Dark Angel: The Complete First Season

It's been so hard for me to figure out exactly where to begin with this review, because so much can be said about this series. But, I finally realized that the best place to start is with the obvious"¦ Dark Angel should never have been cancelled when it was!

It's mind boggling how some network executives can green light a dozen new ridiculous reality TV shows and cancel a show like this one all in the same day and still get paid for their days work! Granted, the show might not have been perfect or killer in the ratings, but it was building towards something. And had they been given the time they needed to develop and grow, there is no doubt in my mind that Dark Angel would have eventually achieved the undeniable success that other similar franchises like Star Trek or Buffy the Vampire Slayer have ascended to.

The new reality show, "Whose Dog Looks Most Like a Pop Star?," might bring in big ratings for the first couple of weeks, but 20 years from now, who's going to remember it? Or even remotely care about the fact that it existed? A show like Dark Angel had the potential to become an iconic show that people would be referencing and still watching years from now. But I suppose developing a new, time enduring franchise wasn't something the network was looking for at the time.

The first season of Dark Angel admittedly begins rather slowly. We are introduced to Jessica Alba's character, Max (cleverly short for Maximum), a genetically engineered and trained super soldier called an 'X-5' who was one of 12 children who escaped from a secret military installation, known as Manticore, 10 years earlier. Now, a fully developed, and I do mean FULLY developed woman, Max is laying low as a bike messenger for Jam Pony Express in Seattle. Ohh, and I forgot to mention that the United States is now a third world country. Following a terrorist attack, a tremendous nuclear pulse whipped out almost all technical devices throughout the country. All computers, cell phones, basically anything and everything of a technical nature that made us the world power that we are today, were completely disrupted.

Everyone is now struggling to do whatever they can to survive. Things like hot showers, clean cloths, places to live, even food have all become luxuries that not everyone can afford. Max and her roommate Kendra (Jennifer Blanc), manage to hold on to their apartment by paying off the police officer who is sent in monthly to check the place for squatters. We quickly come to realize that everything in Max's world is in fact possible"¦ for the right price.

In the pilot episode Max meets Logan Cale (Michael Weatherly); one of the few privileged Americans who was born into an extremely wealthy family, and

as such has been spared the economic struggle that is common to most Americans following the pulse. After getting past the fact that she was attempting to rob him, Logan proposes an alliance between the two where he would help her locate the other X-5's if she used her extraordinary abilities to help him in his quest to save the world from itself.

As the secret proprietor behind "Eyes Only," a computer hack that "Can not be blocked and can not be traced and is the only free voice left in the city," Logan uncovers everything from duplicitous government plots to local police corruption.

Rounding out the cast are her friends and fellow Jam Pony employees, Normal, (J.C. MacKenzie) her Ivy League educated stickler of a boss, Sketchy (Richard Gunn) the bike-tricking, horny hound of the group, Herbal Thought (Alimi Ballard) the pot smoking relaxing Jamaican influence and Original Cindy, (Valarie Rae Miller) her best friend and probably most believable supporting character in the show.

The first few shows seem rather formulaic and don't really draw the audience in, but all of that changes with episode 5, 411 on the DL, when Max finds another of the escaped Manticore kids; the leader of the initial break out, Zack (William Gregory Lee). He explains to Max that he's been watching and protecting all of the escapees since they first left Manticore but that she has to leave Seattle because it's no longer safe for her there. Max of course refuses to leave Logan and the rest of her friends and Zack disappears back into the night. Even considering leaving made her realize that her quest to find her true family (the other Manticore kids) wasn't the most important thing to her after all. Her new family was what mattered, staying true and connected to them was more important than what was tactically sound. As simple a theme as that may seem it's presented really well in this show. It was the first M.Y.T. episode in the series. (Makes You Think ;-)

The very next episode proved to be one of the best hours of episodic Television that I've seen in years. In Prodigy, Max is placed face to face with her ultimate Nemesis, Donald Lydecker (John Savage), the man who was both in charge of Manticore and was personally responsible for most of the hell she went through as a child. The range of emotions that surged through Jessica Alba throughout this show were amazing. She conveyed everything from fear to rage, regret to shame and eventually even pity as she chooses to save Lydecker's life rather than stand by and watch him be killed. In that moment the true nature of the characters plight was made amazingly clear, for in that moment in order to prove that she wasn't what he had wanted her to be, that she was

more than just a genetically enhanced killing machine, she had to save the man who could ultimately be the one to throw her back into the place she feared the most.

The episode was brilliantly written, not a surprise since it was penned by Deep Space Nine alum, Rene Echevarria. (One of my favorite writers by the way) But it was without a doubt a thrilling edge of your seat story that grabbed a hold of the audience and didn't let go until the credits rolled at the end.

As the series continues we are introduced to more and more characters and more and more continuing story lines including Max meeting Ben, (Jensen Ackles) an X-5 who has been hunting and killing innocent people since they escaped and shows no sign of stopping. We also meet Tinga, (Lisa Ann Cabasa) an X-5 who managed to fall in love and actually have a child of her own who seems to have somehow inherited some of her extraordinary abilities. Then of course there are The Reds, another group of super soldiers, similar to the X-5's but far more powerful who find Max and become the first to give her a severe ass kicking. Nana Visitor appears as Madame X and proves that Lydecker isn't the man at the top of the corrupted government ladder after all. And ohh yeah, because of her part feline DNA, every now and then Max goes into heat and goes on the hunt for whatever sex she can find. (Those are always interesting shows ;-)

The family aspect of the stories and the individual character development is definitely the backbone of the series, but in addition to that, the action is superbly delivered in spite of poorly funded special effects and the lack of on location shooting in Seattle.

(Yeah, we know it's a green screen every time she's sitting on top of the space needle but we just don't care because it's usually just the window dressing for a well written introspective monologue.)

Dark Angel also never seemed to be scared away from going against the grain of typical television programming by ending some shows on a dark, thought provoking note as opposed to tying things up all nicely and evenly as often happens on network shows. Just watch the episode Pollo Loco and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

The show wasn't afraid to break from the drama and seriousness of the subject matter from time to time and do the occasional light hearted episode either. In Art Attack, Max has to kick ass while wearing an evening gown. Of course not the easiest thing to fight in and the show exploited that fact by making Jessica actually trip on the dress at one point and fall flat on her ass! (as would happen if you actually tried high kicking in heels and a fancy

dress) At the end of the show, even though it has been just a fun ride, the writers throw in one significant event to further the continuing story line"¦ Logan begins to feel his legs again!

If you are at all a fan of serial type programming, or sci-fi / action adventure shows with meaning behind each story, then you should definitely pick up the first season of Dark Angel on DVD. I never got to see the show when it was on Television, but now that I've watched the whole first season on DVD, I've been kicking myself for not watching and supporting the show sooner.

The DVD offers some great extra features including some hysterical out takes, audition reels, some really informative behind-the-scenes featurettes and cast interviews and some great audio commentary, if you're into that kinda thing. I find that audio commentary is only interesting if you've watched the entire episode through and then watch it again with the commentary on. If you're a die hard fan of the show I know you're planning on doing that anyway :-)

Show Grade: A "”

DVD Features Grade: B +

Overall Grade: A-