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RSS FeedWhich Joss Whedon TV series was better: Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel?
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| Buffy | 68% | 459 votes | Total: 673 votes | |
| Angel | 32% | 214 votes |
Buffy
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Add to FavoritesI believe that Joss Wheden put more love behind "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" than he did "Angel". The show spawned from the belief that Whedon could redeem himself from the movie "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" he wrote in 1992, starring Kristy Swanson. While I personally thought the movie was fun, Whedon felt that his script was destroyed with re-writes to make the script more comical. He eventually left the production set and never came back.
Then the real Buffy was born. The show was his baby, created in 1997, and was so good that it lasted seven seasons. Had Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of the show, been more inclined to continue playing Buffy, the show could have gone on for even longer. Instead of trying to work around the loss of Gellar, Wheden decided it was best to end it there. "The show has reached a logical conclusion," he said. And while fans understood, the majority of them felt as though they had a stake through their heart. The show had a cult following.
"Angel", on the other hand, only lasted five seasons. And it didn't end because Joss Wheden decided to end it, or because the actors wanted to move on. It was canceled. That says a lot about ratings, though this show had a lot of fans as well.
The Characters Behind every good show, there are good characters. If the acting and writing is done right, fans grow attached to these characters and live vicariously through them from week to week. "Buffy" had that element to it. People cared about these characters as if they were old friends.
There was Buffy, the witty spitfire beauty who had this gift that was more like a curse at most times. Willow, the kind-hearted genius who grew so much throughout the show. Xander, the fun-loving guy who might not have had any power or brains to contribute, but had heart. Giles, Buffy's mentor, who was the wisdom of the show. Angel, the love of Buffy's life, who had a dark side. And who can forget Spike, the cocky vampire who brought so much spice to the show?
Every time I watched this show, I felt a connection to each character. I laughed when they laughed. I cried when they cried. As pathetic as that sounds, that's what a phenomenal show will do to fans.
In "Angel", you were still attached to the characters, but not as much. Fans were still missing the "Scooby gang" from "Buffy". And while characters on "Angel" had a sort of camaraderie, it just wasn't the same.
Angel, of course, was the dark hero who's heart was in the right place, but there was always an evil lurking within. Cordelia was the superficial girl who tends to annoy other characters and fans alike. Wesley, the book smart character who could be very dry at times. Charles Gunn, the brawn, who was like Wesley's other half, adding street smart to the mix. Lorne, the musical demon who's makeup looked a bit cheesy, which went along with his singing. Winefred, the timid mouse who had the heart of a lion. And finally, Spike. The savior of the show. Without his comical element, the show would not have been as successful as it was.
The Plot "Buffy" was more about slashing actual demons and monsters. It was about facing the demons and monsters that reside in each one of us. We all have problems that we are facing, and while Buffy was kicking ghouls to the curb, she was dealing with normal, everyday issues that teenagers face too. Drinking, responsibility, sex, parents, etc. The show was a metaphor for life.
Episode staples In "Buffy", there were several episodes that were unparalleled to anything you've seen on TV. Take "Hush", for example. When residents of Sunnydale lose the power of speech, the Scooby gang has to figure out a solution. In the meantime, they are communicating with each other through not only dry erase boards, but through body language as well. The majority of the hour long episode was silent, yet you couldn't help but to love every minute of it.
"Once More With Feeling" was another great episode that had me worried at first. It was a musical. But the songs were actually entertaining enough for me to get the soundtrack.
"The Body" is probably the most haunting of episodes. This is when Buffy's mother dies from a natural cause, something Buffy isn't as accustomed with. The episode was created without a musical soundtrack, so the drama of it all is absorbed so differently. Usually music is included in shows to create drama, not the other way around.
Lastly there is "The Gift", in which Buffy sacrifices herself for her sister. Thinking that this could be the end of the show, Wheden did an excellent job portraying emotion through Buffy and her sister, Dawn.
The only episodes on "Angel" that stand out in my mind are "Smile Time", when Angel and Spike are transformed into puppets, and "Not Fade Away", the last episode of the series. "Smile Time" was great for comedic purposes only. There's just something about vampires turned puppets that is amusing. "Not Fade Away", of course, will be remembered as one hell of a cliffhanger series ending. Frustration pulsated from Angel fans when we were just left wondering, "what happened?"
Conclusion "Buffy" was written better and had better characters. More care was put into each episode, though the series had its slumps. However, "Angel" had even more of those slumps, despite its two season deficit. "Buffy" was just stronger, and critics agreed. And as the Helium poll about this title suggests, fans agree as well.
Learn more about this author, Kelly A. Mello.
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Angel
Which series was better? Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel? Both Joss Whedon shows, a man, who in my opinion, can create and write circles around anyone in the entertainment world. Being a huge, huge fan of not only the shows but the actors as well, makes this a very difficult decision for me. Add to the fact that I feel very disloyal to Nick and Aly (Xander and Willow), my two very favorite characters, it makes it hard for me to cast my vote for Angel. But I have and these are the reasons why.
1) The main characters. While Buffy loved her friends and would listen to their suggestions, 99% of the time it was her way or no way. And even if her way was wrong, or Buffy hurt her friends feelings to accomplish her goals, or she rushed into a situation head long and got a friend hurt, somehow the writers made every thing work out so that the viewers would hopefully feel sympathetic towards Buffy instead of the injured party. Whereas on Angel, even though he was the leader, he listened to everyone's contributions. And when he made the huge mistake of firing his friends because they were his only ties to doing the right thing, it was Angel that was proven wrong. It was his friends we felt sorry for. It was Angel who had an epiphany. It was Angel who went to his friends and apologized for being such a jerk. It was Angel who put Wesley in charge so everyone would learn to trust him again, even knowing that he would have to take orders from a mere human. Not an easy thing for a vampire to do.
2) The supporting characters. The characters on Angel were allowed to mature and grow while staying true to character. Wesley, the bumbling ex-watcher, became a wise, hardened, yet compassionate man after going through more than one trial. But through all of this he still retained his lack of self-esteem due to the harsh upbringing of his father. Cordelia, the spoiled little cheerleader from Sunnydale who hated being involved with the Scoobies or the fight against demons, transitioned into a woman who accepted the visions given to her and fought tooth and nail for justice, while still showing glimpses of her "Queen C" attitude. Gunn, the streetwise character we knew and loved did become a lawyer in Season 5, but he still admitted that he wanted to hit the streets and kill the bad guys and in the end, that's exactly what he did. Fred, the shy, scared little girl from Texas who ended up in Pylea, became a fierce fighter who could hold her own, yet still let her brains lead her. Change but yet consistency. However, on Buffy, while the sidekicks were allowed to grow up as well, they were not consistently written true to character. Tara and Dawn might have been exceptions to the rule but the others were subjected to being changed for dramatic effect or storyline purposes. Are we to believe that Willow, the girl who loved Tara so much she tried to end the world when Warren killed Tara, would fall into bed with the first girl who came on to her, less than a year after Tara's death? Not a chance. Spike, the vampire capable of love but also the only vampire to have killed two vampire slayers would suddenly fall in love with a vampire slayer? I might have believed that if, after the chip were removed, Spike had realized that his obsession for Buffy was not love but merely the obsession of a vampire who couldn't kill his third slayer. After his and Buffy's first time, Spike even eluded to that fact by saying that he knew the only thing as good as killing a slayer would be going to bed with one. Giles, the man who tolerated Angel because Buffy loved him, suddenly sides with a total stranger in the guise of Principal Wood, goes against Buffy's wishes and tries to kill Spike because his chip has been removed? It's hard for me to believe that Giles would be so tolerant of Angel and so willing to kill Spike given the fact that Angel(us) had killed Giles' girlfriend and left her dead on his bed as a present while Spike was merely annoying. And the biggest example of all? Xander. Time and time again, we were given glimpses of just how smart and strong the 'normal guy' could be, only to be given the bumbling, silly sidekick the next episode. Every time I thought Xander would be consistently shown to be capable and smart, I was disappointed. No more so than when the 'white knight' of the group walked away from Anya at the altar. Yes, I can believe Xander calling off the marriage after being shown all his fears of hurting Anya. What I cannot believe is that the loyal, caring Xander that I had fallen in love with through almost six seasons could walk away and leave Anya to tell everyone of their decision. If it had been written in true character instead of for dramatic effect, Xander would have joined Anya in telling all their friends and loved ones that they had decided not to marry instead of running away like a coward.
3) Character utilization. Even when Angel and Company took over Wolfram and Hart, they still remained the main core of the show. They weren't overshadowed by Eve, Lindsey, or the Senior Partners. Not even the popular and loved Spike received more air time than the others. Yet on Buffy, when the Potentials came to town, many of the main characters were kicked to the side as the Potentials were given more and more air time. Only Buffy, Willow and Spike remained on screen as much as they had in previous years. While I know the Potentials had to be given some air time, they were not the characters we had learned to love and loved to watch.
4) Emasculation of the male figures. Being a woman and a mother of two girls, I loved Joss' idea of 'girl power', showing that females don't always have to be victims. That there are strong women in the world. I applaud that but not to the point where it emasculates all the males around them. I mean, are we to believe that two of the most powerful vampires of all time, namely Angel and Spike, would need to be rescued by Buffy during a fight? How many times did I watch them fight alongside Buffy, only to get their butts kicked by fledglings and have Buffy rescue them? Two and two in this case does not add up to four. On his own show, Angel was never taken down by a weaker vampire and was strong. As was Spike when he showed up for Season Five. They both managed to fight the good fight, help and care for the humans around them and still be terrifying to watch when they were angry.
Yes, Buffy had some of the greatest and most creative episodes of all time. "Hush", "The Body" and "Once More, With Feeling" to name a few. However, in assessing both shows in a hopefully impartial way, I would have to stick with the reasons I named above and go with Angel as being the better show.
Learn more about this author, Cathy Miller.
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