Could Oz have been a permanent cast member of Angel?

[Athena]

I had a thought about this last night.

Ignoring Seth Green's career ambitions taking him away from BtVS, what if the BtVS showrunners wanted Oz to leave so they could bring in Tara as a love interest for Willow? Surely he would have had a great place in Los Angeles on Angel.

Oz appears in Season 1, Episode 3 'In the Dark' to facilitate the Gem of Amara being handed over to Angel from Buffy, it's one of the best episodes of S1 in my opinion, mainly for Spike and Oz. He then leaves BtVS towards the end of Season 4, heartbroken that Willow has chosen Tara. He could have easily moved over to Angel for its Season 2 and been the stoic comic relief, who has to be locked up every full moon, but with his wolf skills he could prove a valuable asset to the team.

Would you have liked to see Oz in Los Angeles with Angel, Cordelia & Wesley? What sort of dynamic could he have brought to Angel Investigations? Who could he have ended up with?

 

[Give Us A Kiss]

Sure, I think that Oz would have been a good addition to AI, they could use a stotic werewolf who is his thoughts.

 

[nightshade]

While In The Dark was a great ep Im not sure if Oz could work, he was a very quiet character, and I would be afraid they would have to change him too much for him to stand out on Angel. It worked on Buffy as the cast was a lot bigger, but Angel had a small cast so they all were on show more, and Oz rarely took centre stage, on Angel he had to be up there and I'm not sure how they could do that long term with him, as Oz himself says he's all about the inner thoughts

 

[AnthonyCordova]

You know, I always experience the presence of Buffy actors on Angel as jarring. I never felt from any of the cameos that the two casts mixed very well by way of chemistry. Part of it has to do with age: although Seth Green was of comparable age to the Angel cast, he projects a youthfulness (a consequence of being from Buffy first) that I find jarring and incompatible. The more the show Angel stood on its own it was good; whereas every time they tried to look behind them and bring inside themselves the flavor of the youthfulness of Buffy I always thought Angel suffered. I guess what I mean is that the fewer reminders Angel had going back to the original show, the better. Cordelia evolved into womanhood for the show fast, and that was alright, but I also wouldn't have brought Spike to Angel if it had been up to me. I like keeping the shows separate, unless it had to do with Faith. I think a lot of people would disagree with me but that was my feeling of it.

 

[Bluebird]

I can't imagine him as part of AI. He's too put together. Wesley and Cordelia (and Doyle) were kind of broken at the beginning of season 1 of Angel, and all of them came to some redemption or new discovery of who they were. I can't see Oz having that experience.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I like to see Oz anywhere he turns up but I go along with those who don't see a place for him on Ats.

There is a description of Gibbs on NCIS that fits Oz: he is a functional mute. The premise of a high school requires you to fit a number of characters in from a large selection and the core four of the scoobies were augmented later by Cordelia and Anya, but you can expect an ensemble cast. A detective agency from the film noir era usually has just a detective or possibly adds a secretary. You can't really have a large cast and I don't see Oz as anything other than possibly a teacher for Nina. (But they could have quite the cage match for three days a month!) But a guy who is laconic and has no other skills than playing the guitar (badly) really does not have a fit with the rest of the characters.

Besides, Oz had a redemption of sorts where he learned how to prevent himself from becoming a werewolf. So he would not allow himself to regress for any reason and his redemption arc is over. Complete. There is nothing more to do with his character.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Oz would've been the perfect person to kill Lindsey. I've always felt that it was out of character for Lorne to do it.

 

[Fool for Buffy]

How could Oz evolve? Everyone from AI goes through some pretty dramatic changes. One of the best things about Oz is he is consistently himself. I feel like if he went through some sort of transformation it would ruin the character.

 

[white avenger]

I've read things about Joss toying with the idea of bringing Oz onto "Angel" in Season 6 to serve as a mentor for Nina, whose role as Angel's love interest might have been expanded, either for a few episodes or as a regular, but I've also read that Seth has said that he was never approached with the idea, so, if it ever actually was planned, it never got much further than the "how about..." stage, and since there was no Season 6, it's anybody's guess whether anything would have come of it.

 

[Mylie]

I would have enjoyed seeing him visit for a couple of episodes after he left sunnydale but like many I don't think he would have fitted there permanently.

 

[Monkey Pants]

I actually think Oz would have been great on Angel. Not every Angel character is broken, think of Lorne, or Fred (two of my favorites). You need some together, up-beatness somewhere in the mix. I think Oz's werewolf side, and him trying to tame himself (all the stuff he did in Tibet) would have worked great on Angel. I also thought him and Angel had good, funny chemistry which would have been interesting to see. They're both quiet, dorky good guys.

 

[Carrie Hopewell]

I think Oz might lack the inner conflict or the drive required to be part of the A.I. team. Cordelia, Doyle and Wesley joined Angel because they were lost and had nothing better to do. Oz, while not a very ambitious person, always seemed to be okay with himself, his friends and his life. He was much too put together for Ats. Even when the conflict with his wolf side became important he managed to find his zen in Tibet. He figured things out quickly because that's Oz. He was great in In the Dark, but not great enough that it seemed he could be an addition to the show. He wasn't like Faith who just fit in. Even Spike was better suited for Ats.
Still, Cordelia from Buffy hardly seemed to fit in Angel, yet she did. Good writing and performance are everything. Oz could've been a permanent cast member if the writers tried. I'm happy that he wasn't though. He isn't dysfunctional enough for our little group of dysfunctional champions!

 

[DeadlyDuo]

I don't think Oz would've worked as a permanent cast member on Angel. He scraped by on Buffy because he wasn't part of the core group, he was just Willow's boyfriend. On Angel, he would be forced to be part of the group and he's just not got the dynamic personality to carry that role. The only thing Oz would bring to Angel is a "time of the month" joke.

 

[Living Dead Boy]

In my humble opinion, Angel's gang needed someone quiet and introspective. Had they had given Oz the time and space to come into his own and fit within the dynamics of the group, I feel like he would've fit in perfectly, and I would definitely watch Angel a lot more than I do now. Haha. I think he had loads of potential to work with on Angel. Taming the wild animal within? Isn't that Angel's raison d'être? I feel like Angel and Oz could've learned a lot from each other.

 

[zoe]

I think it could had been interesting, he´s a good character but it needs more development and in Angel this could have done it

 

[PaulParmar1]

I really enjoyed his appearance.
Imo Oz would've been a much better addition then Gunn was to the team and Oz could've evolved much further

 

[Ethan Reigns]

No human survived working at Angel Investigations. I would not like to see Oz in the position of joining Wolfram & Hart although he could be an excellent mentor for Nina and as a werewolf, he could possibly escape the 100% mortality rate for humans. He seems to be a pacifist and would not become the action man needed to stay with Angel Investigations. Perhaps he could be the guy who did not join Wolfram & Hart and stayed on as Angel Investigations but he does not have the skills necessary to be a detective.

In short, nothing about Oz fits him for Angel Investigations or Wolfram & Hart and he has no place there.

 

[brinkster130]

Oz and Angel seemed to have a quiet mutual respect for each other on BTVS, so I think it could have worked bringing Oz into the AI fold. If Oz was was asked to help I could see him doing so, and sticking around for a while.

 

[IdiotJed110]

I would have loved Oz as part of AI. I think he had great, unexplored chemistry with Cordy and he could have related to Angel's inner demon struggles. Like Angel and Cordelia, he was always pushed to the side on BtVS in favor of the Core Four, and it would have been nice to see him exist as his own character, instead of just Willow's love interest.

 

[NeonSlayer]

Oz tested off the charts and was recruited by a computer company just like Willow. So he had emotional *and* academic intelligence.

Oz had more experience & skills when AtS started than Cordelia did. In s1 she still didn't know how to properly type or make coffee and had less fighting ability than every other person on either series.

Oz was seen fixing the cage in Wild at Heart so he was good with his hands. He had superpowers as a werewolf. He had a van which is more useful for a group than a 4 seat convertible.

Oz loves music so he could bond with Lorne about it. I could see Oz talking philosophy on the roof at sunset with Angel the way Doyle did. Oz's demeanor would have easily calmed & assured Fred her first months back on earth and coaxed her out of her room.