The Buffy spinoff holds its own in 5 DVD boxsets.
On-air: 1999-2004
Current Status: Finished
Year of Last Release: 2005
Country of Production: USA
Original Network: The WB
Distribution: 20th Century Fox
No. of Discs: 6/box set, 30 total
Total No. of Episodes: 110
Angel, the tv series is described as a metaphor of becoming an adult by its creator Joss Whedon. Where on Buffy it was just about trying to get through the everyday, Angel was about the things one has to do to become who they are.
Angel aka Angelus aka Liam is a 16th century Irish man who becomes a vampire that leaves a trail of massacres and dead bodies for his own amusement until somewhere in the 18th century, Romanian gypsies curse him with a soul. And there you have it, a vampire with a soul, conscious and aware of every filthy, evil thing he has done.
In the 20th century, Angel decides to make it his personal mission to "Fight the Good Fight" to atone for his many sins, only fate has a different plan for him.
One of the reasons why I loved Angel so much was because the show stood for something bigger.
Season 1 explored the "rights of passage" experiences that people take into becoming an adult.
Season 2 focussed mainly on people's past history, past loves, regrets, consequences and changing of friendships and relationships with each other.
In Season 3, the characters really became settled into finally discovering who they were and what they were capable of. There also was this overhanging question of what is one's purpose in the world.
Season 4 I describe similar to a greek tragedy soap opera, the choices we make in hindsight of the bigger picture and what can we live with and what can we live without.
Season 5 teetered the lines of good and evil to make everything grey. It raised questions of compromisation, boundaries, and ethics.
Also available on the discs are a mountain of special features, including plenty featurettes focussing on beloved characters, Darla, Cordy, Jasmine and of course Angel. Plus, lots of Behind the Scenes footage including episodes "Smile Time" aka the Muppet episode and "You're Welcome" the 100th episode. Season overview features, Gag reels as well as selected commentary and deleted scenes are also available.
It took me about a month to get through Seasons 1 to 5 but its incredibly satisfying watching all episodes and seasons consecutively.
