"Angel" has everything that is good about a TV drama in spades. The writing is outstanding, the acting top-notch, the direction beautifully handled, lighting and cinematography of feature film standards and then some.... I could go on but I'd run out of superlatives long before I was satisfied that I was doing the show justice.
Whether it's a self-contained "Monster of the week" episode, or part of an arc that carries for several weeks, "Angel" is gripping from the opening sequence to the closing credits. New characters such as Gunn and the Host have found their place in the show with consummate ease and the character development of Cordelia, Wesley and Angel himself does writers, directors and the actors themselves great credit. Even the plot continuity is of a level not normally expected from TV shows, especially those that contain characters that have been around for five or six seasons. For example, back in an early episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Season 1, Angel says to his one-time paramour Darla, "Last time I saw you it was kimonos". In flash backs featured in Series 2 of "Angel" we see Darla during the Boxer Rebellion, wearing a kimono. It doesn't take long to work out that this is indeed the last time Angel saw her before their encounter in present day California.
Before I go I must single out David Boreanaz for particular praise. Here is an actor who can so totally hide his own personality behind that of the character he plays that it's quite a surprise to find that he himself is such a funny guy. Although there are any number of excellent actors out there it's rare to find one who's character doesn't creep in somewhere as a tiny nuance or quirk of the personality he's portraying. It actually makes me wonder if such an obviously joyful person sometimes finds being so brooding and introspective for so much of his time a bit like hard work on occasion. It also makes me want to see Boreanaz in different roles as I'd love to know for sure whether he really is as versatile an actor as he appears to be having seen just the one, although in someways two characters.
Whether it's a self-contained "Monster of the week" episode, or part of an arc that carries for several weeks, "Angel" is gripping from the opening sequence to the closing credits. New characters such as Gunn and the Host have found their place in the show with consummate ease and the character development of Cordelia, Wesley and Angel himself does writers, directors and the actors themselves great credit. Even the plot continuity is of a level not normally expected from TV shows, especially those that contain characters that have been around for five or six seasons. For example, back in an early episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Season 1, Angel says to his one-time paramour Darla, "Last time I saw you it was kimonos". In flash backs featured in Series 2 of "Angel" we see Darla during the Boxer Rebellion, wearing a kimono. It doesn't take long to work out that this is indeed the last time Angel saw her before their encounter in present day California.
Before I go I must single out David Boreanaz for particular praise. Here is an actor who can so totally hide his own personality behind that of the character he plays that it's quite a surprise to find that he himself is such a funny guy. Although there are any number of excellent actors out there it's rare to find one who's character doesn't creep in somewhere as a tiny nuance or quirk of the personality he's portraying. It actually makes me wonder if such an obviously joyful person sometimes finds being so brooding and introspective for so much of his time a bit like hard work on occasion. It also makes me want to see Boreanaz in different roles as I'd love to know for sure whether he really is as versatile an actor as he appears to be having seen just the one, although in someways two characters.