Just as Doyle is close to finally making a connection with Cordelia, his estranged wife shows up at Angel Investigations begging for a divorce so that she can marry the new love of her life. After the initial shock, he consents to the divorce. Doyle agrees to attend the new groom’s bachelor party, but soon finds out that the groom’s family have some very unusual customs where ex-husbands are concerned.
| Airdate: | 16 November 1999 |
| Writer: | Tracey Stern |
| Director: | David Straiton |
Uncle John: "First we greet the man of the hour, drink, bring out the food, drink, then comes the stripper, darts, then we have the Ritual Eating of the First Husband's Brains, then charades."
Ben: "Wait! What was that? Charades?"
Behind the Scenes Trivia
Whedon’s actors
Five actors have appeared in all three of Joss’s TV shows:
1) Andy Umberger: played D’Hoffryn in Buffy; Dr. Ronald Meltzer in the Angel episode ‘I Fall To Pieces‘; and Dortmunder Captain in the Firefly episode ‘Serenity’.
2) Carlos Jacott: played Ken in the Buffy episode Anne; Lawrence Dobson in the Firefly episode ‘Serenity’; and Richard in the Angel episode ‘The Bachelor Party‘.
3) Bob Fimaini: played the head of the Initiative, Mr. Ward, in Buffy’s season four; ‘Elder Gamman’ in the Firefly episode ‘Our Mrs. Reynolds’; ‘Grounds Keeper’ in the Angel episode ‘The Prodigal‘, and ‘Codger Demon’ in the Angel episode ‘Heartthrob‘.
4) Jonathan Woodward: played Holden Webster in the Buffy episode Conversations with Dead People; Knox in Angel’s season five; and Tracey in the Firefly episode ‘The Message’.
5) Jeff Ricketts: played Watcher’s Council member Weatherby in Buffy and Angel, and a creepy ‘Blue Glove’ guy in Firefly.
Cast and Crew Trivia
Carlos Jacott
Carlos Jacott, who played the demon masquerading as a human (Ken) in Anne, previously played an agent in Being John Malkovich. He has been in She’s All That (with Sarah’s husband Freddie Prinze Jr), The Last Days of Disco, Grosse Point Blank, and he played Ramon the Pool Guy in Seinfeld. Carlos played Lawrence Dobson in Joss Whedon’s Firefly, and Richard in the Angel episode ‘Batchelor Party’. He is one of five actors to appear in all three of Joss’s TV shows.
Character Trivia
Harriet Doyle
Harriet was Doyle’s estranged wife. They met in their early 20s when volunteering at a soup kitchen and married quickly afterwards. They were the love of each others’ life, but their relationship was unable to survive Doyle discovering he was part-demon, and his subsequent depression. Harriet eventually left Doyle, and became a demonologist, travelling the world to find out more about different species. She appeared iun L.A. in The Bachelor Party, to request a blessing and a divorce to enable her to marry an Ano-Movic demon called Richard.
Richard Howard Straley
Richard Howard Straley was a goofy Ano-Movic demon who became engaged to Harriet - Doy’es estranged wife. After Doyle agreed to a divorce, Richard invited him to his bachelor party, to seek his approval. He then attempted (good-naturedly!) to sacrifice Doyle by eating his brains, as part of his demon heritage.
Continuity
Doyle’s history
We find out a lot more about Doyle’s history in the episode The Bachelor Party. He used to teach third grade kids, and helped out in soup kitchens, where he met his wife Harriet. They were madly in love but separated when he discovered he was part demon aged 21, which made him depressed.
Music Trivia
Mythology Trivia
Ano-Movic demons
Ano-Movic demons are peaceful, easy-going demons who have the ability to look human. Their demon faces are red, with prominant brow bones. They became assimilated into our culture, occasionally nodding toward their demon heritage by obeying certain customs - such as eating the brains of a first husband at a bachelor party.
References
Mercedes CLK 320
In The Bachelor Party, Cordelia says that her date owns a Mercedes CLK 320 car.
Goofs
Seen at 09.57 minutes:
The cross that Doyle is wearing round his neck in The Bachelor Party jumps from being inside his vest to being outside between shots when he is talking to Harry.
Quotes
Doyle: "The only money in my family is underneath the couch cushions."
Angel: "This isn't a spelling bee. No one expects you to play fair."
Pierce: "I was hoping we could make a night of it.
Cordelia: Me too. I really wanted to hear the end of the story about pigs and beans.
Cordelia: "You were so brave."
Doyle: "You think you say that again without so much shock in your voice? You're steppin on my moment of manliness here."
Angel: "Well, there s definitely more to Doyle than meets the eye."
Cordelia: "So I've gotta kill myself. I swore when I went down this road with Xander Harris, I'd rather be dead than date a fixer upper again."
Doyle: "He's a demon! And she's signed on to be Mrs. Demon?!? Tell me again how ugly he is!"
Uncle John: "First we greet the man of the hour, drink, bring out the food, drink, then comes the stripper, darts, then we have the Ritual Eating of the First Husband's Brains, then charades."
Ben: "Wait! What was that? Charades?"
Cordelia: "In the nether-world known as the 818 area code."
Cordelia: "And you shouldn't be trying to eat my friend's brains, you horrible, ugly demon people!"
Uncle John: "We don't flaunt our beliefs, but they're very near and dear to us."
Harry: "Oh, please, Uncle John, when's the last time you pried yourself away from ESPN long enough to spill the blood of a she-goat?"
Cordelia: "I think it, I say it. It's my way."
Cordelia: (to Angel and Doyle) "All of a sudden, rich and handsome isn't good enough for me. Now I expect a guy to be all brave, and interesting — and it's your fault! Both of you."
Cordelia: "Doyle taught third grade? The kind with children? Are you sure he wasn't just held back and used that as his cover story?"
Richard: [Mistaking Angel for Doyle] "Say, you left out the part about him being such a handsome fellow."
Angel: "I'm not.."
Richard: "Oh, no, you are! Really."
Cousin: "Yeah, who wants a wife whose knees only bend the one way?"