Review of Angel: The Vampire Anthology - Gunn

Introduction

Vampires were pretty stale by the eighties and early nineties, consigned to the Hammer movies of the seventies with stereotypical Transylvanian accents pronouncing, `I vant to drink your blood`. But where television and film seemed to be descending into parody, the vampire myth in literature was flourishing as never before. As was inevitable, Vampires were re-invented and re-conceptualised for the cinema, and the early nineties onwards saw films like Bram Stoker`s Dracula, Interview With A Vampire and Blade make the bloodsuckers cool again. It was one less successful movie that led to the genre`s success on the small screen as never before. Joss Whedon`s Buffy The Vampire Slayer never really scored as a box office draw, but its spin-off television series of the same name made a star of Sarah Michelle Gellar, and was one of the biggest genre hits of the nineties, running for seven years as the residents of Sunnydale California fell victim to vampires, werewolves and countless end-of-the-world scenarios.

Buffy`s sidekick in slaying was a reformed vampire, Angel. As Angelus this particular vampire was the worst bloodsucker of them all, but he fed upon the wrong gypsy girl, and her family cursed him with the restoration of his soul, and to suffer all the pain he had caused, all the guilt he deserved for eternity. The curse would be broken when he had a moment of perfect happiness, his soul removed and Angelus returned to wreak havoc on the world again. Fighting evil to atone for his crimes didn`t provide that much happiness for Angel, but getting close to Buffy did, letting Angelus back into the world. When his soul was eventually restored, he realised that he couldn`t stay near Buffy anymore, so he went to Los Angeles to clean that town up instead. Which was the perfect excuse for a spin-off series. Angel lasted five seasons before being cancelled, and gave the vampire seeking redemption a more mature spin than Buffy had. With Fox re-releasing a whole slew of cult television later this year including Angel, now would be the ideal time for a little customer awareness, which has led to the release of the Vampire Anthology discs. Taking the four supporting characters from the show, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn and Fred, each of these discs gathers four episodes that highlights a character and adds a brief featurette too.

Charles Gunn made his debut in Angel around the end of Season 1 in the episode Warzone, first on this disc. He was a vigilante who gathered a gang of the homeless to fight against the vampires that menaced them. His initial impression of Angel was frosty, but soon the two became wary allies, and Gunn moved away from his past to become a full time member of Angel Investigations. He brings a streetwise and down to earth attitude to the group, and as the other members became more specialised or otherworldly (vampire with a soul, ex-cheerleader part demon seer, ex Watcher, theoretical physicist, and rat pack demon crooner), he remained a very human set of eyes into an increasingly arcane world. The four episodes on this disc are detailed below.

Warzone (4:3 regular)
Angel isn`t the only one fighting evil in LA, far from it. Charles Gunn leads his own band of homeless vigilantes to fight the vampires that prey on them. The one thing that motivates his crusade is his desire to protect his younger sister Alonna. Angel is hired to help an introverted software billionaire who is being blackmailed about his demonic peccadilloes. His search for the blackmailer takes him into Gunn`s territory, and Gunn doesn`t care that Angel is the people`s champion, he just sees fangs. But Gunn is taking his people into a war they cannot win, and Gunn will lose more than he can afford.

First Impressions (4:3 regular)
Gunn calls, looking for Angel`s assistance in battling a demon. He isn`t too pleased when Angel decides to take Wesley and Cordelia along. Gunn`s hands on approach gives Cordelia some cause for concern. Then Cordelia gets a vision of Gunn in danger. With Angel dead to the world and dreaming sweet nothings of Darla again, she decides to help Gunn herself, whether he wants it or not.

That Old Gang Of Mine (1.78:1 anamorphic)
Now an integral part of Angel Investigations, Gunn has lost touch with his original crew. But there is about to be a rude reunion when innocent demons start being slaughtered. Now there is a new player running with Gunn`s old gang, and the rules have changed.

Double Or Nothing (1.78:1 anamorphic)
Connor has gone, and so has Wesley after Angel tried to kill him in revenge. The rest of the team are just trying to pick up the pieces. That`s when a debt collector shows up claiming the soul that Gunn owes them. Gunn has 24 hours to pay up, or Fred`s soul gets taken into the bargain.

Video

The first two seasons of Angel were filmed in 4:3 and the remainder in 1.78:1 anamorphic. That is reflected in the variety of screen ratios for the episodes on this disc. It`s all US broadcast quality stuff, with just a hint of grain evident. The image is clear and sharp enough, and as dark and moody as the show is, all the detail and shade is recreated well in the image.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 2.0 Surround English or French with optional English, French or Dutch subtitles. Once again it`s all broadcast quality, and the dialogue is clear throughout. The surrounds are called into use in conveying the action, but it`s nothing spectacular.

Features

Plenty of non-skippable copyright warnings, and since there is no Play All option; you`ll have to sit through them for every episode on this disc.

There is a trailer for the Buffy and Angel season boxsets, but the meat of the extra features is represented in a 13-minute Gunn featurette. This has interviews with J. August Richards among others, and describes the growth of the character season by season with plenty of clips from the shows. There`s no mention of Season 5 though. I did get the feeling that the featurette was edited together from other featurettes, although since I haven`t seen the Season boxsets, I have no way of knowing for certain.

Conclusion

It`s time to don your long coats and walk moodily down a dark alley. It`s always a joy to watch Angel; it like its forebear Buffy is a genre show that combines entertainment, witty writing, action and great characters to excellent effect. As I write, Season 5 is yet to make its way onto terrestrial television, and a small part of me was hoping that some Season 5 episodes would sneak their way onto the anthology discs. It wasn`t to be, although it`s nice to see the episodes uncut for once. Angel`s simple tale of good versus evil is an instant draw, and the sharp dialogue is one of the show`s strong points. It easily makes up for some of the more bizarre story arcs that cropped up in later seasons.

The character of Charles Gunn was a useful addition to the cast of Angel. As the stories became more outlandish, and the characters became more detached from reality, he was the human element that kept the stories grounded and easy to relate to. Whenever Wesley would hit the books and spout a few pages of arcane mythology, Gunn would simplify the situation to, "Yeah, but how do we kill it?" His entry into Angel was typically human, an allegory on gang culture where he was the gang leader getting high on the adrenaline and the danger, and brought sharply back down to earth when his sister has to pay the price for his thrill seeking. The second episode on this disc follows the consequences of this, with Gunn still dealing with his loss by developing something of a death wish. It`s Cordelia who realises this, and decides to help. That Old Gang Of Mine is a chance to see the growth in the character, when after a couple of years of battling evil at the side of Angel, Gunn returns to his old gang and find that he can`t go home again. While the first three episodes follow a very natural dramatic arc for the character, the last episode, Double Or Nothing is a little more contrived, and placed just after the dramatic loss of Angel`s son and Wesley`s betrayal, is played more for laughs, contrasting with Angel`s grieving process. It is a nice selection of stories that showcase the character, but once again…

The biggest problem is that Angel is an arc driven show. Every episode does begin with a recap of all that has come before, but watching the episodes alone and out of sequence is hardly as satisfying. For someone coming new to the show, it would be better to start from the beginning and work their way forward in sequence. Showing a Season 3 episode with Angel comforting a baby, then the next year arguing with a recalcitrant teenage son needs a little explaining if you have never seen the show. Committed fans of the show would no doubt spring for the season boxsets, and casual fans may be happy with the broadcasts. I`m not quite sure who the target audience for these discs are. If they are essentially adverts for the season boxsets, then they are expensive indeed, considering that you can get the whole season for around three times the price of this one disc. However, if you are in the mood for a random episode of Angel taken out of context, this disc should be right up your alley.