Angel

In the Whedonverse, there are many funny moments. Even in a dark, noir-esque show like Angel, there can sometimes be too many to count. From Angel’s whacky dance moves to Angel’s whacky singing voice to... really anything performance-related Angel tries to do (pun absolutely intended), the show had some seriously hilarious moments.

Here at Joss Whedon Examiner central, we’ve managed to narrow the list of funny moments from Angel down to a top baker’s dozen. Of course there will be some heated, impassioned debate over what we’ve chosen, but that’s what the comments section is for!

So now, without further ado and in no particular order, I give you the thirteen funniest hijincks Angel Investigations ever got up to on Joss Whedon’s Angel:

Angel the puppet. The crowning moment of hilarity in Angel is "Smile Time", an episode in which demon puppets take over a children’s TV show, and in fighting the danger Angel is transformed into a puppet version of himself. There are no words to express the brilliance of a tiny, brooding, leather-clad felt Angel beating up a laughing Spike.

Gunn’s reaction to Angel buying ballet tickets. In "Waiting in the Wings", Angel betrayed Gunn’s trust by getting tickets to the ballet, instead of tickets to Gunn’s favorite band. Gunn’s dead-pan accusations of betrayal are matched in hilarity only by his utter enchantment with the ballet later in the episode.

Angel and Wesley dancing. In the episode "She", Cordelia throws a house party, at which point Wesley and Angel prove that they were made to fight the forces of evil… not dance. Ever.

Spike doing Angel’s voiceover. In the episode “In the Dark”, Spike comes to L.A. to bother Angel. While watching the Champion from a rooftop, he provides Angel’s dialog to a vampire victim, making fun of Angel for his “nancy-boy hair gel” and being “a big fluffy puppy with baaaad teeth.”

Numfar’s dance of joy. Really, the whole Pylea storyline –in which Angel and Co. visit Lorne’s home dimension and madness ensues– is comedic genius. But nothing is more fun than Lorne’s cousin Numfar (a fantastic cameo by Joss Whedon) doing the dance of honor and the dance of joy.

“Harm’s Way”. In season five, we get a whole episode devoted to Harmony, the Sunnydale HS valley-girl-turned-vamp. The episode drums up a little sympathy for the otherwise ridiculous character, and gives us many funny moments.

“Guise will be Guise”. In which Wesley poses as Angel to get the team out of a tight spot. At that point in time, Wesley is awkward, clumsy, and regularly puts his foot in his mouth… all of which he continues to do while bumbling his way through a trenchcoat-clad performance of the brooding, heroic Angel.

Every time Lorne calls Angel a pastry. From "cinnamon buns" to "Angel cake", Lorne is quite free with his pet names for the Champion.

Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn sing "We Are the Champions." I have no words to express how great their drunken karaoke moment is.

Angel being jealous of Groo. In "Couplet", the Grooselag gets all up on Angel’s turf, guilelessly stealing his girl, wearing his clothes, and even going so far as to practice with Angel’s favorite broadsword.

Spike and Angel go to Italy. In "The Girl in Question", Spike and Angel travel to Italy to help Buffy. Jealousy drives them a bit crazy (even though they never actually talk to Buffy), and they’re at each other’s throats while dealing with stereotypically-Italian types. Think lots of “ciaos” and Angel/Spike squabbling. Also, they get replacement leather jackets… and Angel’s is not exactly what he had in mind.

Fred speaks Gunn. There’s something very special about a scrawny white Texan girl asking her black boyfriend if she can say "dawg” even after he tells her she can’t say “bro.”

Cordelia. Blunt, brutally honest, and not fitted with a verbal filter of any kind, Miss Cordelia Chase is the comedic crux of the show. It would be impossible to narrow down her funny lines to just a few. She’s the sparkling beacon of comedy in Angel’s dark, brooding world, and for that we thank her.