While I truly love both shows, I'd have to say Buffy is probably the better of the two. When considered as a whole, Buffy just works better. Buffy is our introduction to this world, and stands alone. Angel, on the other hand, is better viewed having already watched the first three seasons of Buffy. There's just already been so much history for Angel and Cordelia and (to a lesser extent) Wesley. It would have been redundant to repeat all of it, so the writers just had to try and explain things enough so new people could jump in. But the first season of Angel still stood very much in the shadow of Buffy. It took awhile to really figure out what the show was about, and in the meantime, crossovers with Buffy kept it's new audience interested but kind of made it feel like it was still dependent on it's parent series. This was less of an issue during seasons 2 through 4, but then season 5 re-introduced Spike, Harmony, and Andrew (obviously to pick up viewers of Buffy after it concluded). This is great if you already like Buffy, but it must have been annoying to people who only watched Angel. So, as a standalone, I think Buffy works better. There are still a few moments where this is an issue on Buffy (Faith's redemption mostly) but it's limited compared to Angel.
I also think Buffy's strength was it's more consistant cast. David Boreanaz was the only person who was a cast member in episode one and the last episode of Angel. Buffy had her, Willow, and Xander from beginning to end, with Giles always in the mix as well (even if he was out of the credits by the end).
I hear people say Angel was more mature....well, I don't really know that I'd even say that's true. It's about older people, I guess. But does that really make it a more mature show? Buffy could be much lighter in tone, but Angel did plenty of goofy things as well. I mean, there are episodes about Angel turning into a puppet, episodes where Lorne helps guide Angel through karaoke singing, etc. And yes, Angel is dark, but I feel like people sometimes forget that Buffy could be pretty dark as well. Few shows I can think of would do an arch where the heroin is so unhappy that she has sex with an evil creature she despises just to feel something.....and almost gets raped later by this same creature. In my opinions, both shows had a lot of darkness and a lot of humor. The balance was just tipped in a slightly different direction on Angel than it was on Buffy. I don't know that that makes it more mature though. Both shows had strong writing, themes, and little moments that repeated viewing rewards.
I will say in Angel's favor that I think the best actor and best actress awards in Buffy/Angel go to Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker. I also prefer "Not Fade Away" to the easier, more traditional ending of "Chosen."
Silum agrees: 2nd paragraph: It wasnt 'only' Angel, Harmony was in episode 1 and the last episode. ..In fact, Harm being from the unaired pilot through to the finale of Angel is the longest running cast member
I think you misunderstood what I meant by that. I was arguing about how Buffy's cast stayed more consistant versus Angel's cast changing. Harmony being in episode one of Buffy doesn't have any relevance there. Angel's pilot featured the regulars Cordelia and Doyle, and it's last episode had Wes, Illyria, Spike, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne. Only Angel (as far as regulars, Lindsey was in both episodes) remained by then linking the first episode to the last.
