The first season of the television series ''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'', 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. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'', premiered on October 5, 1999, on

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

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 ...

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

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

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 physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include monsters, apocalyp ...

." The character

was first seen in the first episode 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 scree ...

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 American television drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). The series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California, Californian city, as well as a narr ...

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 (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on b ...

. 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", 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-exe ...

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 supernatural television series, a spinoff of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The series was created by ''Buffy''s creator, writer and director Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt. It aired on The WB fro ...

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 aggl ...

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 series ...

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

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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhab ...

, who is sent visions of people in trouble by

The Powers That Be In idiomatic English, "the powers that be" 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 variant of ''are'' rather than a subj ...

, 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 a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for ''Angel''. She is portrayed by Elisabeth Röhm. Lockley first appears in the episode " Lonely Heart" as a young, skeptical detective for the Los Angeles Police Department. Graduall ...

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 This article lists the major and recurring fictional characters created by Joss Whedon and the writers of Mutant Enemy for the television program, '' Angel''. For a more in-depth look at some of the minor characters on the show, please see th ...

and

Lilah Morgan This article lists the major and recurring fictional characters created by Joss Whedon and the writers of Mutant Enemy for the television program, ''Angel''. For a more in-depth look at some of the minor characters on the show, please see the ...

, 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 (1999 TV series), Angel''. Played by Alexis Denisof, Wesley first ...

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 Wireless telegraphy, radiotelegraph (Morse code) signal transmitted by ...

" and "

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

", the rogue

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

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 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Angel on The WB/UPN supernatural fiction, supe ...

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 i ...

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 s ...

Allen Francis Doyle Francis Allen 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 per ...

Alexis Denisof Alexis Denisof (born February 25, 1966) is an American actor, 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 Your Moth ...

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor. His film debut was '' The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting roles in comedy films in the 1980s, including '' Radio Days'' ( ...

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 best known for his role as the British punk vampire Spike in The WB series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ...

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

Crew

Series creators

and

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

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over 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 Timothy P. Minear (; born October 29, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He has been nominated for four Emmy Awards (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017) for his role as an executive producer on ''American Horror Story'' and ''Feud''. Life and ...

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 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'' ( ...

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 screenwriter 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 Raf ...

(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). Filmography Film Television *''White Water Rebels'' ( ...

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", 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 ...

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 (1999 TV series), Angel'', ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''F ...

(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 (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on br ...

. 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 The Bachelor Party is a 1957 drama film directed by Delbert Mann, adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from his 1953 teleplay. Plot Charlie Samson is a hard-working married bookkeeper in Manhattan, struggling to advance himself by attending night scho ...

(

) 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 The WB. On Thanksgiving, Buffy encounters ...

", 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 by a talent agent as a young child, she made her film debut at age six in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). She had her first lead ...

) 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 former actress. Dushku starred as Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Faith in the supernatural Drama (film and television), drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003) an ...

) 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" 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 4 premiere episode, " The Freshman", and Blucas was part of th ...

(

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 su ...

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

Julie Benz Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Darla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'' (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on ''Dexter (TV s ...

), 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 the 22nd episode of the first season of the American television 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 Ne ...

Unproduced episode

The original second episode was supposed to be "Corrupt", 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 an 88% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3 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 an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, 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 bel ...

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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

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