L i b r a i r i e . . .

S C I  F I  W i r e . . .

A n g e l  C a s t  H a s  F a i t h . . .

Amy Acker, who plays Fred in The WB's Angel, told SCI FI Wire that the cast is currently shooting the first of three episodes that will feature the return of the errant Slayer Faith, played once more by Eliza Dushku. "Right now, we have Faith on the show, and she's doing three episodes with us, and then she's going to [UPN's] Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] to do five episodes there," Acker said in an interview. "So that's sort of the closest thing to a crossover we've had. We're in the middle of it."

The upcoming storyline contains a few surprises, including the return of Angelus, the evil version of Angel (David Boreanaz), who is conjured to battle the Beast. When plans go awry, the gang summons Faith to deal with Angelus. "The Angelus plan didn't go quite as planned, which seems to frequently be the case with our show, and many TV shows," said Alexis Denisof, who plays Wesley, in an interview. "And desperate situations require desperate measures. ... Enlisting Faith's help is pulling a step back from just going out and killing Angelus, so it's really kind of a last-ditch attempt. It's that, or try to destroy him, because he's wreaking such havoc on L.A. and the world at large. So there are some kick-ass scenes with Faith. I mean, she's an intense character. Obviously, she has a history with Angel, Angelus and Wesley, as you know. And ... they left each other with cuts and bruises and burns, so it's pretty interesting when they get back together again."

Both Denisof and Acker had nothing but praise for Dushku. "She's great," Acker said. "Fred and Faith haven't had too much interaction. But it's a good, you know, tough energy to have on the set."

Denisof added, "I love her character, and she's great to work with. She just gives you so much, and she's spontaneous and fun and dangerous, and it's a blast. I'm always happy when they put our characters together. Because I think exciting things happen when our characters are together." Angel, now airing at 9 p.m. ET/PT Wednesdays, returns with original episodes on Jan. 15.