Reading Angel : the TV spin-off with a soul / edited by Stacey Abbott.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Abbott, Stacey.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Angel (Television program : 1999-2004).

Television programs.

Physical Description:

xviii, 265 pages ; 22 cm

Other Title:

TV spin-off with a soul

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : I.B. Tauris, [2005]

Summary:

Angel, the vampire with a soul, haunted by his brutal past and his tragic love for a slayer, was moved by his creators Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt in 1999 from their successful series Buffy the Vampire Slayer to his own spin-off series Angel. With a cast of characters as tormented by their pasts as is Angel himself, the spin-off has evolved into a dynamic, original series with its own preoccupations, exploring a darker vision of alienation, atonement and the fight for redemption, with humour and a fine, noir style. Covering all five seasons, and with a complete episode guide, Reading Angel is the first book to discuss Angel as a distinct series in its own right.

Reading Angel looks at the cinematic aesthetics of Angel, its music, editing and mise-en-scene. It investigates the show's shifting portrayal of masculinity, its strong noir Los Angeles setting, and its demonization of racial difference. It examines the impact and influence of comedy, the superhero and horror on Angel, and would not be complete without considering corporate and global evil in the form of Wolfram & Hart. These themes and more are addressed in this critical tribute to Angel for its followers and fans, by writers who are drawn together by their fascination with the vampire with a soul.

Contents:

Kicking Ass and Singing 'Mandy': A Vampire in LA / Stacey Abbott 1

Part 1 'It Was a Seminal Show Cancelled by the Idiot Networks': Narrative and Style on Angel

1 Angel: Redefinition and Justification through Faith / Phil Colvin 17

2 Ubi Caritas?: Music as Narrative Agent in Angel / Matthew Mills 31

3 Transitions and Time: The Cinematic Language of Angel / Tammy A. Kinsey 44

4 A Sense of the Ending: Schrodinger's Angel / Roz Kaveney 57

Part 2 'The Big Wacky Variety Show We Call Los Angeles': The City of Angel

5 Los Angelus: The City of Angel / Benjamin Jacob 75

6 Outing Lorne: Performance for the Performers / Stan Beeler 88

7 'LA's got it all': Hybridity and Otherness in Angel's Postmodern City / Sara Upstone 101

Part 3 'Hell Incorporated': Wolfram & Hart's Big Bad

8 Gender Politics in Angel: Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Corporate Climates / Janine R. Harrison 117

9 The Rule of Prophecy: Source of Law in the City of Angel / Sharon Sutherland, Sarah Swan 132

Part 4 'Trapped in What I Can Only Describe as a Turgid Supernatural Soap Opera': Issues of Genre and Masculinity in Angel

10 The Dark Avenger: Angel and the Cinematic Superhero / Janet K. Halfyard 149

11 'And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine': Wesley/Lilah and the Complicated(?) Role of the Female Agent on Angel / Jennifer Stoy 163

12 From Rogue in the 'Hood to Suave in a Suit: Black Masculinity and the Transformation of Charles Gunn / Michaela D. E. Meyer 176

13 'Nobody Scream ... or Touch My Arms': The Comic Stylings of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce / Stacey Abbott 189

14 Angel's Monstrous Mothers and Vampires with Souls: Investigating the Abject in 'Television Horror' / Matt Hills, Rebecca Williams 203

Part 5 'Let's Go to Work': The Afterlife of the Spin-off with a Soul

15 Afterword: The Depths of Angel and the Birth of Angel Studies / Rhonda V. Wilcox, David Lavery 221

16 'We'll Follow Angel to Hell ... or Another Network': The Fan Response to the End of Angel / Stacey Abbott 230.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [249]-253) and index.

ISBN:

1850438390

OCLC:

61164560