THE MOVIE

Originally a spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel centres around a 300 year old vampire called Angel (David Boreanaz), formerly known as the evil vampire Angelus, who has been given a soul via a Gypsy curse leaving him desperate to atone for his past sins. His quest eventually leads him to Los Angelus where he sets up a Detective Agency, Angel Investigations. With the help of Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), Wesley (Alexis Denisof), Gunn (J. August Richards) and Fred (Amy Acker), Angel attempts to "help the helpless".

Please note if you have not seen the earlier seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel I strongly recommend that you do not read any more of the plot synopsis.

Continuing the tradition of great characters, performances and writing originally set by the Buffy series, Angel is slightly darker and more adult in tone then it's parent show. Over the past three seasons Angel has grown and developed to such an extent that it has become a success in it's own right, with the third season easily surpassing the simultaneously-screened sixth season of Buffy.

Although the first year was really a collection of stand alone episodes the second season of the series took a dark turn with the development of a strong multiple episode story-arc. Season three had an even deeper and more defined season arc than the previous year and proved to be a fantastic instalment in the Angel series. Season three also marked the first time the series was forced to stand alone from the Buffy series with the parent show moving to a different network in the US. Although this meant an end to the entertaining crossovers between the two shows, it did allow the series to develop it's own interesting plot arc which did not have to fit in with the events in the Buffy series. That said though Buffy's death in the fifth season finale of her show and her eventually resurrection still impacts on Angel for the first couple of episodes.

The first half of season three is devoted to Angel having to face the consequences of his past actions and decisions (including those from his Angelus days and his treatment of Darla (Julie Benz) in the previous season) while struggling with his growing yet unrequited love for Cordelia. Meanwhile Cordelia's visions are becoming worse, affecting her both mentally and physically, Fred is having trouble adjusting to life in Los Angelus after being a slave for five years in Pylea, and Wesley and Gunn are both beginning to develop feelings for Fred. Of course the law firm Wolram & Hart, and in particular lawyers Lilah (Stephanie Romanov) and Gavin (Daniel Dae Kim), continue to affect the lives of those at Angel Investigations. Meanwhile a new foe, Holtz (Keith Szarabajka), from Angel's past arrives.

Overall the third season of Angel is very strong and provides some of the most dramatic, poignant and exciting episodes of the series to date. Although patchier then the second season, especially in the second half of the season, the third season of Angel is definitely the best season so far, largely due to the successful season long story arc and subsequent character development for all of the main characters. The majority of the 11 episodes contained in this boxset are well written, managing to successfully mix humour with horror and the concerns of adulthood. Highlights include the episodes That Vision Thing, the disturbing Billy, Lullaby, and the fun Birthday. In fact the standard for most of the episodes is very high and compares with the standard set by the multiple-arc storyline of the second season. There really is only one weak offering in this batch of episodes. Although the premise is sound unfortunately the script for That Old Gang of Mine just doesn't met the standard of the rest of the episodes.

Angel Season 3 Part I contains the first 11 episodes of the third season spread over three discs. The episodes on these discs are:

Disc 1:
Heartthrob
Still mourning Buffy's death Angel happens to dust a vampire from his evil Angelus days while on a routine vampire hunt. Unfortunately her boyfriend of a couple of centuries isn't to happy with Angel killing his beloved and seeks revenge.

That Vision-Thing
Cordelia's already painful visions start to have more serious physical side effects. While trying to work out why The Powers That Be are harming her, Angel's investigation leads right to Lilah.

That Old Gang of Mine
Gunn's loyalties are torn between his current demon-hunting team and the gang he used to fight with when he learns that a string of brutal and indiscriminate demon murders is the work of members of his former gang. Meanwhile Cordelia attempts to help Fred readjust to the world

Carpe Noctem
An old man (Rance Howard), in an effort to stay young, uses an ancient spell to switch bodies with Angel, leaving Angel trapped in the soul switcher's frail body in a retirement homr

Disc 2:
Fredless
Fred's parents make a surprise visit to Angel Investigations causing Fred to flee from the hotel. Not trusting Mr. and Mrs. Burkle, the gang prepares to protect Fred from them---providing she can be found. Meanwhile, a strange, insectile demon stalks the crew.

Billy
Angel and Cordelia are forced to deal with the consequences of releasing the partially demonic Billy from his fiery prison in hell, when a wave of violence against women is traced back to Billy whose touch has the power to make otherwise good men brutalise women. The team rush to try and find Billy before another brutal attack, unaware that Wesley has been affected and he's alone in the hotel with Fred.

Offspring
As the crew researches a prophecy predicting the imminent arrival of a being who may have a profound impact on the world, Darla returns and reveals to the team that she's pregnant with Angel's child.

Quickening
As the team try and determine what kind of baby Darla will have, news of her pregnancy spreads and causes pandemonium at Wolfram & Hart. Meanwhile the newly resurrected Holtz (Keith Szarabajka) begins his search for Angel.

Disc 3:
Lullaby
As the team seeks sanctuary for the birth at Caritas, Lilah discovers an ominous prophecy concerning the baby. While Darla goes through a difficult labour, Hotlz pursues Angel.

Dad
While trying to work out how to be a good father, Angel is forced to try and keep his son safe from the many demons, vampires and humans who would like to harm the baby. Meanwhile, Holtz goes about recruiting new help for his quest to destroy Angel and joins forces with another vampire hunter.

Birthday
On her birthday a powerful vision knocks Cordy out of her body, leaving her physical self in a vegetative state. Cordelia learns that her visions will kill her unless she goes back in time and chooses a different path in life, a life that doesn't include Angel.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

Released for the first time in widescreen Angel is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. It is great to see the series being released in widescreen, especially since it was broadcast on Australian TV in 1.33:1, an aspect ratio which really affected the enjoyment of the series since characters (even when speaking) were often cropped from the picture. The picture itself is sharp and clear, although grain is present it is mostly low-level and is rarely noticeable unless actively looking for it. Colours are beautiful, solid and bright. Shadow and black details are quite good. There are a couple of instances of aliasing but nothing that distracts. I did not notice any film artefacts, although impressive it isn't unexpected given the age of the episodes. The disc is single sided and dual layered with the layer change occurring between episodes. Overall an outstanding transfer for a television series.

Audio:

The disc features a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded audio track. The mix is very strong, with more bass and directional effects then some 5.1 tracks. Although most of the mix is sent to the front and centre speakers the surrounds and the subwoofer is used effectively throughout to provide ambience, effects, and the score. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand and I did not notice any audio sync issues. A great audio track that is one of the best I've heard for a television series.

THE EXTRAS

The box set contains a reasonable selection of extras, that are similar to extras found on previous Angel releases. Overall a nice extras package although I would like to see something other then a static menu on the Angel DVDs, especially considering some of the interesting menus that the Buffy releases have received in the past.

Disc 2:
Billy: Commentary by Tim Minear and Jeffery Bell (Writers)
Although an improvement on some of the commentaries featured on past releases of the Angel series, this one still is a little dissatisfying. It's amusing and it does touch on some interesting topics including the writing of the episode and the controversy surrounding it, however the comments are a little too disorganised and incoherent. Would have been a little better if the participants had made some notes before hand.

Disc 3:
Lullaby: Commentary by Tim Minear (writer/director) and Mere Smith (script coordinator)
Better then the commentary for Billy, Minear and Smith cover a number of topics including the development of the script and how particular shots were achieved. Amusing in parts unfortunately the commentary begins to degenerate towards the end.

Featurette Darla: Deliver Us From Evil (12:08 minutes) Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, this featurette uses interviews with the cast and crew of Angel to examine the character of Darla from her first appearance in the first episode of Buffy right through to her appearances in the third season of Angel. A rather nice look at one of the most interesting characters in the so-called "Buffyverse".

Outtakes (4:50 minutes)
Number of grainy outtakes, mostly bloopers, from the third season. A nice addition to the extras package that is perhaps best watched after you have viewed all the episodes.

Deleted Scene from Birthday with optional commentary by Tim Minear and Mere Smith (4:02 minutes)
An amusing, mostly due to how bad it is, deleted scene from the episode Birthday which is meant to be a scene from "Cordy", the situation comedy in which Cordelia stars in an alternate universe. Although interesting, it's easy to see why it was deleted from the episode. The scene runs for four minutes but the final minute was lifted straight out of the final cut. Tim Minear and Mere Smith provide an amusing commentary and explain what the scene was intended to do and why it was deleted. The commentary ends about three minutes in, which is where the cut footage ends and the footage reverts back to the final cut for the last minute.

Trailers
Six trailers for past DVD releases of both Buffy (Seasons 2, 3, and 4 as well as the original Buffy movie) and Angel (Seasons 1 and 2) are included. All of the trailers have been featured previously on Buffy and Angel DVD releases.

SUMMARY

Highly recommended the third season of Angel is possibly the best season of the series so far. Featuring excellent video and audio quality and some nice extras this is a must buy for fans of the series.