Episode Trivia
Born-again
details | add a comment | suggested by Meghann
On the following occasions, Cordelia mocks Lindsey with a couple born-again nicknames. First in 1.21 Blind Date:
Lindsey: “You’d have to burn your way in.”
Cordy to Angel: “Why are you going in at all? I thought born-again boy was gonna do it.”
Angel: “It’s a two men job. How do I access the vault?”
Then in 1.22 To Shanshu In L.A.:
Cordy: “Hey guys? Remember born-again lawyer-boy who wanted out of Wolfram & Hart so bad?”
Angel: “Lindsey?”
Cordy: “They just promoted him - junior partner.”
Derek Anthony
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Derek Anthony, who played the ‘Imposing Demon’ in the Buffy episode 7.12 Potential, has also been in two episodes of Angel: as a hotel security guard in 2.05 Dear Boy and “Dying Black Man” in 1.21 Blind Date. He’s also been in Frasier, The Drew Carey Show and The Practice.
Encrypted discs
details | add a comment | suggested by Mel
In the Angel season one episode 1.21 Blind Date, Cordelia calls Willow to get some help decrypting discs that Angel stole from Wolfram & Hart:
Cordelia: “Okay, I’m back to the desktop, Willow. What do I do now? Okay, done that. Back to life list. Yeah. Yeah.”
Wesley: “Any luck?”
Angel: “She’s been on the phone for an hour and 45 minutes.”
Cordy: “Hey, guess what they’ve been doing all day?”
Wesley: “Uh, saving the world?”
Cordy: “Well, yeah. But they’ve been breaking encrypted computer files, too!”
Angel: “What are the odds, huh?”
This is a reference to the files that Spike stole from the Initiative in 4.20 The Yoko Factor which Willow was trying to decrypt.
Helen Keller
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was mentioned by Cordelia in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight:
Mitch: “Let me guess: blue, like your eyes!”
Cordelia: “My eyes are hazel, Helen Keller.”
In the Angel episode 1.21 Blind Date Cordy says:
“What, Hellen Kellerus Homicidalus?”
Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) suffered a mysterious illness aged 19 months, which made her lose her sight and hearing. She learned to communicate and later became a writer and scholar.
Jennifer Badger
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
Jennifer Badger was the stunt double of both Cordelia and Drusilla. She was in the stunt team of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, which starred Seth Green (Oz). She also did stunts on Scream 2 (starring Sarah Michelle Gellar) and played the blind Vanessa Brewer in the Angel episode 1.21 Blind Date.
Lindsey McDonald
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Lindsey McDonald was an ambitious Wolfram & Hart attorney who had his first brush with Angel when he killed his vampire-client by pushing him out of a high-rise window. Despite the unethical practices Lindsey was involved in, he was appalled when Wolfram & Hart were planning to kill a small group of innocent children. After forming an unlikely allegiance with Angel to save the children, Lindsey was wooed back to W&H with a promotion.
Having helped to resurrect Darla, Lindsay found himself falling in love with her, only to lose his hand in a battle with Angel. Lindsey became disillusioned with his job and left L.A.
Two years later, Lindsey returned as Eve’s partner against the Senior Partners. Strange runic-like tattoos on Lindsey’s body hid him from any surveillance. He offered to help Spike, claiming to be someone called Doyle, who received visions of people in need. When Angel discovered Lindsey was back, the ex-lawyer activated a failsafe system at Wolfram & Hart with the intention to kill the vampire. After a huge fight, in which Lindsay showed off his new strength and skill, a portal opened, which took him away for what appeared to be a punishment from the Senior Partners.
Lindsay was in fact in a suburban hell-dimension, in which he was repeatedly tortured in his basement, when not living seemingly peacefully with his fake wife and child. He was shocked when Angel, Spike and Gunn arrived to save him, in exchange for information on the Senior Partners. Lindsay agreed to help Angel in his final fight against the Partners, and was surprised to find he enjoyed being part of the team. Lindsay was shot and killed by Lorne, on a final mission from Angel, and was told that he wasn’t part of the solution. Lindsey died, disgusted that it was Lorne, and not Angel, who finally defeated him.
Rogue Slayer
details | add a comment | suggested by Meghann
The following conversation is from 1.21 Blind Date:
Lindsey: “I’ve made -uh - some bad choices.”
Holland: “Well, I’ll say.”
Lindsey: “Sending the rogue Slayer after the vampire?”
Holland: “Among other things. But you’ve had a nice success in court. You’re starting to pull out of it. I’m fond of you, Lindsey. I’d like to see you moving up here.”
Lindsey is referring to hiring Faith to kill Angel in 1.18 Five By Five.
Scott Berman
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Scott Berman, who played one of Dracula’s movers in 5.01 Buffy Vs Dracula, played ‘Vendor’ in the Angel episode ‘1.21 Blind Date‘.
Small crossover
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At some point between the episodes 4.20 The Yoko Factor and 4.21 Primeval, Cordelia rang Willow up for help cracking into a computer of her own to find files coded by Wolfram and Hart in Angel’s 1.21 Blind Date. In that episode Willow says “hey” to Wesley - a little in joke as the two are together as a couple in real life.
Superman
details | 6 comments | suggested by Jess
Comicbook hero Superman has been epitomised in many comics (by DC Comics), movies, TV shows (eg. Lois and Clarke, Smallville - in which James Marsters played Brainiac), cartoons (eg. The Adventures of Superman) and even a musical. He and the world he lives in have been referenced many times in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel:
- 1.05 Never Kill A Boy On The First Date: Buffy says, “even Clark Kent has a job”, alluding to Superman’s alter-ego.
- 2.05 Reptile Boy: Xander’s chances of ever belonging to a fraternity of rich and powerful men are rubbished by Cordy as likely only “in the Bizarro world.” The Bizarro world is a weird, back-to-front version of the real world in Superman.
- 2.11 Ted: Cordelia says of Buffy, “But she’s like this Superman.”
- 3.09 The Wish: Cordelia says to vamps Willow and Xander:
“No. No! No way! I wish us into Bizarro Land, and you guys are still together?! I cannot win!”
- 3.12 Helpless: Oz and Xander discuss which colour Kryptonite hurts Superman. Writer David Fury said in his DVD commentary for the episode that he wasn’t sure which Kryptonite was which so wrote this scene as such.
- 3.13 The Zeppo: there are a few references to Superman: Xander’s line, which he acknowledges as a “Jimmy Olsen joke”:
“But, gee, Mr White, if Clark and Lois get all the good stories I’ll never be a good reporter”
He also name-checks the Daily Planet’s editor Perry White, Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent, and his colleague Lois Lane. Cordelia’s jibe “You must feel like Jimmy Olsen” is another reference to the Daily Planet’s youngest photographer.
- 4.11 Doomed: Forrest says to Riley,
“Granted they’re a little rarer than the one’s you grew up with on that little farm in Smallville.”
Smallville, Kansas, was the small town where Clark Kent (Superman) grew up.
- In 4.17 Superstar, Xander mentions Kryptonite again.
- 5.02 Real Me: Xander says, “She can turn this place into the fortress of solitude again”. Superman built the Fortress of Solitude in the North Pole as a place where he could relax and keep his souvenirs.
- 6.11 Gone: Andrew mentions Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor. Buffy also mentions Bizarro World again.
- 6.21 Two To Go: Andrew says:
“Lex Luthor had a false epidermis escape kit in Superman Versus the Amazing Spider-Man Treasury edition”.
- 7.10 Bring On The Night: Andrew says, “An evil name should be something like Lex” He’s referring to Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor.
- 1.19 Sanctuary: While Faith flips through the channels, we briefly see a Superman cartoon.
- 1.21 Blind Date:
Wesley: “The human eye is only capable of registering a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. But if Brewer were somehow equipped to see outside that range…”
Cordelia: “She’d be Superman.” - 4.02 Ground State: Gwen says “what are you, Lex Luthor?” to Elliott when she finds out he’s double-crossed her.
- 5.10 Soul Purpose: Lindsay references Superman when he’s talking about Spike:
“I mean, he hasn’t sewn a big red S on his chest yet, but he’s getting there.”
- 5.12 You’re Welcome: Cordelia ends her seeming obsession with the Bizarro world when she says:
“What Bizarro-world did I wake up in?”
Tossing vamps
details | add a comment | suggested by Meghann
In 1.21 Blind Date, Angel needed help getting past Wolfram & Hart’s vampire detection system. Gunn created a distraction by bringing a vampire into their offices. He referenced this stunt in 1.22 To Shanshu In L.A.
Gunn: “Yeah, well, if it’s tossing a vampire in with them lawyers, I’m in. Because that was my idea of a good time.”
Vanessa’s sight
details | 2 comments | suggested by Mel
In the script for 1.21 Blind Date, the scenes in which Vanessa ’sees’, are described as:
“Like Kurlian photography. Videolike, brilliant fluorescent- coloured outlines with people more bright and vivid than objects. Angel’s movement sends a tail of light, like a comet.”
W&H security
details | add a comment | suggested by Mel
We discover from Lindsay more about the elaborate security in the Wolfram & Hart offices in 1.21 Blind Date - they have a Pregotthian demon guarding their vault; red-robed shamans who can tell when a vampire is in the building; and mind readers instead of drug testing.
Wolfram and Hart HQ
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
The Los Angeles headquarters of Wolfram & Hart were filmed at the Sony Pictures Plaza, located cross the street from the main gate of Sony Studios, at 10202 W. Washington Blvd., L.A. The building is on the east side of Madison Ave., between Washington Blvd and Culver Blvd in Culver City.
Wolfram and Hart secure database
details | add a comment | suggested by Lilwenn
In the Angel episode 1.21 Blind Date, we see parts of the files Angel stole from Wolfram and Hart. Here’s the transcription.
Wolfram and Hart
Secure DatabaseWelcome to the Wolfram and Hart Secure Database. If you are reading this screen, you have cleared security at the highest level and are qualified to read any file on this disk. As a security qualified employee you have agreed not to divulge any of the information contained herein. This Secure Database contains information of the highest sensitivity and it is imperative that this information not be known beyond security cleared employees of Wolfram and Hart. Any persons violating the confidentiality of this information will be subject to the highest levels of discipline available to the senior partners. Confidentiality is enforced by periodic mind readings, surveillance and all other means available to the considerable resources of the firm.
_____Caseloads
Billing Records
Vanessa Brewer
Inventories
Tag file
Investigations
Associates
Lindsey McDonald
Los Angles Office
New York Office
Boston Office
Political Action
Chicago Office
Police Contacts
_____Vanessa Brewer
Personal HistoryOperative currently based in Los Angeles Office. Lost her sight at age 21 on purpose. Spent 5 years in Pajaur studying with the Nanjin, an order of cave dwelling monks who believe that enlightenment is seeing with the heart, not with the mind. Brewer’s study with the Nanjin has made her uniquely useful to our purposes. Because of her frail, blind appearance, it is all but impossible to authorities to believe she is capable of any violence. However, due to her highly developed extra-visual perception, she is able to carry out even the most difficult and challenging assignments, able to penetrate even the most sophisticated defenses, and able to find even the most well-hidden subject. She entered our employ as an occasional operative in 1991 and is currently on a regular retainer.
_____Vanessa Brewer
Personnel FilePersonal History
Employment History
Qualifications
Compensation
Supervision
Current Assignment
Benefits
Defenses Against
References
_____Vanessa Brewer
Current AssignmentIntercept and terminate the 3 seer children who have been found in remote locations around the world. The 3 blind seers together have the power to see into the heart of things. Individually their power is limited, but together their abilities increase exponentially. Moreover, their power is expected to increase as they mature, representing a severe threat to our interests. Fortunately we have been able to obtain details of their movements upon arrival in this country, making them uniquely vulnerable at this time.
_____Vanessa Brewer
Current Assignment DetailsThe subjects are expected to arrive on the morning of 28 April 2000 and will be kept in a safe house apartment with a guardian until they can connect with their mentor, who will arrive from the East that night. It is imperative that these children be prevented from reaching their full potential and this threat warrants deploying our most trusted operative. They will be very difficult to reach once they have connected with their mentor. The safe house is at 317 Elisabeth Street, apt. 2C, Los Angeles. They will be at their most vulnerable during this one day, with only the single guardian to protect […]
[Goof] Pink post-it
details | add a comment | suggested by Mel
When Cordelia is looking for information on Vanessa online at the beginning of 1.21 Blind Date, she has a pink note stuck on her computer. This appears and disappears in different shots.