Angel/City Of

City Of
Season 1, Episode 1
Airdate	October 5, 1999
Production Number	1ADH01
Written by	Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt
Directed by	Joss Whedon
— N/A	1x02 → Lonely Hearts
Angel — Season One

City Of is the first episode of the first season of Angel. Angel's efforts to rid Los Angeles of evil are given focus when "the powers that be" send Doyle to assist him. His first target is a wealthy vampire who preys on unwitting would-be actresses.

David Boreanaz (Angel), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Glenn Quinn (Allen Francis Doyle)

Guest Starring: Tracy Middendorf (Tina), Vyto Ruginis (Russell Winters), Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald)

Co-Starring: Jon Ingrassia (Stacy), Renee Ridgeley (Margo), Sam Pancake (Manager), Josh Holloway (Good Looking Guy), Gina McClain (Janice)

Uncredited: Michael Mantell (Oliver Simon), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers) (voice)

Plot Summary

Angel moves to L.A., unaware of his purpose in the City of Angels. There, he meets Doyle, his half-man, half-demon spiritual adviser, who gives him much-needed direction. Doyle leads Angel to Russell Winters, a rich and powerful vampire, preying on aspiring actresses. When Winters sets his eyes on Cordelia, Angel springs into action and saves her.

Notes

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1/2	Vampires	Angel	Staked	Alley
3	Tina	Russell	Bitten	Tina's House
4	Russell	Angel	Burst into Flames	Wolfram & Hart

Music

• Howie Beck - "Maybe I Belong"
• Gus Gus - "Ladyshave"
• Gus Gus - "Teenage Sensation"
• Wellwater Conspiracy - "Right of Left Field"

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Wolfram & Hart: The supernatural law firm is introduced in the first episode of the series. The firm is a source of contention for Angel and would grow to become a major part of the plot over the duration of the series.

• Angel Investigations: Cordelia manages to reform Doyle's attempt to give Angel direction into a money making endeavor that takes form as Angel Investigations.

Characters

• Cordelia: After graduating from Sunnydale, Cordelia moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, an endeavour which she has been failing miserably at. By the end of the episode, instead of going back to that life she becomes Angel's secretary.

Referbacks

• BtVS - 2x13 - Surprise: Angel regained his soul when he had sex with Buffy in the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A clip of this episode is shown during the retelling of Angel's life.

• BtVS - 3x22 - Graduation Day: A clip of the third season finale of Buffy is shown during Doyle's retelling of Angel's life. This episode takes place shortly after that episode.

Trivia

The Show

• First Appearance: This episode marks the first appearance of Doyle and Lindsey.

• Phone Call Crossover: In the episode, Angel picks up the phone and calls someone, but hangs up. In "The Freshman", it is shown that Angel called Buffy.

• Russell's Face: Joss Whedon has said the as vampires age they look more and more like demons in the facial area. At the time of this episode, Russell was very likely to be one of the oldest vampires alive. This explains why he looks so different from the rest of the vampires that have been seen in the past.

• Angelmobile: The car Angel drives is a 1968 Plymouth GTX Convertible.

• Ratings: On its first airing, the series premiere of Angel scored a Nielson rating of 6.2/9. It was ranked 3rd out of the 15 WB shows which aired that week.

Behind the Scenes

• Irish Origin: Doyle wasn't originally supposed to be Irish, but was written as an Irishman after Glenn Quinn was cast in the role. It was Quinn's first role where he was able to use his natural Irish accent.

• Where's Whistler?: The original scripts for the series featured Whistler, the man who helped guide Angel to the side of good. He appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes "Becoming" (1) and "Becoming" (2).

• Cross-Show Casting: Christian Kane originally auditioned for the part of Riley Finn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He didn't get the part, but Joss Whedon liked him so much that he cast him in the role of Lindsey.

• Change in Makeup: Joss Whedon decided to experiment with the vampire make up to make them look scarier. He decided that they just looked silly and decided to go back to the normal method of makeup.

Allusions and References

• Batcave: The batcave is the underground lair of Batman, housed beneath Wayne Manor.

Doyle: I like the place. Not much of a view, but it does have sort of a nice batcave air to it.

• Billy Dee: Billy Dee Williams, an actor who is most famous for his portrayal of Lando Calrissian in Star Wars, notably acted as a celebrity spokesperson for Colt 45 malt liquor. Doyle is using Billy Dee as a metaphor for booze.

Doyle: You know I'm parched from all this yakking, man. Let's go treat me to a Billy Dee.

Memorable Moments

• After Tina is snatched by Russell's goons, Angel leaps into his car for a daring rescue. Except, it's not his car.

Goofs

• At the conclusion of the teaser, as well as the opening credit sequence of every episode, Angel walks down the alley where his reflection can be seen in the puddle streams.

Quotes

• Angel: Los Angeles. You see it at night and it shines. A beacon. People are drawn to it. People and other things. They come for all sorts of reasons. My reason? No surprise there - it started with a girl.

• Angel: Anyone seen my car? It's big and shiny.

Good Looking Guy: Piss off, pal.

Angel: (smells vampire's breath) Ugh. Breath mint?

• Angel: You don't smell human.

Doyle: Well, that's a bit rude. As it happens, I'm very much human. (sneezes, briefly revealing his demonic visage) On my mother's side.

• Doyle: I've been sent. By the Powers That Be.

Angel: Powers that be what?

• Doyle: Let me tell you a little bedtime story.

Angel: But I'm not sleepy.

Doyle: Once upon a time there was a vampire. And he was the meanest vampire in all the land. I mean, other vampires were afraid of him, he was such a... bastard. Then one day he's cursed, by Gypsies. They restore his human soul. And all of a sudden he's mad with guilt. You know, "What have I done?" (mutters) You know, he's freaked.

Angel: Okay, now I'm sleepy.

Doyle: Yeah, well, it's a fairly dull tale. It needs a little sex is my feeling. So, sure enough, enter the girl. Pretty little blonde thing, Vampire Slayer by trade, and our vampire falls madly in love with her. Eventually the two of them, well, they get fleshy with one another. And a moment he - Well, I guess the technical term is "perfect happiness." But when our boy gets there, he goes bad again. He kills again. It's ugly. So when he gets his soul back for the second time, he figures, hey, he can't be anywhere near Miss-Young-Puppy-Eyes without endangering them both. So, what does he do? He takes off. Goes to L.A. to fight evil and atone for his crimes. He's a shadow. A faceless champion of the hapless human race.

• Doyle: It's not all about fighting and gadgets and such. It's about reaching out to people, showing them that there's love and hope still left in this world...

Homeless Woman: (interrupting) Hey, spare change?

Doyle: Get a job, you lazy sow!

• Angel: Why would a woman I never met even talk to me?

Doyle: Have you looked in a mirror lately? No, I guess you really haven't, no.

• Angel: So are you, uh, happy?

Tina: What?

Angel: You look sorta down.

Tina: You've been watching me?

Angel: No, I just, I was uh looking towards there, and you walked...through there.

Tina: You don't hit on girls very often, do you?

Angel: It's been a while.

• Tina: You've been to Mazola?

Angel: During the Depression. Uh, my depression... I was depressed there.

• Oliver: You're an actor.

Angel: No.

Oliver: That wasn't a question. I'm Oliver. Ask anyone about Oliver. They'll tell you I'm a fierce animal. I'm your manager as soon as you call.

Angel: Not an actor.

Oliver: Funny. I like the humour. I like the whole thing. Call me. This isn't a come on. I'm in a very serious relationship with a landscape architect.

• Cordelia: So, um, are you still... "Grrr"?

Angel: Yeah. There's not actually a cure for that.

• Angel: I made some tea.

Tina: Thanks.

Angel: Do you take milk and sugar?

Tina: Yeah.

Angel: ...because I don't have those things.

• Angel: Doyle, I don't wanna share my feelings, I don't wanna open up. I wanna find the guy that killed Tina and I wanna look him in the eye.

Doyle: Then what?

Angel: Then I'm gonna share my feelings.

• Doyle: Wow, you're really going to war here. I guess you've, ah - you've seen a few in your time, yeah?

Angel: Fourteen, not including Vietnam. They never declared it.

• Cordelia: I grew up in a nice house. It wasn't like this, but we did have a room or two that we didn't even know what they were for. Until the IRS got all huffy about my folks not paying their taxes for, well, ever. They took it all.

• Cordelia: I finally get invited to a nice place, with no mirrors, and... lots of curtains. Hey, you´re a vampire!

Russell: What? No, I'm not.

Cordelia: Are too!

Russell: I don't know what you´re talking about.

Cordelia: I'm from Sunnydale. We had our own Hellmouth! I think I know a vampire when I... am alone with him, in his fortress-like home. And you know, I think I'm just feeling a little light-headed from hunger. I'm just wacky. And kidding! Ha, ha.

• Russell: (to Angel) You made a very big mistake coming here.

Cordelia: You don't know who he is, do you? Oh, boy! You're about to get your ass kicked!

• Russell: Angel. We do things a certain way in L.A.

Angel: Well, I’m new here.

Russell: But you’re a civilised man. We don’t have to go around attacking each other. Look at me. I pay my taxes, I keep my name out of the paper, and I don't make waves. In return, I can do anything I want.

Angel: Really? Hmm. (puts his foot on Russell's chair) Can you fly?

(Angel pushes Russell's chair out the window, causing him to burst into flames as a now empty chair crashes to the ground)

Angel: Hmm. Guess not.

• Cordelia: A cockroach. In the corner. I'd say it's a bantamweight!

• Angel: You want to charge people?

Cordelia: Well, not everybody, but sooner or later we are going to have to help some rich people, right? Right?

• Angel: (about Cordelia) You think she's a hottie.

Doyle: Ah, yeah, she's a stiffener all right. I can't lie about that.

• Doyle: You know, there’s a lot of people in this city need helping.

Angel: So I noticed.

Doyle: You game?

Angel: I’m game.