Angel: One of the Best Spin-Offs
Posted on April 7, 2008
Filed Under Television
There are very few spin offs that I find successful or at least interesting. Yes, CSI and Law & Order are probably one of the most successful spin offs, all thanks to the writers producing interesting murder cases and trials, and less to do with the characters.
Than, there are certain spin offs that should have stayed within their original show and died with it on a high note. Joey? WTF, Yes Friends was a funny show and most of us loved the Joey Tribbiani character, but after 10 seasons of Friends we kind got tired of the characters, I don’t’ know what NBC was thinking to think that they can add something new to ‘Joey’. Unfortunately the spin off series lasted for two seasons.
There are other horrible spin offs that I can list, but this post is to focus on one spin off series that I thought was well done and deserves recognition.
That series would have to be Angel, from the creators of ‘Buffy: The Vampire Slayer’ I loved the Buffy series with Sarah Michelle Gellar. I thought Joss Whedon did a great job taking the hit movie into a seven season series. It had witty humor, intricate story lines, great characters and amazing visual effects.
Angel is the 240 year old vampire cursed with a soul. He first appeared on the pilot episode of Buffy. He was the mysterious, dark and handsome character who falls in love with the Slayer. His relationship with Buffy was the ultimate forbidden love.
After three seasons of being on Buffy, the creators decided to do a spin off on the character ‘Angel’. When I first heard this, I thought the series would bomb, because Buffy fans liked the idea of the Vampire and Slayer relationship. But when the pilot launched, I was quiet surprised.
The pilot episode showed a more mature side to the series. The setting takes place in Los Angeles, where detectives and lawyers are part of the mixed. I also found the visual transition from scene to scene interesting and a new take from the teen series Buffy. Clearly Angel was not only trying to keep its current fans of Buffy, but it was also trying to attract new ones.
What I found made this spin off successful, was also the characters transition from Buffy to Angel. Joining Angel was the character Cordillia Chase, played by Charisma Carpenter. She was Sunny Dale’s ‘IT’ girl, but after losing everything back home, she decided to pursue acting career in L.A. only to join Angel in setting up the Angel investigation firm.
Throughout the first season of Angel, there will be guest appearance from the original series. Spike, Oz, Faith and Buffy herself make a guest appearance, another familiar face joins the show later on in the season. I think this made the spin off really successful. How the series of Buffy and Angel were closely tied and connected with each-other. How the character transition was believable and well thought off.
Anyway, this entry needs to end now; I just wanted to share how much I love the show Buffy and Angel. A friend of mine got me the complete limited box edition of Buffy, which motivated me to buy the complete limited edition box set of Angel. Hehehe….
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