The Casefiles: Volume 2

When I first heard that a new writer was going to take over the reins for "The Watcher's Guide 3", I was a little worried. I had never heard of Paul Ruditis. My worries were not unfounded when the third volume, while still fun and competently written, came out and was a huge disappointment because it lacked so much. So, imagine my horror when I learned he was going to do the new Angel book. Oh no. Well, was I so happily surprised!. Teaming up with Diana Gallagher, Ruditis has redeemed himself with a book that stays true and faithful to the first book, and makes WG 3 a distant memory. Ruditis and Gallagher pretty much keep the same pattern and style as Nancy Holder on the first Casefiles. Sadly, and oddly, the book only covers seasons 3 and 4. WG 3 managed to fit in the final season, and Nikki Stafford's excellent "Once Bitten" did too, so why not this one?. Hmm. Included here are the always welcomed "Character Bios", something lacking in WG 3. It goes through all the major players, and most of the recurring players thru the two seasons. They also have "Actor Profiles" as well. They do make some mistakes. Such as saying that Connor, in the character bio part, was 18 when he came back, when he was actually 16. Although they do change it in the actual episode guides. They also mention the song "Lady Marmelade", and say it was by Aretha Franklin, when it was by Patti LaBelle. The episode guides are always the main focus of these books, and the authors don't disappoint. With long, detailed synopses of each episode, they bring the same categories and facts and such with each ep as they always do. The episodes, like the first book, are designed as actual case files. What are they?. Every episode summary is titled "Action Taken". We have "Dossiers", which is a section that informs of who the client, clientele, or outside support is(if there is any in a particular episode)that they deal with. Then there is "Continuity", which deals with the ongoing story and arcs and history that the show has come from. "Quote Of The Wek" is pretty self explanatory. No need to go into that one further. "The Devil Is In The Details" portion has "Expenses", which shows pretty much what you'd expect. "Weaponry" tells exactly what kind of weapon was used, or if it was a weapon at all. "The Plan" is basically what the gang's, well, plan is for this episode's situation. "Demons, ETC...." is a section dealing with what kinds of ghouls ans goblins, if any, were seen in that particular episode. And there is a handful more, like "Tracks", which is for music featured in the episode. "The Final Cut" which is things that didn't make it to the end episode. "As Scene In L.A." is stuff from Angel's city. "Pop Culture" is pretty much saying it there in the title. "The Name Game" tells about the meaning of an episode's title. "Six Degrees Of..." is basically a "Where Have I Seen Them Before?" thing, and a few more. There are also interviews and little tid bits from cast and crew about that

After seeing the watered down final volume of "The Watcher's Guide" for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I had some trepidation for the second volume of "The Casefiles" for "Angel." But Paul Ruditis and Diana G. Gallagher follow in the footsteps of Nancy Holder, Jeff Mariotte, and Maryelizabeth Hart and you will find more of the same: a Character Guide, an Episode Guide for Season Three and Season Four, and Actor Profiles. Volume 2 is a hundred pages shorter than Volume 1, and the book is also a shave smaller in both height and width than Volume 1, which you will discover as soon as you put them side-by-side on the shelf. Since Volume 3 is only going to cover the fifth and final season it is probably going to be at least a hundred pages shorter as well. The character guides are for Angel, Cordelia Chase, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Charles Gunn, Fred, the Host, Connor, Lilah Morgan, Darla, Captain Daniel Holtz, Justine Cooper, Jasmine, Sahjhan, Gavin Park, Linwood Murrow, the Groosalugg, Skip, the Beast, Faith, Gwen Raiden, Willow Rosenberg, and Knox. These are not background descriptions, but take each character through Season Four. For example with Angel/Angelus/Liam you get a complete history of the character, which consists of brief summary of the "BtVS" years and the first two seasons of "Angel," and then focusing on what happens during seasons three and four. For the minor characters (e.g., Faith and Willow) the emphasis is just on those episode of "Angel" on which they appear. Because these casefiles cover the third and fourth seasons, the focus is on the saga of Angel and his son, Connor. Each episode is covered in three main sections: (1) From the Files of Angel Investigations commences with the "Case No" for the episode number, and a list of the writer, director, guest stars and costars, and then the "Action Taken" (plot synopsis) and "Resolution" (episode climax). We then have a whole bunch of possible categories. "Dossiers" covers the client, civilian support (e.g., Merl and Lorne), and suspects. "Continuity" covers familiar faces and providing other details that help explain what is going on, while "Office Romance" keeps us up to date on the tangled love lives of the gang and "Quote of the Week" provides a choice exchange of words; (2) The Devil is in the Details looks at the sub-categories of "Expenses", "Weaponry," and "The Plan+ (such as it is). Here is also where you will find "Demons, Etc....," which keeps you up to date on what specific bads are running around in the episode, and can include a look at things like The Vampire Rules. "As Scene in L.A" explains where things are taking place in the episode relative to the real Los Angeles; (3) The Pen Is Mightier is the choice section where you get to see parts of the episode that did not make the "Final Cut," and have all of the "Pop Culture" references identified and explained for you. "The Name Game" explains the episode's title while "Six Degrees of..." covers anybody in t

the angel casefiles volume 2 is the a great read after you have watched the episodes

At first on appearance this book is thinner then case files 1, but dont be deceived inside is packed full of information from seasons 3 & 4. Even though this 2nd book is written by different authors it still resembles case file 1 on presentation. I fully support anyone buying this to put it next to case file 1.