Angel

Saying that season four was possibly the worst season ‘Angel’ is like saying that milk chocolate is the worst form of chocolate - it’s still better than most of what the competition has to offer. Which is to say that, at its worst, ‘Angel’ was better than ninety-five per cent of network television.

Watching ‘Angel - Season Four’ on DVD brings out the best and worst of the season. The early episodes of the season focus on Angel’s return from the depths of the ocean and culminate in Cordelia’s [Charisma Carpenter] return from the heavens. These episodes, which have more than a few good moments, serve as the introduction to The Beast [Vladimir Kulich] - a satanic looking demon who is pretty much unstoppable. The Beast’s arc lasts for several eps, during which time we learn that he is controlled by yet another powerful figure from behind the scenes.

By the time we learn that Cordelia is the Beast’s boss, we are far enough into the season that the following shift [which, incidentally, says that everything we know about ‘Angel’ - from Day One - is wrong!] there are so few eps left that the entire Jasmine arc feels like it hurtles by at Indy 500 speeds. The only unifying aspect of the season is the way that our heroes are manipulated throughout. Even in the season finale, when Lilah [Stephanie Romanov] makes Wolfram & Hart’s big offer, Angel [David Boreanaz] and the gang seem to be reactive, rather than proactive.

If not for some sharp characterizations, and some really intriguing sub-textual material, ‘Angel - Season Four’ wouldn’t have worked as well as it did. The increasingly perverse [and yet somehow genuine] relationship between Wesley [Alexis Denisof] and Lilah works precisely because it is so much counter to the roles each play with their respective employers. Connor’s [Vincent Kartheiser] attitude toward Jasmine, even after he knows what she is, serves to further delineate just how much of an outsider he is.

In the worlds of series creator, Joss Whedon, actions have consequences - usually BIG consequences - as witness, the deteriorating relationship between Gunn [J. August Richards] and Fred [Amy Acker]. Their arc is also evidence that actions taken in previous seasons continue to affect the ongoing story. It’s a lovely piece of character work.

Angel has his own problems - he’s spent three months at the bottom of the ocean; the woman he loves vanished before he could tell her how he feels and, now that she’s back [and remembers nothing] he won’t tell her about his being a vampire because he thinks she needs time to regain her bearings; his son dumped him into the ocean in the first place, so he has to show a little tough love there, by kicking Connor out of the hotel; he wants to save his son, but can only do that by killing him [calling to mind a certain prophecy from season three].

As usual, the sterling guest cast gives strong support. Stephanie Romanov gives Lilah Morgan such an elegant, civilized evil; David Denman returns as the cool-talking demon guardian, Skip; Clayton Rohner [‘GvsE’] does justice to a sleazy casino manager who enslaves Lorne [Andy Hallett]; and Vladimir Kulich makes The Beast appropriately beastly, and Eliza Dushku’s three-ep stint as Faith was dynamite - just to name a few.

While season four was certainly the most ambitious season to that point, I found it to be a bit short on development of its plot arcs - there were so many twists and turns that some episodes seemed to be three-quarters exposition [both Stephen DeKnight and Tim Minear mention the quantity of exposition in their commentary tracks]. That puts me at odds with Joss Whedon, who figured it was ‘Angel’s best season to that point. We agree on the ambitious effort.

For the first time, a DVD release of ‘Angel’ gets more than a couple, or three commentary tracks. David fury and Andy Hallett discuss ‘The House Always Wins’; Whedon and Alexis Denisof comment on ‘Spin the bottle’; director Vern Gillum and writer Stephen DeKnight talk about ‘Apocalypse Nowish’; director Terrance O’Hara and writer Jeffrey Bell give us the lowdown on ‘Orpheus’; writer/director DeKnight returns for the commentary on ‘Inside Out’; writer/director Bell does a second commentary on ‘The Magic Bullet’; and writer/director Tim Minear talks us through ‘Home’ - essentially the pilot for season five.

Besides the seven [count ‘em, seven] commentaries, there are five other special features: ‘Prophecies - A Season Four Overview’, ‘Unplugged - Season Four Outtakes’, ‘Last Looks - The Hyperion Hotel’, ‘Fatal Beauty and the Beast’, and ‘Malice in Wonderland: Wolfram & Hart’. The result is a package that matches up against the best ‘Buffy’ DVD set [and about time, too!].

‘Prophecies’ is a pretty detailed overview - it runs for over half-an-hour and features interviews with most of the cast and creative team. ‘Unplugged’ is probably the weakest set of outtakes I’ve ever seen on a DVD set - I suspect if the bloopers had been shown after a quick look at the correctly completed scene, they might have been funnier. ‘Last Looks’ gives us a tour through the Hyperion Hotel as it was for season four - it’s an impressive display of set design.

‘Fatal Beauty and the Beast’ takes a closer look at the combination of Evil Cordy and The Beast - it’s okay, but could have been longer, and more in-depth. Finally, ‘Malice in Wonderland - Wolfram & Hart’ gives Stephanie Romanov a chance to wax eloquent on the joys of playing Lilah Morgan, as various members of the cast and creative team ponder the significance of the enemy being Legion, and the heroes being few - it’s as entertaining as an ep of the series [they could have done another fifteen to twenty minutes and I wouldn’t have minded].

Grade: Season Four - B+

Grade: Features: A+

Final Grade: A