It is with this second series that Angel, the darker Los Angeles mean-streets spin-off from Buffy, comes entirely into its own. Angel, the vampire with a soul and rather too much hair gel, is driven partly by his need for atonement and partly by his anger at the manipulations of the satanic law firm Wolfram and Hart, especially the morally equivocal Lindsey (Christian Kane). At the end of the previous season, they set his emotional destruction in motion by bringing back from hell Darla, the vampire who turned him, whom he loved for centuries and then killed to save Buffy. Julie Benz's soft-voiced passion--"God doesn't want you, but I still do"--makes her a perfect tragic foil for David Boreanaz's "billowy coat King of Pain" hero and mid-season offers further cause for Angel's despairing rage at his failure to save Darla from being turned vampire again.

There is a nice balance of comedy, horror and the starkly tragic here--fake swamis, accursed shrouds, sexually abused telekinetic assassins all come into the mix along with Angel's gang of sidekicks--pedantic Wesley, abrasive Gunn, flighty clairvoyant Cordelia--and a new and wonderfully improbable character who starts as a running joke and becomes so much more--the Host (Andy Hallett), a green demon with red horns, eyes and hair, who sees into the souls of those who sing karaoke at his bar. And in a four-part finale, the group's friendship with the green karaoke demon Lorne sends them off to his home dimension to rescue Cordelia, right wrongs and acquire an important new character.

On the DVD: Angel, Season 2 on disc presents all the episodes in their original 16x9 widescreen format (2.35:1), which enables viewers to see shots as they were originally conceived, for example in impressive moments like the march of the four vampires through a burning Shanghai or the climaxes of the mediaeval Pylea sequence. The sound is a sumptuous Dolby Surround 2.0. The first Pylea episode, "Over the Rainbow", has a commentary by its director Fred Keller; the 1959 flashback episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" has a commentary by writer Tim Minnear. There are also featurettes on the set designs--specifically concentrating on the huge hotel set which dominates Season 2. --Roz Kaveney

This DVD of Angel really rocks! I watched all 6 discs at least 12 times. There are more than two hours of cast interviews, behind the scenes featurettes, commentaries by writers and directors, and best of all, the cool episodes! All the episodes are funny, devilish, a bit darker than season 1 but it's better the way it is. In this season Darla and Drusilla come back, we see Angel in a darker place, as well as a new cast member. Overall, this DVD is the bomb and if you rent or buy it, you won't be dissappointed!

Myself having seen every season of angel, it must be said its an excellent series overall, much darker than buffy which really shows in this season, and in the 3rd and 4th. Angel walks a thin line between becoming angelus which really gives a lot to, the good old feeling of whats gonna happen next omg omg kind of thing :D.

This season is very good and anyone who enjoyed the first few seasons of buffy will love angel.

If you are new starting out in the joss whenden universe, its probably best you start with season 1 of angel, and probably season 2 of buffy. These will help explain a lot!

This season of Angel is where the characters really begin to come into their own, with each of them given a few episodes which put them into the spotlight. These include the hilarious Wesley posing as Angel in the episode ''Guise will be guise'', and a closer look at newcomer Gunn in ''First Impressions''. It also introduces The Host, a demon who owns a karaoke bar and comes to Angels aid on numerous occasions throughout the 22 episodes. The season also gives main character Angel a chance to become much darker, walking the dangerously thin line seperating him from evil, but without becoming his alter ego Angelus, showing us that theres more sides to this vampire than just good and evil. Some real gems are included here, such as the awesome roller-coaster ride of ''The Trial'', and the controversial episodes ''Reunion'' and ''Redefenition'', bringing to a head the tragic love story between Angel and his newly born-again Sire, Darla. The season's finale arc takes place in another dimension, which in my opinion takes away some of the tension and drama that had been building up throughout the season, thus the reason for me giving it 4 stars as oppose to the 5 which it would have recieved. Still though, this is top notch entertainment with something for everyone (including David Boreanaz's questionable talents as a karaoke singer), and although the dvd is not very generous with special features, its great value for money.

I LOVE THIS!!U CANT LIVE WITHOUT SEEING IT BUY FIRST ses 1-2 then 3-4 damn damn damn SO GOOD

I know it's sacrelige to say (or even think) it but I think that Season 2 of Angel the Series matched and in places outshone anything that BtVS had to offer.

I've just finished watching the season again and felt the need to sing its praises - even though it is quite old now and many others have already said how great it is.

It is one of those seasons that actually improves on DVD when you can follow the story arcs without waiting a week inbetween episodes. Whilst I know it was unpopular in some quarters, the decision to distance Angel from his crew and walk a dark path for a while was brave to say the least and worked brilliantly. Too often successful TV programmes play it safe, sticking to the same formula and pressing the reset button at the end of each episode so that every story starts from the same happy place with no consequences from the episodes preceeding it. Season 2 of Angel challenges the viewer with story arcs that do not always lead to happy places and is a better programme as a result.

Julie Benz is spectacular as Darla and it was a great idea to bring her back to shake up the status quo.

The expansion of Angel's band of sidekicks to include Gunn works very well and the transformation of the self centred Cordelia and insecure Wesley into strong, brave characters in their own right is great to see and makes their attempts to keep on fighting the good fight after Angel abandons them seem possible.

Boreanaz is, as ever, excellent playing the Vampire with a soul and is somehow never sexier than when he is going to the dark side. His portrayal of Angel's awkward attempts to make things up to his friends is both heartbreaking and funny.

Every episode has something to offer and the mix of comedy and drama is well handled.

If you liked Season 1 but lost interest in Season 2 give it another chance. It really improves with every viewing. If you stuck with Season 2 through its TV run then I'm probably preaching to the converted anyway and you've already ordered it. If you've never seen Angel before then buy Season 1 first - you won't regret it.