Angel: Fun Trivia

Angel

You can't really talk about Buffy without mentioning Angel, can you? Last week it was about the cheerleader turned slayer series. Well this week, I wanted to mention Buffy's love interest, Angel. This was the vampire with the soul who went from being a side character to nabbing his own spin-off. Here are some fun trivia about Angel:

1. This little tidbit was too good to pass. Anyone remember lovable Count Blah from Greg the Bunny? Well, guess who was the man behind the puppet? Puppeteer Drew Massey, the same guy who dabbled with the Angel puppet in “Smile Time”. Nicely done!

2. This one's for the slightly out-there fans. Ever wondered about the finer details? Like say, Angel's business number? The number printed on Angel's calling cards is  213-555-0162. And what about that hotel which became his office premises for a while? The address for that is:  1481 Hyperion Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026.
Boss is scruffier than normal today
3. There are a number of interesting actors making guest appearances in Angel. Die-hard Whedon fans will already be familiar with the faces from the Firefly series – Gina Torres, Adam Baldwin and Summer Glau. Torres played the min controlling entity called Jasmine (and was lovable Zoe on Serenity). Baldwin was the the liasion with the powers that be (and gun loving Jane on the next series). Summer Glau had a cameo role unlike the others who were there for a number of episodes; she was the enchanting prime ballerina in Angel and was later cast as quirky River in Firefly.

4. I've always made jokes about Buffy dying in every other season. Someone even made a t-shirt, comparing death scenes between Daniel Jackson (from Stargate) and Buffy Summers. Here's something that slipped the radar – the number of times when Angel lost his soul. Apparently it happened four times, at least that's how it was by the end of 5 seasons.

5. This is another fun fact that Whedon fans will love. Joss Whedon himself did a small side role in one of the episodes. It was nothing dramatic or wall-smashing. Oh no, it was very tongue-in-cheek and rather sporting actually. Remember Lorne's brother, Numfar, who does the dance of joy? Guess who that was!

6. The story of how Andy Hallet, Lorne, got his job is an endearing tale. According to various reports, he was buddies with Whedon prior to his stint on Angel. And Whedon was quite impressed with his singing capabilities. So one fine day, he asks him to audition and before you know it, Hallet was donning horns and green goo to play the part of The Host. Incidentally, this was Hallet's very first acting role; he didn't even have an agent before this.
Lorne
7. One of the most debated topics about Angel is the departure of Charisma Carpenter. She plays the part of Angel's seer, Cordelia Chase. I must say, I agree with some of the arguments – it was somewhat sad to see her character follow the weird Greek tragedy route (sleep with the son, conspire to kill the father, plans for world domination, etc. etc.). She was one of the most likable female characters. Cordelia went from being the shallow in-crowd girl to the mature, demon-kicking seer. But when the Connor arc came through, things got a bit ...weird.

Well, the development of the plot is up to Whedon; it is his vision after all. But that doesn't mean the internet is not buzzing with rumors about Cordelia's departure. One of them state that her character had to undergo a drastic change as the pregnancy was announced. Some link to this rumor by saying that she needed time off to sort out personal issues. Whedon and Chase appear to be on good terms to this day and thus, it is fair to say that there are probably just baseless rumors.

8. Watch out wannabe Vampires! The development of Angel as a series marks a definitive moment for modern depiction of fictional vampires. So is it any surprise that David Boreanaz's rendition of the broody vampire was listed amongst Wizard Entertainment's top 5 vampires. The list was as follows: 5. Wesley Snipes as Blade (“Blade”); 4. Gary Oldman as Dracula (“Bram Stoker’s Dracula”); 3. Angelus (“Buffy”); 2. Cassidy (Preacher); 1. Béla Lugosi as Count Dracula (“Dracula”). In a list that contains Mr. Lugosi himself? Now that's something to be proud of.