Angel

For most of the past four years, Angel — the vampire with a soul — and his version of Buffy’s Scooby Gang have been battling Wolfram and Hart, an evil law firm with seemingly unlimited resources.

Then in last season’s finale, the good guys executed a corporate takeover — or, more precisely, the evildoers at Wolfram and Hart handed over the keys to the executive washroom to a somewhat befuddled Angel. So as ``Angel’’ returns for its fifth season tonight (9 p.m., Ch. 20), Angel is the head of West Coast operations for the firm and still trying to figure out how and why this all happened.

The sudden shift in story line is the most noticeable part of creator Joss Whedon’s efforts to boost the show’s viewership, which has never grown beyond cult status. In fact, the spinoff from ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer’’ — Angel (David Boreanaz) was Buffy’s lover — barely avoided cancellation in the spring. While the show survived the ax, executives at the WB talk about ``Angel’’ in terms that suggest it might not be so lucky next spring if ratings don’t improve — and quickly.

So Whedon has made a bunch of changes. The whole story line about Angel’s son Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) has been jettisoned. Angel’s longtime aide-de-camp Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) is in a coma from which she’s unlikely to awaken. (Carpenter was less than a fave on the set.)

The fun valley-girl vamp Harmony (Mercedes McNab) from ``Buffy’’ has become Angel’s new secretary. And the end of ``Buffy’’ last May has opened the door for that series’ regulars to stop by for viewer-friendly visits. Willow (Alyson Hannigan) is already scheduled to drop by, and Buffy Summers herself (Sarah Michelle Gellar) has reportedly agreed to do a couple of episodes later in the season.

But the big news — and it’s hardly a well-kept secret — is that Spike (James Marsters), last seen getting turned into a crispy critter in the ``Buffy’’ finale, will be an ``Angel’’ regular. For those of you not fully up to speed on the ``Buffy’’-``Angel’’ mythology, Spike is another reformed vampire who had the hots for the Slayer and, as a result, is on less than good terms with Angel.

Spike doesn’t turn up until the very end of tonight’s good-but-not-great opener, which focuses on laying the groundwork for the new season. But next week, the show turns up the volume with Spike at his sarcastic best, taking verbal shots at Angel’s new corporate position. ``Is that how you fight the forces of evil now ? Call the IRS ?’’ says Spike to Angel at one point.

The second episode suggests that Spike’s arrival could be just what the series needs.