Dark Angel was a series that aired on FOX from 2000-2002 starring Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly (propelling both of them to relative levels of stardom) and produced by James Cameron. The series is set in the relatively near future in a post-apocalyptic/dystopian Seattle.
In the first season (which is the better of the two), Jessica Alba's character (Max) was raised as a super soldier in a government program called Manticore. A group of the soldiers escaped as children and scattered. After the US was hit with an electromagnetic pulse that set the country back years, technology was available only to the very rich, and martial law was imposed. Once that happened, it became easier for the Manticore escapees to hide and blend in with the rest of society. During the day Max has a legitimate job as a bike messenger (which allows her to scope out potential targets to rob) and uses her enhanced abilities as a cat burglar by night. She eventually becomes a vigilante working with Michael Weatherly's character Logan to fight corruption and injustice in exchange for finding out about her past and the fate of her "siblings" who escaped with her. Her vigilante actions put her on Manticore's radar and she is hunted by John Savage's character, Colonel Lydecker.
During the second season, the show expanded the storyline to include not only the supersoldiers but human-animal hybrids. The story did get a bit silly during the second season but had some great additions to the cast including Jensen Ackles (playing Alec), Kevin Durand (as Joshua), Ashley Scott (as Asha), and the great character actor Martin Cummins (as the main antagonist of the second season, Ames White).
There were a lot of twists and turns in the story in both seasons, but what I liked about season one is that they stuck to the classified military program and only really expanded the storyline to include cloning. Having all of the supersoldiers have "twins" (sometimes multiple twins) worked very well and allowed for the same actors to play different versions of their characters. In the second season, they expanded the story to have human/animal hybrids and got into secret societies that just got a little weird and took the story on a tangent I don't think they needed to go. Apparently, if the show would have been given a third season the storylines from seasons 1 and 2 would have been merged together.
There were a lot of twists and turns in the story in both seasons, but what I liked about season one is that they stuck to the classified military program and only really expanded the storyline to include cloning. Having all of the supersoldiers have "twins" (sometimes multiple twins) worked very well and allowed for the same actors to play different versions of their characters. In the second season, they expanded the story to have human/animal hybrids and got into secret societies that just got a little weird and took the story on a tangent I don't think they needed to go. Apparently, if the show would have been given a third season the storylines from seasons 1 and 2 would have been merged together.
Each of the DVD sets has six discs, with the episodes and the bonus content spread across the discs. Each set has quite a few bonus features including commentary tracks on multiple episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and making-of/behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The show was very well-acted in both seasons and very well-written in the first season. As I said above, the storylines in season 2 get a bit weird, but the actors all did a great job with what they were given. All the actors, from the main cast to the more ancillary characters, played their characters well. The show was obviously the big breakout role for Alba and she was great as a wise-ass/bad-ass character. And, she was not bad to look at either, even though the show did not focus on the fact that she is smoking hot and rarely put her in skimpy outfits. Jensen Ackles particularly did a great job as Ben/Alec when he was brought on as a series regular in season 2. Ultimately I think it was a show that Fox killed off too soon. Even with the weird tangents that the show went on in season 2, there was still room to tell compelling stories. All in all, it was a very good series with a lot of action, drama, and even some humor. It is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone's taste, but if you like action stories, especially with a dystopian bent, it is worth your time to watch.
The show was very well-acted in both seasons and very well-written in the first season. As I said above, the storylines in season 2 get a bit weird, but the actors all did a great job with what they were given. All the actors, from the main cast to the more ancillary characters, played their characters well. The show was obviously the big breakout role for Alba and she was great as a wise-ass/bad-ass character. And, she was not bad to look at either, even though the show did not focus on the fact that she is smoking hot and rarely put her in skimpy outfits. Jensen Ackles particularly did a great job as Ben/Alec when he was brought on as a series regular in season 2. Ultimately I think it was a show that Fox killed off too soon. Even with the weird tangents that the show went on in season 2, there was still room to tell compelling stories. All in all, it was a very good series with a lot of action, drama, and even some humor. It is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone's taste, but if you like action stories, especially with a dystopian bent, it is worth your time to watch.
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