Spoiler Slayer

MadeToLove posted an extensive report from their visit to the set of 'Angel' at MoreThanSpike.com. It's a good read and has some interesting information. I'm not editing it for content, so there is a bit more commentary rather than just the straight facts. But even so, I still feel that it gives a relatively unbiased view of the set and the show as it enters Season Five.

This is a report of my trip to the Paramount lot. I'm posting two versions of the report. One in the Spoiler section that will contain everything, and one in the Angel Discussion section, minus anything I think might be considered a spoiler, or possible spoiler (what little there might be). However, if you don't want to know anything, not even stuff most would consider common knowledge (like cast or sets) then stop reading now.

You may repost this report on other boards. Please give me credit and also mention the More Than Spike board and provide a link, since they've been so nice to let me post this.

I got to the lot at about 9:00 am and went straight to the Angel offices. My friend gave me the dime tour. First he showed me sketches of the sets from past seasons and the ones for this season. Then he took me on a tour of the Sound Stages so I could see the sets before the crew got there. In one sound stage they had a large area of Buffy sets and props. When Buffy ended, Fox let Angel have first dibs on the sets and props before letting other shows have a go at them. I recognized the cupboard from Buffy's dining room and a bookshelf. They had a lot of stuff waiting to go to storage, mostly furniture and silk plants.

He showed me where some of the old sets used to live. Most are gone for good. The Hotel set has been taken down and sent into storage, probably never to be seen again. Cordy's apartment has been down since last season (episode 4:1), so don't look for it either. The set they used for both Wesley's apartment and Connor's cabin at the end of 4:22 is still standing, read into that what you want, but at this time they don't know if they'll be using it again for either.

Next, he took me to the stage with the main Wolfram and Hart set. It's GORGEOUS. It has a very homey feel, not at all sterile. It's a two-story area, a kind of upper level lobby for the executive suites. There's a large lobby with hardwood floors, elevators and a large staircase (a la Brady Bunch you'll see what I mean), lots of beautiful artwork and plants, and lots of light. On one side are offices for Wesley and Gunn. Both are the same size and basically have the same decor, except Wesley's has more artwork and bookcases. The other end houses Angel's office and conference room. The office is slightly different from the one used in 4:22, but it still has the big windows. Angel's office is great, it has artifacts and artwork and antiques everywhere, much like his home on Buffy or home on the first season of Angel. He also has a private elevator. Harmony is Angel's secretary. Her desk is just outside his office and is decorated with unicorns! It's hysterical. If you'll remember, she had unicorns all over her cave/home in season four of Buffy.

I got to see Fred's lab and office. The office was being worked on so I don't know how it will look, but the lab part looks like a lab, again with minor changes from the one in 4:22.

My friend showed me where they were building two sets for episode two. One is Hainsley's parlor; the other will be Angel's penthouse, which will be a permanent set for the season. I have no idea if Lorne will have an office.

We then went for a walk through the outside New York street sets. He showed me the building that served as the outside of Angel's office in season one, and told me a funny story about the night they blew it up. They thought this one wall was solid, but it wasn't, so when they blew out the windows and doors the explosion knocked the wall back and broke water pipes, flooding the stage behind. It was also cool to see where they had filmed a lot of outside shots, not just of Angel, but of other shows too. I also got to see the infamous Star Trek "Barren Planet" sound stage. They had stacks of plaster rocks of different colors.

This day, they were shooting in the Wolfram and Hart office. It was the Fang Gang (Angel, Gunn, Wes, Fred, and Lorne) and Spike and Harmony. I can't tell you much about the scene, but Spike fans will be happy to know that the coat is back, in fact, he's wearing what he wore when he died (I know this will disappoint those of you who were hoping for a naked Spike this season lol). And he does come back the way the casting sides for episode two have described.

Episode two was written by David Fury and Ben Edlund, and is directed by Jim Contner. Fury was on the set for part of it, but I have no idea what Edlund looks like. David B. is looking really good, very buff. James is also looking good, well rested. I didn't get a chance to talk to any of the actors, they were too busy, but the AD kind of flirted with me. I take that back, I did talk to Andy. He said "hey, how's it going?" and I said "fine thanks." Monday was his birthday, but he wasn't filming, so today they brought him a big, green cake the color of Lorne's skin. Right before I left I said "happy birthday" and he said "hey, thanks". So that was my conversation with Andy. I didn't get to see too much of the others from where I was, but Wesley's stand-in looks like a tall Tom Cruise. Many beautiful men to look at today.

I did want to say this for those who have been upset about Spike joining the show. David is still very much the star of this show and is treated as such by all of the crew. However, David does not act like a diva at all. And James is treated no differently than the other regulars. I saw no animosity among any of them; in fact David and James were joking around at times. The crew is happy he's there and I hope Angel fans will be too. I truly think Spike haters will find themselves laughing to spite themselves when they see this episode, and will understand why so many of us love Spike. He's hilarious. I think you'll also see that in general Spike will not have any more airtime than the other regulars in the cast. I hope you guys will give Spike a chance, he has such great chemistry with Angel and the others, and I hope you will stop picking on James.

I hope you've had as much fun reading this as I had writing it. And I hope you won't be too upset about the lack of info, but single girl/beautiful men and not wanting to get banned from the set just yet. My hat is off to the Crew, the sets are wonderful, they really outdid themselves this season. This season is going to kick ass.