After an all-nighter of fighting the lurking evil, we get eggs

[hannasus]

If anyone knows anybody who lives in Texas (besides me, because I already voted), remind them to go out today and vote (hopefully AGAINST the hideous Proposition 2).

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore Joss Whedon? It bears repeating, often. Hence, the Angel U.K. Boxed Set comes with a letter from Joss to Angel fans. Via astridv, from here:

Joss Whedon's letter to Angel fans:

Dear Angel Fan...

"..and she'll have a love interest, a mysterious stranger named Angel who turns out to be a vampire! But a vampire with a soul, cursed to walk the night in eternal remorse for his evil deeds.."

No wait. That's way too cheesy. Nobody will ever buy that.

Such were my thoughts as I developed the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I knew Angel wouldn't (forgive the pun) fly. I was frantic. And then something wonderful happened.

I totally didn't come up with anything better.

So this guy was born, and not only did people buy him, they loved him. I loved him, at least 76% platonically. I loved him enough to create, with my partner in crime David Greenwalt, his own show. "Angel". And then it got weird. Well, weirder.

The thing is, "Buffy" was a simple premise that developed into a complex show. "Angel" was not a simple premise, not for guys like Dave and me. We couldn't just have noble, handsome, dark hero rush in and save various days. We tried. That ain't life. We found that "Angel" needed to be a show about our darkest journeys, not unlike Buffy except that Buffy had a grounding; she had a destiny, an arc, a posse. We knew where she had to go. We had NO IDEA where Angel had to go. And so he went everywhere: up down, good, bad, left, farther left... off the edge of the world and home for supper and the thing is, it ended up being as much or more about our lives than Buffy was. We weren't 'chosen' (not for sports, anyway). We had no destiny. We lived on the edge of chaos, personally, narratively... even as Angel surrounded himself with more and more of a family (and we found more and more wonderful actors for David Boreanaz to play against), that central core of warmth and safety that Buffy enjoyed was missing. The result is before you in toto: The long, strange trip that is five years in the life a vampire. Not long enough, I would argue, but plenty with the strange. For your listy goodness, a few of the moments herein that made my life worth living:

-Angel locking a roomful of lawyers in with two peckish vampire gals.
-Buffy swearing never to forget her time with Angel, right before she does.
-Faith in the rain, begging Angel to kill her.
-Princess Cordelia.
-Darla's horrified accusation, "While Spike - SPIKE - was out killing a Slayer, you were busy saving Missonaries!... From me." (True emotional Vampire logic, courtesy of Tim Minear.)
-Lilah dressing up Fred to seduce Wesley. (Gentlemen, start you therapists!)
-Any and all karaoke.
-Fred and Wesley, deeply drunk.
-Gunn in the White Room, meeting his match.
-The biggest, bloodiest and most personal Spike/Angel fight we've ever shot.
-The silliest, most pointless Spike/Angel argument we've ever shot.
-Dude, puppets!

With no star to guide us, we sailed into waters filled with dragons and mermaids and a few really impressive icebergs. We made some of our most compelling television, reinventing season by season, show by show, moment to moment. This is our odd little odyssey, and no, we never did reach the shores of safety, but that's sort of the point. We don't go through the Hell of existence - the pain, the drama, the meaninglessness and confusion because it's safe, or simple, or will end happily now or ever after. We do it because nobody ever come up with anything better.

So enjoy it. I did.

Signed,
Joss Whedon


*LOVES*

So, to play along with Joss (because who doesn't want to play along with Joss), here is more listy goodness--my own personal favorite Angel moments (some of which are the same as Joss').

- BUFFY: "I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget... *flash* ...So, then let's just stick to the plan. Keep our distance until a lot of time has passed, and given enough time, we should be able to..." ANGEL: "Forget."

- Cordy and Angel watching the video of Doyle. Both times. "So don't lose hope. Come on over to our offices and you'll see that there's still heroes in this world... Is that it? Am I done?"

- Angel making breakfast for Cordy and Wes. "After an all-nighter of fighting the lurking evil, we get eggs."

- Angel holding Faith in the rain. "Angel please, just do it. Just kill me."

- Lindsey and his evil hand. "Me, I'm unreliable. I've got these evil hand issues, and I'm bored with this crap."

- Cordy and Wes caught reenacting the Buffy/Angel saga. "Kiss me!" "Bite me!" "How about you both bite me?"

- Fred's breakdown in front of her parents. "But if you're here and you see me then... then it's real! And it did happen. If you see what they made of me... I... I didn't mean to get so lost!"

- Angel holding Darla--again in the rain--when she dusts herself.

- All of Smile Time ("I'm made of felt... And my nose comes off."), but most particularly Spike's fight with the Wee Puppet Man.

- The end of You're Welcome, because... *sob*

- A Hole in the World, because of cavemen and astronauts, Fred's boys ("I've fought plenty of mummies, and none of 'em were as pretty as you."), and the ending that left a hole in the world ("Please, Wesley, why can't I stay?").

- Wesley and Illyria in Not Fade Away. "Would you like me to lie to you now?" "Yes, thank you. Yes."

Comments

[kiss-me-cassie.livejournal.com]

I laughed, I cried, I... you really had to post that, didn't you? Now I'm going to be goofy all day. (Well, goofiER.)

[hannasus.livejournal.com]

It's Joss' fault, blame him. :)

[kiss-me-cassie.livejournal.com]

Uh-huh. Because he MADE you post that stuff. PLUS mention Doyle! And Lilah! And Illyria! Yup, all his fault.

[hannasus.livejournal.com]

He did! He totally made me do it!

How could I not, after reading his list and remembering all the wonderful sad/funny/bittersweet moments that I love so much. I probably could have added a dozen more. Like Angel buying all the sandwiches for Cordy and her telling him she loved him and that great smile on his face... Ack! Must stop, have work to do.

Joss is evil. EVIL!

[kiss-me-cassie.livejournal.com]

He really is. Joss and Aaron Sorkin. Someday I will manage to write up the pathetic post I have about both those writers. Meanwhile, I think I'm gonna go for a big whopping BtVS/Angel nostalgia day and try to FINALLY get the mood theme up on my LJ.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Ah, Darla dusting herself... can't believe I forgot that one. I still get goosebumps when I think of that scene.

Nostalgia is contagious, eh? :)

[hannasus.livejournal.com]

Angel... rain... a crying girl... an alley... it's a deadly combination.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Yup. And, not just a crying girl... Angel's crying, too. And then Darla dusts herself and Angel stares at his son, and ... man, I love that scene. What a great show. Really, I don't think any other show has that range, from comedy to drama, sometimes within the same episode.

Sadly, my friends and I are almost done with our AtS-rewatching extrapalooza. Fortunately there're still seven seasons of Buffy waiting.

[hannasus.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to remember... is that the only time he visibly cries or were there others?

[astridv.livejournal.com]

In 'Home', just before he slashes Connor's neck, his eyes are teary and he's almost crying? Hm, definitely need to rewatch that one. Also, I think there were a couple of times during s3 of Buffy. (Incredible, how Boreanaz' acting has developed since then, when you compare those really emotional moments.)

[em-meredith.livejournal.com]

BUFFY: "I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget... *flash* ...So, then let's just stick to the plan. Keep our distance until a lot of time has passed, and given enough time, we should be able to..." ANGEL: "Forget."

*sob*

[zandras-court.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. I still manage to forget how much I love both these shows. But here's one that always touched me:

Cordy pregnant with evil spawn (again!) and Ghost!Dennis floats her a tissue and pulls her covers up. It was so sweet.

I also can't forget the look on Lorne's face when he catches Wes singing the lullabye.

Is anyone else getting the big Buffy Set next week? I'm debating whether to sell mine and get it for the new stuff. My only question is if the extras that are on the current sets will be on the new one, along with the new extras.

[hannasus.livejournal.com]

Cordy pregnant with evil spawn (again!) and Ghost!Dennis floats her a tissue and pulls her covers up. It was so sweet.

I also can't forget the look on Lorne's face when he catches Wes singing the lullabye.

Good ones! Also the look on Lorne's face when Fred sings at the beginning of A Hole in the World kills me every time.

Let's forget that I am coming late to the party

[kinderny.livejournal.com]

I watched my first Buffy episode last Thursday (for a whole variety of reasons). Keeping in mind that I often fast forward through scary parts, can you append season and or titles to your above recommended episodes? I don't mind watching a few "extra" episodes to appreciate a story arc- just would like to avoid the eps that are particularly gruesome and can't manage the 20+ episodes for 5 seasons or whatever it was. Suggestions are appreciated. If this discussion would work better via e-mail, I think your have my eddress.
Chris

Re: Let's forget that I am coming late to the party

[hannasus.livejournal.com]

So you want recs for Angel eps or Buffy or both? Lemme think about it and I'll get back you via email. Is the addy on your LJ user page okay? This could be fun...

Re: Let's forget that I am coming late to the party

[kinderny.livejournal.com]

Hmm- I just checked and I can only get Buffy DVDs from the library, so I guess it will have to be Buffy. (But emphasizing those eps that focus on Angel is okay too.) It's just that so many folks have been raving about those shows for so long, and the littlest axe murderer is now old enough to 1) let me watch TV unmolested (sometimes) and 2) not get freaked out if there is something violent/scary onscreen if she walks through the room, so it seems time to see what folks are raving about.

So anything you can do-- and yes the e-ddress is good, or you can use chris at the same domain.
Thanks