Angel (TV series)

2007-06-14T01:50:20Z

70.253.84.45:

A 1999-2004 TV series, spin-off from [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], and also created by [[Joss Whedon]].

This spin-off examined feminism differently than the show it had followed.

Angel's quest for redemption initially appears straightforward (that is, with little signs of irony). There were many fewer regular female characters, the lead was a male character.

However the extended family of the Angel Investigation agency made regular allusion to the close-knit working environments of start-up and smaller local non-profit community organizations, of which feminist activists are found in (among other employment options). A combination of long hours and tight budgets conspire to create this strong sense of family in an employment enviroment. Series creator Joss Whedon holds a degree in Gender Studies.

The more "adult-oriented" style of the show generally translated to a "noir"ish view of the universe, in opposition to ''Buffy'''s cautious optimism, but ''Angel'' attempted to portay its characters as morally more ambiguous. The series examined current events through several storylines, such as "She". Angel continuously is shown wrestling with both his concience and pre-concieved notions about who/what is good and a reccurent plotline (from the pilot onward) critiques conventional male heterosexuality as being a 'charade' rather than being a moral absolute.

In Season Four, Lorne (aka "The Host") becomes a main character) further pushing the boundaries of sexuality. Angel had been a great womanizer first as a human in Ireland, and then as a souless vampire, so the visible personal comfort of him now hanging out in the present day with a 'queer' man promotes another example of anti-sexist masculinity. Leaving the infant Connor in his care is not an issue, Angel implicitly trusts "Uncle Lorne" to provide quality childcare for his son irrespective of real/percieved sexuality.

== Main characters ==

* '''[[Angel (vampire)|Angel]]''' - played by David Boreanaz
* '''[[Cordelia Chase]]''' - played by Charisma Carpenter (Seasons 1-4, guest star 5.12)
* '''Doyle''' - played by Glenn Quinn (1.01-1.10)
* '''Wesley Wyndam-Pryce''' - played by Alexis Denisof (1.11-5.22, guest star 1.10)
* '''Charles Gunn''' - played by J. August Richards (Seasons 2-5, recurring before)
* '''[[Winifred "Fred" Burkle]]''' and '''Illyria''' - played by Amy Acker (Seasons 3-5, recurring before)
* '''Connor''' - played by Vincent Kartheiser (Season 4, recurring before & afterwards)
* '''Lorne''' aka '''The Host''' - played by Andy Hallett (4.14-5.22, recurring before)
* '''[[Spike (vampire)|Spike]]''' - played by James Marsters (Season 5, guest star 1.03 & 2.07)
* '''[[Harmony Kendall]]''' - played by Mercedes McNab (5.17-5.22, recurring before)

==Recurring characters==
* '''[[Kate Lockley]]''' (police detective), played by Elisabeth Röhm, Seasons 1-2
* '''[[Lilah Morgan]]''' (attorney), played by Stephanie Romanov, Seasons 1-4
* '''[[Gwen Raiden]]''' (cat burglar), played by Alexa Davalos, Season 4
* '''Justine'''

== Episodes of particular interest ==
:: ''The below episodes including characters or themes of relevance to feminist analysis.''

* "[[Lonely Hearts (Angel episode)|Lonely Hearts]]" (1999) (1x02) - introduction of Kate
* "[[Expecting (Angel episode)|Expecting]]" (2000) (1x12) - [[Cordelia Chase|Cordelia]] & other women are impregnated by demons in the LA dating scene
* "[[She (Angel episode)|She]]" (2000) (1x13) - Female demon from another species rescuing other females; allusion to FGM
* "[[Eternity (Angel episode)|Eternity]]" (2000) (1x17) - Female celebrity craves everlasting life of a vampire
* "[[Five by Five (Angel episode)|Five by Five]]" (2000) (1x18) - Faith is in town, part 1
* "[[Sanctuary (Angel episode)|Sanctuary]]" (2000) (1x19) - Faith is in town, part 2
* "[[Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (Angel episode)|Are You Now or Have You Ever Been]]" (2000) (2x02) - Angel deals with a different kind of evil in the racist McCarthy-esque 1950s
* "[[Untouched (Angel episode)|Untouched]]" (2000) (2x04) - A sexually abused girl with psychic powers is being recruited by Wolfram & Hart
* "[[Reunion (Angel episode)|Reunion]]" (2000) (2x10) - Bad girl duo [[Drusilla (vampire)|Drusilla]] and [[Darla (vampire)|Darla]]
* "[[Disharmony (Angel episode)|Disharmony]]" (2001) (2x17) - [[Harmony Kendall|Harmony]] & [[Cordelia Chase|Cordelia]], old best friends, reunited
* "[[Billy (Angel episode)|Billy]]" (2001) (3x06) - A man has a psychic power to create misogynyistic violence
* "[[Ground State (Angel episode)|Ground State]]" (2002) (4x02) - Cat burglar Gwen
* "[[Long Day's Journey (Angel episode)|Long Day's Journey]]" (2003) (4x09) - Cat burglar Gwen
* "[[Salvage (Angel episode)|Salvage]]" (2003) (4x13) - Faith vs. Angel
* "[[Release (Angel episode)|Release]]" (2003) (4x14) - Faith vs. Angel, part 2
* "[[Orpheus (Angel episode)|Orpheus]]" (2003) (4x15) - Faith vs. Angel, part 3
* "[[Players (Angel episode)|Players]]" (2003) (4x16) - Cat burglar Gwen
* "[[Shiny Happy People (Angel episode)|Shiny Happy People]]"" (2003) (4x18) - Demon or utopia?
* "[[The Magic Bullet (Angel episode)|The Magic Bullet]]" (2003) (4x19) - Fred is free
* "[[Peace Out (Angel episode)|Peace Out]]" (2003) (4x21) - End of utopia
* "[[Harm's Way (Angel episode)|Harm's Way]]" (2004) (5x09) - A day in the life of a secretary (Harmony)
* "[[Damage (Angel episode)|Damage]]" (2004) (5x11) - psychotic [[Slayer]]
* "[[The Girl in Question (Angel episode)|The Girl in Question]]" (2004) (5x20) - Angel & Spike pursuing baking cookies

== External Links ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_%28TV_series%29 Wikipedia entry for Angel the Series]

[[Category:TV series]]
[[Category:Works featuring vampires]]

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Angel (TV series)