The Long View

The following DVDs, CDs and books are scheduled for release Tuesday.

"Angel: Season Five" (Fox, $59.98, not rated): And thus endeth the kingdom of "Buffy." Glad to say, "Angel" went out with a satisfyingly off-beat season, dealing with the question of what happens when you try and change evil by working it from the inside. Our brooding vampire and his merry crew take over the world’s most evil law firm and try to save mankind by becoming part of corporate America. Needless to say, their version of headhunting is a bit more literal than most, and the demons they’re fighting aren’t so much inside as outside. Creator Joss Whedon and cohorts were obviously scrambling to save the witty "Buffy" spin-off by bringing in bleached blonde vampire Spike (James Marsters), one of TV’s greatest ever characters, to bolster the show. It didn’t work ratings-wise, but the gang went out swinging anyway with a series of crazed storylines that led to — what else? — a potential apocalypse. GRADE: A-