Structuring the Pilot: Angel — Unsupervised Nerds

Spinoffs must be easy to create a pilot for, right? A lot of the world is already established and at least one of the main characters has probably had years of development thanks to whichever show they spun off from. On the surface, these sound like positives, like they give the series a head start over all the original shows that have to create these elements from scratch.

Well, it’s not that simple.

The biggest advantage that spinoffs have, can also be its biggest complication. While all the development and world building that occurred in the original series exists, it can’t be assumed that everyone watching this show would have ever watched that one.

This whole situation leads to an interesting kind of balancing act, where on one hand the spinoff must explain enough of the relevant points from the parent series to be accessible to new viewers, while on the other it must keep from spending too much time retreading old ground to avoid boring old viewers.

I’m going to breakdown Angel to see how exactly it pulls off this laying the groundwork for a spinoff. It follows the character of Angel after he leaves Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the end of season three, a series he had been on since its pilot.

Angel – “City Of”

Written by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt

Directed by Joss Whedon

Cold Open: Introducing Angel

(A) Angel narrates about LA.
(A) Angel fakes being drunk as he keeps an eye on some guys.
(A) Angel saves women from vampires; reveals he is a vampire too.

The episode starts with narration that primarily works to establish two things: the world (LA) and the fact that monsters exist in it. While Buffy hid the existence of monsters until it could pull off a bait and switch reveal at the end of the opening scene, Angel has images of them thrown into this montage so nonchalantly that if you’re not paying close attention you might not even notice.

The rest of the cold open exists to both define Angel (for new viewers) and to catch up with where he is now (for Buffy viewers). He starts off rambling to people at a bar, explaining he is here because of a woman, it’s enough of a trope that even new viewers can appreciate he went through a breakup without needing much more set up. But, it’s all an act. Angel is there to keep an eye a few guys.

These guys turn out to be vampires, an important first appearance for this series. Though there are all kinds of demons and monsters in both this series and Buffy, vampires have always been the most prominent, so it is important to have them shown early on. Doubly important that they are shown immediately as predatorial.

Angel fights all three vampires, showing off his fighting skills and his new wrist mounted hidden stakes. When one of the women come over to thank him for what he’s done, he turns to her, revealing he’s a vampire too. For new viewers, this is the first time they are seeing that our hero is a vampire, and it is directly connected to the moment of revealing how evil vampires are.

On top of just revealing that Angel is a vampire, it also shows him fixated by the bit of blood on the woman’s forehead. It is enough of a moment to show he’s tempted by the sight of blood, something that wasn’t ever the case in Buffy. This is something new, something to hook the viewers who have spent three seasons with Angel already.

Angel leaves the alley alone, turning his back on the women he just saved. The shot that ends the cold open, and winds up in the title sequence for the series, is a perfect representation of where Angel is emotionally right now: alone. He walks down the alley, stepping away from the camera, away from humanity, as he forces himself to be isolated from them. The camera is down low, making the walls on either side of him look even bigger, much like the walls he has put up around himself.

Act One: Exposition and a Mission

(A) Angel meets Doyle, who explains Angel’s origin.
(A) Angel is given Tina’s name; told he needs to save her.
(A) Angel awkwardly starts talking to Tina.
(A) Angel must prove that he doesn’t work for Russell.
(A) Angel brings Tina to a party; she goes to talk to the host.
(A + B) Angel catches up with Cordelia.
(A) Angel finds Tina being harassed; they leave.
(A) Angel is held in the elevator while Tina is grabbed.

The first thing we see at the top of act one is a series of long shots giving us the geography of Angel’s loft and how he moves through an office space to get to it. Since the show will treat this as a base of operations, establishing this basic geography right away is an important step, but one that many shows skip over.

Doyle’s introduced at this point, but mostly as a plot device for his first couple scenes. Though, on a character level, it does come out that he is half demon, which works to help build out that this show isn’t going to be so black and white on the subject of demon’s being evil.

Basically, Doyle’s purpose starts out as a way to catch up viewers who haven’t watched Buffy. This makes for a very exposition heavy scene, where he pretty much just runs through a summary of everything Angel has gone through up to this point: from becoming a vampire, to being cursed with a soul, to falling for a slayer, and to realizing he can lose his soul if he has a moment of perfect happiness.

This info dump is consequence of being a spinoff. While all this history could have remained true if this were an original series, in that case it could have been doled out over time. Because this was all information given in another series, this show needs to get it out of the way as quickly as possible to make sure all the viewers are on the same page.

While I do love the show, this isn’t the most creative way to get the exposition out there, having a character tell Angel his own life story… At least there are a couple funny lines thrown in, and it is over fast enough that it’s like ripping off a band aid.

Now that Doyle has explained the past for new viewers, he reveals his purpose for the series going forward; Doyle gets visions of people who need saving, and because Angel is in search of redemption, Doyle has been sent to tell him about these people. It’s the basic story engine the episodes will lean on going forward: Doyle gets a vision; Angel has to go find the person and figure out how to save them. It’s a perfect way to get him involved with people each episode. In this episode, Doyle needs to take it one step further, he explains that Angel has to get close to people in order to find out how to save them, that if he doesn’t let humans in, he could eventually begin to see them as food (calling back to his earlier fixation on the woman’s cut).

This is the A story of the episode. On a plot level, Angel must save Tina (from Russell, as we come to see soon). But there is also an emotional level to it. Angel must let himself get close to a human to keep himself from eventually turning against them entirely.

So, Angel is given a piece of paper with Tina’s name and the place she works written on it and has to go figure out how to save her. He tries to get her to open up to him, which demonstrates just how awkward Angel is. Even when it looks like this manly protagonist charms the beautiful waitress enough to meet up after her shift, she pulls out pepper spray because she thinks he’s been sent by someone named Russell (setting up an important name for the rest of the episode). This sequence also helps to establish the tone of the show, and how genre expectations can be flipped.

When Tina decides she can trust Angel, she explains her problems can be solved as easily as getting a bus ticket to her hometown. All she needs to do is go to a party thrown by her friend Margo, where she will get the money she is owed and leave. Angel’s here to help, so he offers her a ride.

This party is a great example of finding ways to do two things at once. It is here as a way to progress the episodic story of Angel trying to help Tina, but, the fact that it is happening at a party means that Angel is able to stumble upon Cordelia, the other character who’s come over from Buffy.

Angel and Cordelia have a relatively quick scene together. It is enough to show that they know each other but aren’t close. It shows a bit of Cordelia’s personality and gives her a chance to talk about how well her acting career is starting out, and it continues to cement what Doyle exposited about Angel’s history on Buffy.

The act ends with Angel finding Tina getting away from a man, Stacy, who’s trying to take her somewhere. Angel and Tina leave the party and go down to the parking garage. When their elevator arrives, Stacy’s men tackle Angel back into the elevator, leaving Tina all alone to get taken by them. It is in this act out that suspicions are confirmed that helping Tina won’t be as simple as helping her find some money.

Act Two: Investigation

(A) Angel saves Tina.
(B) Cordelia’s life isn’t what she made it seem.
(A) Angel finds out Tina’s friend disappeared.
(A) Angel gets Tina’s friend’s full name.
(A) Angel investigates Denise; discovers she has died.
(A) Angel takes the sewer entrance into his loft.
(A) Angel loses Tina’s trust; she runs away.

The act starts on a fun gag that has Angel jumping into the wrong car, he quickly manages to save Tina from her would-be captors and takes her away. Aside from the obvious plot purpose of Angel getting Tina back, this scene reveals Angel’s dislike of using guns.

From there we jump over to Cordelia. Her scene reveals that everything she said about how amazing her life has been was a total lie. Her agent is saying no one wants to see her audition, her apartment is small and crappy, and she even took home food from the party because presumably she can’t afford her own. And this is where the B story is cemented. It is one of Cordelia needing help, and needing a job.

With Tina now safely in Angel’s care at his loft, it is time for Angel to figure out more about Russell. The bulk of this act comes down to Angel doing real investigating. He’s heard Tina talk about Russell enough to know he is a problem but can’t get her to say much else. What he does learn from her is that one of her friends, Denise, went missing after trying to get away from Russell.

Angel waits until Tina falls asleep and then looks in her address book to get Denise’s last name. He goes to the library and cross references a picture of Denise online with pictures of unknown women who have been murdered. With this Angel’s suspicion of Russell being evil is confirmed. Because this show is about Angel working as a detective, this becomes an incredibly important sequence in the episode, because it is one of the only points in the episode where he is really doing detective work.

Once again, the episode takes a moment to explain the geography of Angel’s loft. As a vampire, he is at a serious disadvantage when it comes to getting around during the day. This problem is solved by revealing that he can move through the sewers, which connect to his loft.

The act ends with Angel waking Tina from a nightmare, only for her to find the note that Doyle gave him back in act one, the one that says her name and where she works. Tina gets (understandably) freaked out by this note and goes back to believing that Angel has been put up to all of this by Russell. She runs away, and Angel tries to stop her, but when he reaches out to her, his hand catches on fire from the sunlight. His face reflexively changes into his vampire look, and this only scares Tina more.

In this moment, the fact that Angel is a vampire keeps him from being able to protect the woman he has been told he must save. The reason he has chosen to isolate himself from people is being shown to be something that scares them away.

Act Three: Russell

(A) Tina is confronted by Russell.
(A) Angel arrives at Tina’s too late.
(A) Angel watches as Tina is put in a body bag.
(A) Angel plans to go after Stacy to find Russel.
(A + B) Russell talks to a lawyer; sees Cordelia on a tape.
(A) Angel attacks Stacy.
(B) Cordelia is invited to meet with Russell.
(A) Angel packs to go after Russell.
(B) Cordelia takes a limo to Russell’s.
(A) Angel tells Doyle to be his driver.
(B) Cordelia meets Russell.

Tina rushes to her apartment to pack her things, and we see Russell for the first time. Quickly we learn what really makes this guy evil: how much he likes to gaslight his victims. It’s not enough for Russell to just kill someone, he doesn’t reveal himself to be a vampire or do her any harm until after she seems to trust him enough to accept his help. Where other vampires just want to feed, Russell wants to manipulate his prey.

What’s especially interesting when it comes to breaking down the structure, is that in the commentary Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt say that Tina’s death was originally scripted to be the end of act two rather than the beginning of act three. It is a choice that would have made sense, because this does feel like the bigger dramatic moment to go out on. The reason they changed it is to play with subverting expectations. If Russell arrived at the end of act two, you would know she’d die, but because it is the beginning of an act, it feels more surprising that something so big would happen. This also has the effect of ending the act on the moment where Angel lost Tina’s trust, making the act out something more personal to the main character rather than being about the death of a much smaller character.

When Angel arrives at Tina’s and finds her body, his first instinct is to check her pulse. Touching her neck leads to him getting her blood on his fingers. When the scene fades out on him raising his fingers closer to his face, it calls back to how Doyle warned him that if he can’t find a way to connect to humans, he’ll begin to see them as food.

With Tina dead, Angel’s mission changes from saving her to avenging her. He works with Doyle to find Stacy, his best lead for going after Russell. This is all practically a montage with how quickly it moves, primarily because the search isn’t what is important in this moment. What is important is demonstrating how seriously Angel is taking his failure (shown with how many weapons he packs, and how he treats Stacy), and just getting him Russell’s address so we can get to the confrontation. This also brings Doyle back into the mix, with him helping Angel plan and eventually being told he is to be the getaway driver.

Angel’s search for Russell is cut together with Cordelia’s story. First with a scene where Russell speaks to his lawyer, who is helping him cover up the situation with Tina. Russell is watching a video from the party shown earlier in the episode. When he sees Cordelia, he feels he needs her to be his next meal.

Cordelia gets a call from the woman who threw the party, telling her that Russell wants to meet her and that this is a big deal. Cordelia jumps at this opportunity. She is brought to Russell’s in a limo and the act ends with Russell telling his butler to leave the two of them alone.

Angel has already lost the woman he was supposed to save, and now if he isn’t fast enough, he will also lose the only person in this city he actually knows.

Act Four: The Team

(B) Cordelia admits she isn’t doing well.
(A) Angel and Doyle arrive outside Russell’s gate.
(A) Angel jumps onto the mansion’s perimeter wall.
(B) Cordelia realizes Russell is a vampire.
(A) Angel sets up a small explosive.
(B) Russell reveals his vampire face.
(A) Angel grapples up to a balcony.
(A) Doyle waits nervously.
(B) Cordelia runs until she is caught.
(A + B) Angel fights Russell; gets shot to save Cordelia.
(A) Doyle rams the gate, but it doesn’t open.
(A + B) Angel and Cordelia get into the car, Doyle drives away.
(A + B) Angel’s wound is looked at by Cordelia and Doyle.
(A) Angel is introduced to Wolfram & Hart as he kills Russell.
(A) Angel broods over failing to save Tina.
(A + B) Angel agrees to hire Cordelia.

This first half of the final act works as the climax of the episode, where Cordelia realizes Russell is vampire and Angel breaks into his mansion to try to kill him. The way Cordelia is able to call Russell out on the fact that he is a vampire works to demonstrate how well versed in the world of the supernatural she already is. While her explanation of having lived on a hellmouth probably doesn’t mean as much to anyone who hasn’t seen Buffy, it works as a little reference for those who those who have.

Though Angel came to Russel’s to kill him, when he sees Cordelia there his strategy changes to saving her instead. When a group of guards come in to shoot them both, he protects Cordelia (because he is bullet proof) and leaves Russel alive to get her to safety.

Doyle gets one big character moment when the sound of gunfire leads him to driving away before Angel comes back out, to try to ram through the gate as he changes him mind. Unfortunately, it was a strong gate. Even with it attempts not working out, this is here to show Doyle is willing to put himself in danger to help Angel.

They all end up back at Angel’s loft, where Doyle and Cordelia work together to clean up Angel’s bullet wound. It’s a short moment, one that begins to set up the three of them as a team. When Cordelia asks if Russell will come looking for her, Angel knows what he must do.

Russell is in another meeting with his lawyer when Angel busts into the room. The lawyer gives Angel his card, introducing him to existence of Wolfram & Hart. As Russell tries to explain that this is just how they do things in LA, that by not making waves he can get away with anything, Angel kicks him through the window. Russell is burned up by the sun as he falls from the high office building floor.

Angel leaves, and the lawyer calls his firm to tell them that there is a new player in town and that they don’t need to tell the senior partners yet. In this moment it is cemented that Wolfram & Hart are going to a reoccurring entity in this series, and it begins to create a sense of ominousness around the senior partners.

When Angel is back in his loft, he tries to call Buffy but hangs up after she says hello. It is a moment that acts to remind us of why he has disconnected himself from people. Doyle comes in tells Angel he should be happier, he killed Russell. Angel is so caught up in the fact that Tina died that he doesn’t see any of it as a victory. When Doyle starts to bring up how Angel successfully saved Cordelia, we hear her screaming off screen and the two of them rush to find out what’s wrong.

Cordelia has taken it upon herself to start cleaning up the office space above Angel’s loft and was screaming because she found a cockroach. She fills them in on her plans, including getting a sign painter in to put a name on the door. Cordelia wants to work with them for this detective agency, saying she could run the money side of things. It works to solve her biggest problem in this episode, that she hasn’t found work, and Angel’s biggest problem, that he needs to let a human into his life.

Finally, the episode ends of Doyle repeating a question he asked back in act one. He tells Angel there are a lot of people who need helping, and asks, “you game?”. There is a great shot of Angel on a rooftop overlooking his new city as we hear his answer, “I’m game”.

Conclusions

On the surface, spinoffs appear to have an advantage in that so much is already set up prior to their start, that advantage can also act as a hinderance because of the fact that it can’t close itself off to finding new viewers who have not seen the parent series.

The way Angel takes on the task of getting new viewers up to speed is primarily through the use of a heavy info dump scene in the first act, with a few much smaller references sprinkled in later on. This method works to just get it out of the way, to let the show focus more on what it will be rather than what the prior series was.

Of course, the episode isn’t (and shouldn’t be) only for the new viewers. For fans of Buffy, references to the past (such as the Hellmouth) are tossed out in a kind of “if you know, you know” fashion. For those continuing to watch both series, the penultimate scene in which Angel makes a phone call is carried over to Buffy’s season 4 premier as a small connection fans can appreciate.

While dealing with the double-edged sword of trying to please fans of Buffy, and catch up anyone watching for the first time, the episode also has to do everything that makes a pilot complicated to begin with: setting up its characters, themes, the tone, and what an episode of the series should look like.

Basically, just because elements are built in another series, doesn’t mean a spinoff pilot really gets off any easier. Apart from the built-in viewership of people who will almost definitely come check it out if they are fans of the first show, but that is a matter more to help with ratings than crafting an episode.