Angel

While Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel have always walked a little bit off the beaten path, one of the odder quirks of the show has always been that fans know the writers almost as well as they know the actors on the show. And due to that, a name well known to the fanbase is David Fury, who has served as a writer and producer for both Buffy and Angel.

tNMC recently had a chance to pick his brain about the upcoming season of Angel, and how the infusion of new cast members and story structure will define and hopefully broaden what it already a cult hit.

Tim Ritenour : In terms of central themes, what would say is Angel’s ? Buffy for Example, was defined as essentially a female empowerment show. Does that make Angel a show about what it means to be man ? Or would you say the themes drift more towards redemption or another theme ?

David Fury : We started out with essentially a metaphor for alcoholism and drug addiction (i.e. Angel trying to get back on the wagon after drinking from Buffy in Graduation Day, Pt. 2). And much like Buffy was about High School, Angel was supposed to be about the twenty-something experience of leaving home, finding a career, etc. We soon abandoned that since, unlike the teen years, there’s so little about one’s 20s that’s universal. Experiences vary dramatically.

Then things shifted to the notion that it was about how difficult it is to be a man, particularly a man of violence, in a violent world... Trying to do the right thing. Trying to find meaning. And although much of what we’ve done can slot nicely under that, I think we decided, ultimately, that we’re just telling good, ripping, mythic yarns.

TR : Angel has consistently maintained a slightly more mature and darker tone to it then Buffy. How does this affect your writing style when writing an episode ?

DF : Doesn’t affect it at all, honestly. In fact, I just write my Angel scripts as Buffy episodes, then change character names when I’m done... Giles becomes Wesley, Willow becomes Fred, Tara becomes Gunn, etc...

TR : What would you say has been Angel’s greatest strength since its inception ?

DF : A lot of bang for the buck production value. It’s a great looking show with awesome fights, cool cinematography... It was always a better looking show than Buffy.

TR : Who is your favorite character to write ?

DF : Most on staff would say Lorne. Though currently, my favs are Spike and Harmony, old Buffy writer that I am. Used to love writing Cordy, before she got all serious.

TR : Now that Spike is joining the cast of the show, how much responsibility do you have to catch up non-Buffy viewers about who this character is ?

DF : We’re doing our best in the first batch of episodes to explain the show and the characters to new viewers. (And this is without the benefit of "Previously ons" which we’re foregoing this year). In the first two eps. I’ve co-written ("Just Rewards," and "Destiny"), I’ve been using flashbacks that help explain the relationship between Spike and Angel.

TR : Building off that, a good deal of Angel fans were most likely Buffy fans. But a fairly sizeable percentage seemed to only watch Angel. How do you try to cater to both fan bases in the storytelling ?

DF : We don’t cater to anyone (except to Joss who loves our stuffed crab puffs). We just tell the best stories we can, things that interest us... Like Ricky Nelson said : "Can’t please everyone, so ya... got to please yourself."

TR : As a co-creator of the show, how much input can David Greenwalt really give Angel considering UPN has put his new show Jake 2.0 up against it ?

DF : Truthfully, David’s input entails him watching a finished episode of Angel, calling us up and saying "nice job." Man’s much too busy for more than that.

TR : Lately you’ve been writing and directing your own episodes. Is this a direction you want to move towards, or would you still consider yourself a writer first and foremost ?

DF : First and foremost, I consider myself a dockworker. This writing and directing stuff just pays the bills until the shipyard’s hiring again.

TR : This season on Angel is supposed to be episodic then the massive mythological ones of last season. Is there still going to be overlaying story arc to the entire season, or simply a series of smaller story arcs ?

DF : Yes.

TR : Gunn is supposed to undergo a major character change this season, partly due to the panther scene last episode. What can the fans expect from him now ? And have we really seen the end of the Gunn/Fred/Wes triangle ?

DF : The fans may be expecting a little more of Gunn then we’ve yet delivered. But, essentially, he’s big, brainy Wolfram & Hart lawyer now, and the one who’s second in command under Angel. There are more Fred and Wes to see, but Gunn, it seems, has moved on.

TR : What kind of recurring characters can we expect this year ?

DF : I dunno. What "kinds" do you have in mind ? Besides Harmony and the W&H liaison, Eve, I mean. ’Cause that’s all we got in the recurring category.

TR : With the ghost of Lilah hanging about Wolfram & Hart, does this effectively put an end to the romance between Fred and Wes ?

DF : Lilah is, in fact, not hanging around, so the answer is no. Or rather, there’ll be other impediments to Fred and Wes’ relationship.

TR : What hints can you give to the characters arcs for Angel, Spike, Wes, and Fred this season ?

DF : Let’s see... Imagine Angel as a successful older brother to Spike’s put upon "living in his shadow" younger brother, and you’ll have an understanding of their dynamic. Contentious, but with an understanding that they’re two of a kind. Wes’s father will come to visit, with emotional consequences for Wes.

Fred’s like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory running W&H’s lab. And she will become involved with someone.

TR : This cast is a little top heavy with testosterone, which actually makes it quite effectively the opposite of Buffy, is there a reason for this ?

DF : None at all. Just fell out that way when we lost Charisma. It’s something we’ll rectify as soon as we can find the right chemistry.

And have you SEEN Lorne ? !... You can’t tell me there’s testosterone in there.

TR : Finally, what teasers can you give the fans to look forward too this year.

DF : Visits from old friends (but, alas, not Buffy) and enemies... Flashbacks to the first time Spike and Angel meet... Jeff Bell’s homage to Mexican wrestling... Possibly Muppets...

That is all.