Angel (TV Milestones Series) by Stacey Abbott

Angel (TV Milestones Series) Reviews

• 
  Margaret Robbins

  I've loved the horror genre since I was a late elementary school student who read RL Stine, Christopher Pike, and Fear Street stories. I came to the Buffyverse fandom later than some people, when I was a graduate student in my early thirties. It fit my emerging research interest of empowered female protagonists in speculative fiction. I loved Buffy because of the characters, and because it reminded me of my own teen years, since I was in high school/college at the same time as the central characters. I loved Angel because I could relate to what they were going through in early adulthood, and still can in some regards. Angel, I believe, is underrepresented in scholarship, so I was glad to see this book explore the show in more depth, especially since I'm so interested in Angel and Faith's relationship, as further explored in the comics. I have a better appreciation of the horror genre and film noir as a result of reading this book and look forward to exploring more of Abbott's work.
• 
  Meltha

  I enjoyed this. While the series Angel had its highs and lows, there was a level of commitment to aesthetic here that was remarkable, particularly on the part of the writers, as well as a strong sense of bending and breaking genre conventions. Abbott breaks the book into five sections: "collective vision," "generic hybridity," horror, masculinity, and breaking the rules. While I'm a BtVS and Angel fan, horror has never really been my thing, but she explained her points particularly well in that section. I think the final chapter on the ways Angel twisted genre expectations in "Spin the Bottle," "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been," and "Smile Time" was my favorite due to its clear focus on just how unusual the show could be while maintaining it's storylines and characterization; in short, it could use unusual and strange formats without being untrue to itself. The research was also very well done. That's one long bibliography.
• 
  Nikki

  Very enjoyable and accessible text. I must say it's small size was just perfect for carrying around to read during the lines at this year's Comic Con. Of course, it was not it's small size that kept me reading. It was Abbott's mastery of understanding "Angel" and the characters, not to mention her wonderful writing style. I felt like I was sitting in the front row of one of Abbott's classes as she gracefully shared insights and responses to the series.
  
  Chapter 1 ("Grrr Aaargh!" The Collective Vision of Mutant Enemy) offers insight and analysis of Faith's expanding arc on "Buffy" and "Angel." The Faith that appears on "Angel" is much darker than what we ever saw before. Abbott examines the different writers that worked on this character, leading to a discussion of changes of core writers in season four of "Angel." Abbott ultimately praises season four, pointing out the clever manner in which it addressed character development and issues brewing from the series' start.
  I will admit that I was rather frustrated during the original airing of season four. While I do think it would be best to know Cordy's possessed when she's doing insane things like being Jocasta to Connor's Oedipus, I now accept season four as an essential part to the Angelverse. I have enjoyed it upon on rewatching.
  
  Chapter 2 ("Creeped out and Comforted at the Same Time": The generic Hybridity of Angel) takes a fascinating look at the hybrid of genre's "Angel" utilizes for all five seasons. Abbott uses three key episodes to discuss these different genres: "Billy" (horror), "Lullaby" (melodrama) and "Guise Will be Guise" (comedy).
  The ability for the series to both shift between and intermingle varying genres is a testament to the writers and creators and how well-developed the series truly is. (Darn the WB for cancelling it!!)
  
  Chapter 3 ("Does Giant Tentacle Spew Come out with Dry Cleaning?" Angel and TV Horror) is in response to arguments that the restrictions of television prohibits the appearance of the horror genre. Abbott argues that horror is not "simply the explicit display of gore." She then provides examples, especially regarding the various traumas the bodies of our heroes undergo throughout the series.
  Spike's trip to what he believes to be hell and Angel's nightmare sequence are definitely horrifying!!
  
  Chapter 4 ("Cavemen vs. Astronauts-Weapons to Be Determined": Angel, Masculinity, and Male Friendship) is a discussion of the male friendships on the series, particularly Angel and Doyle and then Angel and Spike. Abbott discusses the "homosexual subtext of the buddy genre," looking at how "Angel" uses humor "less [as:] a way of getting around the sexual tension than a means of acknowledging it."
  One of my favorites among such moments: Angel takes the pink helmet to ride behind Wesley on his bike. Ha!
  
  Chapter 5 ("It's a Little Outside the Box: How Angel Breaks the Rules) explores "how 'Angel' regularly broke the conventions of television drama," an argument Abbott has been building throughout her book. Her examples here come from "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" "Spin the Bottle," and "Smile Time." (I remember when I first saw the preview for the Angel-turned-puppet episode I thought, "Joss either just totally lost it or is more brilliant than ever." Of course, the latter proved to be true.) Abbott looks at these episodes as "experiment with narrative and storytelling conventions," which in and of itself makes argument for the brilliance of Whedon and his writing staff. In her final argument, Abbott shows that Whedon's work is complex in the ways it deals with story, aesthetics, and genres. She concludes the series stands on its own as much more than a spin-off to "Buffy."