2023/10/13

It was a long time ago since my last Dark Angel rewatch! 17 years, in 2006 I rewatched Dark Angel two or times on DVD! I knew I wasn’t going to watch it again anytime soon so I sold my sets, with the intention of purchasing them again but the slimline sets instead of the bulky ones I had. But it took me 17 years to purchase the complete series again! Early this year I purchased the German release which has English menu, Soundtracks and multiple subtitles, also English. Back then I created an Unboxing blog of this purchase.

I was kinda looking forward to the rewatch of this TV show for a while now and two months ago I asked my twitter followers via a poll, which show I was going to rewatch. Dark Angel was chosen, which I didn’t mind at all.

As you probably know, Dark Angel has been created by James Cameron (Terminator; The Abyss; Avatar), with Charles H. Eglee. They both have written one or more episodes. A few familiar Star Trek writers have also written stories for Dark Angel: René Echevarria and Ira Steven Behr (Showrunner Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).

As you all know, Dark Angel was cancelled after two seasons, two very different seasons! The first season Max is more or less alone as a transgenic, hiding in plain sight. Max, aka 452 (Jessica Alba), is one of 12 escapees, and till the series starts, hasn’t seen any of the other escapees ever again in 10 years time. Over the course of the first season she does see a few of them, who are also hiding. Zack, their leader comes by a few times, who opposes the fact that Max stays in one place but she has a mind of her own as you know. Brin (Nicole Bilderback) and Tinga (Lisa Ann Cabasa) she also meets again in the first season and also Ben (Jensen Ackles), who later returns as Alec, a clone of Ben. For the most part Max is alone but working at Jam Pony as a bike messenger, she has a lot of ‘normal’ friends. Her best friend is Original Cindy (Valarie Rae Miller). Besides Original Cindy we meet other friends / Jam Pony messenger colleagues Sketchy (Richard Gunn), Herbal (Alimi Ballard) and also her boss Reagan ‘Norma’ Ronald. He is such a character, always cranky, addressing his workers in a not so friendly way. Saying “bip bip bip” when they are not working fast enough.

In the beginning she first lives with another girlfriend Kendra (Jennifer Blanc-Biehn) but halfway through the first season Max and Original Cindy become roommates and at the end of the first season Original Cindy becomes aware of what her best friend actually is, genetically engineered / enhanced. Kendra is never to be seen afterwards. She becomes friends with Logan (Michael Weatherly), who, in his own way is fighting injustice as “Eyes Only”. It soon becomes obvious that there is more between these two than just friends and helping each other, but they both aren’t eager to admit that. For Logan in part because he got injured and landed in a wheelchair. However through genetically engineered blood and an external skeleton Logan gets out of the chair again. It is a wonder Max hasn’t been caught yet when we start with the pilot because she stays put in Seatle because she and her 11 other escaped soldiers are being hunted by the organization they fled from: Manticore. An organization which is continuously trying to create genetically engineered soldiers. In season two we learn that they do not all look like humans. Donald Lydecker (John Savage) is tasked to bring 452 (Max) and all the other escapees back to Manticore. Because Max is staying in one place, Lydecker is getting closer and closer to find out her whereabouts. Lydecker reports to Madam X, aka Dr. Elizabeth Renfro (Nana Visitor, Kira in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).

Towards the end of the 1^st season Lydecker doesn’t trust his boss anymore, she has other plans with ‘his’ kids so he decides to help Max and Zack, which they find hard to believe at first. Max is hell bend on destroying Manticore, help escape everyone who is locked up there. But in doing so, Max and Zack get captured by Madam X and she finds out that Max is someone special, more special than the other X’s.

When season two starts, everything is different! Max has been captured and is presumed dead, although Logan truly believes Max is still alive. As was her goal, Max destroyed Manticore and all its inhabitants have escaped and are wandering around the city, hiding mostly. Lydecker is still helping Logan and he has found out why Max is so important to Renfro but then he meets with a fatal accident, (aka he has been killed) and what he found out remains a secret. Max was shot and Zack sacrifices himself because he loves Max, so she can get his heart. Max is a prisoner for several months, forced to train with X’s, she is supposed to breed because she destroyed the DNA labs.

As I said earlier, the 2^nd season is very different from the first season. Instead of only one transgenic, Max, we get to see lots more. Alec, who also gets a job at Jam Pony. Because for a short while he was a fighter, Normal is his number one fan. Max escaped a second time, this time with Joshua, half man, half dog, he calls Max ‘little fella’ while Max calls him ‘big fella’. Joshua is searching for his father, “Sandeman”, he apparently also belonged to the Manticore organization and at some point fled because he had different views. “Sandeman” is most likely also responsible for Max to be extra special. Almost every episode we see other transgenics, Amos White (Martin Cummins) is Max’s new adversary now that Lydecker is dead. Amos White is a real evil person, a bastard and he has a different agenda as Lydecker had. White wants to wipe out all transgenics, he works for the government but secretly he also works for another organization. The transgenics become known to the general public, Sketchy finds this all very interesting and he wants to get a second job as journalist and he wants to expose these transgenics, not knowing that Max and Alec also belong to that group. To make matters worse for Max, Renfro gave Max a virus specifically focused on Logan. When they touch, Logan could die. This makes their relationship even more difficult and Max even lies to him that she and Alec have a relationship just to create a distance between them so she cannot accidentally infect him (again).

Joshua is having a though time living alone, being alone. Max and Alec are the only ones dropping by and Max made it clear to Joshua that he shouldn’t go out, it is too dangerous. At one evening there is a woman at the door, Annie (Kandyse McClure), she is blind and therefore, as long as she doesn’t touch his face, she doesn’t know he looks different. Annie however is a convenient casualty for Amos White, to influence the public opinion against transgenics.

The situation worsens, Joshua no longer wants to live alone and moves to Terminal City where other transgenics also live. Max tries to stop him but his mind has made up. While he moves out, it does not take long before Logan needs another hide-out because White finally gets a successful trace on his location. He moves into Joshua’s place where at that time Alec lives also. Max and Alec however are almost forced to also move to Terminal City because the general public wants to see blood and at Jam Pony, Normal is also trying to stand with the government against the transgenics. Not knowing that his company is filled with transgenics.

In the final stand-off (Freak Nation), when Joshua and another transgenic try and rescue another transgenic, they flee to Jam Pony and hold Normal and the rest hostage. Max joins them. White has hired another group who is tasked with taking out 452. White admits to that team that Max is the one who could save them all, if only they knew! In a heavy fight above Jam Pony, the transgenics defeat White’s team and White himself and when Joshua learns he was responsible for Annie’s death, Max really needs to convince Joshua not to kill him.

They manage to escape to Terminal City, in Terminal City they are met with a big police force who wants their unconditional surrender. But a few moments later, every transgenic living there comes forward with a gun facing the police. For the time being Max and the others are safe….

Final Word:

I really had a good time rewatching Dark Angel. So happy I purchased it again earlier this year for only €18 euros! Jessica Alba does a terrific job, even at that age she was a skilled actress and so beautiful! A good cast, exciting stories, there is not one mediocre episode among the 42 episodes. One thing is for sure that I again will rewatch this at some point in the future, and it will not take 17 years like last time!

Screencaps: Google search