If you don't watch Angel - Why not?

[Washburne]

It's getting clearer and clearer that not all Buffy fans also watch Angel. I don't want to make anyone feel bad for not watching it, I just want to know why. Have you watched it but didn't like it and if so what was it you didn't like? Didn't bother to even try, why not? And just so you know, not liking the Angel characters in Buffy is a bad reason. If you watch Angel you'll be surprised. Or just haven't come that far in your fandom yet, but are planning to watch it at some point?







And once we're done with this discussion we'll move on to why not more people watch Firefly. 😉

 

[MinwaraYana]

Agree about Firefly. 🙂

I'm one of people who were hesitated to watch Angel. Then all the crossovers got me. There's so many crossovers so I ended up watching the whole series. 😀

The reason I didn't watch is probably, Angel the character seems boring. 😛 I also wouldn't have thought Wesley would be awesome. I didn't like him in BtVS S3. I say, Cordelia is one of the big reasons I started watching Angel.

 

[StarSlayer]

Honestly, I wasn't planning on watching AtS after watching BtVS. However, some of friends said they sometimes like it better than Buffy, so I had to give it shot. The idea of Cangel also really intrigued me 😀 I'm so glad I did because I absolutely love the series. Anyone out there who hasn't seen it...go see it!!! I will be tackling a Firefly watch soon as well 🙂

 

[msfantastico87]

Well I was super hesitant to watch Angel. Heck I'm still not even done with season 5. I was hesitant because I didn't really like Angel himself and it just seemed like I was going to betray Buffy hahaha But I am glad I watched though. It gets crazy good and Cordy is definitely a reason to watch.

 

[zobothehobo]

I was going to watch Angel when I started Buffy, but ater finishing Buffy, I was slightly less than excited. I still like Buffy a lot more. The whole idea of using saving people as a business irritated me. It still does. Plus, I didn't LOVE Angel or Cordy. I'm glad I did watch Angel but I can see why some viewers would be hesitant.

 

[The Unspoken]

I've watched Angel in its entirety once and while I can see myself re-watching Buffy, I can't say the same for Angel. I know that one of the things that separates it from Buffy is the whole P.I. angle, but I can't say I like it too much. There's just too much of a focus on the case/client of the week, while the characters - with the exception of Angel - fall by the wayside. Even when Buffy had freak of the week episodes, all the characters would still be involved a lot, which is why I liked those episodes.



SPOILERS!


Anyway, there are less stand-alone episodes later and more arcs, but I didn't like those that much either. Bringing Darla back, bringing Holtz back, knocked up vampire, it was a little too deus ex machina for my taste. And the awful rewrites of season 4 were really off-putting. I think the writers had some problems figuring out where they were headed, since characters were dropped left and right, sometimes shortly after they were introduced (Doyle, the female cop, Lindsey and perhaps the best example is Connor).
Season 5 was my favorite overall (thanks in no small part to Spike), but the way it was concluded was, once again, a disappointment.

 

[Spikefan31]

why not more people watch Firefly.

Because I don't want to spend $40 on a 13-episode season. 🙁

 

[white avenger]

I never watched "Angel" in first run until Season 5, and only then because there was no more "Buffy" to watch. The same goes for "Firefly." Before I saw "Serenity," I knew that Joss had had a science fiction series that hadn't made it for an entire season before being canceled, but it hadn't ever interested me that much (especially once I read that "Firefly" was just a re-hash of what the original "Star Trek" concept (cowboys in outer space. "Wagon Train" to the stars, etc.) But back to "Angel," the few crossover episodes that I saw didn't do anything to really grab me, though it must be pointed out that, since I was watching the earlier seasons in syndication, I only saw the "Buffy" side of the crossovers, which was kind of confusing.

For that matter, I never watched Seasons 1 through 4 of "Angel" until the series had been canceled, and again, if "Buffy" had still been in production, I might never have watched the show at all. To me, "Angel" was, and still is, the sickly step sister to the REAL show, and David as an actor just couldn't carry the weight of the show the way that Sarah could. He relied too heavily on his co-stars. Nothing really wrong with that but I just didn't care for it, and his "mission," helping the hopeless, just didn't seem to work for me.

(Now I'll stand bravely against the wall, refuse both the cigarette and the blindfold, and wait for the pro-Angel firing squad to take careful aim and fire)

 

[NL197]

(Now I'll stand bravely against the wall, refuse both the cigarette and the blindfold, and wait for the pro-Angel firing squad to take careful aim and fire)

I don't understand, you make yourself out to be some Angel "troll" and set yourself up to be victimized at the same time. Seriously, what's the deal with saying that at all? You didn't have to. You had your valid reasons for not wanting to watch "ANGEL", and that was that. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what you said so I don't get need to play victim-troll at the same time. You seem to do that a lot with Angel-related posts.

 

[Washburne]

I don't understand, you make yourself out to be some Angel "troll" and set yourself up to be victimized at the same time. Seriously, what's the deal with saying that at all? You didn't have to. You had your valid reasons for not wanting to watch "ANGEL", and that was that. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what you said so I don't get need to play victim-troll at the same time.

It's just the Bangel vs Spuffy discussion taken a bit further. It happens a lot. You better get used to it. You don't have to like it though.

edit: Oh and it's often meant to be "funny". Some see it that way, some don't.

 

[Spikefan31]

StarSlayer agrees: Do you get Netflix?

I can't because I'm outside the US 🙁

 

[NL197]

It's just the Bangel vs Spuffy discussion taken a bit further. It happens a lot. You better get used to it. You don't have to like it though.

edit: Oh and it's often meant to be "funny". Some see it that way, some don't.

I was just thinking, 'Okay, he's got perfectly valid reasons not to want to watch the show. It's my all-time favorite show but that doesn't mean I can't see what others might not like about it and he's not trashing anything - he's being perfectly reasonable which is great....'

...and then that firing squad line.

 

[white avenger]

...and then that firing squad line.

The firing squad line was an attempt to inject a little humor into what I felt was a statement with which some, if not all, fans of the show would disagree. It has nothing to do with setting myself up to be anything, especially not a troll. It was merely my way of showing that it was all in good fun, and that I fully realized that I was in the minority in my opinions. (I almost said something funny here, but I stopped myself just in time)

And my views of Angel's show has nothing to do with which vampire I prefer in Buffy's love life. (And again, I'll refrain from any humorous remark)

Adding a little humor at the end of an otherwise serious statement is a part of the culture that I grew up in, a variation on Julie Andrews' spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down, intended merely to convey the idea that it's not really all that serious, and that I had no intention of taking any of the inevitable rebuttal or opposing views personally.

 

[NL197]

The firing squad line was an attempt to inject a little humor into what I felt was a statement with which some, if not all, fans of the show would disagree. It has nothing to do with setting myself up to be anything, especially not a troll. It was merely my way of showing that it was all in good fun, and that I fully realized that I was in the minority in my opinions. (I almost said something funny here, but I stopped myself just in time)

Having a different opinion is all well and good. I have a LOT of different views in this whole Buffyverse. In all honesty I expected you would have used this thread to 'bash' the show and the character, but thankfully that wasn't the case. It was a pleasant surprise to see valid, well-considered thoughts on the subject instead of the usual spew a lot of non-fans of things tend to have, and seem to enjoy spewing.

And my views of Angel's show has nothing to do with which vampire I prefer in Buffy's love life. (And again, I'll refrain from any humorous remark)

Adding a little humor at the end of an otherwise serious statement is a part of the culture that I grew up in, a variation on Julie Andrews' spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down, intended merely to convey the idea that it's not really all that serious, and that I had no intention of taking any of the inevitable rebuttal or opposing views personally.

I didn't see anything in your post that had any connection to the Spike issue.

I think the problem is that sometimes people can bash the hell out of something but then expect that a small asterisk with a disclaimer makes it all okay when most of the time it isn't.

Part of it, from my experience liking certain...things that are reviled by many at times, seems like an attack on personal tastes. Someone likes this show or that show, I think it's pure garbage and take every opportunity to tell everyone - in essence I'm not only attacking the show I hate, I'm attacking and condemning the people who like it by association. That is I think what leads people to becoming so defensive. It is for me but that might not be everyone's reason.

 

[VisionGirl]

I, of course, like Angel the character, thus I like Angel the series (well, I like it for a lot of reasons). But I think a good reason for Buffy fans to watch (even those who don't particularly like him), is simply all the flashback scenes and backstory. I think it adds to the entire 'verse. And if you're a Faith fan, you really need to at least watch the Faith-related episodes (of course there's not enough of them!).

Do I like BTS or ATS better? Well, they're so different, and I don't mind that one whit. I probably like BTS a tad better because Buffy is my favorite character in the Buffyverse.

 

[Anya2012]

I'm also one of the people who hesitated watching Angel a few years back.

I never liked Cordy or Wesley in BTVS and they were the reasons why I never watched Angel. But the characters grew on me and I don't mind them in BTVS knowing what they are going to be like later. Its so funny to watch Wesley in season 3 Buffy!

ATS and BTVS are both great shows and I won't pick one above the other. Too hard. Angel is darker and somewhat more adult though.

 

[GrrArghx]

I didn't want to watch it. The storyline's (Darla, Connor, etc) sounded lame... and I'm so ashamed to say that because now I know the show is just freaking awesome!!! I'm so glad I gave it a shot. It really is amazing 🙂

As for Firefly... sci-fi space stuff just isn't my thing, lol.

 

[xfivebyfive]

Well I watched Angel first and will always prefer it. But I do see them as two different shows so I dont think you have to watch one to watch the other. But I think you miss out if you don't watch both.

I wasn't going to watch Firefly though I thought the idea sounded stupid and not my thing. But I gave it a try because my friend adored it and I ended up loving firefly.

 

[zobothehobo]

I didn't want to watch it. The storyline's (Darla, Connor, etc) sounded lame... and I'm so ashamed to say that because now I know the show is just freaking awesome!!! I'm so glad I gave it a shot. It really is amazing 🙂

As for Firefly... sci-fi space stuff just isn't my thing, lol.

That's what I thought about Firefly.. it's really good though.

 

[NL197]

Well I watched Angel first and will always prefer it. But I do see them as two different shows so I dont think you have to watch one to watch the other. But I think you miss out if you don't watch both.

That's exactly my view as well.

I knew literally nothing about Buffy when I saw the original trailers for ANGEL leading up to its premiere on October 5, 1999. I tuned in not even knowing Angel was a vampire. Once that drunk glided out of the bar, double-staked the vampires, revealed himself to be one, told the girls off and took off down that infamous alley, leading into the awesome opening credits, I was completely, utterly hooked.

The next week revealed even more about this guy, and just how much we were alike in so many ways. It was like looking at me on screen, but infinitely better-looking than I could ever hope to be with the best of plastic surgeons.

I didn't see Buffy at all except for the crossovers, because I deliberately avoided paying any attention to it. I tuned it out while waiting for this to come on at 9, back on those WB's New Tuesday nights. I didn't know anything about it, so I figured why bother if I'm going to be completely lost?

Finally caught up with Buffy when it hit the rerun schedule in September of 2001, a couple of weeks before season 3 of ANGEL premiered and even then - I was only interested so I could see Angel, Cordelia, Wesley and Darla, and their history and events I missed out on originally. Eventually the show itself did grow on me, but fan talk turned me off of it quite a bit because of the constant Buffy / Angel series comparisons and debates about which was supposedly better, when to me they are (and still are) completely different shows that happen to be set in the same universe. I grew to dislike it out of spite to a large degree, but that's gone now. I don't compare them, because I CAN'T compare them. ANGEL remains more personal to me because of how much I relate to the man himself, but as series I love them each for very different reasons - appealing to different personal preferences and personality aspects. Comparing them would be like comparing children or pets. Can't do it, and it wouldn't even be fair to if I could.