Big Bad

[Glorylicious]

Angel doesn't seem to have a Big Bad. I'm disappointed. Okay there's Wolfram and Hart...but season one seems so MOTW. I've only seen upto Somnambulist..and (i hesitate to say it)...im bored. does anyone else remember feeling like this

 

[inthedoorway]

I know what you mean. W&H is definetly the big bad, but sometimes I find it hard to picture them as one, where its an organization and not one single recognizable face.
I can't say I ever got bored though, even if it was MOTW, I thought it worked.

 

[BillyidolwannaB]

I loved that on Angel s1 they didn't a proper big bad. I loved the idea of Wr&h just being a thorn in is side instead of a typical baddie. It made it more realistic, and it allowed more focus on the characters and team bonding.

 

[Sweetescape]

I liked that there wasn't a new Big Bad each season,made it seem like Angel and co were working to destroy something that would have a big impact on everything around them.
Compared to Buffy,were I kinda got the feeling like "oh doesn't matter the Big Bad is dead,they'll be another one to take its place".

 

[Mumrik]

I like it that Angel didn't have a Big Bad then - except for W&H

Spoiler

which really is the whole show's Big Bad

.
Angel (the character) was new in town and didn't really know where he belonged or what he was doing except hoping you're helpless... err, the other way around, of course (sw) and Angel (the show) reflected that. One big metaphor.
S1 especially is more about arriving in town, finding your way in the big city, getting to know people and the characters bonding and learning to trust each other.
Plus, that made it clear from the start that it didn't follow the exact same pattern as BtVS.

 

[Tueuse de Vampires]

Actually, I really liked the way it was on Angel. On Buffy you had something new every season, and each time Buffy was screwed and close to defeat and did it in the end anyway. And then next season the same game began again. Only that time the Big Bad is REALLY gonna end the world...
On Angel they were a lot more consistent about this stuff.

 

[Safer]

Angel was always meant to be an anthology show.

And Angel was really his own big bad.

 

[Crashing Doors]

The only diappointment I had with season one was the creepy neurosurgeon guy. That didn't do absolutely anything for me, and if that was the first episodes villain I would have had no desire to watch anymore.

Not having a typical Big Bad wasn't really a let down for me though, since LA was kind of a beacon for lots of Bads. W&H is pumping blood into all of that. And those ties, damn are they menacing.

 

[Angelic Slayer]

I never really thought about it before, but I guess that we really didn't see a big bad in this season (minus W&H). I agree with some of the posters above me though, I kind of like that we didn't have to deal with a big bad in the first season. I think it gave the writer's a lot more time to focus on developing the characters a little and establish a storyline that continues through the series (whereas with Buffy, it was more of a "let's see who we have to beat this year" kind of approach).

I can see why they did it that way too, since Angel is a spinoff from BTVS. In order for the show to work they had to make it clearly different than BTVS from the start, and changing the basic formula for how a season went along was a great way to do that. It let them appeal to a new part of the fanbase and made a lot more sense given the setting of the show (since LA isn't a hellmouth, it wouldn't attract the same kind of big bads that Sunnydale would).

 

[Fusions2]

I liked that Angel didn't have a true big bad in season 1 as I loved how each individual episode could have been the big bad, it was more about Angel finding his place in the world now he had left Buffy and Sunnydale behind and now had this new mission. The way season 1 was left to me was perfect because it left season 2 so open for what might happen.

 

[Willow-Tree]

I think Joss wanted to differentiate a little between Buffy and Angel, by not really having a specific Big Bad (or at least one that we don't know much about.) I rather liked the idea, but I do miss my villains!