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LOS ANGELES (AP) - The WB has done what no vampire slayer could: It killed "Angel,'' the do-gooder bloodsucker with a soul. WB network executives announced their cancellation decision earlier than usual to give series creator Joss Whedon, who spun off the supernatural comedy-thriller from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' a chance to prepare for a grand finale. "Angel'' stars David Boreanaz as an 18th century monster living in Los
Angeles in the present day as he tries to redeem his past evil deeds. The
series is in its fifth season. "It seemed like we hit our stride, so this is a big shock,'' Whedon told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The show maintains a small but loyal cult-fan base, but WB executives decided the numbers were not high enough to justify the program's cost. There may be hope for resurrection, although nothing is finalized yet: The WB has proposed a few "Angel'' TV movies to tie up any loose ends in the story. "It's my fervent hope that all my cast and my writers will be much too busy,'' Whedon said. "It's not that I'm not interested in the idea, I just want steady jobs for my people. But I definitely think there are more stories to tell.'' A lot depends on whether Whedon and 20th Century Fox Television, which produces the show, will succeed in shopping a sixth season of "Angel'' to another network, such as TNT, which carries reruns of the show, or UPN, which previously picked up "Buffy'' after it left the WB. Whedon also plans to ask "Buffy'' star Sarah Michelle Gellar about a possible guest role on one of the final episodes. Her character's romance with Angel was one of the vampire's defining story lines. "I'm sort of assuming she wouldn't want to,'' Whedon said. "But I intend to find out.'' On the Net: http://thewb.com ANGEL UPDATE by Michael Ausiello: Angel may be dead, but the show's fans sure aren't. Less than a week after the WB drove a stake through the Buffy spin-off, more than 45,000 Angel addicts have signed an online petition at PetitionOnline.com to keep the toothy drama alive. Campaigns to save the show are also being organized at numerous fan sites, including SupportAngel.org. But does any of this really matter? "It [helped] Roswell," says a WB rep. "It was as good as gone and the big fan campaign brought it back." In other words, the ball's in your court UPN. At SciFi.com At TVGuide.com
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