Buffy/Angel Crossovers!

[RoJoHen]

I think it goes without saying that more Buffy and Angel crossover episodes would have been awesome while the shows were still on the air. We had a few in the early years of Angel, but how many more would you have liked to see?

I personally wish we had seen more of the little kinds of crossovers. I think Cordelia should have returned to Sunnydale more often. I think it would have been really nice if she had shown up for Joyce's funeral, for example.

So what other kinds of crossovers would you have liked to see? Try to keep it practical for TV. Obviously, especially with the shows being on different networks, it would have been bad to have too many big crossover arcs or anything, but can you think of any instances where it would have made sense for certain characters to show up on the other show?

 

[ClayinCA]

Whedon used to say that he wanted to bring Xander onto Angel for an episode or two to give a stronger resolution to his relationship with Cordelia, which I think would have been good. I would also like to have seen an Angel episode in which Buffy's father appeared (since he lived in L.A.).

 

[Warp Coil]

Xander appearing on Angel would have been interesting, since he pretty much hated the guy. I'd have been curious to see what type of relationship Xander would have with Cordelia, or how he would react to learning about her feelings for the dark, brooding vampire.

Cordy returning to Sunnydale could have been funny. I could see some witty banter between her and Anya, particularly regarding Xander.

I would have loved to have seen a reunion between Giles and Wesley, particularly after Wesley went all dark and kick-ass. I feel that the dynamic between the two of them would have remained very antagonistic but would have been ramped up even more.

 

[Ethros]

Well speaking of a lot of crossovers, this reminds me of back in 2001, when there was a two month gap in between the airing of Buffy's "The Body"/Angel's "Reprise" and Buffy's "Forever"/Angel's "Epiphany"
During that time tonnes of rumours were flying round the internet about how the respective seasons were going to end. A lot of them false rumours & spoilers, wild speculations, etc. Even Joss Whedon and co supposedly put out false info on upcoming episodes especially to throw fans of the scents for what was really gonna happen (the big spoiler been Buffy was to die)

So for an interesting read here is the "false" rundown of how Buffy s5 and Angel s2 would have ended, with a high number of crossovers-
(The following is transcribed from an issue of SFX in 2001)

Buffy- 5.17
After the events of 'The Body' it comes as no surprise that this episode focuses upon Buffy & Dawn psyching themselves up for Joyce's funeral. Anya, meanwhile, is offered her powers back- but what does that mean for her relationship with Xander? Glory decides that she has to get a move on in her search for the Key, and Joyce's funeral brings in a few surprise guests

Angel -2.17
It is Harmony who informs Angel that Joyce has died, who has just moved to LA. Unaware of this, Xander & Willow have travelled to the city to tell him themselves, but fail to find him because he's changed address. They find themselves in Caritas, where they have a singsong and hear from the Host that Xander has a destiny to protect mankind. However, Angel has a chat to the Host after Xander & Willow have gone (without seeing them.) The Host tells Angel about "a boy with a grim future" It doesn’t sound good for Xander

Buffy- 5.18
Angel pays Sunnydale a visit after hearing about Joyce's death, knowing that Buffy will need some support, which she does. Spike, however, needs Buffy's help when the Buffy robot he had constructed goes haywire and tries to kill him.
At the beginning of an ongoing storyline, Buffy's dad comes to Sunnydale with his new friend Sophie (Babylon 5's Melissa Gilbert), and Glory looks for a new minion after Ben disappears… be prepared for a shock ending folks

Angel -2.18
Cordelia's visions start to speed up, becoming nastier and more painful. As Angel Investigations try to help her, Lindsey receives a new hand (to replace the one Angel smashed) which isn’t as inanimate as it should be…

Buffy- 5.19
Hank Summers, unsurprisingly, wants custody of Dawn. Giles decide her wants her too. Cue: a custody a battle. Glory finally figures out Dawn is the Key and has her kidnapped. Her accomplice? Xander, who is now possessed by the evil god and forced to help her. Willow casts a spell to unpossess him, but Tara messes up, leaving Anya to try and save the day

Angel -2.19
Angel and Lindsey become friends- as strange as that may sound- which doesn’t exactly thrill the rest of Angel Investigations. Cordelia and Gunn, however, have other things on their minds as they go out on their first date. One of Gunn's old friends needs help, forcing him to choose between his new colleagues and the old ones

Buffy- 5.20
Buffy tries to contact Angel after things go from bad to worse- she's served with Dawn's custody papers by her dad and it's looking harder and harder to defeat Glory. On top of this, Buffy gets a message from the Initiative's Graham, saying Riley is MIA, possibly dead. It's not a good day for Buffy. The audience discover that Glory and Ben only exist in our dimension by using a "vessel", keeping up their strength by draining the life from others. Ben hasn’t been feeding and has become very weak, meaning Glory needs to find him another vessel.
Buffy's trip to LA to find her former lover is to no avail, because unknown to her, Angel and co are on their way to Sunnydale…

Angel -2.20
With Lindsey wavering in his loyalty to Wolfram & Hart, Lilah arranges for his sister to be attacked by a demon as a warning to him. Laura in blinded, but soon discovers she has supernatural powers that tenable her to "see inside people." She tells Angel that he has to go to Sunnydale.
Lindsey is promoted but discovers the plot to teach him a lesson. He tries to save Laura from becoming a Wolfram & Hart weapon, but fails. Meanwhile Angel's decided to heed Laura's words and travels to Sunnydale, taking Kate with him. Along the way they pick up Lindsey, Faith (released from prison) and Oz.
Cordelia, Gunn and Wesley, who didn't agree with Angel's decision to leave LA, go to Caritas where the Host informs them they should be with him

Buffy- 5.21
Giles wins his battle to become the legal guardian of Dawn. Xander and Buffy, who's on the verge of a nervous breakdown, pay a visit to a certain karaoke bar and have their fortunes told, whilst back in Sunnydale Angel arrives to help defeat Glory. Spike regains control of himself after his chip is deactivated by the Initiative, immediately returning to his old and very nasty ways

Angel -2.21
Cordelia, Gunn and Wesley try to catch up with Angel and Kate, finally joining them just before he reaches Sunnydale. After picking up a hitchhiker on the way (who the audience know as Riley, but the three have never met before) they meet up with the Scooby Gang and find they have a lot to talk about

Buffy- 5.22
To celebrate the 100th episode of Buffy this will be a two hour spectacular featuring the entire cast of both shows. The Sunnydale Scoobies and Team-Angel from LA join forces to get rid of Glory, resulting in three of the group meeting their destinies… whatever that may mean!

It's interesting that some of the stuff is accurate (ie. the initial Harmony & Lindsey stuff) but after that it's way off!
Not say it wouldn't have been good, it sounds a very fanboyish concept. But how cool would it have been to see the entire cast of both shows facing off a huge army of Glory's?
That would be Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Anya, Dawn, Tara, Spike, Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Kate, Lindsey, Faith, Oz, and Riley. That's 17 characters! How the hell would they cope with all those characters to serve

I like the idea of Riley coming back and Wes, Cordy & Gunn not knowing who he is, while Oz and Faith just seem to be thrown in for the hell of it.
Having Xander & Willow singing karaoke at Caritas would have been a laugh riot though.

 

[DarkHorizon]

Well speaking of a lot of crossovers, this reminds me of back in 2001, when there was a two month gap in between the airing of Buffy's "The Body"/Angel's "Reprise" and Buffy's "Forever"/Angel's "Epiphany"
During that time tonnes of rumours were flying round the internet about how the respective seasons were going to end. A lot of them false rumours & spoilers, wild speculations, etc. Even Joss Whedon and co supposedly put out false info on upcoming episodes especially to throw fans of the scents for what was really gonna happen (the big spoiler been Buffy was to die)

So for an interesting read here is the "false" rundown of how Buffy s5 and Angel s2 would have ended, with a high number of crossovers-
(The following is transcribed from an issue of SFX in 2001)

I was hoping someone had that around! I've been looking for those descriptions for years - I was really excited by this rundown when I read it in SFX, and was really disappointed with what we actually got, particularly the Pylea arc...

 

[JediKnightButler]

I would've liked some more resolution to the apparent conflict/tension that existed on Angel S5 between his team and the "Scoobies" and highlighted on episodes like "Damage"- where Andrew and the slayerettes take possession of the mentally ill slayer and "Hole in the World" when Giles (off screen) apparently refuses to assist Angel with Fred/Illyria.
Oh, and of course, it would've been nice to have actually SEEN Buffy on "The Girl in Question" instead of the back of some nameless blonde's head and another cameo appearance by.......Andrew

In regards to the conflict/tension between Angel and "The Scoobies", I had a hard time believing that the Scoobies would totally "disown" Angel and his team just for taking over Wolfram and Hart in S5. Buffy didn't seem bothered by it in the one episode where Angel brings her the pendant (and she eagerly accepted it too). Did that make sense to (or bother) anybody else?

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Oh, and of course, it would've been nice to have actually SEEN Buffy on "The Girl in Question" instead of the back of some nameless blonde's head and another cameo appearance by.......Andrew

In their defense, they planned for it to be Sarah Michelle Gellar but she was unavailable since she was in Japan shooting The Grudge. Subsequent novels & comic books have suggested that the woman in Rome wasn't actually Buffy but a double that she planted to pump information from the Immortal.

It would have been nice to actually see Giles on the other end of the phone arguing with Angel in "Damage" & "A Hole in the World."

I love the idea of Xander & Willow singing karaoke at Caritas. I also agree that at some point Cordelia should have come back to Sunnydale and had some kind of funny confrontation with Xander & Anya.

I would have liked to see Lilah show up at some local Sunnydale branch of W&H.

I have this funny idea in my head for a bit at the end of "Chosen" where, after Sunnydale has been destroyed, Gunn, Fred, & Wesley arrive to form the "2nd front" that Buffy & Angel had talked about. I think Gunn's reaction to that would have been funny.

 

[RoJoHen]

This isn't really a crossover idea, but I didn't feel like starting a new thread. But I started wondering...what would happen if a Slayer got turned into a vampire? Has there been a story like this in the comics at all? I think it would have been a really cool villain for Buffy to face. Had he not been, ya know, a man, I could believe that Dracula had been a former Slayer, which would explain why he knew so much about her power.