Angel

Reaching into the V&S archives, we’ve retrieved what will ultimately be a comprehensive look at the early seasons of Joss Whedon’s ANGEL, offering up the views of one of that show’s guiding forces, Tim Minear, who provides an inside look at the show in general and individual episodes in particular. This serialized coverage will be presented, following today’s introduction, every Tuesday and Thursday. Tim Minear’s television writing career has been a long and, as far as genre fans are concerned, fruitful one. He got his start on LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN and THE X-FILES, and segued over to the Whedonvers for ANGEL, FIREFLY and, now, DOLLHOUSE, stopping along the way for WONDERFALLS, THE INSIDE and DRIVE.

Just prior to ANGEL, Tim had worked with Howard Gordon (BEAUTY & THE BEAST, 24) on the short-lived STRANGE WORLD, an experience that led Gordon, who had been a creative consultant on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and was serving for a brief tenure in the same capacity on ANGEL, to encourage him to come over.

“Howard was really pushing me for ANGEL,” Minear explains. `We sort of still wanted to work together after STRANGE WORLD. But I was resistant about going back and doing a genre show. There was actually interest in me in other mainstream shows like LAW & ORDER, and I wasn`t sure if I wanted to do the genre thing again because I had sort of done it. But the notion of working with Joss Whedon was the thing that pushed me over the edge and I ended up taking it. They offered it to me very early, before any of the other shows were firming up any other offers. They were trying to staff quickly, and [executive producer] David Greenwalt was pretty persistent.

“I had had experiences before where I`d be on a show and the leading man was, let`s say, only okay,” Minear continues. “What I learned was that if you had a star, a guy who could really carry the show, then you could probably have a success, and I thought David Boreanaz was just that guy. I think a lot of people weren`t sure, based on his role in BUFFY. He sort of played this one-note thing, but I thought he could do a whole lot more. I also thought that he was a lot like David Duchovny in that this is a guy you want in your living room. In television it`s very tricky. You can go to a movie and you can see somebody like John Malkovich. You could go specifically to see that guy, but do you want him in your living room every week? I think David [Boreanaz] is sort of a classic leading man, action star-type guy. I think he`s definitely got the charisma for it and I think he`s got the chops for it, as he proved all year. He`s just gotten better and better.”

Boreanaz probably best proved his range in the second season of BUFFY, when Angel lost his soul and reverted back to the evil Angelus, spending most of the year torturing, maiming or killing those closest to the Buffster. “He just blew everybody away,” enthuses Minear. “He`s really good, and the nicest guy ever. No attitude at all. He totally sets the tone on the set, and the crew loves him. He`s a real workhorse. He`s got to be, because he`s in practically every scene. Just a pleasure.”

The proof of the actor`s strength is the fact that the show`s ensemble has shifted and changed over the course of the season, and Boreanaz has continued to be its anchor. First we lost Doyle, then we gained Wesley. Faith came aboard briefly, went in an unexpected direction and will hopefully return next year, and then there was the addition of Gunn - a street kid who passed the time killing vampires, until he ran in to Angel.

“Building an ensemble definitely gives you more places to go,” Minear opines. “I think it`s like the difference between a combo and an orchestra. Oboes are great, but you don`t want just oboes. You want to have the full complement of the sound so you can create what you want. I think we`re getting there, and you can see that Joss has done it brilliantly on BUFFY. He just kept adding characters and you`re thinking there`s just no way he can service all of them, but he does. Each one brings something interesting to the dynamic and changes it in some fundamental way. I just think he has been really brave in doing that. And each character is so specific.”

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