In mythology, angels are spirits or
supernatural entities often disguised in human form.
According to literature, angels are agents
of Heaven, who do the work of God on Earth, which includes guarding and guiding
some human beings. The stereotypical
angel wears robes, boasts wings, has a halo over his or her head, and emits a
kind of glow or illumination.
Angels have been a staple of
cult-television programming for decades at this point. Series including Out of the Blue (1979), Highway
to Heaven (1984), Touched by an Angel (1994 - 2003)
and Teen
Angel (1997 – 1998) are all series that have specifically involved the
travails of angels on Earth, attempting to guide people to better
destinies. Out of the Blue -- an ABC
series which featured cross-overs with Happy Days (1974 – 1984) and Mork
and Mindy (1978 – 1981) -- lasted only a season, but featured an angel
named Random (Jim Brogan) helping out a suburban American family.
Both Highway to Heaven and Touched
by an Angel involve lead angels (Michael Landon and Roma Downey, respectively),
helping a progression of people, rather than one family.
Other series have also featured angels. The original Battlestar Galactica
(1978 – 1979) imagined a cosmic order of Manichean proportions in which a race
of angels -- billeted on a “Ship of Lights” – oversaw the affairs of man, and
had to contend with a renegade among their people, Count Iblis (Patrick
Macnee). The angels appeared in the
two-part episode “War of the Gods” and also “Experiment in Terra.”
The Chris Carter series The
X-Files (1993 – 2002) and Millennium (1996 – 1999) have also
featured angels on more than one occasion.
In particular, the X-Files episode “All Souls” involves
a Nephilim, the offspring of angel and men.
And Frank Black’s (Lance Henriksen) partner in season two of Millennium,
Lara Means (Kristen Cloke) often sees images of angels.
Angels have appeared in supernatural based
series as well, including Hex (2005 -2007) and Supernatural
(2005 - ). In the latter case, a war in Heaven is part
of the ongoing plot-line.
Doctor Who (2005 - ) has featured angels on more
than one occasion. In “Voyage of the Damned,”
the Doctor encountered robots constructed to resemble the supernatural
entities. In “Blink” and other episodes
of the tenth and eleventh Doctor, the Weeping Angels have appeared…and become
one of the modern series’ most popular (and frightening) villains.
In other cult television programming,
Angel has been a popular name for individuals, teams, and even series. Charlie’s Angels (1976 – 1981) concerns
an all-female team of detectives for instance.
And Angel (David Boreanaz) is a vampire investigator who helps the
hopeless.
John interesting thoughts on Angels. Many characters in television. I know that Doctor Who's Weeping Angels are ominous characters that deserve their own horror film even without the Doctor.
ReplyDeleteSGB