This six Disk DVD Set is the beginning of a wonderful adventure. Joss Whedon knows what people want, the two basic ingredients in any Show no matter what medium, and they are real characters and good stories. Once you have these two factors you have a hit no matter what genre. If you care about good story telling, fabulous writing and acting as well as a behind the scenes crew that is collectively an incredibly talented bunch, then this is the DVD set for you. The Picture and Sound are theater quality. The closed captioning and Audio come in other languages besides English. It's jam packed with all sorts of extra bonus specials. The Brilliant creators, Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt and other staff members are at their very best, just as they were with their work on Buffy (which is also a must own). I not only highly recommend this Season disk set, but the other four seasons as well. Quite a bit of quality work went into the making of all five seasons. All five are a necessary buy for any Angel fan! It's completely impossible to be anything but extremely pleased with this purchase as well as the rest of the series.

David Boreanaz (Angel) and Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) are perfect together. Him as the brooding vampire and her as the bright smiling somewhat shallow, a little spoiled and lost without her lifelong wealth. They come together, even though they are from totally different worlds to create Angel investigations. Glenn Quinn (Doyle) an Irish actor plays a half demon half human with visions from "The Powers That Be". These visions are intended to help Angel in his mission of redemption. Glenn adds a certain mystery plus comic relief to his character. While being a help to Angel and trying to find his own redemption, he otherwise spends most of his time drinking scotch and chasing Cordelia. Unfortunately, in Episode 9 entitled "Hero" he gets to atone for his past. Doyle knows he will lose his life in completing his task and passes his visions onto Cordelia with a kiss. We end up losing a wonderful actor. He was a great asset to the show. Sadly in real life we lost him as well. With the Doyle gone there was an opportunity to add someone new to the show. Alexis Denisof reprises his role from Buffy as (Wes). He shows up on Angel as a rogue demon hunter after being fired from The Watchers Council. Eventually he joins Angel investigations. Alexis Denisof is one of the most versatile actors I have ever had the pleasure to watch. He has that special ability of being the smooth sophisticate ie: a James Bond type and on a dime he can be the worlds greatest comedic doofs or fools if you prefer. He has an amazing range of abilities as shown throughout the series. He was by far the BEST choice to replace Glenn Quinn. Any show isn't complete without our villains. Christian Kane (Lindsey) and Stephanie Romanov (Lila) both play lawyers for Wolfram and Hart and Angels worst nemesis. Both are consummate actors. My favorite is Lila, a self professed vicious bitch. She is the Queen of the gray areas. Lila adds sex appeal while still being evil. They both are a lot of fun while still being great adversaries for Angel and his crew. Joss Whedon once again comes through with proving to us that "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" wasn't a lucky fluke, but the catalyst to more GREAT television. I not only highly recommend this Season DVD set, but the other four seasons as well. Any true Angel fan must complete or start their set with this one. Purchase this before it gets sold out and you miss your chance to continue your collection. ORDER IMMEDIATELY AND DON'T FORGET TO BUY SEASONS TWO, THREE, FOUR AND FIVE WHILE YOUR AT IT.

Okay so we all know that Angel was always going to have a hard job living up to the expectations set by Buffy, and okay so it isn't quite as good. That certainly doesn't mean that this series isn't superb in its own right. Set up in L.A. we have Angel (David Boreanaz) running his own detective agency with the help of Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) and Doyle (the sadly deceased Glenn Quinn). It's a lot darker than Buffy, or at least it was when Buffy was still in its fourth series, and some would argue Buffy series 6 to be even darker than Angel. The main theme is obviously redemption and what we have here is probably the closest to the kind of monster-of-the-week, no story arc material that Joss Whedon and David E. Greenwalt have ever done.

To say this isn't as good as Buffy is kind of a cop-out, because there are some absolutely superb episodes here. In particular there is I Will Remember You, an absolutely heartbreaking episode in which Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel are reunited, but only for a day and of which only he will carry the memory. There's also In The Dark, the closest the show has got to something that's really disturbing, in a horrible torturer character. This episode also sees the crossover of Oz (Seth Green) and Spike (James Marsters), with probably just about the funniest speech that has ever come out of Spike's mouth starting the episode off. What will really get your attention though is the stunning, spectacular two-parter where we see Faith's (Eliza Dushku) return in Five By Five and Sanctuary. Both shows have always shown an amazing tenderness to this character that is practically abnormal among other series, with Faith being presented as a real person rather than your typical bad guy. After a fairly close-to-the-bone torture scene who can say that they didn't feel a slight shiver down their spine as Faith pounded on Angel's chest begging him to kill her. This is drama of the best kind, this is chracterisation of the best sort, heck this is TV of the best sort.

The rest of the series seems to have a main theme of redemption and lost souls in, appropriately enough, the City of Angels. Worth pointing out are Lonely Hearts (which introduces the compelling character Kate Lockley - please can we see a return of her?) and Rm W/A Vu, in which Cordelia buys a new house only to find it's haunted. Hero is one of the most tragic episodes, in which Doyle sacrifices himself to save his friends, something that has grown magnificently in poignancy since the tragic death of Glenn Quinn, who plays Doyle, recently. After that we get to see the reappearance of Wesley (Alexis), a character which Angel has done wonders with considering the almost universal cringing that accompanied his role on Buffy that has now turned him into a character with surprising depth. Given his chance to sparkle in the Exorcist-riff I've Got You Under My Skin he really pulls it off, especially given the hint at his relationship with his father that has been threatening to bubble over ever since. Angel is also capable of pulling a CSI clinical crime like investigation in the utterly compelling Somnabulist, perhaps the most underrated episode of the series, in which one of Angel's 'pupils' comes back to haunt him. The last two-parter to end the series is also entirely gripping, with the first obvious signs of what was to become Angel's major threat, lawyer's firm Wolfram and Hart. This is action drama of the highest quality that isn't afraid to get some genuine emotion in there at the same time.

Angel series 1 is a show that's trying to find its feet, and it finds them. Now in its fourth series, season 1 shows the foundations that made it nearly as popular as the cult phenomenon of Buffy.

After "Buffy" Season 3 comes out on DVD in January, it's a short wait until the premiere season of "Angel" arrives. While mostly uneven, it still contains its share of exciting hours and is an important prelude to the highly-acclaimed Seasons 2 and 3.

The basic premise is that Angel, the Gypsy-cursed vampire with a soul, relocates to Los Angeles to escape the memory of ex-girlfriend Buffy, and to "fight the good fight" against vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. He's aided by "Buffy" alum Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia (as his ditzy aide), and Doyle, the half-demon (on his mother's side) guide to "the powers that be".

The first several episodes explore the notion that L.A. is a big, bad, unforgiving city, similar to the way that "Buffy"'s Sunnydale High always reflected its characters' private angst. "Angel" was less suited to the ironic beast-of-the-week format, and quickly dropped it. In "City of...", Joss Whedon's sharply-written pilot, Angel assembles his private-eye crew, but fails to save the girl, and makes mortal enemies out of demonic law firm Wolfram & Hart. "Lonely Heart" similarly takes place in nothing but bars and nightclubs, and is most memorable for the introduction of Detective Kate Lockley.

"Angel" benefitted early on from two crossovers with "Buffy". "Into The Dark" concludes a BtVS story with "Buffy" regulars Spike and Oz visiting L.A. "I Will Remember You" features Sarah Michelle Gellar's first visit to Angel since their breakup. In both episodes Angel refuses an escape from his vampire lifestyle -- even though that means terminating his newfound romance. Both episodes stand out among the season's best, with Spike's merciless taunting of Angel ("I'm just a big fluffy puppy with bad teeth") the higlight of the season.

Other early episodes are not quite as memorable. "I Fall To Pieces", "Room W/A Vu", and "Sense and Sensitivity" all play on the theme of L.A. as a devourer of lost souls. The first of these is the weakest of the season, although the last has an amusing cameo by Steve Schirripa, later of "The Sopranos". Also introduced is Cordy's amusing invisible-ghost roommate, Dennis, surely the hardest-working character on the show. "Bachelor Party" introduces Doyle's family and features the welcome return of Carlos Jacott, who played another demon on the previous season of "Buffy".

In "Hero", Doyle is abruptly killed off, to be replaced in the next episode, "Parting Gifts", by Wesley Wyndham-Price (Alexis Denisof), making the three regulars a matched set of sidelined "Buffy" characters.

Meanwhile, although the season still doesn't have a unified arc, the various hints that pop up in "Somnambulist" turn Detective Lockley, suddenly, into Angel's enemy. A powerful female demon in "She" is supposed to rival Angel -- and provide a possible love interest -- but is never heard from again. "Expecting" features the show's first sex scene, and, as on "Buffy", there are sardonic consequences for all.

"Angel"'s first year slowly revs into gear with episode 14, "I've Got You Under My Skin", a sharp riff on "The Exorcist" which helps bridge the gap between Wesley the craven coward, and the more driven team-leader he'll become. Where "The Prodigal" limps along, introducing an evil protege of Angel's (never to appear again), "The Ring" is another fantastic hour that brings the Wolfram & Hart storyline back into focus. "Eternity", the next episode, is a not-so-welcome detour, the season's lone excuse to bring back Angel's evil alter ago, Angelus, for a very over-the-top ten minutes.

"Five By Five" and "Sanctuary", an intense two-parter, brings Faith over from the "Buffy" universe. Angel does something Buffy couldn't do -- resolve Faith's story act -- even though that means a very angry Buffy squares off again with Angel in the concluding episode.

In "War Zone", we're introduced to budding series regular Gunn, a street kid fighting his own street war against vampires. "Blind Date" finally returns Wolfram & Hart to the fore, as the three previously-seen evil lawyers (all of whose surnames mysteriously begin with the letter "M") embark on a scheme to interfere with Angel's destiny.

The season wraps up with the satisfying "To Shanshu In L.A.". Each of the four regulars is given something to do, and the episode ends with a reaffirmation of Angel's ultimate goal -- to shed his vampire nature and become human at long last. Which is only weakenedly slightly by the fact that Angel refused the gift of humanity on each of the first two discs in this set.

Overall, you won't find Angel: Season One to be nearly as satisfying as what's to come, but it's a good introduction to the show and makes a fine bookend for the three seasons of "Buffy" overflowing your DVD shelf.