Why “Angels” Don’t Fly On TV

The TV version of “Angels in America” has been well-hyped. Jan Herman watched and came away disappointed. “The common complaint that big films come off poorly on the tube applies doubly in this case to big plays. It’s hard to imagine how Nichols spent $60 million when the production looks like a routine TV drama, despite the special effects. Actually, in contrast to the play, which largely dispensed with realistic scenery and left most of the design to the imagination, Sunday night’s “big event” often looked so set-bound and old-fashioned in the way it was shot that routine TV dramas have more edge.”