Angel

Question: In regards to your recent Angel issue celebrating its 100th episode: First off, I am so glad David Boreanaz got the cover, and that you not only did an interview with him to celebrate the 100th episode of Angel but that you also included Joss Whedon. The interview was great. I and many fans I know enjoyed it. The episodes you picked for the high points were the right ones. The interview gave a lot of hope for the future of the Angel/Buffy relationship, which I am all for. However, I was upset about how the Cordy/Angel relationship was represented as having no followers, when I know for a fact that there are thousands of people who "ship" them to no end. So that said, I would just like to congratulate the cast of Angel (in its entirety) and the crew on 100 wonderful episodes, and hopefully many more. I would also like to thank you again for the wonderful issue. Who am I kidding? I would also like to thank you for the pictures. - Ashley R.

Matt: I’ll be honest that the majority of mail I’ve received regarding our coverage of Angel (including Shawna Malcom’s interview with David and Joss) was not nearly as positive - mainly because of the snub many people felt was implied in our comments (or lack of) about Cordelia, and what was seen as our lack of outrage over Charisma Carpenter no longer being a cast regular. Personally, I miss Cordy, and don’t feel Angel has yet found a female character to fill that void. (I also miss Lilah, while we’re on the subject.) I’m eager to see her on the 100th episode this Wednesday (Feb. 4), but I’m more or less over it, and anecdotal evidence about a legion of shippers posting their outrage on fan sites isn’t the sort of thing that tends to change my mind. Ever since Cordy ascended to the heavens, and given what happened to her last season with Connor and giving birth to the Jasmine creature, I felt her place in the Angel-verse was on shaky ground. (And let’s not forget how the character pretty much disappeared for a while the season before at the height of all the Connor-Holtz-Wesley intrigue, for whatever reason.) Cordy was and still is an essential part of the Angel story, but I’ll respectfully disagree with those who think she was more suitable as a romantic foil for Angel than Buffy, the legendary Slayer without whom this show would not exist. And now for one of the more heated responses...

Question: I’ve read the latest issue, with its obsequious piece on Fox property Angel, and what purports to be your selection of top 12 Angel moments. I can’t blame you for the interview, but please tell us whether you really picked the 12 episodes or whether the selections were made by Whedon and/or Fox suits with your name stapled on at the end. I can’t believe you came up with this list on your own. There is not a single one of the 12 that captures any of the wit and drama that Cordelia Chase, easily the show’s most fascinating character, brought to Angel. How could you at least not pick "Birthday," where Cordy knowingly gives up the starring actress role she always coveted so that she could continue her part in the mission? Or "Room w/a Vu," or "Waiting in the Wings," or "That Vision Thing," or "Billy?" I thought you had a bit more class than to cater to Whedon’s pathological need to strike back at Charisma. I guess not. It will cost TV Guide this subscriber and, I suspect, quite a few more. - Jake

Matt: Sorry to disappoint you, but would you rather we just ignore the show? I hated not finding a way to put "Waiting in the Wings" on the list - it was surely one of the most artful and haunting of Angel episodes - but this is absolutely my list (chosen after consulting other Angel fans in the office). Without being too defensive about it, the intention here for the most part was to spotlight the most startling, dramatic, shocking moments of the series, with the focus on the mythology of Angel himself. (My original idea for a subhead was "moments in the making of a myth/legend.") We had to cut the list for space, and a few major Cordy moments were dropped, including the jaw-dropper when she killed Lilah and later set Angelus free. But, for the record, she isn’t altogether absent from this list.