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AngelThere's a curse at the heart of the WB's new show "Angel," producers say, but it's not the curse of high expectations. They like the buzz growing around their show. The star is cursed. When you're a 240-year-old vampire and your girlfriend is a vampire slayer, these things happen. In fact, the show -- one of the most anticipated on the fall schedule -- has several built-in charms to ward off evil and entice viewers. First, "Angel" is a spinoff of the WB's cult favorite, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and it is written and conceived by "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon and producer David Greenwalt. Second, it features "Buffy" co-star David Boreanaz as the title character. He was Buffy's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) love interest. Also making the move to "Angel": Charisma Carpenter, who played Buffy's cheerleader nemesis, Cordelia Chase. And it's locked in to air directly after "Buffy," Tuesday nights, starting Oct. 5. Cursed by a gypsy never to experience true happiness, Angel ends his relationship with Buffy and moves to Los Angeles. He links with Chase, who pops in as a gal pal, trying to help Angel navigate through the seedy yet glamorous City of Angels. Why the buzz? There's the pedigree, of course, but Greenwalt believes the show has the blend of "comedy, action and horror with a lot of metaphor" to make it a favorite beyond the "Buffy" cult. "I think 'Angel' grows out of 'Buffy,' but still is its own show," he says. "While Buffy is a bright and sunny character in a bright and sunny town, Angel is a bit more dark and powerful character, but not ultra-brooding. He's a grown guy in a grownup city." Angel is also older and, being a vampire, less outgoing than Buffy. "I think the stories for 'Angel' will be a little older, a little badder," Greenwalt says. "The shows are polar opposites that are drawn together." While "Buffy" plots have centered around the joy and pain of high-school life, "Angel" is twentysomething, out on his own and trying to carve out a life for himself. "Angel deals with issues about what it's like to be a young adult in the world, and with all the questions that have consequences that need to be figured out," Greenwalt says. To make "Angel" compelling, Greenwalt says he will leave the audience guessing as to when and if Angel will fall back into nocturnal bad habits. "Angel has done terrible things in his past, and I think we've all done things we're ashamed of," Greenwalt says. "He's seeking redemption, but he might go bad again." |