Why is season one of Angel rated 18 in the UK

[fredthe3rd]

In case you're from one of those other countries and haven't managed to work it out - if you live in the UK you have to be age 18 or over to buy season one of Angel, legally you are not allowed to watch it even if someone else bought it until you are 18 (although obviously that's not very heavily policed)

I sort of know the official reason for this: that there's a torture scene which could potentially be copied by impressionable types. But then there's a torture scene in Buffy isn't there?

And I've just watched an episode of 24, it had an incredibly gruesome torture scene which would be very easy to copy if you happen to be particularly disturbed (used knifes and stuff, common items) and the boxset for that season (all of them I think) is 15.

It seems a shame that younger viewers getting into Buffy might be denied the chance to watch Angel as well, especially if they have responsible, by-the-book parents.

 

[Nix]

It's probably Five by Five episode, Faith's torture of Wesley. It says on my box set "contains strong violence and or horror."

 

[Robb Stark]

I don't really see how Angel can be rated that highly and 24 is somehow deemed more suitable for younger viewers. I mean, Jack Bauer tortures people in about every second episode.

 

[Mischlings]

Setting aside the precedent of 24 having that rating, I can kinda see where they're coming from. That scene can be rather gruesome (and Faith is kind of terrifying in how much she loves her torture), but given that, I really don't get it. Maybe something to do with the sexual way she approaches it? Then again, she approaches everything sexually...

 

[Kean]

I have this vague memory of there being some controversy over the content in Expecting and Somnambulist. I remember Angel being edited A LOT when it aired on Channel 4. Some episodes were only 30 minutes long.

 

[Blaze]

Angel in general is a pretty dark serie. I think it's the way they present things. Even tho there is probably just as much violence in Buffy as well as pretty explicit sex scenes, it's all presented in a lighter way. Some Angel episode are made to shock, BtVS is very black and white, Angel is in the grey areas. Although I don't think it should be rated 18, I get why it would get such a rating.

 

[Bluebird]

Yeah it's for the torture scene in Five by Five, like others have said already. 24 was rated by the BBFC more recently than Angel S1, and to be honest, if S1 was rated today I don't think it would be an 18. There's plenty of tv shows and movies that have had their rating go down over the years. An 18 certificate seems overly harsh looking at S1 now.

 

[nightshade]

I remember having to give the money to my dad to buy that boxset! The second video in the part 2 was the one rated 18, so episodes: The Prodigal, The Ring, Eternity and Five by Five

 

[fredthe3rd]

I've noticed a lot of series over the years have had an 18 rated first series and then the rest have been 15s. I can't remember them all now.

Series one of Peep Show is 18 - although I think that earned it. Season one of ER was also 18 - I'm pretty sure that was for an episode that used the N word multiple times - I was sort of surprised they allowed that on mainstream American TV, even though it was made clear that the storyline was very much anti-racism.

 

[TheGrandmaster]

I've got the VHS set of Angel season 1 and it's only tape 2 of the 2nd box which is rated 18, the rest are all 15. That's the tape with Five by Five on it. Fairly certain I bought when I was about 14...

 

[AbraxasP3]

I'm surprised by this. It is a fantasy-horror-action series, but I don't think any one event in season 1 can be slapped with an "18 & over" rating. But I'm watching season 1 right now, along with season 4 of "Buffy." I've never watched the series side by side before and the benefits of watching it this way are obvious.

Overall, I will say that I think 'Angel" is a more provocative series. I'm not sure if it's because "Angel" has a darker tone or if because "Buffy" in season 4 is lighter in terms of cinematography & how it's been shot.

 

[fredthe3rd]

I'm surprised they haven't applied for Angel to be re-rated. To think they toned down the darkness of the show and completely re-wrote the second episode and still got an adult rating.

 

[The Thirst Evil]

I've got my DVD boxset of Season 1 right here, and it says that disc 5 is the one which is rated 18, which does indeed include Five by Five. I remember the first time I watched through AtS I was looking out for any explicit content on any of the four episodes on that disc, and I originally thought it was because of Angel force feeding Rebecca a packet of Blood. But it makes sense now that it would be the torture scene.

Come to think of it, I was given the complete collection of Angel on DVD for my birthday a few years ago, and that collection was rated 18. All because of that one scene. That hardly seems fair.