After the mostly love relationship I had with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I was a little apprehensive about "Angel." After all, they had taken Angel and Cordelia, my two least favorite characters from "Buffy," (at least, until that whiny brat Dawn showed up) and given them their own show. Turns out, as always, Joss Whedon is a genius.
On "Buffy," Angel was Buffy's boy. He was cryptic and dark, hanging around in the background, occasionally passing on information, sometimes helping in battles, mostly giving Buffy someone to whine at when she needed to. He was never really developed, even though he was unique in that he is a vampire with a soul. He was more like an attractive backdrop with fangs. David Boreanaz's acting was pretty wooden, except for in the second season when he loses his soul again. Angel is at his best when he's bad. Certainly more fun.
Cordelia, too, was underdeveloped. (Well, in some places.) The stereotypical snooty bitch, she whined and sniped and screamed and never really proved herself as a person worth having around, other than to give Xander someone pretty to make out with. And, c'mon, we were all really happy when she still wasn't able to keep him out of the clutches of uber-nerd Willow. (I'm contemplating a new blog, I'dGoGayForWillow.com)
Everything has changed in "Angel." The first season aired alongside the fourth season of "Buffy." Angel has moved to Los Angeles so that he will be less of a temptation to Buffy. (He loses his soul if he experiences a moment of true happiness. It happened once before. Angel and Buffy rutted like weasels on her 17th birthday and he ended up going bad and eating a bunch of people.) He now operates a detective agency, specializing in cases that are a little out of the ordinary. Cordelia works for him, as does half-demon Doyle, whose occasional visions send them in the direction of people in need of help.
I was told the first season was a bit slow, but to stick with it, it would get better. So far, aside from a couple kinda lame episodes, I think it's buckets of fun. I chewed through the first season and am now half way through the second. I'll be posting little run-downs of each episode soon.
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