Dark Angel (American TV series)

Dark Angel
File:DarkAngel.JPG (From left to right) Logan Cale, Max Guevara and Donald Lydecker.
Created by	James Cameron Charles H. Eglee
Starring	Jessica Alba Michael Weatherly John Savage Valarie Rae Miller Richard Gunn J. C. MacKenzie Geneva Locke Jensen Ackles William Gregory Lee Ashley Scott
Country of origin	United States, Canada
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	43 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	42 min. 83 min. ("Pilot") 62 min. ("Freak Nation")
Original release
Network	FOX
Release	October 3, 2000 – May 3, 2002

Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television program created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. Dark Angel premiered in the United States and Canada on the FOX network on October 3, 2000, but was canceled after two seasons. The show chronicles the life of Max Guevara (X5-452), a genetically enhanced super-soldier, portrayed by Jessica Alba as an adult, and Geneva Locke as a child. The program is set in Seattle, Washington, USA, but was actually filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Lions Gate Studios.

Overview

In the year 2009, a genetically enhanced, 9-year-old female (to whom creator James Cameron refers as "transgenic") super-soldier who calls herself Max Guevara (also known as X5-452, a truncation of her barcode tattoo on the back of her neck: 332960073452), escapes along with eleven others like her from a secret government institution. At the institution, codenamed Manticore, they were created and subsequently raised and trained to be soldiers and assassins. On June 1, 2009, months after Max's escape, terrorists detonate an electromagnetic pulse weapon in the atmosphere over the U.S., which destroys the vast majority of computer and communication systems, throwing the country into utter chaos.

The first season begins ten years later in 2019, as it follows the life of the now 19-year-old Max as she struggles to search for her Manticore brothers and sisters. In a United States which is now barely more than a Third World nation, she tries to live her life, evade capture, and learn to trust and love. She is aided by Logan Cale, an underground cyber-journalist with the alias Eyes Only; Zack, a fellow X-5; and her friends Original Cindy and Sketchy at Jam Pony, a courier company where she works as a bicycle messenger. Other X-5s are periodically introduced as well. One or two times a year, Max comes into 'heat' and experiences wild sexual urges as a result of her feline DNA.

In the second season of the show, the tone changes as Max brings down Manticore and frees the soldiers. She is helped in her escape by Alec, in an attempt to facilitate the assassination and capture of Eyes Only, and Joshua, a transgenic with canine DNA. She later learns that Joshua was the first transgenic created by Manticore's founder Sandeman. Max also finds out that Manticore produced soldiers for speciality environments such as desert and arctic conditions and consequently look vastly different from normal humans. A major theme in the second season is the discovery of an even more deadly enemy in a millennia-old breeding cult similar in structure to the Illuminati. This has resulted in humans even more formidable than the Manticore-produced transgenics, and even some with strong telekinetic powers. Ames White, a government agent introduced early in the second season trying to eliminate the loose transgenics, is revealed to be a member of the cult. When a strange message written in Max's genetic code makes an appearance on her skin, it is revealed that Sandeman is a renegade from the breeding cult. Ames White is Sandeman's son, which essentially makes him "related" to Max and her transgenic brethren. However, the series was cancelled before the producers could play with this dynamic.

Synopsis

Max was bio-engineered in a government lab called Manticore in Gillette, Wyoming sometime around the turn of the 21st century. As with all of their creations (except Joshua, the first one), Max has a barcode on the back of her neck, with her identifying number sequence. The number as stated on the official website is (332960013452), but on the show it is (332960073452). She is an X-5 model and is thus referred to as X5-452. Max and her unit, her "brothers and sisters," named themselves back at Manticore, and sometime after she escapes, she assumes the surname Guevara after Che Guevara. Also in the last episode of season two (Freak Nation), it is revealed that offspring of an X5-X5 coupling produces a child with no barcode sequence.

Max and her unit were trained to be soldiers using harsh and brutal techniques, supervised by Colonel Lydecker (John Savage) designed for their special abilities. The genetically engineered supersoldiers had a design flaw though. They were missing the essential tryptophan amino acid in the brain resulting in seizures. This led to the removal and death of some of their unit. When they learned this, and Max began to get the shakes, their protective unit leader, Zack (X5-599) (William Gregory Lee) decided they should escape, and led them through a snow-filled forest as they were being chased by Lydecker's men. During a flashback, it is shown that Zack (X5-599) separated up the unit into pairs. Max was paired up with Jondy (who is never seen in the program as an adult). Max got separated from Jondy when she fell into a frozen pond (having been trained to hold her breath underwater for long periods of time) allowing her to avoid the search party.

Several months after her escape, terrorists detonated an electromagnetic pulse in the atmosphere over the U.S., on June 1, 2009. This destroyed the vast majority of electrical systems, not only knocking out all the vital electrical systems but also wiping clean all the electronic data, "turning all those ones, and zeros into just plain old zeros" throwing the United States into chaos. This made it a third world country overnight, which let corruption and crime flourish and eventually leading to a stricter martial control of the population.

By the year 2019, Max is living in Seattle, Washington, illegally squatting in an abandoned building, first with Kendra (Jennifer Blanc) and later with Original Cindy (Valarie Rae Miller) her best friend that she works with at Jam Pony (a bicycle messenger service). Other friends from there include Herbal Thought (Alimi Ballard) and Sketchy (a.k.a. Calvin Theodore) (Richard Gunn). She works at Jam Pony in order to be allowed to move around the city by means of a 'sector' pass and so she can scout locations to steal from. She lives her secret life as a cat burglar, in order to fund the expensive search for her 11 escaped "brothers and sisters."

It is during one of these burglaries that she meets Logan Cale (Michael Weatherly), and realizes that he's the cyber-journalist "Eyes Only." Interested in finding more about his highly skilled mystery visitor, he discovers who she is using security footage, and invites Max back to his apartment. Once there, and being well versed on his government conspiracies, he confirms his suspicions (sees her barcode) that she is one of the escaped X-5s from Manticore. Max and Logan make a pact: he will help her find her missing siblings, if she will help him take down bad guys. Logan also helps to protect Max from Lydecker, who's been looking for the escapees since their breakout.

Soon into the series (10 years after the escape), Max meets up with Zack. More siblings are found, and often with tragic consequences. By the end of the first season, a plan is developed to take down Manticore, one with Lydecker who defects from Manticore after an attempt to assassinate him, and the death of Tinga, one of "his kids." The plan is to destroy the genetics lab, crippling Manticore's ability to produce more soldiers. During their raid, Max gets critically injured, and is assumed dead, but she is actually recaptured.

The plan while successfully executed, including completely destroying (with explosives) the DNA lab but fails to totally destroy Manticore. Instead, a new, larger Manticore facility is established an hour outside of Seattle, Washington. Eventually, Max escapes but not before destroying Manticore allowing numerous transgenics to escape, creating the eventual public knowledge of their existence. Max reunites with Logan, only to discover that she's become a carrier to a deadly virus that was genetically targeted for Eyes Only.

Max's problems are further compounded when the government starts hunting down and destroying the escaped Manticore soldiers, led by Ames White. White is both a government agent, and a member of a secret ancient breeding cult similar in structure to the Illuminati which spans millennia. He's particularly focused on Max, who is revealed to have been created without junk DNA and for a special purpose.

Max befriends one of the new escapees, the first Manticore creation, Joshua (Kevin Durand) who seeks his "father" Sandeman, their mysterious creator, and a renegade member of the breeding cult. Max also teams up with Alec (Jensen Ackles), an X-5 who's genetically identical to her dead unit-mate Ben, and a magnet for trouble. They spend a lot of time covering up, taking out, or protecting the more unusual of the Manticore Alumni. Eventually, they join the other transgenics in the toxic section of Seattle, called Terminal City, and make a stand for their rights against the hostile humans.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Dark Angel characters

Main characters

The following characters were featured in the opening credits of the program.

Character	Season	Actor/Actress	Notes
Max Guevara (X5-452)	Season 1-2	Jessica Alba
Logan "Eyes Only" Cale	Season 1-2	Michael Weatherly
Cynthia "Original Cindy" McEachin	Season 1-2	Valarie Rae Miller
Calvin "Sketchy" Theodore	Season 1-2	Richard Gunn
Reagan "Normal" Ronald	Season 1-2	J.C. MacKenzie
Herbal Thought	Season 1	Alimi Ballard	Disappeared, never mentioned afterwards
Kendra Maibaum	Season 1, Episodes 1-12 only	Jennifer Blanc	Max's first roommate, moved out
Donald Lydecker	Season 1, Recurring 2x1-2x3	John Savage	Vanished after episode 2x3
Alec McDowell (X5-494)	Season 2	Jensen Ackles
Joshua	Season 2	Kevin Durand
Ames White	Season 2	Martin Cummins
Asha Barlow	Season 2x5-2x21, Recurring 2x1-2x4	Ashley Scott	Although credited did not appear in episodes 2x19-2x21

The 12 original escapees

The following characters escaped in the original 2009 Escape from Manticore. They were only featured throughout season 1. Ben (from episode 1x18) and Alec (from season 2) were twins. Max' also has a twin Sam who appeared in episode 2x19.

• Max (X5-452) (Jessica Alba) (Every Episode)
• Zack (X5-599) (William Gregory Lee) (1x6, 1x8, 1x9, 1x14, 1x20, 1x21, 1x22, 2x1, & 2x7)
• Ben (X5-493) (Jensen Ackles) (Episode 1x17) (deceased)
• Brin (X5-734) (Nicole Bilderback) (Episodes 1x8, 1x20, 1x21, & 1x22)
• Tinga (X5-656) (Lisa Ann Cabasa) (Episodes 1x14, 1x20, 1x21, & 1x22) (deceased)
• Zane (X5-205) (Unnamed Actor) (Episode 1x14)
• Syl (X5-701) (Nicki Aycox) (Episode 1x22)
• Krit (X5-471) (Joshua Alba) (Episode 1x22)
• Jondy (X5-210) (never shown as an adult)
• Seth (from the book)
• Vada (from the book)
• Kavi (from the book)
• Three other characters were mentioned as being in Max's group but didn't participate in the escape for various reasons. These included Jack(X5-417), who died after suffering from seizures, Eva(X5-766), who got shot, and Jace(X5-798) (Shireen Crutchfield in Episode 15), who turned back at the last minute.

Production

Background to series

Director James Cameron had planned to make a film of the comic book character Spider-Man. Unable to do so, Cameron moved to television and created the story of Max, a new superheroine. Dark Angel was influenced by cyberpunk, current superhero genres, and third-wave feminism.

Program scheduling

The show in its first season aired on Tuesday nights after the sitcoms That '70s Show and Titus and was a hit with viewers. At the end of its first season, FOX transplanted the show to an hour earlier on Friday nights in hopes of breaking its infamous death slot and to give their new drama 24 a better time slot. Viewership dropped, and Dark Angel was eventually canceled.

US ratings and cancellation

Season		Premiere	Final	U.S. ratings	Network	Rank
1	2000-2001	October 3, 2000	May 22, 2001	10.1 million	FOX	#70
2	2001-2002	September 28, 2001	May 3, 2002	6.00 million	FOX	#114

Despite a strong fan base and a second season finale directed by James Cameron, Dark Angel was canceled in 2002 after just two seasons due to budget costs and low ratings. Avid fans of the show attribute the loss of ratings to a misjudgment by FOX for airing the second season on Friday evenings instead of Tuesday evenings. In addition, changes to the format and tone of the series in the second year are cited as contributing factors to its demise. Many of these changes were because of budgetary concerns and departing actors. Initially, a third season appeared to be greenlit, but when Joss Whedon reworked his Firefly pilot, FOX chose Firefly for a fall slot at the expense of Dark Angel.

Dark Angel, though cancelled, has high availability with on-demand services, and as of July 10, 2006, Sci-Fi Channel has started airing repeats of the two seasons. Since 2007, SITV has aired reruns during the weekends. In the U.K., as of July 2008, the series repeat began airing on E4.

Episodes

Main article: List of Dark Angel episodes

DVD releases

20th Century Fox released Seasons 1 and 2 of Dark Angel on DVD in Region 1 & Region 2 for the very first time in 2003. Both seasons were re-released in Region 1 on June 5, 2007, with slim packaging. The Region 1 releases contain several special features including commentaries, bloopers, deleted scenes and featurettes.

DVD Name	Ep #	Region 1	Region 2
Season 1	21	May 20, 2003	February 24, 2003
Season 2	21	October 21, 2003	June 2, 2003

Awards

• 2000: Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television — Jessica Alba in Dark Angel
• 2001: People's Choice Award for Favorite Television New Dramatic Series
• 2001: TV Guide Awards for Breakout Star of the Year — Jessica Alba in Dark Angel
• 2001: Teen Choice Awards for Choice Actress — Jessica Alba in Dark Angel
• 2001: Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards for Best Cinematography in a TV Series
• 2001: International Monitor Awards for Best Visual Effects in a TV series

• 2001 Nominated for Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series (Drama) - Jessica Alba in Dark Angel

Spinoffs

See also: Dark Angel (video game)

Written by Max Allan Collins, a trilogy of novels expands upon the Dark Angel television series. While based on the series, the books are not considered official canon within the Dark Angel universe.

• Dark Angel: Before the Dawn (2002) is a prequel to the television series, taking a detailed look at Max's past between 2009 and 2019. It introduced another '09 escapee, Seth. After Max and her siblings had escaped, Seth slipped out in the confusion and eventually ended up in Seattle, where he worked for Logan as a personal agent. The book is listed on Amazon.com as "Before the Dawn (Dark Angel)".
• Dark Angel: Skin Game (2003) immediately follows the events of "Freak Nation," the final episode of Season 2, describing the days between March and May 2021. Skin Game focuses on a killer terrorising the streets of Seattle and the growing suspicion and evidence that the killer could possibly be a transgenic. As the killings escalate, the US Army and National Guard prepare themselves for an invasion of Terminal City.
• Dark Angel: After the Dark (2003) follows Skin Game, describing the days in December 2021. Relationships are torn apart after Logan reveals a shattering truth about his past to Max, but when Logan is kidnapped, questions are set aside as Max's investigation into the capture leads to an old enemy, The Breeding Cult members of the Conclave. With the aid of a team of Transgenics, Max vows to find those responsible for the kidnapping, unaware that the Conclave are not only anticipating her arrival, but the arrival of The Coming. After the Dark answers many questions raised in the second season; The curing of Max's virus, the Conclave's agenda, the return of Lydecker and C.J. Sandeman, and Max and Logan finally getting together. (ISBN 9780345451842)
• Dark Angel: The Eyes Only Dossier (2003) collects 'documents' pertaining to four ongoing 'Eyes Only' investigations, tangentially related to Manticore and the Dark Angel universe.

External links

Official Sites

• Sci Fi Channel

Articles

• Dark Angel news articles, 2000-2005
• To the Max: Embodying Intersections in Dark Angel
• Dark Angel - Max Guevera as a Modern Feminist Superhero
• Dark Angel Articles

Other

• Dark Angel at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Boston.com's Top 50 Science Fiction Television Shows of All Time
• Dark Angel News, Info, etc.
• Dark Angel A Dark Angel Community Gateway for Fan Related Topics: Articles, Author Forums, Challenges and Prompts, General Series Info, Discussions and more (due to launch July 5th, 2009)