Behind the Scenes Stuff on Angel From Tim Minear

[nerd4hire]

Jackal does these great interviews where they get into the nuts and bolts behind the scenes stuff. He just did one with Tim Minear. It's too long to post the whole thing, but here's a couple of things people are always wondering about.

J: Before Charisma Carpenter fell pregnant, what were the plans going to be for season four? I understand Cordelia was still going to be evil -- would this still have led to a similar Jasmine arc, what would Cordy’s motives have been?

TM: It was still going to be Cordy as big bad, if I recall, but it would have built to a throw down between Angel and Cordelia. But because of Charisma’s pregnancy, we made Cordelia pregnant too and had her “give birth” to an actress who wasn’t laboring (sorry for the pun) under a medical condition. But before we made that choice, there was even talk of shooting the Angel/Cordy battle scenes early in the year... but the idea of getting far enough ahead on breaking stories so we’d know exactly what those scenes needed to be turned out to be a pipe dream.


J: Along these lines, I have to ask if there were ever plans to bring Doyle back in any capacity?

TM: Every once in a while I’d bring it up -- but I’d get shot down. Rightfully so. I thought Doyle would have been a great Big Bad for season three. But the problems and demons that the actor wrestled with in the real world, which in the end took his life, ruled that out as an option.

Much More Here

 

[Randy Giles]

I don't understand the Cordy being evil thing. Was she just going to become evil by her own choice, OR would she have been possessed and therefore not in control of her actions?

 

[nerd4hire]

Makes you wonder doesn't it. I think it would have been better if they could have played it out the way they wanted to. They wouldn't have had to stuff that bit in about Cordy child molesting Connor. There would have been a more natural progression to the way things unfolded. I think Season 4 could have been superior.

But yeah, how would the possession thing have worked? I do think it would have been a possession thing myself, rather than a corruption, but would Jasmine have simply taken over the actual Cordelia, or would there have been a plan for her to morph into something else? It sounds like the first choice from the description offered. Come to think of it would Cordy have been Jasmine, or something else?

That's the thing about answers. They can give you more questions.

 

[Darling Faithy]

Wait...the actor that played Doyle, died?


or did I read that wrong?

O.O >.< O.O

 

[nerd4hire]

Yeah, he died, but what Tim is referencing are the drug, and alcohol problems that led to his death. That was the problem with bringing him back I imagine. Those problems interfered with the work. The gossip says those problems were what led to his early release from Angel, and by extension the death of Doyle.

 

[Darling Faithy]

Awe, that's horrible, poor Doyle, I never knew that...oh god I can't watch s1 or 2 again...-pouts- Well, I suppose that would be a major problem, poor man...you know that couldn't help his substance abuse if he couldn't get work.

 

[nerd4hire]

It's a pretty sad story when you get into it. There's a lot of info on the internet. I think there may be a book also.

 

[Randy Giles]

Season 4, more superior? I already consider it to be the best season out of all the seasons of Buffy and Angel. 🙂 I liked the pregnancy thing but I *would* have loved to have seen it play out like they originally planned too.

 

[spuffy]

Hmm... that's interesting still so many questions though, my head is about to explode!