Episode Reviews   

Angel Premiere: "City Of" Tuesday 5 October, 1999

by Chrystal

How should I start my review of the Angel premiere? I think drooling over David would be appropriate. David was scrumptious. He is sooo the hottie. It was great having him on the screen for 60 minutes (sans commercials). I love his clothes. He dresses sooo stylishly. This apartment was amazing! Yeah, like he could afford those clothes and that apartment without lots of cash:)

Now for the deep stuff, I let out a sigh of relief as the episode progressed. While I felt positive about the show before it aired, I was thrilled to see that it surpassed anything that I had in mind. The look of the show was intense and stylish, very appealing to the eye. The quick sequences really moved the plot along and the fight scenes were very well choreographed. At first, I thought the plot was predictable, but I was surprised when Tina died and Angel tossing Russell out of the window in such a public place. The show is definitely setting it's own rules which I like. I strongly suspect we will be learning more about the law firm in episodes to come.

David is comfortable with the character of Angel. He knows Angel, his quirks, his "issues." We get to explore his unique way of looking at the world, his sense of humor emerging. It was good to see Angel do more than just brood, though he broods so well:) Angel's unease with people and in social situations was played out nicely. LA obviously bemuses him. I think he would be lost in New York. Angel's history was nicely revisited in Quinn's narrative. I did find Quinn's reasoning for Angel to become involved with humans to be faulty. After Angel regained his soul, he didn't give in to the temptation to feed off humans even though he was isolated from them so why would he now, especially after loving Buffy? Oh well, it gets him into the LA scene so I'll pretend to buy it:) Angel's call to Buffy towards the end of the episode showed the insightfulness of the show's creators, they know this character. Angel misses Buffy, how could he not? She was all that he had for so long. Despite his best intentions, he has never been able to stay away from her so letting him give into the urge to hear her voice and then hanging up works really well. I hate when shows act as if past events or loves don't impact the present.

Doyle and Cordelia are both strong supporting characters with good comedic timing, which is desperately needed to balance the brooding Angel. You realize how underused Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) was on Buffy. Couple of minor issues: What was up with the stakes attached at the arms? And how did Angel get into Tina's and Russell's places without an invite?

The overnight ratings for Angel were good, 6.2/9, more than Buffy's which were 6.0/9. Joss Whedon (creator of both Buffy and Angel) and David Greenwalt (who worked on Buffy and did X Files) did a fantastic job putting the premiere together. If the other episodes are this good (only 12 more this season), continue to keep the Buffy viewers plus gaining others, I'm optimistic that WB will renew Angel for next season (22/23 episodes). I am confident in my enthusiasm for the show's future because a friend who never got into Buffy despite my urging, emailed me and was really into Angel. She said that show has real potential and hopes it will on for a long time, music to my ears!

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