'Angel' News from: Friday the 13th till  18th February, 2004
Important News About Angel!
A statement from The Wb:
For the last seven years Angel and Buffy the vampire Slayer have been cornerstones of our network. The sum total of work done on those shows has produced some of the proudest moments in our history. Like some of the great series that are leaving the air this year, including Fraiser and Friends, the cast, crew writers and producers of Angel deserve to be able to wrap up the series in a way befitting a classic television series and that is why we went to Joss to let him know that this would be the last year of the series on The WB. We have discussed continuing the Angel legacy with special movie events next year, which is still on the table. In a perfect world, all of these details would be completed before this information went out to the press so that we could be definitive about the show's ongoing future. But in any case, we did not want to contemplate this being the last year of Angel without giving the show the option of crafting their own destiny for this character and for the series. David Borneanaz continues to be one of the finest, classiest and friendliest actors we have had the pleasure to work with and we hope that the relationship furthers from here. The same can be said for all of the actors and producers of the show.
It's Over in Five for 'Angel'-Zap2it.com
LOS ANGELES- Early Friday morning (Feb.13) an announcement was made to the cast and crew at The WB's "Angel" that this season, the show's fifth, will be its last.
"It's official enough to know it's real," David Greenwalt, who co-created the series with Joss Whedon, tells Zap2it.com, "but I haven't talked to anybody at the network or the studio. I can tell you that it's real, that it makes Mr. Whedon and myself very sad, that we wish it had kept going and we thought it was only getting better."
"Joss and [executive producer] Jeff Bell told the cast and crew today. We have no understanding of the inner workings of the corporate world, but we've had a long and fruitful relationship with [producing stuido] 20th Century Fox and The WB, for which we are gratful. We just wish it could have gone on forever. Apparently, it's not going to."
"Joss literally called me this morning; so it's all very new."
This news comes on the heels of the 100th episode of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" spin-off, the taping of which was marked by a party on the show's set last November.
At the time, the WB's entertainment chief, Jordan Levin, said, "The work that you all do, I cannot thank you enough. This is something that will last. You can see it in the DVD sales. You can see it in the fans. they give an incredible amount of attention to almost everything."
"You've created a cult here, and it's pretty wonderful to be a part of it. So thank you andcongratulations."
It's the network's regards for the show that prompted it to give the producers an early enough heads up for a proper send-off at the end of the season.
"Like some of the great series that are leaving the air this year, including 'Fraiser' and 'Friends', the cast, crew, writers and producers of 'Angel' deserve to be able to wrap up the series in a way befitting a classic series, and that is why we went to Joss to let him know that this would be the last year of 'Angel' on The Wb," the network says in a statement. "We have discussed continuing the Angel legacy with special movie events next year, which is still on the table."
Next week,on Wednesday, Feb.18,"Angel" airs one of its most innovative episodes, called "Smile Time". Written  and directed by Ben Edlund ("The Tick"), and based on an idea by Whedon, it sees the show's character, a crusading vampire with a soul, forced to fight evil after being transformed into a walking puppet (with voice by series star David Borneanaz).
"It's so brilliant," Greenwalt says. "I just love it. It's one of the finest pieces of filmmaking I've ever seen. It just cracked me up. It's so ridiculous and silly, and yet there's all this heartfelt stuff in it. It's just a quintessential Whedon."
"But wait until you see the episode that follows it in terms of abject heartbreak. It's just searing."
Greenwalt stepped away from "Angel" a few years ago but has remained a consulting producer. Since then, he's worked on two short-lived but critically acclaimed series, ABC's "Miracles" and UPN's "Jake 2.0"." But he's contemplating a possible return to his old stomping ground.
"I might just go direct episode 20 [of 'Angel']," he says, "So I can say my farewell to everybody. That's something that might happen."
As to the future of the show's star, The Wb says, "David Borneanaz continues to be one of our finest, classiest and friednliest actors we have had the pleasure to work with and we hope the relationship furthers from here.
The same can be said for the for all of the actors and producers of the show."
Some of you may of heard the hilarious news. I thought this would be a good time to weigh in. to answer some obvious questions: No, we had no idea this was coming. Yes, we will finish out the season. No, I don't think the WB  is doing the right thing. Yes, I'm grateful they did it early enough for my people to find other jobs.

Yes, my heart is breaking.

When Buffy ended, I was tapped out and ready to send it off. When Firefly got the axe, I went into a state of denial so huge it may very well cause a movie. But Angel...we really were starting to feel like we were on top, hitting our stride -- andthen we strode right into the Pit of Snakes 'n' Lava. I'm so into these characters, these actors, the situations we're building.. you wanna know how I feel? Watch the first act of "The Body".

As far as TV movies or whatever, I'm not thinking that far ahead. I actually hope my actors and writers are too busy. We always planned this season finale to be a great capper to the season and the show in general. (And a great platform for a new season, of course.) We'll proceed ahead as planned.

I've never made mainstream TV very well. I like suprises, and TV isn't about suprises, unless the suprise is who gets voted off of something. I've been lucky to sneak this strange, strange show over the airwaves for as long as I have. I don't FEEL lucky, but I understand that I am.

Thanks all for your support, your community, and your perfectly sane devotion. It's meant a lot. I regret nothing (except the string ofgrisley murders in the 80's -- what was THAT all about?) Remember the words of the poet:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn."

-j.

This piece of writing is floating around on the net at the moment and rumour has it that he orginally posted it at Bronze Beta.
Breaking News: Angel to End After 5 Seasons - FilmForce
Whedon talks about cancellation.
February 13,2004- In a move that has completely blindsided producers and fans alike, the WB Network announced late Friday that it was cancelling its long-running Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff, Angel.
"Those bastards!" was the reaction from Loey Lockerboy, film critic and operator of Loey's Guide to Angel, an Angel review site. "I haven't trusted the WB Network since the debacle over 'Graduation Day Part 2'"
Many fans like Loey had already turned to the wave of most cancellations these days, PetitionOnline.com.
An online petition has all ready gathered almost 5,000 signatures within hours of its creation. Lockerby expects that number to rise quickly once the word spreads.
The fans may have to fight this round on their own. David Greenwalt, co-creator and consulting producer for the series, sounded almost defeated when reached by the Zap2it website.
"It's official enough to know it's real, Greenwalt told the website, "but I haven't talked to anybody at the network studio. I can tell you that it's real, that it makes Mr. Whedon and myself very sad, that we wish it had kept going and we thought it was only getting better."
"Joss and [executive producer] Jeff Bell told the cast and crew today. We have no understanding of the inner workings of the coporate world, but we've had a long and fruitful relationship with [producing sstudio] 20th Century Fox and The WB, for which we are grateful. We just wish it could have gone on forever. Apparently, it's not going to."

..........[The Wb statement is here]..........

Observers have already noted the strange timing of The WB's announcement, coming within a week of highly promoted 100th episode of the series and on late Friday of a 3-day weekend, resulting in a little press coverage. Some have speculated that this has been in works for some time and that the network would have cancelled the series sooner had Birds of Prey not tanked. The mentioning of possible TV movie "events" may be pre-emptive attempt to keep the series available to the network, should its new series Dark Shadows revival suffer Bird's fate. Those possibilities are of little consolation to fans of the series or to Greenwalt.
"I might just go direct episode 20 so I can say my farewell to everybody. That's something that might happen."
On Saturday, series creator Joss Whedon commented about the cancellation to the readers the Bronze Beta message board.

........[Joss Whedon's comment is here].......

"Two roads diverged into a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on ir. Damn."

--KJB
Angel Doubtful For UPN- SCI-FI WIRE
Joss Whedon, co-creator of The Wb's cancelled vampire series Angel, told TV Guide Online that he doubts the series could move  to UPN next year, much as its predecessor show Buffy the Vampire Slayer did after the frog network staked it. "We've talked about the possibility, but it's a long shot," Whedon told the site. A UPN spokeswoman had no comment for TV Guide, but an Angel insider told the site that executives at Angel's production studio Twentieth Century Fox are putting together a proposal for UPN.
Whedon, meanwhile, reiterated that he'd love to have Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar make a guest appearance in the Angel series finale, though Gellar has already said she's not interested in appearing in Angel this season. "We'll put out some fellers [again] to see if there's some interest there," Whedon told the site. "We'd certainly love to have her."
Gellar is currently in Tokyo shooting The Grudge, a supernatural horror film.
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