Episode Trivia
Angel’s language skills
details | 8 comments | suggested by Wynter
Angel is shown to be fluent in several languages other than English throughout the show.
- In 1.10 Parting Gifts, he speaks Chinese
- In 1.16 The Ring, he speaks Spanish, Italian and Russian.
- In 3.08 Lover’s Walk, he reads Sartre’s La Nausée in the original language. Later, in 2.19 Belonging, he speaks French.
- In 5.13 Why We Fight, he speaks German.
- In 5.11 Damage, he is shown to understand (and presumably speak) Romanian.
Barney
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Barney was an empath demon who tricked Cordelia and Angel into believing he was in danger from a rogue demon hunter - Wesley. His actual job was to find demons and others with “special gifts” to be auctioned off to the highest bidders. He attempted to sell Cordelia’s eyes and her visions, but was killed by Cordelia after a rescue attempt by Wesley and Angel.
Carey Cannon
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Carey Cannon played the female Oracle in 1.08 I Will Remember You, 1.10 Parting Gifts and 1.22 To Shanshu In L.A. She also played Katya in The Secret, as well as numerous stage productions.
Cordelia and Xander’s seeing abilities
details | add a comment | suggested by Meghann
The following is an eerie comparison between Cordelia and Xander…
In 1.10 Parting Gifts, Barney refers to Cordelia as being a Seer when she’s put on auction:
Barney: “Next up lot 32. We’re very lucky to have this here today. It’s a rare, and beautiful find.”
Cordelia: “I’m really not a seer. I only had a vision once, and I’m pretty sure it was just something I ate!”
Barney: “The magnificent eyes of a seer. Your very own pipeline to the Powers That Be, folks. The possibilities are endless. Keep the girl as a slave, remove the head as a trophy, or simply harvest the eyes, in any case a unique party icebreaker. It doesn’t get any better than this. Let’s start the bidding at 2,000…”
From the next episode 1.11 Somnambulist:
Wesley: “Quiet all around then. Well, I’ll keep myself available. The situation can only escalate. We made a most effective team, I felt. Vanquishing that empathy demon in such short order.”
Cordy: “Yeah, well, nobody gauged out my eyes, so I’m happy.”
Over on Buffy, we witness the following conversation between Dawn and Xander in 7.12 Potential:
Dawn: “Maybe that’s your power.”
Xander: “What?”
Dawn: “Seeing. Knowing.”
XANDER: “Maybe it is. Maybe I should get a cape.”
Dawn: “Cape is good.”
XANDER: “Yeah.”
Before gauging out Xander’s eye in 7.18 Dirty Girls, Caleb says:
Caleb: “You’re the one who sees everything, aren’t you? Well, let’s see what we can’t do about that.”
Cordelia’s surnames
details | 15 comments | suggested by Jess
Cordelia has a habit of giving people sarcastic new surnames.
She has called Angel:
- “Mr. I Was Alive for 200 Years and Never Developed an Investment Portfolio” in 1.01 City of.
- “Mr. I can’t tail the suspect during the day because I’ll burst into flames Private Eye” in 1.15 The Prodigal.
- “Mr. ‘oh, you’re my big, fat hero!” in 3.05 Fredless.
- “Mr. Distance” in 1.17 Eternity.
- “Mr. Killing Spree” In 3.02 Dead Man’s Party.
- “Mr. ‘I’m so tortured’” in 1.11 Somnambulist.
- “Angel? Mr. Bumpy-face? Hello?” in 4.04 Slouching Toward Bethlehem.
She has called Gunn:
- “Mr. I don’t take orders - now where do I stick my axe?” in 2.11 Redefinition.
- “Mr. Rationalization” in 2.03 First Impressions.
She has called Lorne:
- “Mr. Big Mojo-guy” in 2.11 Redefinition.
- “Mr. Green-Mojo-Guy” in 2.20 Over The Rainbow.
She has called Wesley:
- “Mr. Fussy Pants” in 2.05 Dear Boy.
- “Mr. Grouchy Pants” in 1.16 The Ring.
- “Mr. Don’t Talk to Me Before I’ve Had my Flagon of Oatbran in the Morning” in 1.16 The Ring
- “Mr. Star-schmoozer” in The 2.08 Shroud Of Rahmon.
- “Mr. Too-much-cologne” in 1.14 I’ve Got You Under My Skin.
Others have also been named by Cordy:
- To Xander: “Mr. Excitement” in 3.13 The Zeppo.
- To Devon: “Mr. I’m-the-lead-singer-I’m-so-great- I-don’t-have-to-show-up- for-my-date-or- even-call” in 2.06 Halloween.
- To Xander: “Mr. Faithful” in 3.01 Anne.
- To Wesley and Gunn: “Mr. and Mrs. Bickerson” in 3.05 Fredless.
- To Pierce: “Mr. Armani” in 1.07 Bachelor Party.
- To Barney: “Mr. Emotional Radar” in 1.10 Parting Gifts.
- To Kate and Angel: “Mr. and Mrs. Spock” in 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity.
Cordelia has also thrown in a few Misses in her name calling. She has called Buffy:
- “Little Miss Likes-to-fight” in 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two).
- “Miss Not-Over-Yourself-Yet” in 3.07 Revelations.
- “Miss Save-The-World” in 2.13 Surprise.
Cordelia has even called herself a name:
- “Miss one-foot-in-the-grave” in 5.12 You’re Welcome.
Demon cameo
details | 1 comment | suggested by Wynter
If you look closely during the auction scenes in 1.10 Parting Gifts, you can spot what looks like Machida, the snake demon from 2.05 Reptile Boy sitting in the audience. Presumably the costume was re-used to make up the demon participants for the auction.
Folding time
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
When Angel is asking the Oracles to bring Doyle back in 1.10 Parting Gifts, he reminds them that they changed time in 1.08 I Will Remember You:
Male Oracle: “You try our patience. What is done…”
Angel: “…cannot be undone, you keep saying that. But I need Doyle. You can fold time, you’ve done it before. Bring him back.”
Kungai demons
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Kungai demons, one of which is seen in 1.10 Parting Gifts, are a powerful race of yellowy-green, Asian demons whose Tak horns suck the life force out of an enemy. They are relentless killers but die when their horn is removed.
Kungai reference
details | add a comment | suggested by Meghann
In 3.11 Birthday we hear the following conversation:
Cordelia: “Yeah, we go way back. Back to, uhm, when - you had two arms, which, by the way…”
Wesley: “Ah, Kungai demon a couple of years ago.”
This is a reference to the Kungai demon Wesley tracked down in 1.10 Parting Gifts.
No Glenn
details | 2 comments | suggested by Wynter
Glenn Quinn is still credited in 1.10 Parting Gifts, despite the fact that he does not appear in the episode. This might have been deliberate on the producers’ part so as not to spoil the fact that Alexis Denisof would become a regular on the show from the next episode.
Publisher’s Clearing House
details | add a comment | suggested by Mel
In 1.10 Parting Gifts, Barney says, “I don’t think he’s tracking me down to tell me I won Publisher’s Clearing House.” This is a reference to the multimillion dollar prize made famous by Ed McMahon.
Randall Slavin
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Randall Slavin played the male Oracle in 1.08 I Will Remember You, 1.10 Parting Gifts and 1.22 To Shanshu In L.A. He has also been in Zoolander, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Sleepy Time Gal, Auggie Rose, Shakespeare in… and Out, The Practice, Beverly Hills, 90210, Cybill and Beethoven’s 2nd. Randall was Kevin Spacey’s assistant for Swimming with Sharks. Randall was a friend of Glenn Quinn, and they appeared in Roseanne together.
Selling Cordy
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Cordelia has been sold twice in Angel. In 1.10 Parting Gifts, Barney kidnaps her to sell at auction, where Wolfram & Hart buy her for $30,000. In 2.20 Over The Rainbow, she is captured in Pylea and sold into slavery for a pig and a pint. In both cases, Cordy is unhappy with the bidding: in 1.10 Parting Gifts, she says:
Cordy: “Not that he didn’t have it coming. He was a horrible, evil monster.”
Angel: “Hmm, he did kill a lot of people.”
Wesley: “Viciously mutilated their corpses.”
Cordy putting the picture in a frame: “Plus he started the bidding on me at a paltry 2,000 dollars.
In 2.20 Over The Rainbow she says:
“Okay. Okay. Look. First of all - I’m a human being - not a cow. You can’t just barter a human being! Second of all: one pig? One measly pig?”
Smirking David
details | add a comment | suggested by Wynter
There have been a few instances throughout the show where David Boreanaz has noticeably laughed during a scene.
In 1.10 Parting Gifts, during the scene that Angel and Wesley first come face-to-face and Angel knocks the crossbow from Wesley’s hand, you can see David Boreanaz laughing to himself.
In 1.14 I’ve Got You Under My Skin, as Ryan attacks his mother, you can see David laughing as he runs down the stairs, and again when Wesley points the cross at Ryan and starts speaking Latin. He tries to hide it by putting his head down.
He obviously must have had a lot of fun filming the show.
Tattoo cover up
details | add a comment | suggested by Mel
In her commentary for 1.05 Rm W/A Vu, Jane Espenson points out that you can briefly see a tattoo on Cordelia’s back as she battles the ghost. Jane says that it was decided that Charisma Carpenter’s tattoos would be covered up as it was felt that Cordelia wouldn’t have any. Charisma’s tattoo can also be seen in 1.10 Parting Gifts as Cordy talks to Barney in the kitchen.
In 5.12 You’re Welcome, Cordelia’s left wrist is always covered - either by a long sleeve, bandage or a leather wrist band. This is to cover Charisma’s tattoo which she had done between seasons 4 and 5. The tattoo is of rosary beads - something Cordy certainly wouldn’t have considering her relationship with a vampire!
The Ambassador Hotel
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
The Ramsey Hotel scenes in 1.10 Parting Gifts were actually shot at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, as were (according to the episode’s DVD commentary) the kitchen shots in The Price.
The hotel was a landmark in the city and the site of many Academy Awards ceremonies. The hotel and it’s nightclub, the Cocoanut Grove, were favoured by many Hollywood stars including Marilyn Monroe, Bing Cosby, Howard Hughes, Jean Harlow, John Barrymore and Gloria Swanson. Several U.S. Presidents slept there, and in 1968, Robert Kennedy was assasinated in the kitchen en route to the ballroom to accept the Democratic Presidential nomination.
The neighbourhood where the hotel was situated began to deteriorate in the 1970s and despite a renovation of the Cocoanut Grove in the mid 1970s, the hotel was not able to return to its former splendor. It closed in 1989 and became the site of many movie and TV show shoots, including The Italian Job, Almost Famous, Forrest Gump, Pretty Woman, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, The Mask, The Graduate, Beaches and Catch Me If You Can.
Angel was the last production to shoot in the hotel before it’s final demolition in 2005.
Vampire misconceptions
details | 1 comment | suggested by Wynter
In 1.10 Parting Gifts, Angel says:
“Vampires don’t sleep in coffins. It’s a misconception made popular by hack writers and ignorant media. In fact, you know, we can and do move around during the day. As long as we avoid direct sunlight. Got it?”
This is referring to the popular stereotype that vampires sleep in coffins during the day. It is employed by many horror writers, such as Anne Rice, Darren Shan, and Bram Stoker.
In 2.03 First Impressions, Gunn says:
“Demon. He set up camp in my neighbourhood. He put to of my men in the hospital last night. So could one of you go in there and knock on his coffin?”