"Dark Angel" (2000) TV series 2000-2002

Creators:

James Cameron
Charles H. Eglee

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

3 October 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

She is the shape of thing to come...

Plot:

A group of genetically-enhanced children escape from a lab project. Years later we meet Max, one of the escapees who now works for a messenger service in the post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Future | Messenger | Disguise | Dark Heroine

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Jessica Alba	...	Max Guevera / ... (42 episodes, 2000-2002)
Michael Weatherly	...	Logan Cale (42 episodes, 2000-2002)
Richard Gunn	...	Calvin 'Sketchy' Theodore / ... (42 episodes, 2000-2002)
J.C. MacKenzie	...	Reagan 'Normal' Ronald (42 episodes, 2000-2002)
Valarie Rae Miller	...	Cynthia 'Original Cindy' McEachin / ... (42 episodes, 2000-2002)
John Savage	...	Donald Lydecker (24 episodes, 2000-2001)
Jensen Ackles	...	Alec / ... (22 episodes, 2001-2002)
Alimi Ballard	...	Herbal Thought (21 episodes, 2000-2001)
Martin Cummins	...	Ames White (21 episodes, 2001-2002)
Kevin Durand	...	Joshua (21 episodes, 2001-2002)
Ashley Scott	...	Asha Barlow (21 episodes, 2001-2002)

Also Known As:

James Cameron's Dark Angel (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

60 min | USA:60 min (42 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Ireland:15 (Season 1) | Ireland:18 (Season 2) | South Korea:12 (Episodes 1-8) | South Korea:15 (Episodes 9-20) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (some episodes) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-14

Filming Locations:

Britannia Beach, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

When the character of Alec was conceived for the series' season 2, the writers knew they wanted him to be a somewhat amoral X5 with a sharp wit. They chose to immediately hire Jensen Ackles for the role, who had previously played a rogue serial killing X5 in a season 1 episode. They explained the actor's return in a different role by saying that Alec was his former, and deceased, character's twin. Although they had only seen Ackles as a dramatic actor in his previous roles, everyone in the production was pleased to see that Ackles had a natural talent as a comedian.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The true Gillette Wyoming is in a sage brush desert - nothing like the forested mountains of Vancouver.

Quotes:

Donald Lydecker: It was the best of you that ran away that night.
Max Guevara: Yeah, well, we wanted to start a rock band.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002) (VG)

May or may not fly

I think the jury is still out on this one, but it will be an uphill battle for this show, despite some good numbers for the two hour debute.

"Dark Angel" is the kind of sci-fi I should like, in that it deals with a plausible future and what could be an appealing central character. Unfortunately, we've met these genetically enhanced "perfect soldier" types before, so there's nothing new there. Even her bike messenger day job comes to us out of William Gibson. There's not too much new about the setting, either, although I found the opening explanations of what's going on a little merky.

That was a major problem with the pilot. I wasn't exactly sure who the bad guys were or how many of them were around. Nor was I clear on who exactly the guys where who had created Max and her fellow genetically enhanced kids or what their connection was to the government or the apparently private company Max spent most of her time fighting in the pilot. I hope things get simplified in future episodes.

I was also very unclear on Max's character. TV, of course, is all about character and Max's seemed a little muddled to me. She was this mysterious loner/outsider type who seemed to be everyone's patsy, spending an awful lot of time getting sucked into other people's problems.

There's an old rule of screen writing which says, beware of main characters with no clear goals. Max supposedly wants to find the "others like her," but spent almost no time doing that in the opening show. She was too busy helping out everyone around her. Unless she starts following some clear path, things will get worse. The only way to have a character without some attainable, important goal is to make her a keen observor of what's going on around her, and Max didn't come off that way at all.

All this leads to the heart of the show and the main question. Jessica Alba is as fetching a girl as exists in Hollywood today. I'm sure no small number of teenager boys will tune in just to oggle her in those tight fitting biker outfits.

But can the girl act? I think that question has not yet been answered and subsequent episodes will have to do a lot to prove that. She was adequate in the first, but just barely,

Good luck with this show. I hope it succeeds, but I won't hold my breath.