User:Paxomen/Angel (TV series): prose only

Angel is a spin-off of the American television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show has a darker tone than Buffy, and at times performed better in the U.S. Nielsen Ratings than its parent series.[1]

The series was created by Buffy's creator Joss Whedon in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999. Like Buffy, it was produced by Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy.

The show details the ongoing trials of the vampire, Angel, who has his human soul restored to him by gypsies as a punishment after more than a century of murder and torture of innocents, leaving him tormented by guilt and remorse. During the first four seasons of the show, he works as a private detective in a fictionalized version of Los Angeles, California, where he and a variety of associates work to "help the helpless" and to restore the faith and "save the souls" of those who had lost their way. Typically, this involved doing battle with evil demons or demonically-allied humans (primarily the law firm Wolfram & Hart) as well as battling his own violent nature (the term "demon" when applied to the Angelverse is often morally value-neutral, as opposed to referring to evil beings exclusively). In a departure to this, the fifth season saw Angel taking over as the head of Wolfram & Hart in an attempt to fight evil from the inside.

Production

[edit] Origins Co-producer David Greenwalt points out "there's no denying that Angel grew out of Buffy". Several years before Angel debuted, Joss Whedon developed the concept behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer to invert the Hollywood formula of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie."[2] Whedon was not happy with the way that the Buffy concept was first visited through the 1992 movie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,[3] but he was given the chance to more thoroughly develop the concept through the television series of the same name.[4] The early years of the series focused on the life of Buffy Summers, a teenage Vampire Slayer, and her group of friends in Sunnydale (a fictional small town in California). The supernatural elements in the series stood as metaphors for personal anxieties associated with adolescence and young adulthood.[5] The character Angel, was first seen in the first episode, and became a regular during the second/third seasons (appearing in the opening credits). According to the fictional universe first established by Buffy (the Buffyverse),[6] Angel was born in 18th century Ireland. After being turned into a soulless, immortal vampire, he became legendary for his evil acts, until some enemies 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 third season finale, the character leaves Sunnydale 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."[7] 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."[8]

Whilst the central concept behind Buffy was "High school as a horror movie" in small-town America,[9] Co-creators David Greenwalt and Whedon were looking to make Angel into a different "gritty, urban show".[10] 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."[11]

Whedon and Greenwalt prepared a six-minute promotional video pitch, often called the "Unaired Angel pilot" for the WB Network.[12] Some shots from this short were later used in the opening credits.[13]

Angel screenshot featuring the title character, Angel, from the premiere episode, "City of"Early during the series' life, some efforts were 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.[14] The episode that was originally written to be the second episode, "Corrupt" was abandoned altogether. Writer David Fury 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."[15] Instead the tone was lightened, and the opening episodes established Angel Investigations as an idealistic shoestring operation.

A first draft script reveals that Angel was originally intended to include the character Whistler, played by Max Perlich, who had already featured in two Buffy episodes, "Becoming, Part One" & "Part Two".[16] 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."[17] Instead, the producers created the Whistler-like character, Doyle. Cordelia Chase joined Angel and Doyle.

[edit] Executive producers Joss Whedon is credited as executive producer throughout the run of the series,[18] Alongside Angel, he was also working on a series of other projects such as Buffy, Fray, Firefly, Astonishing X-Men, and Serenity.[18]

For the first three seasons, David Greenwalt (who co-created the series with Whedon) was also credited as executive producer.[19] During this time, Greenwalt took on the role of show runner (a role that involves serving as head writer and being responsible for every aspect of production). He left to oversee Miracles, but continued to work on Angel as a consulting producer. At the start of the fourth season, David Simkins was made show runner and executive producer, but he left only three months after taking the position over "creative differences"[20] Established Angel writer Tim Minear took his position for the fourth season before moving to Whedon's Firefly. Jeffery Bell acted as show runner and executive producer for the fifth and final season.

Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui, were also credited as executive producers throughout Angel[21], but were not involved in any writing or production for the show. Jeffery Bell mentions in his DVD commentary for the Angel series finale "Not Fade Away" (during the closing credits) that two people were credited and paid for Angel without needing to ever step on the set.[22] Angel crew member Dan Kerns also revealed in an essay, that two executive producers "received credit and sizeable checks for the duration of Buffy and Angel for doing absolutely nothing".[23] Their credit, rights and royalties over the whole Buffy franchise (which includes spin-off Angel) relate to their funding, producing and directing of the original movie version of Buffy.[24]

[edit] Writing Script-writing was done by Mutant Enemy, a production company created by Joss Whedon in 1997. The writers with the most writing credits for the series include: David Greenwalt, Tim Minear, David Fury, Mere Smith, Steven S. DeKnight, and Jeffrey Bell.[25]

Jane Espenson has explained how scripts came together for Mutant Enemy Productions series (Buffy, Angel, and Firefly).[26] A meeting is held and an idea is floated, generally by Whedon, and the writers brainstorm to develop the central theme of the episode and the character development. Next, the staff meets in the anteroom to Whedon's office to begin "breaking" the story into acts and scenes. The only one absent is the writer working on the previous week's episode. For the team, one of the key components to devising acts is deciding where to break for commercial and ensuring the viewer returns. "Finding these moments in the story help give it shape: think of them as tent poles that support the structure," wrote Espenson.

Next, the writers develop the scenes onto a marker-filled whiteboard, featuring a "brief ordered description of each scene."[26] A writer is selected to create an outline of the episode's concept — occasionally with some dialogue and jokes — in one day. The outline is given to the show runner, who revises it within a day. The writer uses the revised outline to write the first draft of the script while the other writers work on developing the next. This first draft is usually submitted for revision with three to fourteen days; afterward, a second and sometimes third draft is written. After all revisions were made, the final draft would be produced as the "shooting draft."

[edit] Music Main articles: Music in Buffy and Angel and List of songs featured in Buffy and Angel Angel features a mix of original, indie, rock and pop music.

The opening theme was composed by Darling Violetta, an alternative rock group that performed two songs during the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The next year, Angel invited bands to submit demos for the theme music to the show. They asked bands to use "dark superhero ideas" and "Cello-rock".[27] Darling Violetta watched pivotal Angel-related episodes of Buffy like "Passion" and "Becoming, Part One" & "Two" for inspiration. Eventually Joss Whedon accepted Darling Violetta's interpretation of an Angel theme as that most suitable to the show. The theme has a lower tempo than the Buffy theme. It has heavier use of acoustic instruments such as cello and violin. This is perhaps more appropriate for a show about a vampire from 18th Century Ireland on a long journey of redemption. In 2005, the band composed an extended version of the Angel theme called "The Sanctuary Extended Remix", which featured on the soundtrack of the series Angel: Live Fast, Die Never.

The demon karaoke bar, Caritas, is frequently used to spotlight pop hits. There has also been a soundtrack album, Angel: Live Fast, Die Never. The soundtrack mostly consists of scores created for the show created by Robert J. Kral along with a remixed theme, and four other songs from the show.

[edit] Cancellation On Valentine's Day 2004, the WB Network "officially" announced that Angel would not be brought back for a sixth season. The one-paragraph statement indicated the news, which had been reported by an Internet site the previous day, had been leaked well before the network intended to make its announcement.[28] Joss Whedon posted a message on a popular fan site, The Bronze: Beta, in which he expressed his dismay and surprise, saying he was "heartbroken".[29] Fan reaction was to organize letter-writing campaigns, online petitions, and attempt to lobby other networks, UPN in particular (the network that picked up Buffy), to pick up the show. Outrage for the cancellation focused on Jordan Levin, the WB's Head of Entertainment.

Angel's final episode, "Not Fade Away," aired on the WB on May 19, 2004. The ambiguous final moments left some fans hoping for the continuation of Angel and the Buffyverse in the future.

[edit] Setting and story

[edit] Setting Main articles: Buffyverse, Los Angeles and Hyperion Hotel Much of Angel was shot on location in Los Angeles, California.[30] The show is set in the city of Los Angeles. "Los Angeles" are the first words spoken in the premiere episode,[31] and the cityscape is the first image seen in the opening credits. Joss Whedon said that "It is set in Los Angeles because there are a lot of demons in L.A. and a wealth of stories to be told."[32] Producer Marti Noxon has expanded on this explanation: "Los Angeles was the place that Joss Whedon picked for very specific reasons. There's a lot of preconceptions about what the place is, but there are a lot of truths. It's a pretty competitive, intense town, where a lot of lonely isolated, and desperate people end up. It's a good place for monsters."[33] Many episodes feature references to the city, and the opening episode of the second season features the character Lorne offering this observation of the city:

In this city you better learn to get along. Because L.A.'s got it all: The glamour and the grit, the big breaks and the heartaches, the sweet young lovers and the nasty, ugly, hairy fiends that suck out your brain through your face. It's all part of the big wacky variety show we call - Los Angeles.

In the essay collection, Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a Soul, Benjamin Jacob writes the essay, "Los Angelus: The City of Angel." He explores why Los Angeles in particular should be important to the series. Jacob suggests several explanations. First, the name connection ('City of Angels'). Second, the double-sided nature, the "other side of the stereotypical sunshine city, Beach Boys and Walt Disney", "the place of pain, anonymity, alienation and broken dreams".[34] Third American noir was originally a "Los Angelian genre".[34] Angel was originally conceived as supernatural noir. Noir had continued investigation of the "dark city, a place of regression and darkness as a counterpoint to the city's promise of progress and civilization" that had begun under William Blake and Charles Dickens.[34]

During the first season, Angel Investigations is based in Angel's apartment. Actor Alexis Denisof, who played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, said "Angel had this dark, foreboding, underground cellar apartment with columns, with this antique furniture all around, and this pokey little office upstairs"[35] These offices were blown up in the story at the climax of the first season, and Angel Investigations found a new base in the episode, "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been".

Production designer Stuart Blatt outlined the new base: "An old hotel, something [the writers] could use to evoke the past of Los Angeles and some of Angel's history, something kind of creepy and spooky but not too dark because they didn't want something depressing, it's called the Hyperion Hotel. It's based on many hotels in Los Angeles...Angel lived in a larger suite in the hotel, like a honeymoon suite, the producers wanted Angel to have enough room to relax and get away from it all, do a little pondering, a little brooding, a little research. Every once in a while someone will come up to have a little conversation."[36] During the final season, the team moves to the evil law firm, Wolfram & Hart.

[edit] Format Angel was initially told in an anthology format, with each episode creating a self-contained story that took place around the title character. Later episodes began to increasingly contribute to a larger storyline, which was broken down into complex narratives that unfolded over many episodes. The show blends different genres, including horror, martial arts, romance, melodrama, farce, and comedy.

The series' narrative revolves around Angel and his colleagues, collectively making up the detective agency Angel Investigations, who fight against supernatural evils and work to "Help the helpless".[37] A typical episode contains one or more villains, or supernatural phenomena that is thwarted or defeated, and one or more people in need of help. Though elements and relationships are explored and ongoing subplots are included, the show focuses centrally on Angel and his road to redemption.

The most prominent monsters in the Angel bestiary are vampires, which are based on traditional myths, lore, and literary conventions. Angel and his companions fight a wide variety of demons, as well as ghosts, werewolves, zombies, and ethically unsound humans. They sometimes even save the world from annihilation by a combination of physical combat, magic, and detective-style investigation, and are guided by an extensive collection of ancient and mystical reference books. Visions from higher powers guide the group, and are received by Doyle and later Cordelia. Hand-to-hand combat is chiefly undertaken by Angel and later Gunn. Lorne is able to 'read' peoples' destinies. Fred uses her scientific knowledge to contribute whilst Wesley contributes his extensive knowledge of demonology and supernatural lore.

[edit] Themes While Buffy the Vampire Slayer was built around the angst of adolescence, Angel chronicles the different stages of adulthood. The character of Cordelia Chase, who had been the most popular and superficial girl in Sunnydale High on Buffy, develops over the course of the series from an insecure young woman struggling in a daunting real world into an unexpectedly mature woman. Similarly, Wesley, the once uptight and bookish Watcher, becomes a man of quiet confidence and often ruthless action.

Angel screenshot from the opening credits. Taking place in the dark metropolis, Angel often alluded to the noir detective genre which it was influenced by.In much the same way as Buffy had been both an homage and parody of traditional horror films, Angel gave the same treatment to the classical film noir. Producer Kelly Manners said "Angel is a dark show about a man looking for redemption... We have an alcoholic metaphor with Angel. Angel is a guy who is one drink away from going back to his evil roots"[38] He attempts to find redemption through helping the helpless of Los Angeles in a fashion similar to that of noir detectives. The first episode even included a Phillip Marlowe-style voiceover. The character of Angel filled the role of the reluctant, streetwise detective who has dealings with a variety of underworld characters. In this case, the "underworld" is a literal underworld of demons and supernatural beings. In one instance, Angel is explicitly compared with fictional noir private-detective Marlowe.[39] Many traditional noir stories and characters were explored in earlier episodes, including the ditzy but attractive secretary, the cagey but well-informed partner, and clashes with crooked lawyers and meddlesome, too-good-for-their-own-good cops. These were usually given a modern or supernatural twist.

The style and focus of the show changed considerably over its run, and the original noir idea was mostly discarded in favor of more large scale fantasy-themed conflicts. In later seasons, the mythology and stories became increasingly complex; in Season Four, one of the characters on the show itself described the storyline as "a turgid supernatural soap-opera." Whereas the show initially dealt with the difficulty of being kind to people on a personal basis, the show ultimately focused on Angel's status as an archetypal Champion for humanity, and explored ideas such as moral ambiguity, the spiritual cost of violence, and the nature of free will. The enduring theme throughout the series was the struggle for redemption.

Angel depicted the feelings of loneliness, danger, and callousness often attributed to the urban Los Angeles megalopolis. The divisions between the ordered world of the day and the chaotic world of the night have been trademark themes of noir and by depicting a protagonist who literally has no daytime life, the series was able to explore these same themes in more dramatic, metaphorical ways. As the series progressed, the creators were able to explore darker aspects of the characters, particularly Angel, who commits a number of morally questionable actions, and periodically reverts to his evil persona Angelus.

[edit] Plot summary Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. Main articles: Plot Summary & List of Angel episodes At the start of the series, Angel has just moved to Los Angeles in an effort to earn redemption for the evil deeds he committed as an un-souled vampire. He is soon visited by Doyle, a messenger sent to him behalf of The Powers That Be. Doyle receives visions that can guide Angel on his mission. Angel also bumps into Cordelia Chase, who is trying to break into stardom. The three group together to form Angel Investigations, a detective agency that hopes to "help the helpless." When Doyle dies, he passes on his 'visions' to Cordelia, and the ex-Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, joins the group. Meanwhile, the evil law firm, Wolfram & Hart pay increasing attention to Angel. They tempt him toward darkness when they resurrect Darla, Angel's ex-lover and sire — killed by Angel in the first season of Buffy in the episode "Angel."

Charles Gunn, a street tough who leads a gang of vampire hunters, is initially determined to kill Angel, but slowly comes to accept him and join his cause. Wolfram & Hart's star lawyer Lindsey McDonald primes Darla as its weapon to bring down Angel. However, Darla is brought back as a human, not a vampire. But as a human, she suffers from a terminal case of syphilis — which she had contracted in her original life before being sired. Lindsey brings in Drusilla, a vampire originally sired by Angelus, to restore Darla to the cause of evil. Enraged by this, Angel begins to grow darker. He cuts himself off from his staff and attempts to go after the pair himself. In despair, Angel sleeps with Darla (cf. "Reprise"), but the next morning, he has an epiphany; seeing the error of his ways, he banishes Darla and reunites with his group. Lorne, the flamboyant demon owner of Caritas, reluctantly takes Angel and his crew to his home dimension, Pylea, and they return with Winifred "Fred" Burkle, a former physics student who has been trapped in the dimension for five long years.

To get over news of the death of his ex-girlfriend, Buffy, Angel spends three months in a Sri Lankan monastery, where he encounters some demon monks and goes home frustrated. He returns to Los Angeles, as does Darla — now bearing his child. The group is puzzled by what might be the first vampire birth. Darla sacrifices her life to save the life of her child, Connor. The gang is eager to care for the infant, but Wesley soon learns of a frightening prophecy that suggests that Angel will murder his son. Feeling disconnected from the group, Wesley does not share this information, and quietly kidnaps Connor. This backfires as he is attacked and the child is seized by an old enemy, Daniel Holtz, whose family Angelus and Darla slaughtered two hundred years ago. Holtz escapes through a portal to a Hell dimension, and raises the boy as his own. Angel feels that his son is lost forever, and tries to murder Wesley. Though he survives, Wesley is banished from the group. Weeks later, Connor returns, but because time moves differently where he has been, he is now a teenage boy, having been raised by Holtz. When Holtz stages his own murder to frame Angel, Connor imprisons his birth father in a casket and drops it to the bottom of the ocean.

Despite his exile from his old friends, Wesley locates and frees Angel. A hellish Beast emerges and blocks out the sun over L.A. Although the city survives, the sunlight seems to be blotted out permanently. In a desperate attempt to confront the Beast, the team removes Angel's soul, releasing Angelus, but manage to restore it. Their efforts, however, do not prevent the coming of Jasmine, who was indirectly responsible for the work of the Beast. Jasmine, it turns out, was one of the Powers That Be and plans to solve all the world's problems by giving humanity total happiness through spiritual enslavement to her. Fred is accidentally inoculated against Jasmine's spell by contact with her blood and frees the rest of the gang though they remain hopelessly outnumbered by thousands already entranced by Jasmine. By revealing her true name, they are able to break Jasmine's spell over everyone. In the season finale, they are met by the ghost of a Wolfram & Hart employee, Lilah Morgan, who congratulates them on preventing world peace, and says that as a token of their appreciation, Wolfram & Hart would like to give them the Los Angeles branch. To help save Cordelia and Connor, Angel reluctantly agrees.

The gang begins to settle into their new lives at Wolfram & Hart. Gunn undergoes a special cognitive procedure that transforms him into a brilliant lawyer. The group receives an amulet that resurrects a past companion of Angelus, the souled vampire Spike. Fred finally declares her affections to Wesley, but shortly after is possessed by an ancient and powerful demon called Illyria. Wesley is devastated by the loss of Fred, but agrees to help Illyria adjust to her new form and the unfamiliar world she's in. Angel infiltrates the Circle of the Black Thorn, a secret society responsible for engineering the Apocalypse, and plans to take them all out in a simultaneous, hard-hitting strike. Because this is probably a suicide mission, he tells each of his friends to spend the day as if it were their last. That night, the team launches its attack on the Circle, dividing up their targets. When Wesley is fatally stabbed, Illyria, concerned for his safety, arrives at his side after killing her targets but is powerless to help him; she grieves for Wesley.

Once the Circle has been dismantled, Angel and the surviving members of his gang rendezvous in the alley behind the Hyperion Hotel. Illyria arrives with news of Wesley's death and Gunn emerges, staggering from a serious stomach wound. The survivors wait as the Senior Partners' army of warriors, giants, and a dragon approaches. The series ends with Angel and his crew preparing for battle, saying, "Let's go to work."

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. Angel actors portraying their characters, from left to right: Gunn, Cordelia, Angel, Wesley and FredAngel (played by David Boreanaz) — A vampire over two hundred years old. Known as Angelus during his rampages across Europe, he was cursed with a soul, which gave him a conscience and guilt for centuries of murder and torture. Angel moves to Los Angeles in search of redemption. Cordelia Chase (played by Charisma Carpenter) (Season 1-4, appearing 5.12) — At Sunnydale High, Cordelia was the archetypal shallow cheerleader, who only reluctantly helped the Scooby Gang. She is softened by the loss of her parents' financial support and her failure to find stardom in L.A. Cordelia joins Angel Investigations to assist Angel. Allen Francis Doyle (played by Glenn Quinn) (1.01-1.09) — Born to a human mother and a Brachen demon father in Dublin, as a conduit from The Powers That Be, Doyle passes along their cryptic messages to Angel. He hides behind the flimsy veneer of a ne'er-do-well hustler, seemingly more interested in where his next drink was coming from than helping others, but later sacrifices his life to save the day. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (played by Alexis Denisof) (1.10-5.22) — His failure as a Watcher and subsequent sacking from the Watchers' Council lead Wesley to hunt demons. He stumbles across Angel, joins the cause and goes on to lead Angel Investigations. Charles Gunn (played by J. August Richards) (Seasons 2-5, recurring before) — From a section of inner-city Los Angeles the police dared not go, Gunn grew up fighting vampires to protect his own. Initially mistrustful of Angel, Gunn eventually joins the group. Winifred "Fred" Burkle (played by Amy Acker) (3.01-5.15, recurring before) — A young Texan physicist, Fred was trapped in Pylea, a world where humans are enslaved by demons, for five years. The harsh life of solitude and serfdom took a serious toll on her social skills and mental health. Angel rescues her and brings her back to L.A. Connor (played by Vincent Kartheiser) (Season 4, recurring otherwise) — Connor was born the "miracle" human child of two vampires, Angel and Darla. He was subsequently taken to a Hell dimension, where he spent his childhood and much of his adolescence. Connor returns to L.A. as an angry young man. Lorne (played by Andy Hallett) (4.14-5.22, recurring before) — A demon of the Deathwok Clan, Lorne lives in L.A., running Caritas, a violence-free, demon-friendly karaoke bar. As an empathy demon, he can see into people's souls when they sing and guides them on their path. His full name is Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan. Spike (played by James Marsters) (Season 5, recurring before) — An old vampire companion of Angel's, the two traveled Europe in the late 19th century with their companions Darla and Drusilla. Spike fights Angel for the Gem of Amarra, but eventually joins the team after regaining his own soul. Illyria (played by Amy Acker) (5.17-5.22) — One of the legendary Old Ones, an original pure demon from the Primordium Age, who ruled territory that included modern-day California. When the Old Ones lost control over this world, Illyria's corpse was placed in a stone sarcophagus, her powers drained and placed in jewels embedded on her coffin. Illyria is able to escape by infecting the body of Fred Burkle. Harmony Kendall (played by Mercedes McNab) (5.17-5.22, recurring before) — In high school, she was a member of Cordelia Chase's popular clique, the "Cordettes." At her graduation, Harmony was turned into a vampire, but retained her bubbly personality, vapidness, and subservience to stronger-willed people, making her largely incompetent as a vampire. She decides to take up employment with evil law firm Wolfram & Hart, eventually becoming Angel's personal secretary.

[edit] Others See: Angel main & supporting characters & Recurring Angel characters Many characters on Angel made recurring appearances. Throughout the series, there were also guest appearances from Buffy characters.

[edit] Spin-offs Despite being a spin-off in itself, Angel has inspired a whole "industry" of books, comics, and merchandise. The history of many of these spin-offs can be traced in Buffyverse chronology.

[edit] Expanded Universe Outside of the TV series, Angel has been officially expanded and elaborated on by authors and artists in the so-called "Buffyverse Expanded Universe". The creators of these works may or may not keep to established continuity. Similarly, writers for the TV series were under no obligation to use information which had been established by the Expanded Universe, and sometimes contradicted such continuity.

Many of these works are set at particular times within the Buffyverse. For example, Joss Whedon has written an Angel mini-series of comics, Long Night's Journey, which was specifically set in early Angel Season 2. Angel comics were originally published by Dark Horse Comics, which published them from 2000 until 2002. IDW Publishing obtained rights to publish Angel comics in 2000 and has been releasing them since. Most recent releases include Spike vs Dracula, Asylum, and Auld Lang Syne.

Following their success with a series of Buffy novels, Pocket Books purchased the license to produce novels for Angel. Twenty-four Angel novels were published. Jeff Mariotte became the most successful Angel novelist, publishing eleven Angel novels. They also published seven Buffy/Angel crossover books that featured settings and characters from both series.

[edit] Undeveloped spin-offs Main article: Undeveloped Buffyverse productions The cancellation of Angel despite a strong following, and decision by the writers to end the series without providing narrative closure has contributed toward a desire by fans for further stories spinning off from Buffy and Angel.

As late as March 2006, Joss Whedon still talked of the possibility of a TV movie involving Spike to be written and directed by Tim Minear.

[edit] Merchandise Angel has inspired magazines and companion books, as well as countless websites, online discussion forums, and works of fan fiction. Eden Studios have published an Angel role-playing game.

[edit] Series information The first season of Angel was introduced in 1999. Each season was built up of 22 episodes. Discounting the Angel pitch tape, the five seasons make up a total of 110 episodes, aired between 1999 and 2004.

[edit] DVD releases Main article: Angel DVDs Angel DVDs were produced by 20th Century Fox and released from 2001-2005.

Awards and nominations Main article: Buffy and Angel awards & nominations Angel has gathered a number of awards and nominations. It won Best Television from International Horror Guild in 2001.[40] It has received many important awards and nominations from the Saturn Awards (presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films): it won Best Network TV Series and Best TV Actor in 2004.[40] Specific episodes, "Waiting in the Wings", "Smile Time," and "Not Fade Away," have won Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in 2003 and 2005.[40]