As per usual with our first episode of a season, THERE IS A FREE FULL LENGTH! Check it out here: www.patreon.com/posts/112644872 Reaction Guide we are following: slayalive.com/showthread.php/3924-The-Buffy-Angel-watching-guide?p=129360&viewfull=1#post129360
Does this mean one episode of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and one Apisode of _Angel the Series_ a week? How is that ging to work now? Or is it going to be whatever next two episodes are in the episode guide order?
The episode isn't called City of Angels, just City of... I'm copy/pasting this because it is extremely long. And now, a novel by John Campbell. My apologies in advance. Backstory part 1. Buffy filmed at a FOX owned lot in eastern Santa Monica. There were some connected warehouses and an office building. The rest was a parking lot. All of this was torn down and replaced by a corporate complex years later. Diagonally across the street was Todd AO studios where all the ADR and other sound work was done. They moved out a few years ago. Joss' last project before getting dumped due to the allegations against him (The Nevers) had their writer's office two sections over in the same building complex as Todd AO. The office building at the Buffy lot was two stories tall and was sort of in sections. Almost all of the Buffy offices for the entire production, writers to editiors took up half the top floor. Right next to the stairs were the casting offices for Buffy & Angel. The set decorators room was directly below 1/3 of it. The prop room and set builders had sections of the warehouse. As half the Angel writers were still officially on the Buffy staff, the Angel writers and post production, and, for S1 only, the office where David Miller made the vampire and most other demons' special effects appliances. The south wing of the first floor had the Buffy crew lunch room, extras holding area, and Cynthia Bergstrom's costume design office and the cast closets. The catering truck parked right outside the cafeteria when they weren't on location. (We got permission to eat off their truck) and the cast trailers were lined up next to that. The mini-graveyard was between those, the warehouses and the exit gate. I would walk along that way when delivering stuff to TODD AO when the post-PA was unavailable. During these walks were the only times I ever spoke to Sarah, and only a few times over two years. So, other than when on location (S1-3 Buffy's house exteriors and Sunnydale High School were blocks apart way down in Torrance. Until they finished the college sets, they filmed UC Sunnydale across town at USC.) Angel filmed at the Paramount lot 10 miles from the Buffy lot. Each show only gets 3 PAs and these PAs rarely have slow time. So having them drive the 30 minutes or sometimes far more each way, just to get the writers lunch or deliver the make up effects, wasn't worth it. I interviewed for one of the PA spots but lost to the head of Post Production's daughter and Zack Whedon, Joss' little brother. I can't imagine how they beat me out. So, the Friday before filming, my friend who used to be Angel show runner David Greenwalt's assistant called me and saved me from a horrible reality show I won't talk about. And now the story of how the show could have ended on day 3, and we were glad no network or insurance people were on location. My day 1. I go to the Angel writers' office and meet and greet. Then I go to the Paramount Lot across town to get my ID so I can deliver scripts* and the prosthetics to the set. (*Sending scripts via email started in season 2.) I then got a tour of the Paramount lot by another, as far as we know, unrelated John Campbell. He pointed out that yet another John Campbell worked in the lot lighting department. Day 3. Angel is on location filming the "Coffee Spot" scenes in Manhattan Beach, pretending to be Santa Monica. Tracy Middendorf was fantastic. She nailed everything. We loved her, but Joss and Greenwalt wanted to make a statement by having Angel fail to save her. So, we shoot the scenes where she and Angel first meet. We break for lunch. I'm standing in the parking lot with RD Price (Associate Producer and Greenwalt's former assistant), David Miller who made most of the prosthetics in S1, David Boreanaz, David Greenwalt, and Joss Whedon. We are waiting for the crew van to take up back to base camp so we can eat. Joss, DG and Boreanaz get tired of waiting and hitch a ride in the back seat of an extended cab pick-up truck. The three remaining of us are concerned about this. The bed of the pick-up is filled with the gasoline pumps (like ones at a gas station) to refuel the other vehicles. If someone rear-ended that truck, the star and both co-creators would explode. Oops. This was when the remaining three of us discussed how fortunate it was that no network or insurance people were on location. The Vampire makeup looks different on Angel S1 as the company who made them for Buffy owned the design, and the network didn't want to pay them if they weren't working on Angel. For S2 on, the company that did Buffy, did Angel as well. The side issue was that I was on set dramatically less in S2 as I no longer had to deliver the appliances. Joss got his start writing on Roseanne. He wrote the Buffy film script while there. Glenn Quinn (Doyle) was Becky's boyfriend on the show. He used an American accent. For Angel, he used his natural Irish accent, sometimes cleaned up a bit so we could understand him. LOL The original idea was Whistler was going to be the character, but either the actor wasn't available, or there were issues on set because the original actor had too many problems with his lines. One of those is correct. I've been told both by different people who should know. The Angel Theme song. Joss wanted a different Gothic feel for Angel and put out feelers for "cello rock." Darling Violetta fit that description. They were actually the band playing The Bronze in Ep 3.3 Faith, Hope, Trick. I watched that episode, and in the morning after, finished packing my moving truck and drove from NJ to Los Angeles. Two months later I first met Darling Violetta and quickly became very good friends with the guitarist, Jymm. I actually drove Joss' final notes on the theme song to famed songwriter Holly Knight's house where she was producing the song for them. As a thank you for producing the song, Jymm and singer Cami shared the writing credit with Holly. I was also on location for the scenes at the vampire's mansion. It was out in Malibu and was incredible. I was with a bunch of crew members just off camera during the fight sequences around the stairs and the jump/fall from the upstairs hallway. That was a long, but fun night. Russell's death was a practical stunt. The stunt guy was dropped on the side of the building on wires and set on fire. The earlier scene where Angel jumps in the wrong was actually this building's parking garage lot. I was also briefly in the alley were the first fight happened. I only met the stunt people, so I didn't meet Sawyer from Lost. A deleted scene had Angel taste Tina's blood on his fingers after he found her. The network thought it was too dark. When the guy tells Angel that Angel is an actor, it was a nod to an agent "discovering" David while David was walking his dog. There is a six minute presentation film Joss made during Buffy S3 to sell The WB on Angel. It should be online. If not, I'll add it to my channel with the gag reels. The end. For now.
@johncampbell756 this is all really cool My favorite bits from your comment are your proximity to the production, and your knowledge. Also that was a practical stunt whaaattt
Given how the character has grown a lot already, the fun part about this is that OP's comment isn't a spoiler, but all the hysterical childish replies whining about it technically are. 😅
@@sugardares That goes along with the detective noir style they were going for in some of the early episodes. Those old noir stories were mostly based in LA.
FYI- Vampires in the Buffyverse can be recorded on film and have their pictures taken. It's just the mirror thing that's an issue. In fact, back in season 2, you saw Spike record a fight between Buffy and a vamp to study her. Also vamp's in the Buffyverse need to be in direct sunlight to be lethal. Even a moderately overcast sky can be beneficial to a vampire. The Christmas episode of season 3 had Buffy and Angel walking during the day when it was snowing because of the overcast weather. Vampires can seek shelter from direct sunlight just by getting in some shade.
I really love how absolutely much of a dork Angel gets to be on his own show (as well as overdramatic and Batman as HELL). Cordelia gets a chance to shine also. The scene transitions take a bit of getting used to, and while you guys didn't mention it, they had a different makeup team doing the vampire prosthetics at first so Angel in vamp face looks different and most of the other vampires look really weird (they got lessons from the Buffy team so they do get better fast). In order to avoid having to do exclusively night shoots, they do make use of the LA sewer tunnels to get around during the day, and kind of fine tune the vampire lore that it's only direct sunlight that catches them on fire - so standing near a window when the sun is up isn't a big deal as long as it's not directly beaming in. I'd try not to get too caught up in the daylight of it all - if you see Angel and it's day time, just assume the sun is not intended to be shining directly on him or they will address where the direct sunlight is problematic for him. I'm excited to go on this ride with you - some folks aren't as big of a fan of Angel as they are of Buffy... but then you have some who actually prefer Angel. I watched them together on my first watch-through and have always considered them two parts of the same show, especially with 2/3 of the main cast being characters introduced on Buffy. Angel can stand alone, but I find the experience richer with both together.
I agree, especially that last part. In fact, I generally tend to ubsub to people who watch buffy, but then paywall angel. Shame, cause it's happened to some good reaction channels. I'm fine if people want to do that to some shows, they need to make a living afterall, but not in a situation like this. Even if I was a patreon, it would turn me off of the channel.
if you end up liking the idea of a vampire detective, you should also check out Forever Knight (who set the standard for a vampire driving a convertible- maximum trunk space if caught out in the day.)
Vampires show up on camera in the Buffyverse. In the Halloween episode, Spike had one vamp minion film another one fighting Buffy so he could study her moves, and that vamp was visible. That one guy from the end of Buffy season 2 was a demon called Whistler. They were thinking of having Whistler here, but the actor wasn't available or something. We got Doyle instead, a half-demon, who provides leads and humor. ;)
It takes a minute for the show to find its groove, kind of like Buffy. There are definitely some not-so-great episodes in season 1, but they do a good job of world building. Stick with it! The final season is really stellar.
Occasionally, lore contradicting behavior slips through to end up in an episode. (Like that time Spike choked out Drusilla in Buffy when it had been previously established that vampires have no heartbeat, thus presumably no blood flow, and they don't need to breathe. So, how does that work?) But I believe in this case, it's already been alluded to in Buffy that only direct sunlight adversely affects vampires. Reflected light, sunlight or otherwise, apparently has no effect on them.
Solid and fun reaction to Angel. Few things to understand that helps in understanding some of the challenges and choices for Angel the show. The show was set to run after Buffy on Tuesday night. Most of the mainstream entertainment media have the show little chance to succeed. The record for spinoffs for dramas was more failure than success. David Boreanaz was not known yet outside of Buffy. The real challenge for Joss Whedon, the writers , and production was to retain the majority of the Buffy audience, appear to be different, and attract a new audience that was 14-29 male that did not necessarily watch Buffy. Remember the Dark Knight vibe was several years away. Also Batman was considered dead after the failure of George Clooney and the villains( Nicholson, Arnold, Carrey, etc.) making the Batman brand uncool. Smartly , Whedon knew that Buffy was still a smash and he could take his time moving the story to his vision and the audience moving with a different type of series than Buffy. You will enjoy Angel. The reactors guide will help give you a similar watching experience. Thank you for your entertaining comments and reactions.
Vampires draw strength from drinking blood. Angel is unable to beat Russell in hand-to-hand combat because he has been abstaining. Maybe he needs to fall off the wagon.
I don't remember if I've already told you this, but I actually started watching this series a bit backward. I'd never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer before when I came across this pilot episode of Angel. I wasn't even paying attention at first (I was doing laundry on a Sunday afternoon, so they must have replayed the episode or something), just folding my laundry and half-listening to the TV as noise in the background. But when the theme song started, I looked up, because I thought "Oh, that cello solo is gorgeous. You've got my attention." And then the rock beat kicked in, and I was like, "Well, that's different. Now you've really got my attention. What IS this show?" So I started watching the episode, and I just loved it. I loved the humor -- "Good gate," lol! -- the dark noir-ish detective tone to it, how Angel seemed a bit Batman-ish, the touch of angst and Angel brooding, just the whole vibe drew me in. And it all started because the theme song caught my attention. Gotta love the power of music! 😊🎵🎶 So I started watching Angel, and I quickly realized that it must be a spin-off from Buffy, and then I realized it might have crossovers at some point, so I was like, "Aw man... I'm going to have to check out Buffy, aren't I?" So I started watching Buffy from the beginning, and found I loved that show too, and eventually caught up to where it was in conjunction with Angel. But it's funny to kind of start backward like that (first half of the first season of Angel, then start watching Buffy from season 1), especially because I first saw Cordelia on Angel's show, so I thought she was semi-nice, lol. So it was a bit of a surprise when she turned out to be so spoiled and mean girl-ish in season one of Buffy. I was like, "What a beeatch! I want to go back to Angel's show where she's not so mean!" 🤣 Unfortunately, that meant I didn't get the element of surprise at finding out Angel's a vampire in season 1 of Buffy, because I already knew it from watching a few episodes of Angel first... but that's okay. The rest of the Buffy series was completely new to me, so I enjoyed it all. Hope you love Angel's series! It's a lot of fun, in a weird way, and also a lot darker, if that makes sense. I consider it more of the adult version of Buffy, and Buffy's more of the kids growing up into adulthood series. They work together in that way. 🙂
Comment section gotta work on not spoiling/going overboard with giving out way too many details, lol. They don't need to know that "the show gets better" or that "XYZ is a great season and a masterpiece" or that "This character becomes this down the line." Let them watch and learn as they go... like many of you got to do. :P
@@cajah88 nothing wrong with saying our favorite seasons. No cast members and storylines have been spoiled and everyone has differing opinions on the seasons as well as the show as a whole. Many people don’t even like it . Some never took a liking to the show even as it progressed. So it’s not spoiler-y in any sense of the word. Maybe its you who needs to stop going overboard with “worry”
@@ninipookie When I wrote this, there was a comment that was going on about a character's future development and other comments talking about how great a future season is for reasons and comparing it with a season of Buffy the reactors also haven't seen yet. Also, my post is very tame, so this type of response was wholly unnecessary. Do better about that or keep it pushing, bud.
Doyle was originally supposed to be Whistler from Becoming but that actor had conflicts so they wrote a new character. The villain of the ep was based on then real estate mogul DJT. Yeah the tone of this show is very much batman
This show goes through a lot of growth and changes, which Buffy is also doing, but still at the "growing up" stage of life. This is the adult world. They didn't always know for sure what to do with this show, so it had changes. Each season has it's own thing going.
eh batman broodman, whats the difference? same thing right? no sir, rewind, that was not a kick to the fellas, its actually an anti road rage tactic, run up and kick their door as they step out and you most likely will break one or both legs, sometimes even an arm hahaha
The episode is called _City Of..._ Not City of Angels. I love that the concept at the beginning is that the audience thinks Angel's drunk only to realize it's a cover as he's watching two vampires so when he's "drunk" in the alley, the audience knows it is an act to get close enough to take them down. One of the vampires in the alley Angel kills is the character of Sawyer on _Lost._ The vampire makeup in this episode is bad. It won't be a spoiler to say it changes to match the makup on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ from here on out. I think this episode was more curious about if they should change it and they realized their mistake. David Boreanaz (Angel) wasn't Bones. He was Booth. His partner was Bones. And that was a nickname, not an official name. Doyle's long exposition that Buffy fans already knew made me wonder how many new (to The Buffyverse) fans to the show their were and are with this show. I think I made a theory just now that the transitions between scenes were done because of how the crew did Doyle's early visions (which weren't seen in this episode). Thoughts on that? I'm curious on if it's possible or if it's a reach. We never saw Angel drive on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer._ I assume he bought it after he left Sunnydale. Cordelia is the reason not to have watched the credits. I always loved the joke of Angel having the same car as someone else and he gets in the wrong one. Angel not saving the girl was a way to explore that this show's theme was not about coming of age and was about adulthood. Cordelia is in the know, but we've only seen her slay one vampire before. I'm not saying she can't do it, but at this point in the series her introduction into working with Angel would be to be saved. Killing Russell would only make her think she doesn't need his help and that wouldn't make her a more fringe part of the show, if a part of it at all. Although, Angel creating the distraction that allowed Cordelia to stake Russell would have suggessted a good team up moment, but since the show is titled Angel, early on the main character usually always does the actual killing in these types of stories and situations. I like the fact that Mikey brought up Whistler because despite the fact that it was a flashback he laid out Angel's purpose which got started by helping Buffy, but waylaid by the Bangel relationship (and the fallout of turning back into Angelus). Buffy running to LA in _Anne created an unofficial in-universe backdoor pilot for this show while Angel mulled over his relationship issues in S3 and now Doyle and Cordelia are helping Angel get back on the track Whistler initially helped him get on. I love the parallells between Tina in this episode and Buffy (and all the people Buffy helped) in _Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anne_ episode, and that The Review Crew realized said parallells.
Fun pilot episode and reaction. Like Buffy, Angel the show does improve but the first season is very enjoyable with a couple excellent episodes. Love that Cordy is here and the "Can you fly?" ending.
As an older person, I prefered Angel the Series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer the first time I watched both shows. The themes are a little more mature, and I liked the vigilente mood of Angel right from the start. It takes a little less time for this series to find its footing compare to Buffy (in my opinion). A good companion piece to BtVS. After multiple rewatch, i'm not sure which of the 2 shows I prefer anymore. They have their own tone, their own pros and cons - as all TV series. But generally speaking, a Whedon show never did me dirty as a viewer, so... Enjoy the ride!
Been a long time since I watched this episode. They did a good job. Separate from Buffy yet not so different. Of course he needs a car. Its LA. No one walks in LA. Getting team Angel together! To be fair I think it takes them a few episode before they work out most of the kinks.
even though Cordy says he never took time to work on a portfolio, I don't think that's 100 percent true. He obviously saved to get some sick wheels, or maybe killed a demon who stole one and just kept the car. Actually the latter seems more plausible now that I think abou it :-)
Does it mean that Cordelia left Sunnydale with her V-card intact? She did not seem like the females that would have it still, but she did not smash Xander and she did not date anyone else but Wesley....Buffy did Angel, Xander did Faith and Willow did Oz.....so Cordy the only one who did not smash?` .........and now Los Angeles as an actor???? uuuugh
YEEEEAAAHH so happy to see you guys watching Angel! I've been making my way through your Buffy playlist. Angel the series has a special place in my heart all its own
And, yeah, like Season 1 of Buffy, it takes a bit to get their feet under them as far as how to do the show, so it veers from the dark, to the silly, to the downright incomprehensibly bizarre, but like Buffy, the longer it goes, the better it gets...for the most part. Seriously, I feel like Season 5 is better than even Season 7 in Buffy. Though...Season 5 in Buffy was a masterpiece, too. Maybe Joss just has a thing for getting everything just right in the fifth season of any show.
One thing I loved immediately about this pilot episode is that it took different directions than I thought it would right off the bat. Based on previous tv shows, I expected Angel to save the girl, so it was a total surprise when she ended up getting killed. I was NOT expecting that! And then, I figured, well, this Angel guy must be the hero of the series, right? (See previous comment that I started with watching Angel before I got into the Buffy series, lol). So I thought, he's not going to kill anyone; he's clearly like Batman. So when he said, "Can you fly?" and kicked Russell out the window... I was so shocked! I both gasped, and laughed, because I was so surprised (and approved -- because Russell was complete slime). I ended the show shaking my head, saying, this is different than what I'm used to. I'm IN! 😄
As with Buffy, Angel spends the first several episodes finding its groove. Season 5 is still probably my favorite. Season 4 would be my least favorite for reasons.
Glad you took the advice and not watched the opening credits. You would've seen Charisma Carpenter as a main character and ruined the surprise of Cordelia showing up. They have a lot of fun in the show, but there's a lot of serious stuff that happens, too, and relatively quickly. Angel happens in the "gown up" world and Buffy still works in the "growing up" world.
Sawyer from Lost had a lil role there, also once u guys get going in season 2 of Angel, i think u will agree the show holds upto Buffy main show. (They both have good to come)
Aww. Hearing that clip of the intro song brought back memories. I always liked it better than the Buffy song. I never skip over it if I watch an episode of Angel.
Guys Welcome to the other part of The Buffyverse. Give it time it's a brilliant show. This was a strong opener Angel as a character has so much depth in this. Great to see Cordy too, and along with Doyle a great trio in the early days. Great crossover episodes and plotlines too with BTVS. If you keep to the watch order it will make a bit more sense but as you said if you are going to do alternative episodes you will enjoy it the same. Enjoy the show, IMHO the very best episodes of Angel are easily a match for BTVS and many surpass it. Enjoy the show, the character development is amazing, you will love it. Good Luck.
It definitely has a different vibe than Buffy, but the same is true for both shows: it’s all ultimately about the characters and their relationships. Some of my favs aren’t until the later seasons, but Doyle is a great little weirdo alcoholic half demon.
Worth a tiny side note: technically, Angel is a suped up top tier vamp...because he drained a slayers blood. Spike, too, centuries before. A small amount of Slayer's blood is intoxicating, and temporary...but to drain a slayer is like vamp 'roids. He is stronger, faster and more deadly than he has ever been. I can't prove, but just assume, that the writers for Angel ( or at least one of them) had seen the Canadian show Forever Knight that aired at the end of the 80s...with the Vampire police detective Nick Knight, a centuries old vampire who had recanted his killing ways and was seeking to humanize himself...and drove a large old sedan with an extra large trunk for emergency comfort. Angels vehicle has that same quality...enormous trunk space...for those awkward moments when you really need to escape a suntan.
The series gets a lot less goofy as it goes but always keeps its fun spirit. Like most series they spend season 1 finding themselves but it's still really enjoyable and sets up for great seasons to follow.
I hate that people made you not watch the intro, HATE IT! Cordelia being on Angel was not a surprise back then, that both she and Angel would leave Buffy for the spin-off was announced during Buffy's season 3, she was part of every promo. Everyone who knew Angel was a thing knew Cordelia would be in it but for some reason people online have decided to treat it as a spoiler and tell reactors to look away during the intro.
As per usual with our first episode of a season, THERE IS A FREE FULL LENGTH! Check it out here: www.patreon.com/posts/112644872
Reaction Guide we are following: slayalive.com/showthread.php/3924-The-Buffy-Angel-watching-guide?p=129360&viewfull=1#post129360
Does this mean one episode of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and one Apisode of _Angel the Series_ a week? How is that ging to work now? Or is it going to be whatever next two episodes are in the episode guide order?
The episode isn't called City of Angels, just City of...
I'm copy/pasting this because it is extremely long.
And now, a novel by John Campbell. My apologies in advance.
Backstory part 1. Buffy filmed at a FOX owned lot in eastern Santa Monica. There were some connected warehouses and an office building. The rest was a parking lot. All of this was torn down and replaced by a corporate complex years later. Diagonally across the street was Todd AO studios where all the ADR and other sound work was done. They moved out a few years ago. Joss' last project before getting dumped due to the allegations against him (The Nevers) had their writer's office two sections over in the same building complex as Todd AO. The office building at the Buffy lot was two stories tall and was sort of in sections. Almost all of the Buffy offices for the entire production, writers to editiors took up half the top floor. Right next to the stairs were the casting offices for Buffy & Angel. The set decorators room was directly below 1/3 of it. The prop room and set builders had sections of the warehouse.
As half the Angel writers were still officially on the Buffy staff, the Angel writers and post production, and, for S1 only, the office where David Miller made the vampire and most other demons' special effects appliances. The south wing of the first floor had the Buffy crew lunch room, extras holding area, and Cynthia Bergstrom's costume design office and the cast closets.
The catering truck parked right outside the cafeteria when they weren't on location. (We got permission to eat off their truck) and the cast trailers were lined up next to that. The mini-graveyard was between those, the warehouses and the exit gate. I would walk along that way when delivering stuff to TODD AO when the post-PA was unavailable. During these walks were the only times I ever spoke to Sarah, and only a few times over two years.
So, other than when on location (S1-3 Buffy's house exteriors and Sunnydale High School were blocks apart way down in Torrance. Until they finished the college sets, they filmed UC Sunnydale across town at USC.)
Angel filmed at the Paramount lot 10 miles from the Buffy lot. Each show only gets 3 PAs and these PAs rarely have slow time. So having them drive the 30 minutes or sometimes far more each way, just to get the writers lunch or deliver the make up effects, wasn't worth it. I interviewed for one of the PA spots but lost to the head of Post Production's daughter and Zack Whedon, Joss' little brother. I can't imagine how they beat me out.
So, the Friday before filming, my friend who used to be Angel show runner David Greenwalt's assistant called me and saved me from a horrible reality show I won't talk about.
And now the story of how the show could have ended on day 3, and we were glad no network or insurance people were on location.
My day 1. I go to the Angel writers' office and meet and greet. Then I go to the Paramount Lot across town to get my ID so I can deliver scripts* and the prosthetics to the set. (*Sending scripts via email started in season 2.) I then got a tour of the Paramount lot by another, as far as we know, unrelated John Campbell. He pointed out that yet another John Campbell worked in the lot lighting department.
Day 3. Angel is on location filming the "Coffee Spot" scenes in Manhattan Beach, pretending to be Santa Monica. Tracy Middendorf was fantastic. She nailed everything. We loved her, but Joss and Greenwalt wanted to make a statement by having Angel fail to save her. So, we shoot the scenes where she and Angel first meet. We break for lunch.
I'm standing in the parking lot with RD Price (Associate Producer and Greenwalt's former assistant), David Miller who made most of the prosthetics in S1, David Boreanaz, David Greenwalt, and Joss Whedon. We are waiting for the crew van to take up back to base camp so we can eat. Joss, DG and Boreanaz get tired of waiting and hitch a ride in the back seat of an extended cab pick-up truck. The three remaining of us are concerned about this.
The bed of the pick-up is filled with the gasoline pumps (like ones at a gas station) to refuel the other vehicles. If someone rear-ended that truck, the star and both co-creators would explode. Oops. This was when the remaining three of us discussed how fortunate it was that no network or insurance people were on location.
The Vampire makeup looks different on Angel S1 as the company who made them for Buffy owned the design, and the network didn't want to pay them if they weren't working on Angel. For S2 on, the company that did Buffy, did Angel as well. The side issue was that I was on set dramatically less in S2 as I no longer had to deliver the appliances.
Joss got his start writing on Roseanne. He wrote the Buffy film script while there. Glenn Quinn (Doyle) was Becky's boyfriend on the show. He used an American accent. For Angel, he used his natural Irish accent, sometimes cleaned up a bit so we could understand him. LOL The original idea was Whistler was going to be the character, but either the actor wasn't available, or there were issues on set because the original actor had too many problems with his lines. One of those is correct. I've been told both by different people who should know.
The Angel Theme song. Joss wanted a different Gothic feel for Angel and put out feelers for "cello rock." Darling Violetta fit that description. They were actually the band playing The Bronze in Ep 3.3 Faith, Hope, Trick. I watched that episode, and in the morning after, finished packing my moving truck and drove from NJ to Los Angeles. Two months later I first met Darling Violetta and quickly became very good friends with the guitarist, Jymm. I actually drove Joss' final notes on the theme song to famed songwriter Holly Knight's house where she was producing the song for them. As a thank you for producing the song, Jymm and singer Cami shared the writing credit with Holly.
I was also on location for the scenes at the vampire's mansion. It was out in Malibu and was incredible. I was with a bunch of crew members just off camera during the fight sequences around the stairs and the jump/fall from the upstairs hallway. That was a long, but fun night.
Russell's death was a practical stunt. The stunt guy was dropped on the side of the building on wires and set on fire. The earlier scene where Angel jumps in the wrong was actually this building's parking garage lot.
I was also briefly in the alley were the first fight happened. I only met the stunt people, so I didn't meet Sawyer from Lost.
A deleted scene had Angel taste Tina's blood on his fingers after he found her. The network thought it was too dark.
When the guy tells Angel that Angel is an actor, it was a nod to an agent "discovering" David while David was walking his dog.
There is a six minute presentation film Joss made during Buffy S3 to sell The WB on Angel. It should be online. If not, I'll add it to my channel with the gag reels.
The end. For now.
@johncampbell756 this is all really cool
My favorite bits from your comment are your proximity to the production, and your knowledge. Also that was a practical stunt whaaattt
It will be however the order is, as to keep any continuous episode arcs together
@@732ReviewCrew Sounds good.
The part I like is remembering how almost everyone who watched Buffy hated Cordelia and knowing that someday everyone loves her.
She really does grow as her character is explained
@@markburns1990just let them watch the show and discover things for themselves FFS! 🤦🏾♂️
@@markburns1990Why are you spoiling it for the reactors? Think before you comment. 🙄
@@markburns1990 please remove your spoiler!
Given how the character has grown a lot already, the fun part about this is that OP's comment isn't a spoiler, but all the hysterical childish replies whining about it technically are. 😅
The driving Buffy metaphor was "High School is Hell". For Angel it's "L.A. is Hell".
Also, addiction.
@@sugardares That goes along with the detective noir style they were going for in some of the early episodes. Those old noir stories were mostly based in LA.
FYI- Vampires in the Buffyverse can be recorded on film and have their pictures taken. It's just the mirror thing that's an issue. In fact, back in season 2, you saw Spike record a fight between Buffy and a vamp to study her. Also vamp's in the Buffyverse need to be in direct sunlight to be lethal. Even a moderately overcast sky can be beneficial to a vampire. The Christmas episode of season 3 had Buffy and Angel walking during the day when it was snowing because of the overcast weather. Vampires can seek shelter from direct sunlight just by getting in some shade.
I really love how absolutely much of a dork Angel gets to be on his own show (as well as overdramatic and Batman as HELL). Cordelia gets a chance to shine also. The scene transitions take a bit of getting used to, and while you guys didn't mention it, they had a different makeup team doing the vampire prosthetics at first so Angel in vamp face looks different and most of the other vampires look really weird (they got lessons from the Buffy team so they do get better fast).
In order to avoid having to do exclusively night shoots, they do make use of the LA sewer tunnels to get around during the day, and kind of fine tune the vampire lore that it's only direct sunlight that catches them on fire - so standing near a window when the sun is up isn't a big deal as long as it's not directly beaming in. I'd try not to get too caught up in the daylight of it all - if you see Angel and it's day time, just assume the sun is not intended to be shining directly on him or they will address where the direct sunlight is problematic for him.
I'm excited to go on this ride with you - some folks aren't as big of a fan of Angel as they are of Buffy... but then you have some who actually prefer Angel. I watched them together on my first watch-through and have always considered them two parts of the same show, especially with 2/3 of the main cast being characters introduced on Buffy. Angel can stand alone, but I find the experience richer with both together.
Thank you for joining us and I appreciate the background lore dump
I agree, especially that last part. In fact, I generally tend to ubsub to people who watch buffy, but then paywall angel. Shame, cause it's happened to some good reaction channels. I'm fine if people want to do that to some shows, they need to make a living afterall, but not in a situation like this. Even if I was a patreon, it would turn me off of the channel.
if you end up liking the idea of a vampire detective, you should also check out Forever Knight (who set the standard for a vampire driving a convertible- maximum trunk space if caught out in the day.)
Yas!
And Moonlight, which was on CBS for only 12 episodes. He was a private investigator. It was co-created by David Greenwalt.
Angel was able to enter Tina's apartment without an invitation. That tells you all you need to know about her condition.
Technically the name of the first episode is "City of..." - you just automatically fill in the "Angels" part . ;)
That makes sense!
You aren't supposed to fill in Angels, but just Angel.
Vampires show up on camera in the Buffyverse. In the Halloween episode, Spike had one vamp minion film another one fighting Buffy so he could study her moves, and that vamp was visible.
That one guy from the end of Buffy season 2 was a demon called Whistler. They were thinking of having Whistler here, but the actor wasn't available or something. We got Doyle instead, a half-demon, who provides leads and humor. ;)
It takes a minute for the show to find its groove, kind of like Buffy. There are definitely some not-so-great episodes in season 1, but they do a good job of world building. Stick with it! The final season is really stellar.
Occasionally, lore contradicting behavior slips through to end up in an episode. (Like that time Spike choked out Drusilla in Buffy when it had been previously established that vampires have no heartbeat, thus presumably no blood flow, and they don't need to breathe. So, how does that work?)
But I believe in this case, it's already been alluded to in Buffy that only direct sunlight adversely affects vampires. Reflected light, sunlight or otherwise, apparently has no effect on them.
Welcome to Angel 😊
I loved this first episode! It's such a great set-up for a supernatural noir, and also so SO 90's!
Solid and fun reaction to Angel. Few things to understand that helps in understanding some of the challenges and choices for Angel the show. The show was set to run after Buffy on Tuesday night. Most of the mainstream entertainment media have the show little chance to succeed. The record for spinoffs for dramas was more failure than success. David Boreanaz was not known yet outside of Buffy.
The real challenge for Joss Whedon, the writers , and production was to retain the majority of the Buffy audience, appear to be different, and attract a new audience that was 14-29 male that did not necessarily watch Buffy. Remember the Dark Knight vibe was several years away. Also Batman was considered dead after the failure of George Clooney and the villains( Nicholson, Arnold, Carrey, etc.) making the Batman brand uncool. Smartly , Whedon knew that Buffy was still a smash and he could take his time moving the story to his vision and the audience moving with a different type of series than Buffy.
You will enjoy Angel. The reactors guide will help give you a similar watching experience. Thank you for your entertaining comments and reactions.
Vampires draw strength from drinking blood. Angel is unable to beat Russell in hand-to-hand combat because he has been abstaining. Maybe he needs to fall off the wagon.
I don't remember if I've already told you this, but I actually started watching this series a bit backward. I'd never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer before when I came across this pilot episode of Angel. I wasn't even paying attention at first (I was doing laundry on a Sunday afternoon, so they must have replayed the episode or something), just folding my laundry and half-listening to the TV as noise in the background. But when the theme song started, I looked up, because I thought "Oh, that cello solo is gorgeous. You've got my attention." And then the rock beat kicked in, and I was like, "Well, that's different. Now you've really got my attention. What IS this show?" So I started watching the episode, and I just loved it. I loved the humor -- "Good gate," lol! -- the dark noir-ish detective tone to it, how Angel seemed a bit Batman-ish, the touch of angst and Angel brooding, just the whole vibe drew me in. And it all started because the theme song caught my attention. Gotta love the power of music! 😊🎵🎶
So I started watching Angel, and I quickly realized that it must be a spin-off from Buffy, and then I realized it might have crossovers at some point, so I was like, "Aw man... I'm going to have to check out Buffy, aren't I?" So I started watching Buffy from the beginning, and found I loved that show too, and eventually caught up to where it was in conjunction with Angel.
But it's funny to kind of start backward like that (first half of the first season of Angel, then start watching Buffy from season 1), especially because I first saw Cordelia on Angel's show, so I thought she was semi-nice, lol. So it was a bit of a surprise when she turned out to be so spoiled and mean girl-ish in season one of Buffy. I was like, "What a beeatch! I want to go back to Angel's show where she's not so mean!" 🤣 Unfortunately, that meant I didn't get the element of surprise at finding out Angel's a vampire in season 1 of Buffy, because I already knew it from watching a few episodes of Angel first... but that's okay. The rest of the Buffy series was completely new to me, so I enjoyed it all.
Hope you love Angel's series! It's a lot of fun, in a weird way, and also a lot darker, if that makes sense. I consider it more of the adult version of Buffy, and Buffy's more of the kids growing up into adulthood series. They work together in that way. 🙂
Comment section gotta work on not spoiling/going overboard with giving out way too many details, lol. They don't need to know that "the show gets better" or that "XYZ is a great season and a masterpiece" or that "This character becomes this down the line." Let them watch and learn as they go... like many of you got to do. :P
@@cajah88 nothing wrong with saying our favorite seasons. No cast members and storylines have been spoiled and everyone has differing opinions on the seasons as well as the show as a whole. Many people don’t even like it . Some never took a liking to the show even as it progressed. So it’s not spoiler-y in any sense of the word. Maybe its you who needs to stop going overboard with “worry”
@@cajah88 Agree with not spoiling future character roles and content.
@@suinegagpf no one did
@@ninipookie When I wrote this, there was a comment that was going on about a character's future development and other comments talking about how great a future season is for reasons and comparing it with a season of Buffy the reactors also haven't seen yet. Also, my post is very tame, so this type of response was wholly unnecessary. Do better about that or keep it pushing, bud.
Doyle was originally supposed to be Whistler from Becoming but that actor had conflicts so they wrote a new character. The villain of the ep was based on then real estate mogul DJT. Yeah the tone of this show is very much batman
That makes sense with it supposed to be Whistler!
Makes sense it was supposed to be Whistler, always figured that. But I love Doyle, mostly because of Glenn Quinn's acting.
This show goes through a lot of growth and changes, which Buffy is also doing, but still at the "growing up" stage of life. This is the adult world. They didn't always know for sure what to do with this show, so it had changes. Each season has it's own thing going.
The last season is possibly my favorite season of the Buffyverse. No spoilers!
Your Batman idea is interesting.
Dracula is a vampire that can turn into a bat, it would be cool if Angel could too.
eh batman broodman, whats the difference? same thing right?
no sir, rewind, that was not a kick to the fellas, its actually an anti road rage tactic, run up and kick their door as they step out and you most likely will break one or both legs, sometimes even an arm hahaha
The episode is called _City Of..._ Not City of Angels.
I love that the concept at the beginning is that the audience thinks Angel's drunk only to realize it's a cover as he's watching two vampires so when he's "drunk" in the alley, the audience knows it is an act to get close enough to take them down.
One of the vampires in the alley Angel kills is the character of Sawyer on _Lost._
The vampire makeup in this episode is bad. It won't be a spoiler to say it changes to match the makup on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ from here on out. I think this episode was more curious about if they should change it and they realized their mistake.
David Boreanaz (Angel) wasn't Bones. He was Booth. His partner was Bones. And that was a nickname, not an official name.
Doyle's long exposition that Buffy fans already knew made me wonder how many new (to The Buffyverse) fans to the show their were and are with this show.
I think I made a theory just now that the transitions between scenes were done because of how the crew did Doyle's early visions (which weren't seen in this episode). Thoughts on that? I'm curious on if it's possible or if it's a reach.
We never saw Angel drive on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer._ I assume he bought it after he left Sunnydale.
Cordelia is the reason not to have watched the credits.
I always loved the joke of Angel having the same car as someone else and he gets in the wrong one.
Angel not saving the girl was a way to explore that this show's theme was not about coming of age and was about adulthood.
Cordelia is in the know, but we've only seen her slay one vampire before. I'm not saying she can't do it, but at this point in the series her introduction into working with Angel would be to be saved. Killing Russell would only make her think she doesn't need his help and that wouldn't make her a more fringe part of the show, if a part of it at all. Although, Angel creating the distraction that allowed Cordelia to stake Russell would have suggessted a good team up moment, but since the show is titled Angel, early on the main character usually always does the actual killing in these types of stories and situations.
I like the fact that Mikey brought up Whistler because despite the fact that it was a flashback he laid out Angel's purpose which got started by helping Buffy, but waylaid by the Bangel relationship (and the fallout of turning back into Angelus). Buffy running to LA in _Anne created an unofficial in-universe backdoor pilot for this show while Angel mulled over his relationship issues in S3 and now Doyle and Cordelia are helping Angel get back on the track Whistler initially helped him get on.
I love the parallells between Tina in this episode and Buffy (and all the people Buffy helped) in _Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anne_ episode, and that The Review Crew realized said parallells.
Season 1 is just a rite of passage just like Buffy season 1 was. Only gets better . S2 , S3 and S5 are my favorites
I see what you did there
Fun pilot episode and reaction. Like Buffy, Angel the show does improve but the first season is very enjoyable with a couple excellent episodes. Love that Cordy is here and the "Can you fly?" ending.
Glenn Quinn 😭😭
As an older person, I prefered Angel the Series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer the first time I watched both shows. The themes are a little more mature, and I liked the vigilente mood of Angel right from the start.
It takes a little less time for this series to find its footing compare to Buffy (in my opinion). A good companion piece to BtVS. After multiple rewatch, i'm not sure which of the 2 shows I prefer anymore. They have their own tone, their own pros and cons - as all TV series. But generally speaking, a Whedon show never did me dirty as a viewer, so... Enjoy the ride!
Buffy is still the better show imo but I do enjoy the Angel Spin-off especially as it gets going later in season 1 and definitely later seasons.
Yay Angel! This show is a bit of a slow burner, but season one is still great, and then every season gets even better imo.
Been a long time since I watched this episode. They did a good job. Separate from Buffy yet not so different. Of course he needs a car. Its LA. No one walks in LA. Getting team Angel together! To be fair I think it takes them a few episode before they work out most of the kinks.
even though Cordy says he never took time to work on a portfolio, I don't think that's 100 percent true. He obviously saved to get some sick wheels, or maybe killed a demon who stole one and just kept the car. Actually the latter seems more plausible now that I think abou it :-)
❤🧡💛💚💙💜
Does it mean that Cordelia left Sunnydale with her V-card intact? She did not seem like the females that would have it still, but she did not smash Xander and she did not date anyone else but Wesley....Buffy did Angel, Xander did Faith and Willow did Oz.....so Cordy the only one who did not smash?` .........and now Los Angeles as an actor???? uuuugh
So what’s your point?
Such a weird comment fr
YEEEEAAAHH so happy to see you guys watching Angel! I've been making my way through your Buffy playlist. Angel the series has a special place in my heart all its own
🙏❤️
Getting a "Billy D" meant Doyle wanted to get a Colt 45. Billy D. Williams used to do commercials for Colt 45.
Oh!!
And, yeah, like Season 1 of Buffy, it takes a bit to get their feet under them as far as how to do the show, so it veers from the dark, to the silly, to the downright incomprehensibly bizarre, but like Buffy, the longer it goes, the better it gets...for the most part. Seriously, I feel like Season 5 is better than even Season 7 in Buffy. Though...Season 5 in Buffy was a masterpiece, too. Maybe Joss just has a thing for getting everything just right in the fifth season of any show.
Oh, geez, I never got that and I've seen those old commercials. That's a real vintage reference there.
He wanted a cold one, a cheap one lol.
That collective gasp ya'll did when Winters came across Cordelia on the tape made me cackle. XD
So are we only getting Buffy on Sunday’s?
It's based on the rotating schedule tagged in the post.
One thing I loved immediately about this pilot episode is that it took different directions than I thought it would right off the bat. Based on previous tv shows, I expected Angel to save the girl, so it was a total surprise when she ended up getting killed. I was NOT expecting that! And then, I figured, well, this Angel guy must be the hero of the series, right? (See previous comment that I started with watching Angel before I got into the Buffy series, lol). So I thought, he's not going to kill anyone; he's clearly like Batman. So when he said, "Can you fly?" and kicked Russell out the window... I was so shocked! I both gasped, and laughed, because I was so surprised (and approved -- because Russell was complete slime). I ended the show shaking my head, saying, this is different than what I'm used to. I'm IN! 😄
Doyle! ❤
As with Buffy, Angel spends the first several episodes finding its groove.
Season 5 is still probably my favorite. Season 4 would be my least favorite for reasons.
We already know that vampires show up on video, eg in Buffy 2x06.
Glad you took the advice and not watched the opening credits. You would've seen Charisma Carpenter as a main character and ruined the surprise of Cordelia showing up. They have a lot of fun in the show, but there's a lot of serious stuff that happens, too, and relatively quickly. Angel happens in the "gown up" world and Buffy still works in the "growing up" world.
Sawyer from Lost had a lil role there, also once u guys get going in season 2 of Angel, i think u will agree the show holds upto Buffy main show. (They both have good to come)
The seasons get better with time, no worries! With 4 and 5 being peak Angel!
Aww. Hearing that clip of the intro song brought back memories. I always liked it better than the Buffy song. I never skip over it if I watch an episode of Angel.
a great theme by a great band "Darling Violetta" which was featured with other great but lesser known 90s bands in the Buffy soundtrack.
Guys Welcome to the other part of The Buffyverse. Give it time it's a brilliant show. This was a strong opener Angel as a character has so much depth in this. Great to see Cordy too, and along with Doyle a great trio in the early days. Great crossover episodes and plotlines too with BTVS. If you keep to the watch order it will make a bit more sense but as you said if you are going to do alternative episodes you will enjoy it the same. Enjoy the show, IMHO the very best episodes of Angel are easily a match for BTVS and many surpass it. Enjoy the show, the character development is amazing, you will love it. Good Luck.
It definitely has a different vibe than Buffy, but the same is true for both shows: it’s all ultimately about the characters and their relationships. Some of my favs aren’t until the later seasons, but Doyle is a great little weirdo alcoholic half demon.
Worth a tiny side note: technically, Angel is a suped up top tier vamp...because he drained a slayers blood. Spike, too, centuries before. A small amount of Slayer's blood is intoxicating, and temporary...but to drain a slayer is like vamp 'roids. He is stronger, faster and more deadly than he has ever been. I can't prove, but just assume, that the writers for Angel ( or at least one of them) had seen the Canadian show Forever Knight that aired at the end of the 80s...with the Vampire police detective Nick Knight, a centuries old vampire who had recanted his killing ways and was seeking to humanize himself...and drove a large old sedan with an extra large trunk for emergency comfort. Angels vehicle has that same quality...enormous trunk space...for those awkward moments when you really need to escape a suntan.
That "sick car" has the greatest amount of trunk space of any American-made automobile.
A fine lesson learned from Nick Knight ;-) if ya know, ya know
The series gets a lot less goofy as it goes but always keeps its fun spirit. Like most series they spend season 1 finding themselves but it's still really enjoyable and sets up for great seasons to follow.
'Can you fly?' ... love Angel so much :)
4:42 BillyD. A drink made with bourbon whiskey and lemonade. Best served over ice
“This is like a cheesier US show”
Oh boy, have you got some surprises coming........
I hate that people made you not watch the intro, HATE IT! Cordelia being on Angel was not a surprise back then, that both she and Angel would leave Buffy for the spin-off was announced during Buffy's season 3, she was part of every promo. Everyone who knew Angel was a thing knew Cordelia would be in it but for some reason people online have decided to treat it as a spoiler and tell reactors to look away during the intro.