Angel, a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is usually considered to be a more mature version of Buffy. And more maturity, in this case, often meant less entertaining.
The series starts of slow. In fact, it doesn't really get good until about half-way through the third season. Earlier episodes have their moments, but they are often choppy and uninteresting. Angel and Cordelia both evolve and though, if they were real people, it might be considered a good thing, in the context of entertainment it isn't. Angel should always be reserved, reflective and broody - whatever other personality traits he cultivates on the way. Cordelia should always be shallow and witty and oddly compassionate. They could have grown and changed without losing the essence of what made them great and interesting characters.
As mentioned before, the show picks up greatly halfway through the third season. It becomes compelling and entertaining but simple. Which is what this show should have always been. I strongly believe that the spin-off should never have happened. Buffy was not as good without Angel and Cordelia, and Angel suffered without the Buffy characters. Many, in fact most of the story lines in Angel could have been adapted for Buffy. I feel the spin-off was completely unnecessary. Instead of one really great show, we ended up with two okay shows that occasionally had moments of brilliance. I would have preferred the former.
All up, Angel is a decent show and one worth watching if you're a fan of Buffy or Joss Whedon. But prepare yourself for some mediocre and sometimes, frankly, bizarre story-telling until the third season hits.
Whedon's finest work can be seen in Firefly and the first three seasons of Buffy.
The series starts of slow. In fact, it doesn't really get good until about half-way through the third season. Earlier episodes have their moments, but they are often choppy and uninteresting. Angel and Cordelia both evolve and though, if they were real people, it might be considered a good thing, in the context of entertainment it isn't. Angel should always be reserved, reflective and broody - whatever other personality traits he cultivates on the way. Cordelia should always be shallow and witty and oddly compassionate. They could have grown and changed without losing the essence of what made them great and interesting characters.
As mentioned before, the show picks up greatly halfway through the third season. It becomes compelling and entertaining but simple. Which is what this show should have always been. I strongly believe that the spin-off should never have happened. Buffy was not as good without Angel and Cordelia, and Angel suffered without the Buffy characters. Many, in fact most of the story lines in Angel could have been adapted for Buffy. I feel the spin-off was completely unnecessary. Instead of one really great show, we ended up with two okay shows that occasionally had moments of brilliance. I would have preferred the former.
All up, Angel is a decent show and one worth watching if you're a fan of Buffy or Joss Whedon. But prepare yourself for some mediocre and sometimes, frankly, bizarre story-telling until the third season hits.
Whedon's finest work can be seen in Firefly and the first three seasons of Buffy.