Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39861 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 990 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It is with this second series that Angel, the darker Los Angeles mean-streets spin-off from Buffy, comes entirely into its own. Angel, the vampire with a soul and rather too much hair gel, is driven partly by his need for atonement and partly by his anger at the manipulations of the satanic law firm Wolfram and Hart, especially the morally equivocal Lindsey (Christian Kane). At the end of the previous season, they set his emotional destruction in motion by bringing back from hell Darla, the vampire who turned him, whom he loved for centuries and then killed to save Buffy. Julie Benz's soft-voiced passion--"God doesn't want you, but I still do"--makes her a perfect tragic foil for David Boreanaz's "billowy coat King of Pain" hero and mid-season offers further cause for Angel's despairing rage at his failure to save Darla from being turned vampire again.

There is a nice balance of comedy, horror and the starkly tragic here--fake swamis, accursed shrouds, sexually abused telekinetic assassins all come into the mix along with Angel's gang of sidekicks--pedantic Wesley, abrasive Gunn, flighty clairvoyant Cordelia--and a new and wonderfully improbable character who starts as a running joke and becomes so much more--the Host (Andy Hallett), a green demon with red horns, eyes and hair, who sees into the souls of those who sing karaoke at his bar. And in a four-part finale, the group's friendship with the green karaoke demon Lorne sends them off to his home dimension to rescue Cordelia, right wrongs and acquire an important new character.

On the DVD: Angel, Season 2 on disc presents all the episodes in their original 16x9 widescreen format (2.35:1), which enables viewers to see shots as they were originally conceived, for example in impressive moments like the march of the four vampires through a burning Shanghai or the climaxes of the mediaeval Pylea sequence. The sound is a sumptuous Dolby Surround 2.0. The first Pylea episode, "Over the Rainbow", has a commentary by its director Fred Keller; the 1959 flashback episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" has a commentary by writer Tim Minnear. There are also featurettes on the set designs--specifically concentrating on the huge hotel set which dominates Season 2. --Roz Kaveney

Video Description
DVD Special Features
Disc One:
Episodes: Judgement, Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been, First Impressions, Untouched

Commentary for Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been

Disc Two:
Episodes: Dear Boy, Guises Will Be Guises, Darla, The Shroud Of Rahmon

Script For Darla

Disc Three:
Episodes: The Trial, The Reunion, Redefinition

"Making Up The Monsters" Featurette, Stills Gallery, Set Blueprints, "Inside the Agency" Featurette

Disc Four:
Episodes: Blood Money, Happy Anniversary, The Thin Dead Line, Reprise

Disc Five:
Episodes: Epiphany, Disharmony, Dead Again, Belonging

Script for "Disharmony"

Disc Six:
Episodes: Over The Rainbow, Through The Looking Glass, There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb

Commentary for "Over The Rainbow", Season 2 Overview Featurette, "Stunts" Featurette, Season One DVD trailer, Cast Biographies

Synopsis
This box set contains the entire second season of the popular BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER spin-off starring David Boreanaz as a repentant vampire. Episodes include Judgment (featuring Eliza Dushku), Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, Darla (featuring James Marsters), The Thin Dead Line, Disharmony (featuring Alyson Hannigan), Over the Rainbow, and many more.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic!!!
As a second series Angel season two completely blows away the first. The plots are far more entertaining and with the introduction of new regular characters like Gunn and The Host the humour is being well developed. Of course starting the series with Angel singing 'oh Mandy' the creators could not have expected anything other than sheer comedy with a touch of cringing. The outtakes of this scene are even better!!! Not to mention the sheer entertainment in the final episodes set in Pilea - the host's dimension. Definately a winner

What Can I Say But Wow!
The first line pretty much sums it up. At first, I was kinda shakey on the whole, 'how good is Angel' after such a show as Buffy, but Season Two proves that this show is going to be here for a long time. After the events of the first season, all the characters have evolved. Cordy (Charisma Carpenter) becomes a lot more dedicated to helping the helpless, while still having the occasional bicker with Wes (Alexis Denisorf). Their often humourous conversations help keep the series light, while all around them it is dark. Gunn grows more into the group and becomes very attached to Wes during Angel's turning to the dark side. As for Angel, everything goes dark with him. The return of Darla forces him to make a lot of choices, some very very bad. And when she gets Vamped (by Drusilla no less) he begins to sever all his connections to the human world. Another introduction to the gang keeps the season lighter with his great performance: The Host (aka Lorne). His introduction was a stroke of genius and everyone has to like this character. He can read people's souls and helps Angel on occasion, but the catch is: only when they sing karaoke. By the end of the Season, we see Angel back with his friends and heading off to Lorne's home dimension to rescue Cordy, fight evil priests and return home with a young, bookish character called Fred. All the other episodes in between, be it freezing time, demons, telekinetics or just a plain old visit from Harmony (with a bit more bite to her), help keep this dark show from becoming too dark. On the DVD side of things I have got to say wow! I mean, the picture quality is just amazing, it is (for lack of a better word) beautiful. The sound is brilliant and you can hear every single detail! And even the box set itself is beautifully crafted and the colour scheme is perfect for the theme of the season. So buy this box set even if you've never seen the show before (but I recommend buying Season 1 first in that case). This box set will leave you gasping for Season 3 (and believe me, it's better!).

One Dark Season
Things in Season Two definitely take a new turn with the introduction of the now-resurrected Darla. Angel decides to go on alone by the middle of the season but soon returns to the fold. As the rest of the gang's relationship with Angel is cut off they become more used to each and bond brilliantly. The intoduction of the demon known as "The Host" was a stroke of genius. Since you first set your eyes on him you get the feeling he's one character you want around for a while. And, since first season you saw him dance, this season see Angel sing! In conclusion this may be a dark season, but the old gang keep it light resulting in the brilliant lead up to the astounding finale.