Angel (series)


 * for the character, see Angel; for the episode, see Angel (episode)

Angel was a spin-off from the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Angel has a darker tone than Buffy, and at times performed better in the U.S. Nielsen Ratings than its parent series. The series was created by Buffy's creator Joss Whedon in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired in October of 1999. Like Buffy, it was produced by Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy.

The series details the ongoing trials of the vampire Angel, who has his human soul restored to him 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 works 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 and Hart) as well as battling his own violent nature. (The term "demon" when applied to the Angel universe 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 the law firm Wolfram and Hart in an attempt to fight evil from the inside.

Trivia

 * David Boreanaz (Angel) and Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald) are the only actors to appear in both the first and the last episodes of the series.


 * David Boreanaz (Angel) and James Marsters (Spike) are the only actors to appear in the final episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.


 * David Boreanaz (Angel) is the only actor to appear in the first and final episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.


 * David Boreanaz (Angel) and Mercedes McNab (Harmony) are the only two actors to appear in the first episode of Buffy and the last episode of Angel.


 * David Boreanaz (Angel) is the only actor to appear in every episode.


 * Christian Kane (Lindsey) originally auditioned for the role of Riley on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


 * Joss Whedon originally planned to have Whistler (Max Perlich) serve as Angel's sidekick through the entire series; but due to restrictions on Perlich's schedule, his character was replaced by Doyle.


 * Andy Hallett (Lorne) was featured in over forty episodes before appearing in the title sequence as a regular character.


 * The opening theme for the show was created by Darling Violetta.