Angel
"War Zone"

"War Zone"
Airdate: May 09, 1999

In our interview with David Fury last month, he mentioned many tantalizing items of Buffy and Angel-related goodness. I wasn't sure whether I should believe what he told me; Buffy's writers have been known to spread misinformation just for the fun of it. So despite the spoilage, I was still surprised when "War Zone" introduced us to two characters Fury had foreseen: David Nabbit and Gunn.

David Nabbit

I was also pleasantly surprised that both characters were engaging and entertaining. After I got over the initial surprise that the man playing Nabbit was the same man I'd watched do very strange and disturbing things on MADtv, and after muttering about the injustice of casting a guy from MADtv and not getting that hot dude who did the PoolBoy skit, it was easy to sit back and enjoy the ride. Nabbit's quickly introduced as a complete loser, and while it would be easy to resent the "computer guys are socially inept geeks" portrayal of software-mogul millionaire Nabbit, it still works on two levels. One, I saw him immediately as a parody of Bill Gates, who really is a socially inept geek. And two... well, okay, maybe the "computer guys are socially inept geeks" thing isn't entirely off-base all the time. At any rate, Nabbit hires Angel to recover some compromising photographs taken of him during his visits to a demon brothel, and he pays very well, not just for services rendered but also for hanging out with him at his party. It's very odd, and very hilarious, and though Nabbit's scenes aren't lengthy or frequent, they make up in quality what they're missing in quantity, and left me hoping that this new character won't be abandoned; I'd love to see him back again.

Angel's pursuit of the photos leads to the introduction of our second new character: Gunn, amateur vampire hunter. Gunn's living with a group of street kids in a warehouse area, where the group struggles to win a turf war with local vampires. Their encounters with Angel are violent and threatening but for some reason they never kill The Broody One, even though they've got all sorts of Devices Of Slayage that'd make the Scooby Gang envious. When Gunn's sister is kidnapped by the vampire gang, Angel arrives to help, only to be locked in a meat locker.

Gunn: Vampire Hunter G.

This leads to what is easily the episode's best scene: Angel struggles to escape, trying to get to Gunn before the boy can get himself killed. Eventually Angel settles for punching a hole through the brick wall and trying to free himself, when Wesley and Cordelia arrive on the scene and open the door. They then point out that, had he needed assistance, he could've called them on his cell phone. Seeing the mystery guy making mistakes -- and also making flimsy excuses for them -- not only adds a touch of humor in just the right place, but also humanizes Angel again, not letting us forget that he's very fallible, just like the rest of us.

Gunn, meanwhile, has gone into the vampire lair alone for reasons I can't really figure out; there he's confronted by his sister, now a vampire, who tries to lure him to the dark side like some sort of short, curly-headed Darth Vader. That bit is probably my least favorite in the episode just because it reminded me of the scenes with Blade and his mother in the Blade motion picture (a film, might I add, that I've been trying to repress). In the end, of course, he has to stake her, and Angel arrives just in time to prevent Gunn's group from getting themselves killed in a fight with the remaining vamps.

"War Zone" delivers yet another in a recent string of solid Angel episodes, and the only time it really gets heavy-handed is with a little too much lingering on the plight of street kids. Admittedly this is a theme that needs exploring, but I'm hoping they'll just go into it more in future episodes, rather than laying on more of the "isn't it awful that those kids live like that" exposition. The episode overall, however, offers great entertainment and a preliminary look at two new characters that I hope will continue to appear. "War Zone" provided just what I've been craving from Angel lately: plenty of bang for my buck (even though I don't actually have to pay for this), and entertainment that doesn't make me want to hurl things at the television.

-- Lisa Kincaid

Angel airs Tuesdays at 9pm EST on the WB.

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