Angel directs Cordelia and Wesley to investigate a mysteriously abandoned hotel in Hollywood. As they piece together the building’s dark history, the two discover that their boss’s interest is that of a personal nature. In a flashback to 1952, Angel is not the atoning vampire of present day, but a recluse who is detached from the tortured humans around him… until one fateful day.
| Airdate: | 2 October 2000 |
| Writer: | Tim Minear |
| Director: | David Semel |
Judy: Can you imagine that wallpaper being the last thing you see before you go?
Angel: Maybe it was the wallpaper that drove him to it.
Behind the Scenes Trivia
Griffith Park Observatory
The scene in which Judy and Angel meet before she attends the theatre in ‘Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?’ was filmed at the Griffith Park Observatory located at the top of Mount Hollywood. The Observatory is one of the highest spots in Los Angeles, offering fantastic views of the city below. Many movies have been made there, including Rebel Without a Cause, The Terminator, The Rocketeer and Les Misérables.
Hyperion Hotel
Angel Investigations moved into Hyperion Hotel in season two. Exterior shots of the hotel were filmed at Los Altos Hotel & Apartments, located at 4121 Wilshire Blvd. The building is on the National Register of Historical Places. Built in 1925, Hollywood stars including Bette Davis, Mae West, Judy Garland and Loretta Young stayed there. It is rumoured that William Randolph Hearst once kept his mistress, actress Marion Davies, in the penthouse apartment.
Cast and Crew Trivia
Melissa Marsala
Melissa Marsala played Judy in Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been. She has also appeared in The Darkroom, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, A Tale of Two Pizzas, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NYPD Blue, The Sopranos, Malcolm in the Middle, The King of Queens, Bringing Out the Dead, Mickey Blue Eyes, Law & Order, Van-pires, and The Definite Maybe.
Character Trivia
Judy Kovacs
Judy Kovacs stayed at the Hyperion Hotel in 1952 whilst a reclusive Angel was living there. She befriended him after he scared away her “boyfriend” - who was really a private detective. She later confessed that she used to work at the City Trust Bank in Salina, Kansas where she stole a briefcase full of money because she had been fired for being part African-American. Angel decided to help her, but was betrayed when she distracted an angry mob away from herself by accusing him of murder. Judy continued to live at the hotel, alone and trapped by a paranoia demon. Angel visited her over fifty years later and assured her not to feel guilty for her part in his ‘death’ (the mob had hanged him, but he escaped). She then died, her soul finally at ease. Judy was seen in Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been.
Continuity
Angel in 1952
In Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?, we see that Angel was staying at the Hyperion Hotel in 1952. At that time he was a loner, buying butcher’s blood and keeping to himself. Others found his intimidating.
Music Trivia
Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters
When the salesman kills himself in Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?, he’s listening to “Hoop-Dee-Doo” by Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters.
Mythology Trivia
Thesulac demon
Thesulac demons are cloaked paranoia demons who whisper to wheir victims, feeding on their innate insecurities. They are tall with chalky skin and tentacles. The Thesulac demon haunting the Hyperion Hotel had claimed the land even before the original building was constructed.
References
McCarthy hearings
The title of the episode Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been? is based on the questions posed during the trials held by the Committee on Un-American Activities associated with Joseph McCarthy. The most famous question was, “Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” Footage from one of these hearings is seen in the episode. The theme of paranoia and fear in the episode is commonly associated with McCarthyism.
The Shining
In The Puppet Show, Xander holds up Sid the Dummy and says, “Redrum, Redrum”. Redrum is from Stephen King’s novel The Shining, and for those not in the know, it’s ‘murder’ spelt backwards. The Shining was made into a movie starring Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance.
In Gone, Buffy says, “All work and no play makes Doris a dull girl”. This is a reference to The Shining in which the main character, Jack Torrance, writes the words “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” when he starts to go crazy from cabin fever.
In Normal Again, Jonathan says, “I’m going all Jack Torrance here, you know?” referring to the main character in The Shining.
In Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?, Angel is staying in room 217 in the hotel. This is the same room number in The Shining in which young Danny Torrance finds a dead woman in the bathtub.
In Billy, the scenes of Wesley chasing Fred through the hotel with an axe are reminiscent of the move version of The Shining, in which Jack Torrence does the same thing.
Goofs
Seen at 27.04 minutes:
When Denver, the book shop owner in Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?, is shouting at Angel at the door of his shop, you can see David Boreanaz crouching down in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.
Quotes
Angel: I think its gone bad. It's starting to coagulate.
Cordelia: What, no - that's cinnamon. What, I can't try something?
Manager: Yes, I understand what the sign says, but the sign is wrong. We really have no vacancies at the moment.
Wesley: Well, now we know one thing for certain.
Cordelia: Yep, it's not that vampires don't photograph, it's that they don't photograph well.
Judy: Can you imagine that wallpaper being the last thing you see before you go?
Angel: Maybe it was the wallpaper that drove him to it.
Angel: It's just blood, Judy. It's all just blood.
Bellman: Yeah, swing you freak! You had that one coming!
Demon: There's an entire hotel here just full of tortured souls who could really use your help. What do you say?
Angel: Take ‘em all.
Demon: I don't remember ordering take-out. But I like what you brung me. Not as delectable as the last one, perhaps. But full of tasty paranoia just the same.
Wesley: I've been accused of a great many things in my time. But paranoid has never been one of them. Unless people have been saying it behind my back.
Cordelia: Seventy years of violence, mayhem and paranoia. Bad vibes.
Angel: We're moving in.
Cordelia: I mean, a few throw pillows and what's not to love?
Wesley: Angel? You don't find me especially paranoid do you?
Angel: Not especially.
Wesley: Oh, thank God. I was worried.