are is the spinoff that successfully develops its own identity, even while continuing to co-exist within the universe from which it was born. But, as can be seen when revisiting season one of Angel—launched four years ago as a spinoff from the then-soaring Buffy the Vampire Slayer—is that it manages to accomplish just that. In Angel, co-creators Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt created a series whose moody, edgy tone is clearly distinct from the Scooby gang's angst—and whose story and characters weave in and out effortlessly with what came before it in Buffy.
Angel (Boreanaz) started out simply as the tall, dark and brooding vampire with a soul who happened to also capture the Slayer's heart. After spending three years helping Buffy and the gang combat the forces of evil, circumstance forces Angel to strike out on his own. He, aptly enough, takes up residence in the City of Angels (otherwise known as Los Angeles), where his predilection for solitude and self-imposed misery is easy to indulge.
Interrupting Angel's solitude is Doyle, a half-demon Irishman with the gift of precognition. Doyle persuades Angel to interact with humans again, to help them through the rough times he sees in his visions. The two partner up to form Angel Investigations, and are joined by Cordelia (Carpenter), the sharp-tongued yet flighty former Scooby whose career as a Hollywood ingénue isn't exactly as red-hot as she'd hoped.
Angel's first season has its share of rocky elements—Doyle transfers his powers to Cordelia, the re-introduction of one-time Slayer Watcher and Buffy alum Wesley (Alexis Denisof), the whole law-firm-fronting-for-demons arc—but generally speaking, the series does a better than average job of setting up its characters and its mission. The show gets a big assist from Buffy, actually, with five episodes that bring in characters from Buffy, including Faith (Eliza Dushku), Spike (James Marsters), and Buffy herself (Sarah Michelle Gellar). One can certainly argue this repeated reliance on established characters was a cheat that detracted from Angel standing its own two feet from the outset—especially considering that some of the season's best episodes were the crossover episodes. However, in hindsight, the crossovers seem like pure genius: Unlike other series that use such guest spots strictly for the ratings boost, Angel managed to integrate the characters into its own universe in a wholly organic way. The result: Angel and his compadres become more developed in the context of their show, and in the context of the bigger Buffyverse. Boreanaz displays quite the dry wit and gift for comedy, and Cordelia is allowed to grow from the self-absorbed snob she'd played on Buffy.
A series that stands on its own two fangs
As a six-disc box set, this DVD set should have a satisfying selection of supplemental content. Instead, there are four featurettes, two scripts, two audio commentaries, cast biographies and a still image gallery.
The themed menus for the Angel season one DVD set are cleanly designed and easy to navigate. The storage box is constructed in the same paper-encased, fold-out style as found in other Fox series sets (including Buffy and The X-Files). Considering the improved design of other box sets we've seen recently, it's surprising that Fox didn't try to start out fresh with Angel.
The biggest disappointment with Angel lies in its selection of bonus content. It's one thing when a box set includes a limited amount of extra content, but what's there is Grade A choice (such as with Buffy); it's another when what little is included is thin on substance, as is the case with Angel. The four featurettes included are poorly annotated, and appear to be ripped straight from an electronic press kit. The staccato clips last about five minutes apiece, stitch together soundbites from a range of actors, producers and directors, and serve to provide little more than the bare essentials for newbies unfamiliar with Angel's underlying lore (the featurettes' titles include "I'm Cordelia," "Introducing Angel," "Season One Overview" and "The Demons").
More useful is the audio commentary that accompanies the premiere episode, "City Of ...". As narrated by the usually well-spoken Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, the audio commentary starts out slow and pedestrian, and gets better as it moves along. The other commentary, by writer Jane Espenson, is paired with the episode "RM w/a Vu," offers lots of information, but much of what's discussed is couched in a bigger-picture perspective for the series.
The final smidgens of content—the scripts for "Five by Five" and "Sanctuary" (the terrific two-part Faith arc) and the stock image gallery—are limited in their usefulness, and may stymie some older DVD players that are confused by the menu's navigational needs.
