finn on the WB super ...

). ''Buffy'' recurring character, the vampire Darla (

Julie Benz Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) l is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on '' Dexter'' (2006–2010), for which she won the 2006 Satellite Awar ...

), who was killed in the ''Buffy'' episode "

" is resurrected by Wolfram & Hart in the season one finale, "

To Shanshu in L.A. "To Shanshu in L.A." is episode 22 of season 1 of the television show ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel''. Written and directed by David Greenwalt, it was the Season One finale, and originally broadcast on May 23, 2000 on the Warner Brothers Networ ...

Unproduced episode

The original second episode was supposed to be "

", an episode written by

. The episode featured the introduction of

, who was originally going to be an undercover cop exploring prostitution who becomes addicted to cocaine and becomes a prostitute in the process of her undercover work. The WB shut down production on the episode before filming as they believed the episode's content was too dark.

Reception

The first season has a 95% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 8 out 10. The site's critics consensus reads, "''Angel'' builds on the solid sex appeal of its lead, forging an unexpectedly worthy spinoff that draws viewers in with character depth, clever humor, and a suitably dark and brooding backdrop." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the season scored 75 out of 100, based on 20 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".

won the

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for Best Actor on Television, while the show was nominated for Best Network Television Series and

was nominated for Best Supporting Actress on Television. The show also received its only

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination, for Outstanding Makeup for a Series for the episode " The Ring". The Futon Critic named "

" the 10th best episode of 2000. The first season averaged 4.8 million viewers.

DVD release

''Angel'': The Complete First Season was released on DVD in region 1 on February 11, 2003 and in region 2 on December 10, 2001. The DVD includes all 22 episodes on 6 discs presented in full frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Special features on the DVD include two commentary tracks—"City of" by creators

and

and "Rm w/a Vu" by writer

. Scripts for "Five by Five" and "Sanctuary" are included. Featurettes include, "I'm Cordelia", a showcase of the title character with interview with actress

; "Introducing ''Angel''", and overview of the conception of the show; "The Demons", which details the various demons featured in the season; and "Season 1 Overview", where cast and crew members discuss the season. Also included are cast biographies and photo galleries.

References

External links

* {{Angel episodes Angel (1999 TV series) 1999 American television seasons 2000 American television seasons