Reviewed by Adam Bardwell
Rating: 8/10
This is the show that introduces us to the world of Buffy's spin-off and as series premiers go it must be highly commended for being fresh, different and mange to get the characters set up for the series and at the same time hinting at important elements for the show. It must be remembered that Buffy itself is a spin off from a movie with the same name. However, like Buffy Angel is able to obtain its own identity from the off. The episode is far darker than even the darkest Buffy episode, the subject is more adult orientated as is the humour. Yes Angel is funny but its a totally different style of humour to Buffy - there is nothing light hearted about it.Like Buffy sets itself to explore high school and college life though vampire / demon related metaphors, Angel deals with the perils of moving away from the security of these institutions and starting to live in the real world. This description only really ties with Cordelia's situation but it is the same for Angel really for he has never really lived in the world and when he was with Buffy he only had to deal with a small number of people. The shows is therefore, set up here as being a platform for Angel to learn to live in the world and the ending of "Warzone" clearly shows that his social skills have improved. The show is also about the all the characters search for redemption (even Wesley later in the season). There is even a hint in this episode that this might lead to Angel becoming human. Considering the prophecies of "To Shanshu in L.A." this shows great forward planning by the writers.
I am straying from what should be the focus of this review which should be the episode itself. It is very good. I my view it is not quite as good as the Buffy premiere but only because that episode although flawed introduced us to the whole Mutant Enemy universe whist "City Of..." only introduces us to a Mutant Enemy (/ Greenwolf Corp.) world. Also, this episode has some contrived elements especially Doyle's story of Angels past. I t was clear why this was done - people may tune into Angel who have not seen Buffy. However, although well edited I would have like to have seen the time used to explain some the still unanswered questions that the episode raises like how can Angel afford and office and apartment and why did he need the office when he was not planning on become a private investigator? I guess we'll never know.
The teaser of this show is great. It opens with Angel talking over a very well edited montage of L.A. shots. We then cut to Angel seemingly drunk in a bar - he is actually undercover watching two vampires but the results are still hilarious. The vampires leave with two women, Angel follows and the ensuing fight is one of the best ever. At the end of the fight we see Angels inability to take credit from the women or even to communicate with them because as already mentioned he feels cut off from the world. The teaser ends with Angel walking down the ally - duster cost bellowing (which Doyle admits to finding attractive in "I Fall to Pieces") - Angel has arrived.
At the end of the opening fight scene when Angel is telling the women to run there is a close up shot of one of their bloodied forehead shot as if from Angels perspective. Later in the show Doyle mentions that tasting human blood (Buffy's in "Graduation Day pt.2" give him "A bit of a craving". I only mention it because this seemed to be part of what Angel was going to be about - Angel getting over his need for blood which is a metaphor for alcoholism. Yet we have yet to see an episode on it and by now it may not be such a pressing problem for Angel (as long as he is a vampire he will also have a desire for human blood but he knows its wrong).
The arrival and Cordelia into Angels life were both slightly contrived but to get every thing set up in a single show this was unavoidable. Angel seemed to trust Doyle from the off which is slightly unbelievable. If I were Angel I would have demanded a bit more information especially about the powers that be (sorry but a bit clichéd don't you think) - he is clearly withholding information (e.g. the existence of the Oracles). With Cordy it is a pity that there were no reference to her aspiration to be an actress in Buffy. On a superficial note I thought she looked awful in the party scenes - far too orange. She was her usual funny self, however, her two best moments were asking Angel if he was still "Grrrrr!?" and her scene with Russell Winters when she works out that he is a vampire.
The show sets up the format of a 'victim of the week' which the sires pretty much abandons later on in the season. This weeks victim is Tina, an actress who had been involved with Russell to gain acting opportunities. She wanted out, Angel on getting her name from Doyle, tries to help but she ends up being killed by Russell. This was a bold move for the show to take but it motivates Angel into dealing with Russell and to help others avoid Tina's fate.
Russell is an unusual vampire, not only does he look weird but he lives in the world - he runs a business, pays his taxes and hires solicitors from the mysterious Wolfram and Heart to cover up his extra legal activities. This is interesting and could be seen as an anti-entrepreneur metaphor which shares it's sentiments with Buffy's "Reptile Boy". As for Wolfram and Heart its a pity it took so long for their story to progress but now that it has its a very interesting fore for Angel. I'm intrigued to find out about the senior partners - hopefully next season will shine the spotlight on the higher levels of W&H.
I've just realised how long this review is - I obviously had a lot to say. I know a lot of it has been slightly off the topic of this episode but I am so enthusiastic about this series you will have to forgive me. This is a good start to a brilliant season (IMHO) of television. Joss needs a mention before a stop for his great direction. It is a pity that he is too busy with Buffy that he can't direct more episodes of Angel.
Great Angel moment: Arr! This is hard! Probably the opening bar scene ("because of the hair!")
In a nut shell: Dark, different, more adult orientated, and not afraid to make bold choices this was a very promising start for the series.