Dark Angel (TV series)

Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee and starring Jessica Alba in herbreakthrough role. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons. The series chronicles the life of Max Guevara (X5-452), a genetically-enhanced super-soldier who escapes from a covert government biotech/military facility as a child. In a post-apocalyptic Seattle, she tries to lead some semblance of a normal life, while eluding capture by government agents and searching for her genetically-enhanced brothers and sisters scattered in the aftermath of their escape.

The program is set in Seattle, Washington, and was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, at Lions Gate Studios.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Overview  ==Overview[ edit] == In 2009, a genetically enhanced, 9-year-old female super-soldier who calls herself Max Guevara (Jessica Alba) escapes along with eleven others like herself from a secret government institution, codenamed Manticore, where they were born, 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 chaos.
 * 1.1 Planned storylines
 * 2 Cast and characters
 * 2.1 Main characters
 * 2.2 The 12 original escapees
 * 2.3 Other recurring characters
 * 3 Music
 * 3.1 Soundtracks
 * 3.2 Score
 * 4 Production
 * 4.1 Background to series
 * 4.2 Broadcast history
 * 4.3 U.S. ratings
 * 5 Episodes
 * 6 DVD releases
 * 7 Awards and nominations
 * 8 Alleged plagiarism
 * 9 Spinoffs
 * 10 References
 * 11 External links

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 becomes involved with Logan Cale (Michael Weatherly), an underground cyber-journalist with the alias Eyes Only, who recruits her to help fight corruption in the post-Pulse world, while at the same time she makes a living as a bicycle messenger at a courier company named Jam Pony along with her friends Original Cindy (Valarie Rae Miller), Herbal Thought (Alimi Ballard), and Sketchy (Richard Gunn). Other X-5s are periodically introduced, most significantly Zack (William Gregory Lee), the unit leader. The Manticore hunt for the escaped X-5s is led by Colonel Donald Lydecker (John Savage), who is ousted at the end of the season by the even more ruthless Elizabeth Renfro (Nana Visitor).

In the second season of the show, the tone changes as Max and Logan bring down Manticore and free all the transgenics within. Two others become main characters:Alec (Jensen Ackles), a fellow X-5 who joins Jam Pony, and Joshua (Kevin Durand), a transgenic with canine DNA. Max later learns that Joshua was the first transgenic created by Manticore's founder Sandeman. It becomes apparent that Manticore produced many different animal mixes as well as other experiments with unique abilities. A major theme in the second season is the discovery of an even more deadly enemy than Lydecker or Renfro, namely 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(Martin Cummins), 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 and Ames White is his son, who is still loyal to the cult and hates his father's transgenic creations with a passion. The second season ends before Sandeman's plan for Max can be revealed. ===Planned storylines[ edit] === In the DVD commentary for the series finale episode "Freak Nation", executive producer and co-creator Charles H. Eglee detailed what was planned for season 3. It was to bring together the storylines of season 1 (Manticore) and season 2 (ancient blood cult) and reveal the mythology of Dark Angel. As detailed by Charles H. Eglee:

Many thousands of years ago, Earth passed through a comet's tail which deposited viral material that killed 97% of the human race. Some people survived that had a genetic predisposition, some kind of antibody or immunity. The great pyramids in Egypt were actually genetic repositories, preserving the DNA of the survivors, built by an ancient blood cult that passed on this genetic immunity to selected members to keep this antibody against the return of the comet (which was due to happen in Season 3). Everybody else would perish, and the members of the cult would inherit the earth and rebuild civilization.

Sandeman, Max's creator, jumped from the cult to give this genetic immunity to the rest of humanity, believing that everybody deserved the cure. The other cult members deemed Sandeman a heretic and a threat, undermining their goals of rebuilding humanity in their own image.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Max was going to be the savior of the human race. Sandeman finally found out how to give this genetic immunity to everyone through Max. There were multiple ideas of how to spread Max's immunity to humanity, including an air burst that would disperse the antibody through the atmosphere, or attaching the immunity to a common cold virus (he detailed how a scene would show Original Cindy sneezing as part of the beginning of the immunity spread).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Series writer Moira Dekker also spoke on the DVD commentary that Logan's transfusion that allowed him to use his legs once again at the end of season 2 would begin to fail during season 3. ==Cast and characters<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Main article: List of Dark Angel characters===Main characters<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The following characters were featured in the opening credits of the program. ===The 12 original escapees<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">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 clone Sam who appeared in episode 2x19.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Three other characters were mentioned as being in Max's group but didn't participate in the escape for various reasons. These included:
 * Max (X5-452) (Jessica Alba) (all episodes)
 * Zack (X5-599) (William Gregory Lee) (episodes 1x6, 1x8, 1x9, 1x14, 1x20, 1x21, 1x22, 2x1, 2x7)
 * Ben (X5-493) (Jensen Ackles) (episode 1x18) (deceased)
 * Brin (X5-734) (Nicole Bilderback) (episodes 1x8, 1x20, 1x21, 1x22) (recaptured/retrained)
 * Tinga (X5-656) (Lisa Ann Cabasa) (episodes 1x14, 1x19, 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 Before the Dawn) (deceased)
 * Vada (from the book Before the Dawn) (deceased)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[1]
 * Kavi (from the book Before the Dawn) (recaptured)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[2]

===Other recurring characters<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Music<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Soundtracks<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Main article: Dark Angel (soundtrack)===Score<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The score for Dark Angel was composed and conducted by Joel McNeely.
 * Jack (X5-417), who died after suffering from seizures
 * Eva (X5-766), who was shot during the escape
 * Jace (X5-798) (Shireen Crutchfield in episode 1x15), who turned back at the last minute
 * Peter Bryant as Bling (Season 1; 14 episodes)
 * Geneva Locke as Young Max (Seasons 1–2; 11 episodes)
 * Fulvio Cecere as Sandoval (Seasons 1–2; 9 episodes)
 * Craig Veroni as Otto (Season 2; 9 episodes) (Veroni also appears as an airport security guard in the season 1 episode "Art Attack")
 * Byron Mann as Det. Matt Sung (Seasons 1–2; 8 episodes)
 * Brian Markinson as Dr. Sam Carr (Seasons 1–2; 6 episodes)
 * Nana Visitor as Madame X/Dr. Elizabeth Renfro (Seasons 1–2; 6 episodes)
 * Jade C. Bell as Sebastian (Season 1; 5 episodes)
 * Gabrielle Rose as Moorehead (Season 2; 5 episodes)
 * Fred Ewanuick as Luke (Season 2; 5 episodes)
 * Rekha Sharma as Dr. Beverly Shankar (Seasons 1–2; 5 episodes)
 * Robert Gossett as James McGinnis (Seasons 1–2; 4 episodes)
 * Stephen Lee as Dan Vogelsang (Season 1; 4 episodes)

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The pilot episode's score was available in part on the original official (and now defunct) website darkangeltheseries.com. A few tracks were later released by Joel McNeely on his blog. The track "Bicycle Ride" was used in the end credits for the duration of the series.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The aforementioned pilot score was released in full as part of the original publicity press kit, titled Dark Angel: Complete Score from the Dark Angel Pilot. This 37-track CD was for promotional use only and not for resale. ==Production<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Background to series<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">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. ===Broadcast history<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The first season of the show premiered on Fox on Tuesday, October 3, 2000. The show aired on Tuesday nights after That '70s Show and Titus during the 2000–2001 television season

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The following season, however, Fox moved Dark Angel to Friday nights preceding the network's new series Pasadena in order to try to reverse their string of bad luck with the Friday night death slot curse and to give the network's new series 24 a better time period during the week. Their efforts to improve Friday nights were unsuccessful though as Pasadena failed to find an audience and was canceled before the end of its first season on the night, while Dark Angel saw its second season audience drop by nearly 4 million viewers and was subsequently canceled. The final episode of the series aired on May 3, 2002 as a special 90-minute episode (which also marked James Cameron's dramatic TV directing debut).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Though canceled due to low ratings in its second season, Dark Angel has been syndicated on the Sci-Fi Channel and the El Rey Network in the United States and E4 in the United Kingdom; the series has also been shown in the UK on Syfy and the Horror Channel. In 2003, both seasons of the show were released on DVD. ===U.S. ratings<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Episodes<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Main article: List of Dark Angel episodes==DVD releases<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">20th Century Fox released Seasons 1 and 2 of Dark Angel on DVD in Regions 1 and 2 in 2003, as six-disc sets packaged in cardboard sleeves containing three DVD cases each of two discs. Both seasons were re-released in Region 1 on June 5, 2007, with slim packaging consisting of one plastic case containing all six discs (which were unchanged in content and cosmetics).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[5]  Region 2 also saw both seasons released in the new slim format.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Region 1 releases contain several special features, including commentaries, bloopers, deleted scenes and featurettes. Region 2 releases contain fewer bonus features, but the episodes are presented in anamorphic widescreen, while Region 1 releases are fullscreen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[6] ==Awards and nominations<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Alleged plagiarism<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">After the show's release the Argentine artists Carlos Trillo and Carlos Meglia, creators of the Argentinian comic book series Cybersix, filed a lawsuit against Cameron and Fox for plagiarism.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[7]  Cybersix was created by Trillo (writer) and Meglia (penciler) in the early 90's for the European market, and appeared in Spanish in November 1993; an animated TV series based on the comic strip was released in 1999.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8]  Trillo and Meglia accused Dark Angel of stealing most of the plot from the comic and its most recognizable elements.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[9]  In a 2007 interview Trillo stated that he and Meglia were not able to carry on with the lawsuit due to lack of financial resources, so they dropped it, although the issue is still a matter of controversy: ==Spinoffs<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == See also: Dark Angel (video game)<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Written by Max Allan Collins, a trilogy of novels expands upon the Dark Angel television series.
 * 2000: Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television — Jessica Alba
 * 2000: Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama — Jessica Alba
 * 2001: People's Choice Award for Favorite Television New Dramatic Series
 * 2001: TV Guide Awards for Breakout Star of the Year — Jessica Alba
 * 2001: Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress — Jessica Alba
 * 2001: Canadian Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a TV Series
 * 2001: International Monitor Awards for Best Visual Effects in a TV series


 * 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.
 * Dark Angel: Skin Game (2003) immediately follows the events of "Freak Nation," the final episode of Season 2, describing the days in 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.