Discussion of 1.01 "Welcome To The Hellmouth" - Aired 3/10/1997 (WB-US)

Like many of you, I'm doing a new watch thru of the show with analysis. I'm posting my in-depth reviews at Problematic Faves My first episode post is here. I'm focusing on how much I still like the show 20 years later, and what parts of it I now find problematic.
 
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Stake fodder said:
I'd forgotten how strange and kinda useless Angel was at first. I can't believe I didn't suss out that he was a vampire right away, but I didn't!
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Really? I thought that was quite obvious from his manner and apparel. I always figured he was some kind of defecting vampire helping the slayer out. Who else could he be? I was more surprised that the reveal "He's a vampire, gasp!" actually was a surprise at all to the characters in the show.

Something interesting about the pilot episode is that the very first thing Cordelia says when we see her is, "I'd kill to live in L.A." and then she really does go to L.A. after high school. That's either extreme coincidence, or Whedon really did his homework combing through old scripts when determining who would best fit on Angel.

Going back from Season 7 to Season 1 it's so apparent just how much the quality improved over the years with better budgets and special effects, but even the writing later on is far more dense with a lot more going on in each episode. By contrast the pilot feels rather slow-paced. They seem to take the horror a bit more seriously, but looking back it's laughable and cute that just 1 or 2 measly vampires could be such trouble. How times change. I do like the witty/sarcastic lines she says when she kills the vamps, it was somewhat missed later on. In the first season it definitely feels a lot more 90s. The whole demon/hellmouth thing feels very DOOM, Diablo, and Quake-inspired. The Master lives in broken gothic castles with skulls and candlabra and pools of blood. Very 90s.
 
T
thrasherpix
You're right about the 90s style, that school library making that clear, but I loved the Master's place...even vampires like to decorate as much as mortals, and part of me wonders what personal and religious meaning it all has for him.
Ninjagirl2008 said:
Like many of you, I'm doing a new watch thru of the show with analysis. I'm posting my in-depth reviews at Problematic Faves My first episode post is here. I'm focusing on how much I still like the show 20 years later, and what parts of it I now find problematic.
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Please don't just link to what you want to say - if you expect people to respond to you, you need to actually post on the board.
 
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