Once Bitten: An Unofficial Guide to the World of Angel

by Nikki Stafford

He was a drunkard who was turned into a vampire in 1756, and became known as the most vicious of his kind for the next 150 years. In 1899 he was re-ensouled by a gypsy looking for revenge, and with his conscience back, he had to relive the guilt and horror of what he’d done, and decided to atone for his sins by helping the very people who were once his victims. Welcome to world of Angel, the most original and thought-provoking show on television. The show is a spin-off of the equally intelligent Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show that broke new ground for its portrayal of strong women. Now that Buffy has staked her last vampire, Angel has gotten more notice from critics and fans, out from the shadow of its predecessor. This book a history of the show and how it has changed over the years a summary of the 2003 Posting Board Party in L.A. that was attended by many of the actors of Angel a section on the best Angel Web sites, including a profile of cityofangel.com, the official source of Angel information a trivia quiz a look at Buffy and Angel’s recognition in academic circles a complete episode guide of all five seasons of Angel, complete with brief summaries, analyses, highlights, continuity errors, interesting facts, music/bands, and other interesting facts an episode guide to the final season of Buffy that will act as a completion to Bite Me!, and exclusive behind-the-scenes photos

Genres: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Reference, Nonfiction, Vampires, Supernatural

440 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Paxton Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this years ago to read through while I did a rewatch of the series, but never actually finished that. With this current rewatch I just finished, I dug this book out and read through it as I watched the episodes. And now I’ve finally finished it.

This was exactly what a good episode guide does. Provides info and a detailed listing of events in the episode. How the events relate back to the current season but also the previous seasons. And also gives you fun trivia and insights into the taping of the show. The author clearly knew their Buffyverse. I loved this book. I loved referring to this book as I watched through the entire Angel series for the third time.

[Dann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fan guide to both the cult fantasy series Angel and its fandom, Once Bitten: An Unofficial Guide to the World of Angel covers everything from the episodes to the fan websites. Intended to be a quasi-sequel to her previous book, Bite Me, author Nikki Stafford begins by recounting the rise of fall of the Whedon empire and the interconnectivity of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. Then she going into some of the fan events, followed by Buffy and Angel’s ventures into academia via college course and academic papers/books. But the majority of the book is the episode guide for seasons 1-5 of Angel (plus season seven of Buffy); with episode descriptions, plot analyses, featured music, actor interviews, etc. Stafford is clearly a fangirl, showing a lot of passion and interesting in the shows and their characters (which is somewhat infectious). However the hodgepodge of subjects covered, coupled with the use of random press photos (instead of production photos) kind of gives the impression that the book is more of a bargain-basement fan publication. Once Bitten: An Unofficial Guide to the World of Angel isn’t for the casual fan, but it’s an informative and entertaining series companion that will heightens one’s appreciation for this beloved television show.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitive guide to everything Angel.