"Angel" Adds Spike; Ratings Rise

Last spring, "Angel" - the four-year-old spinoff series of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" - was nearly cancelled by the WB network because of poor ratings. A fan letter-writing campaign along with critical praise of the show convinced the network to give the another try - with a reduced budget. The creators tweaked the formula with cast and direction changes, and were rewarded with higher ratings. Viewership on the second episode was up an impressive 21% over last year.

The first change made was to move the show from Sundays to Wednesdays. Charisma Carpenter ("Cordelia") was dropped from the show, and James Marsters ("Spike") was added - sort of. The mischievous vampire is back as a ghost who does what he can to throw a wrench in Angel's plans.

The main plot change was putting Angel in charge of Wolfram & Hart - a firm that he spent 4 years battling against. Did the bad guys surrender to Angel, or is this a plot to corrupt him?

Some fans are critical of the new changes, but most would probably agree that anything that keeps the show in good ratings - and on the air - is a good thing.

Source: SB Sun