ana8
Missing you....
A stake through the heart
A fan mourns the killing of "Angel," the WB show about a good-guy vampire, and the end of the whole "Buffyverse."
By Natalie Pompilio
Inquirer Staff Writer
The following conversation is real. It took place about five years ago, when I forced my mother to watch the then-new WB show Angel:
Mom: I don't understand. He's an angel? Why doesn't he have wings? Why is he fighting all the time?
Me: He's not an angel. He's Angel. He's a vampire, but he's good. He helps people.
Mom: How can a vampire be good? All he does is fight. The other show with the two girl angels was much nicer.
Me: This is not about angels! Just Angel. The vampire.
Mom: Vampire shows. At your age.
That's been a common first reaction among my friends and family when it comes to Angel or its parent show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Vampire shows. Cheap sci-fi. Silly stuff for kids.
Then they watch one episode, then another and another. They come to appreciate the shows for their often-brilliant writing, their humor, and the fact that the characters - vampires, werewolves, witches or slayers - share their problems.
They've become fans, one and all. Mom is now so devout that she watches as many as four Buffy reruns a day, much to my father's horror.
But Buffy ended last year, and Angel, which stars Philadelphia native David Boreanaz, aired its final episode this week. What makes it even worse for fans is that it's the end of the "Buffyverse," the world Joss Whedon created and nurtured first on the big screen and then during Buffy's seven-year TV run.
To most Buffy/Angel fans, Whedon is a genius. His shows have been critically acclaimed, even if they were ignored by the Emmys and never drew Friends-size fan followings. His dialogue was chockablock with pop-culture and Shakespearean references. We cared about his characters, and they cared about each other. We cried when they cried - or died, as some did. Through love and apocalypse, they stuck together, cracking wise until the end.
Wednesday's finale was everything fans have come to expect from the Buffyverse: laugh-out-loud moments - Spike's poetry slam, Harmony's recommendation letter - mixed with tearjerking scenes - Wesley's death, Lorne's heartbreak. Just before the screen went black, a thousand demons were poised to attack Angel and his three surviving warriors. We're meant to assume the good guys lost the battle, but we still have hope, however slim, that our favorites will appear again, somehow.
The back story goes something like this: Each generation has a slayer, one girl with supernatural powers who defends the rest of us against vampires and other beasties. Ours is Buffy Summers. She fights the good fight with a gaggle of friends, including Angel, a brooding vampire cursed with a soul that makes him feel guilty for past bad deeds.
Of course, the slayer and the vampire fell in love and their roller-coaster romance kept fans glued to Buffy. Then Angel ended the doomed affair, moving to Los Angeles to start a detective agency dedicated to helping the helpless. He was joined by other former Buffy characters.
The spin-off was darker than Buffy, but still funny; even the sullen hero got off a few good lines every episode. We saw the characters develop, as Wesley went from dork to dark, Cordelia moved from selfish to savior.
But Angel was erratic in a few ways. The WB changed the show's day and time at least three times. Some story lines started with great potential - Darla and Drusilla hit Los Angeles - then fizzled out. Others - Connor and Cordelia - were bad ideas from the start.
Despite the unevenness, the show was superior TV, and this season was its strongest. But then the WB canceled the show, and no amount of fan moaning, groaning and protesting managed to save it.
Whedon has made it clear that Buffy, who survived her series finale, has moved on. She's basically quit the slayer gig, moved to Rome, and has started dating again. Maybe it's time for us fans to do the same.
Or, more likely, we'll watch the Angel reruns weeknights on TNT and buy the DVDs. Season 3 is in stores now, and Season 4 is due this year.
SOURCE
A fan mourns the killing of "Angel," the WB show about a good-guy vampire, and the end of the whole "Buffyverse."
By Natalie Pompilio
Inquirer Staff Writer
The following conversation is real. It took place about five years ago, when I forced my mother to watch the then-new WB show Angel:
Mom: I don't understand. He's an angel? Why doesn't he have wings? Why is he fighting all the time?
Me: He's not an angel. He's Angel. He's a vampire, but he's good. He helps people.
Mom: How can a vampire be good? All he does is fight. The other show with the two girl angels was much nicer.
Me: This is not about angels! Just Angel. The vampire.
Mom: Vampire shows. At your age.
That's been a common first reaction among my friends and family when it comes to Angel or its parent show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Vampire shows. Cheap sci-fi. Silly stuff for kids.
Then they watch one episode, then another and another. They come to appreciate the shows for their often-brilliant writing, their humor, and the fact that the characters - vampires, werewolves, witches or slayers - share their problems.
They've become fans, one and all. Mom is now so devout that she watches as many as four Buffy reruns a day, much to my father's horror.
But Buffy ended last year, and Angel, which stars Philadelphia native David Boreanaz, aired its final episode this week. What makes it even worse for fans is that it's the end of the "Buffyverse," the world Joss Whedon created and nurtured first on the big screen and then during Buffy's seven-year TV run.
To most Buffy/Angel fans, Whedon is a genius. His shows have been critically acclaimed, even if they were ignored by the Emmys and never drew Friends-size fan followings. His dialogue was chockablock with pop-culture and Shakespearean references. We cared about his characters, and they cared about each other. We cried when they cried - or died, as some did. Through love and apocalypse, they stuck together, cracking wise until the end.
Wednesday's finale was everything fans have come to expect from the Buffyverse: laugh-out-loud moments - Spike's poetry slam, Harmony's recommendation letter - mixed with tearjerking scenes - Wesley's death, Lorne's heartbreak. Just before the screen went black, a thousand demons were poised to attack Angel and his three surviving warriors. We're meant to assume the good guys lost the battle, but we still have hope, however slim, that our favorites will appear again, somehow.
The back story goes something like this: Each generation has a slayer, one girl with supernatural powers who defends the rest of us against vampires and other beasties. Ours is Buffy Summers. She fights the good fight with a gaggle of friends, including Angel, a brooding vampire cursed with a soul that makes him feel guilty for past bad deeds.
Of course, the slayer and the vampire fell in love and their roller-coaster romance kept fans glued to Buffy. Then Angel ended the doomed affair, moving to Los Angeles to start a detective agency dedicated to helping the helpless. He was joined by other former Buffy characters.
The spin-off was darker than Buffy, but still funny; even the sullen hero got off a few good lines every episode. We saw the characters develop, as Wesley went from dork to dark, Cordelia moved from selfish to savior.
But Angel was erratic in a few ways. The WB changed the show's day and time at least three times. Some story lines started with great potential - Darla and Drusilla hit Los Angeles - then fizzled out. Others - Connor and Cordelia - were bad ideas from the start.
Despite the unevenness, the show was superior TV, and this season was its strongest. But then the WB canceled the show, and no amount of fan moaning, groaning and protesting managed to save it.
Whedon has made it clear that Buffy, who survived her series finale, has moved on. She's basically quit the slayer gig, moved to Rome, and has started dating again. Maybe it's time for us fans to do the same.
Or, more likely, we'll watch the Angel reruns weeknights on TNT and buy the DVDs. Season 3 is in stores now, and Season 4 is due this year.
SOURCE