"Angel" Articles/News

[PokerKitten]

Rather marvellous article on Ats and Angel(us) from Ron at slayage.com

www.slayage.com/reviews/000070.html

[PokerKitten]

From the palmbeachpost.com Thursday, July 17, 2003

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- David Boreanaz isn't really listening to me.

The Angel star, you see, has his eye on some leggy babe at The WB's party here during the press tour for fall shows.

"Oh, baby," Boreanaz gushes while I try asking him about Angel's upcoming season. "Do you see the legs on that one?"

Uh, of course I do. I try again.

"So what do you think about the fifth season?"

"Long and lean, baby," Boreanaz says, eyes darting devilishly. "Long and lean."

For some reason I don't think he's talking about the show.

Finally, Boreanaz, clearly not the brooding sort in person, takes his eye off the lady and focuses on me.

"It's going to be exciting. The characters are going to be different. The environment is going to be different," he says. "I'm looking forward to it."

The WB is certainly looking forward to Angel attracting more viewers next season. The show was in serious jeopardy of getting pink-slipped but was picked up at the last minute after creator Joss Whedon agreed to make it more accessible.

"There's going to be opportunities... to take Angel out of the tunnels, take Angel out of the darkness and create more of a stand-alone franchise," says Jordan Levin, The WB's entertainment president.

And Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Spike (James Marsters) will also join the cast. (We knew he didn't really die!)

Says Levin: "That'll give us the opportunity to basically take the mythology of both worlds and collapse it into Angel."

Eugh! I never really had a problem with DB himself, I was indifferent, but....

[Cyrus]

Yeah, I saw him on a late night talk show once, and he was very Angelus-like, mixed with a bit of your typical caveman guy.

[PokerKitten]

Extract from James' latest interview with SFX (September issue) - nothing spoilery!

Judging by the mountains of letters received by SFX, the Brits like Marsters too. At the mention of how pleased our readers were to discover he was joining Angel, the actor looked shocked.

“Really?”

He was one of the most popular characters on Buffy, after all.

He looks absolutely astounded. He’s about to deny it, but I know for sure that it’s the truth. Honestly, if Spike hadn’t joined Angel , I say, there would have been an outcry. People would have been furious!

Now he just looks embarrassed, so chooses to deflect the praise by talking about one of his favourite subjects in the world – Joss Whedon.

“Joss is so excited about it, too. He started to write my entrance scene in Angel as he was supposed to be writing the death scene in Buffy, and he had to stop himself! He was getting so excited about the potential, and the things that he could do.”

So, Spike and Angel in same show. It’ll be like two roosters in a henhouse. Does Marsters see them competing, on-screen or off? He lays the question to rest with ease.

“It’s his show” he affirms. “Believe me, I’m not gonna out-sexy David Boreanaz!”

Ah, but maybe he will: after all, Angel no longer removes his shirt on the show, whilst Spike does it at the drop of a hat. Marsters laughs a particularly dastardly laugh when I point this out, not at all offended to be discussing the allure of his chest with a virtual stranger.

“Well, you know, maybe we’ll have a shirt-off competition, I dunno! No, it’s definitely Angel’s show; and if the show’s going to continue to succeed it’s because the character of Angel gets more and more interesting as the years go by. They’re not gonna do anything that’s going to corrupt that at all. There’s potential there for conflict with Angel, because Spike knows that Buffy really loves Angel and not him…. And Angel hates Spike because he’s been there recently! I don’t think these guys are gonna be doing any high fives.”

Marsters shrugs. “Then again, we say that, and Joss might do exactly the opposite. At the same time, both of them have souls now, so there might be some connection between them.”

[nightnurse]

"Believe me, I'm not gonna out-sexy David Boreanaz!"

How sweet, he really doesn't know that he out sexy's(!) Brood Boy just by breathing!!

[PokerKitten]

The poor man is deluded...

[PokerKitten]

Interview with J August Richards:

Zap2it.com

'Angel's Gunn, Charles Gunn

By Kate O'Hare

In 10 years, "Angel" star J. August Richards would like to be wearing a tux, driving an Aston-Martin and drinking a martini (shaken, not stirred). The same goes for his character, vampire hunter Charles Gunn.
"Gunn, like me, has a James Bond obsession," Richards says. "He would love to be James Bond, and it's a great role that I would love to be, someday."

While Richards acknowledges it may take a decade for him to grow into the part, he doesn't let the fact that an American -- especially an African-American -- never has played the quintessential British spy.

"My cousin, who's visiting, he's 15, and he was the first one who pointed out to me that being black might be an obstacle to getting it," Richards says. "I never really thought that way. I never really thought that would be an issue, but I guess that's just the way I think."

Richards can affect a British accent and ride a horse (three times, on-screen), but he might need to work on his motorboat and motorcycle skills.

"But, I definitely believe that I can learn to do anything in a short period of time," he says. "If I have any talent in this world, that's what it is. I'm very adaptable."

Some of Richards' adaptability was on display earlier this year on "Angel," which returns to Wednesdays this fall for a fifth season on The WB Network. In an episode called "Players," Gunn took a break from his duties with the evil-fighting crew at Angel Investigations in Los Angeles to team up on a mission with electrically charged thief Gwen Raiden (Alexa Davalos).

Along with donning stylish threads to infiltrate a high-society party (and romancing the heck out of Gwen at the end), Gunn showed off his fighting skills, especially in a sequence where he used a long pole to vanquish several assailants.

"It's probably 95 percent me," Richards says. "That was probably my highlight of the year, even though I tend to hold the acting more important than the action. But, it was a very intricate fight scene.

"They kept expecting me to step out and let my stunt man step in, but I just wanted to do as much of it as I could. I just kept going, pushing myself, saying, 'Faster, faster, let's do it faster.' I was in a zone that day, and I would not let that scene go."

Admitting he'd never worked with a pole before, Richards says, "That was part of the magic of that day. I just learned it right there. A lot of the flourishes, I threw in myself. That was a part of doing it over and over again. I remember, when I was a kid, my sister was a majorette, and she used to let me play with her baton. That basically was what I was doing, just rolling it through the fingers. That was a great day."

Added to "Angel" at the end of its first season, Gunn was the leader of his own vamp-killing squad on L.A's mean streets. After being recruited by Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire with a soul, into his team, Gunn has had trouble fitting in.

Gunn's struggle came to a head this past season, as his romance with co-worker Fred (Amy Acker) fell apart, and he began to wonder if there was a future for him with Angel Investigations.

"The struggle became, 'Am I just the muscle in this group, and how fulfilled am I by that?' " Richards says. "That was the real question, and I think the panther answered that."

The panther in question appeared to Gunn in the season finale, as he and the members of Angel's crew were offered new positions at the Los Angeles office of their chief nemesis, the evil law firm of Wolfram & Hart. After throwing in the towel against Angel, W&H ceded the L.A. territory to him, along with the vast resources of their fabulous office tower.

While each team member faced temptations linked to his or her personality, Gunn's wordless encounter with a black panther in the tower's otherworldly penthouse left many questions unanswered for viewers.

"I imagined he was speaking to me with no words," Richards says about playing the scene. "I felt the panther told me what my place was and what my purpose was, and that was where the shift comes."

So, Richards reveals, expect a new and improved Gunn this season. "What they did tell me is that, in some ways, the only thing that's going to be the same about my character is the name. In a lot of ways, I'm going to be playing a brand-new character. He'll also have a different look, which I really can't give away."

For what it's worth, Richards, who has had his head shaved for the role, showed up at The WB's annual summer press-tour party with hair.

Other changes are in store for "Angel," as former guest star Mercedes McNab returns in a recurring capacity, playing the Valley Girl vamp Harmony, a role she originated in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Joining the regular cast is Harmony's former flame, the also-ensouled vampire Spike (James Marsters), last seen apparently sacrificing his life to save the world in the "Buffy" series finale.

"There are going to be a lot of guys on the show," Richards says. "I'm really excited about it. I know James and his work. He's a fantastic actor."

Sarah Thompson ("Boston Public") has also joined the show as Eve, Angel's liaison with Wolfram & Hart's senior partners.

Not in the cast this fall, though, is Charisma Carpenter, who played popular girl turned demon-fighting champion Cordelia Chase in both "Buffy" and "Angel," and who became a first-time mother earlier this year.

"I'm going to miss Charisma," Richards says. "I just loved having her on the set and her energy. She's a great person. I'm just trying to stay open-minded. But, hopefully, Mercedes and Amy will keep the estrogen quotient high."

[PokerKitten]

DB has been talking about playing Angel, here - www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6623303.htm

And here is what he says about James/Spike:

Boreanaz said the series has been revamped - so to speak - and will include the bleached-blond bad-boy bloodsucker Spike, played by James Marsters, from "Buffy," which ended its run in May.

"(Spike's) presence will be felt right off the bat toward the end of the first episode," said Boreanaz, who added that he's not sure how the two rival vampires will get along. "It's something that's going to be a pretty strong relationship between the two of us. We'll have to see how all these dynamics fall into place."

[PokerKitten]

"Angel" has made the covers of the US Guide.... quite a big deal as it is a mag that gets everywhere! But ewwww, I so don't like the cover pic They look like waxworks!



ChickNLittle did the scanning!

[PokerKitten]

But OMG, this one is waaaay better, from inside:



Pity BroodBoy takes so much space But oooh James, what a sexy scowl!

[PokerKitten]

And yeah! From the contents page:

[Cyrus]

OMFG!
Must find Guide...
I think I'm gonna...

[PokerKitten]

Here's the article to go with the pics! Again courtesy of ChickNLittle

THE BIG FANG THEORY –
Angel nearly dies, but Spike’s here to give the vamp show lots more bite

By Shawna Malcom

ON THE HOLLYWOOD set of WB's Angel, the brooding, do gooder title character, played by David Boreanaz, is sitting in his office, lost in thought. He glances up at Wesley, one of his crime busting partners, and asks, "You don't think he's really gone, do you?"
Within moments, his question is answered: Spike, the trash talking, platinum blond vampire, comes striding in, clad in his trademark leather trench coat.

For a guy who was last seen going up in flames on the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he looks remarkably unsinged. The actor behind Spike, James Marsters, is obviously thrilled by his resurrection. "With the writers we had on Buffy, I felt like we could have gone at least two more years;"he says during a break. Buffy and Angel creator Joss Whedon first approached the 41 year old actor last winter about transplanting his 123 year old character to Angel. Marsters jumped at the chance. "I have never felt bored doing this character. I don't know when I will be able to do something this delightful again, so why bid it goodbye before you have to?"
Spike's encore will be tied to the amulet that played a key role in Buffy's finale. "He's not just going to walk in and go, 'You wouldn't believe what just happened to me. I dreamt that I was burnt to a crisp,'" Whedon says. "We're going to bring him back in the most painful and confusing way for him possible."

Spike isn't the only one getting a second chance. For four seasons, Angel performed consistently, if not spectacularly, for WB, yet it hovered near cancellation last spring. The problem, according to WB president Jordan Levin, was partly financial (in order to stay on the air, Angel ultimately had to cut its budget) and partly the series' creative direction. "We wanted to brighten the show," Levin says.

So the vampires got a revamp. "Last year's plotlines were a little darker;" Boreanaz says, relaxing on a leather couch on the show's set. "This year, it's a whole different spin. There's more humor."

Levin admits that incorporating alums from Buffy, the cult hit that WB lost to rival UPN after five seasons, played a pivotal part in Angel's renewal. "We wanted to be able to fuse the two shows' worlds," he says. "We wanted to know there was an openness to doing that."

Marsters isn't the only one who quickly signed on. Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, is in serious talks to make a two-episode appearance, likely during either February or May sweeps. And another Buffy character Spike's former flame Harmony, played by Mercedes McNab will appear throughout the season as Angel's new assistant at the sinister law firm he and the gang took over in last season's finale

Other developments to sink your teeth into: Former gang member Gunn undergoes a mysterious procedure that transforms him into a top attorney; science whiz Fred gets recruited by Spike, who's desperate to feel like his old self again; and an enigmatic new character named Eve offers up her services as a liaison between Angel and the law firm's senior partners.

Two major players have vanished, however: Angel's tortured son, Connor, and comatose Cordelia, who had been with the show since Day 1. According to Whedon, both exits were dictated by the story lines. "It was time for Cordelia to go;" seconds Charisma Carpenter, who will guest star on NBC's new fall comedy Miss
Match. "I really don't know what was left to do with her."

Whedon has a few thoughts, though he's reluctant to go into much detail. "We'd like to do arcs with both Cordelia and Connor," he says cryptically. But let's not be coy here: It's Cellar the fans really want. Whedon won't divulge details, but he will allow that Buffy's presence will create more tension between the two vamps who've loved her Angel, her first boyfriend, and Spike, her most recent. "In order for all of them to get along," Whedon says, "one of them would have to die. Again. And I don't want that."

Neither does Marsters, who came to play, albeit by his own rules. "I'm starting to do what I did at Buffy, which is go off in a corner by myself;" he says. "Some of that's probably the character. But I suck at team sports. I always have. It's more like, 'Throw me the ball. It's my ball.'"
The show's original star doesn't seem particularly comfortable with that idea. "Remember, it's called Angel;" Boreanaz says. "Spike is one of my henchmen. He is underneath me."

Sounds like Angel's already baring his fangs.

[from Guide September 6-12, 2003]

[PokerKitten]

The new edition of Shivers has an "Angel" feature. Online article, or order the mag for the full one, plus pics - www.visimag.com/shivers/h107_feat01.htm

As Buffy ends, attention switches to its spin-off series, Angel. But how will the radical changes at the end of Season Four affect our heroes? And what about the new arrival?
Angel’s been a bit good recently. If, as is likely, you’re one of the people not watching it, then that’s something you really need to remedy. The final episode of Season Four, Home, was a fabulous end to what had been, quite simply, one of the best seasons of popular television in years. A six-month critical summation of the many strengths that this cleverly multifaceted series has at its disposal. Dramatic, funny and cynical, the episode and, indeed, the season, reminded us that Angel is a show about choices and hope – just as its parent show, Buffy, always was.

For a while, however, as Season Four careered towards its dramatic conclusion, it appeared as though this may have been our final glimpse of the activities of Angel Investigations. The perilous nature of US network television is such that even if a show is regarded critically, if the ratings aren’t up to scratch then the series ain’t gonna last. Following several months of speculation, however, the revamp proposed by the production team in Home paid off and the series was picked up in May by The WB for a fifth year. So, the future’s bright, as the crew’s skills combine to produce an underrated, under-appreciated, overlooked gem. Next year, if there’s any justice, Angel will finally get the wider recognition it deserves.

Season Five will be something of a homecoming for Joss Whedon, who is believed to be working close to full-time on Angel next year. However, the really big news surrounding next season came with the confirmation, in May, that James Marsters would be joining the regular cast, reprising his popular Buffy role as Spike, the (other) Vampire with a soul. ‘We think Spike could add something to the show,’ writer/producer Tim Minear noted. ‘He’s a great character and a great actor.’ Given Spike and Angel’s complex past – a touchy master/pupil relationship, tinged with mutual mistrusts, enlivened by both having, at one time or another, shared the bed of Buffy Summers – sparks are, somewhat inevitably, bound to fly. Rumours concerning what Spike is actually returning as – ghost, Human or Vampire – have done little to quell the anticipation of fans for a whole year of watching James Marsters and David Boreanaz acting together.

What we do know about Season Five is that the Angel Investigations team is now running the LA branch of Wolfram & Hart. In this regard, they will face their biggest challenge to date as they battle to maintain their integrity whilst being offered temptations of almost Biblical proportions. Whatever it was that happened to Gunn in The White Room in the final episode of last season will, no doubt, have a significant impact on his character’s development. Similarly, Wesley’s motivation in getting into Wolfram & Hart in the first place – to save the soul of his former lover, Lilah – has seemingly failed.

by Keith Topping

[PokerKitten]

For 'Angel,' may absence
make the heart grow fonder

Returning tonight after a summer's needed rest

If the WB wanted to build an audience for its on-the-bubble cult hit “Angel,” which barely was renewed last spring thanks in part to a lackluster crop of drama pilots, banishing it from the summer schedule seems a strange way to do it.

After several months away, “Angel” returns tonight with a superlative rerun from last fall. Good as the episode is, though, it will be tough for non-returning fans to jump right in to the intricate plotline.

By skipping a summer's worth of reruns in favor of the direly low-rated original hour-long commercial “Pepsi Smash,” the WB missed a chance to expose a new group of fans to its unique show.

Perhaps they're hoping potential viewers will simply buy the first- and second-season DVDs and jump back on for season five this fall.

But the WB may have missed an opportunity. Fans of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the erstwhile UPN show that began on the WB and parented “Angel,” is gone. “Angel” could fill that (admittedly smaller than it used to be) gap.

Whatever the reason for its summer absence, “Angel” has four weeks to rehook viewers before its fifth-season debut in early October. It's commitment – not mindless viewing – but in a summer where “Who Wants to Marry My Dad” was the general measuring stick, maybe that's not a bad thing.

www.medialifemagazine.com/news2003/sep03/sep01/3_wed/news6wednesday.htm


Interesting. By contrast, us Brits have been faring better on the catch-up thing, with Channel 5 having bought Seasons 3 and 4, and vowing to screen them without a break (we're thundering through S3 now). Which will probably mean by the time the new season hits the infamous Sky channel for those who subscribe, they can be all up-to-date if they need to be.

[poohcorner]

JM hotness....the inside pic, in the blue shirt is so yummy! He looks incredible....that, I think is now one of my most favorite pics. Hope everyone has seen it in the guide because I don't know how to post it.

[PokerKitten]

It's already posted sugarlump (trust me, that IS a term of endearment. Sometimes they lose something in the transatlantic translation, lol!), on previous page. And at the main site.

[poohcorner]

Ah, so there's the picture...when I came on before it wouldn't open just the cover and the pic of JM and DB opened. So, I wasn't sure it was up. Thanks for telling me, I went back and poof it showed.

[PokerKitten]

Covr of the latest "Shivers" mag - oldie but a goodie!

[PokerKitten]

At last!" Proper, new promo pics for Ats from the WB.... I am putting a couple up in the Angelic Spike gallery at Bloody Spike as we speak... er, well, as I type Be warned, take your smelling salts and a few comfy cushions for when you *thunk* ;D

Angelic Spike