Popcorn and Twizzlers

Angel was a darker, more serious incarnation that spun off from the Buffyverse. It featured Angel, the vampire with a soul, the flighty Cordelia, and a boozing, but sexy Irishman [originally]. The show never felt like a copycat of Buffy. It had its own message, and while the show wasn't what you'd call educational television, it was an incredibly witty and cryptic show. It's humor caught you off guard at just the right moments and the episodes managed to live in the world of Buffy, yet stand on its own two feet. Each season became more enigmatic and intricate. Unlike Buffy, there was no "creature of the week". Every episode stood as a piece of the complex tale of Angel, a vampire still tormented by the his past, struggling to redeem himself and quelling his inner demons. Angel's past was always linked into the show, whether it be a flashback of murders he had committed, or an enemy met while living in the skin of Angelus, his soulless, murdering alter-ego. The interweaving tapestry of Angel's history, combined with well-written and evolving characters and storylines was power and attracted fans of the genre.

Fans were more than unhappy when it was announced that the current season on their screens (Season 5) would be the last one. There were rumors since the end of the third season that Angel might not make it and fans let out a breath of relief each time the WB made the right decision and kept the show on. Eventually, the WB made the wrong decision.

A new version of Dark Shadows was planned, called Barnabas Undead, which was to air in 2004 and take the place of our beloved Angel. Having been a big fan of the 1991 Revival Series, I would have been okay with the way the WB mishandled Angel...maybe. However, things didn't turn out as planned.

"There was a director assigned to it, Rob Bowman, who was a terrific director," Garth Ancier of the WB said. "He pulled out to do a feature film. We had a new director come in who was accomplished in movies, but frankly didn't do a particularly good job, and the rest is history."

Basically, the WB salivated over a big-time director being attached to Barnabas Undead, and when he pulled out, the WB dropped the project like a hot rock, leaving us with...nothing. No Dark Shadows, and they cancelled Angel for no valid reason. Angel was doing pretty good in ratings, the quality of the show was only getting better with the arrival of Illyria, a demon who had taken over Fred's body and had powers such as creating portals and slowing down time and well, being REALLY strong. I named my daughter after her and any time a fellow fan hears her name, they exclaim: "Like the blue smurf demon? Oh my GOD, that is SO cool!" Yeah, some of us fans are a bit hardcore.

If the show had to be cancelled, fans would have liked the WB to give Angel the time to play out its story arc successfully. Instead, in the last six episodes, you can see what was meant to span months turn into six episodes of quick-quick-quick. For example, Illyria was supposed to be an enemy of Angel & Co. for awhile before losing her powers and becoming an ally. Lots of loose ends had to be tied quickly. Overall, the show just had to scramble to try to leave the viewer with the best ending they could with the limited amount of time they had left. Unfortunately, almost any Angel fan you ask will tell you that a) the last few episodes were rushed and really took out a lot of elements of the show that we loved. There just wasn't time for witty repartee and build-up. It felt like scrambling. And b) the season finale was disappointing and not right for the send-off of the show.

Enraged fans everywhere blame Jordan Levin, the WB executive who is known to fans as "the guy who cancelled Angel" and "the guy who didn't pick up Dark Shadows 2004,". May Wolfram & Hart have mercy on his soul. Joss Whedon tries to placate fans of his show by saying that this ending was exactly what he had wanted. He's posturing and telling an outright lie, as he's done many times to throw fans off, such as when he said "Buffy and Spike WILL NOT ever be together. We've done the vampire and slayer thing once already". Then, what do you know, Spike and Buffy are together for numerous seasons right after Joss told us he wouldn't be going down this road. I do believe that the message of the finale was what he always wanted to do, but the events leading up to it were not planned ahead, considering they didn't know the show was going axed in favor of Dark Shadows. You could see all his carefully developed sub-plots suddenly pack themselves up and join a huge story line for the finale that attempted to encompass all of Angel's messages and leave you thinking. Joss Whedon did the best he could for the show's ending, and unfortunately, it wasn't enough for fans of his show.

Is there any chance either show will be resurrected? Very doubtful. Angel's David Boreanaz is already on Bones on FOX, and I believe at least a few of the other actors have moved on to different projects.

When a show is abruptly cancelled, do you wonder what the writers had in store for the next season? I certainly do. Shows like Angel and Tru Calling did not have a chance to smooth out storylines and give you a sense of closure, leaving the viewer to ponder What Would Have Happened On...? Carey's got the interview Joss Whedon gave regarding the demise of Angel.This blog fills you in on what was meant to grace our screens, but never did. The blog details the unwritten, unaired "what would have been" next seasons on Eerie, Indiana, Nightmare Cafe, Everwood, Joan of Arcadia, Quantum Leap, Wonderfalls, and Dark Angel, just to a name a few.