Dark Angel (TV series)

Dark Angel is an American cyberpunk science fiction television program, created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee, which ran from 2000 to 2002 on the FOX network. Dark Angel chronicles the life of Max Guevara (X5-452), a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier, portrayed by Jessica Alba as an adult, and Geneva Locke as a child.

The program was set in Seattle, Washington, but actually filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Lions Gate Studios.

Overview
In the year 2009, a genetically enhanced female child (whom creator James Cameron refers to 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 (a concept largely dropped from the show after 9/11), she tries to live her life, to evade capture, and to learn to trust and love. She is aided by Logan Cale, an underground cyber-journalist with the alias Eyes Only; Zach, 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.

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 was 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 genetically engineered in the government lab, "Manticore" (though carried to term by a human woman) sometime around the turn of the 21st century. As with all children created in the lab, Max has a barcode on the back of her neck, with her identifying number sequence (332960073452). She is an X-5 model and is thus referred to as X5-452. Max Guevara is the name that she gave to herself.

Max and her X-5 "brothers and sisters" were raised and trained by Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker (John Savage) who also had a role in the components of their creation. He trained them to be soldiers using harsh and brutal techniques that eventually led to their desire to escape. The escape was the idea of their leader, Zack (X5-599) (William Gregory Lee), who guided them through a snow-filled forest as they were being chased by Lydecker's men. Max fell into a frozen pond, and having learned how to hold her breath underwater for long periods of time, managed to outwit the men looking for her. She was eventually found by a Manticore employee who took Max to her house, a move which eventually allowed Max to escape to the world outside.

Sometime after her escape, when Max was living with a foster family, on June 1, 2009, terrorists detonated an electromagnetic pulse weapon in the atmosphere over the U.S., which destroyed the vast majority of computer and communication systems. The United States became a place of chaos and anarchy, and one in which technological devices ultimately controls all behavior.

By the year 2019, Max is living in Seattle, Washington. She works as a bicycle messenger for "Jam Pony" and lives in an abandoned building, first with Kendra (Jennifer Blanc) and later with Original Cindy (Valarie Rae Miller). Other friends from work include Herbal Thought (Alimi Ballard) and Sketchy ( Richard Gunn). Max also lives a secret life as a "cat burglar," in order to fund the expensive search for her missing "brothers and sisters."

It is during one of these attempts that she meets Logan Cale, the cyber-journalist "Eyes Only." Cale allows her to escape from his apartment, however, since he is interested in learning more about her. Through the use of security cameras, he discovers who she is and invites Max to his apartment. It is there that he identifies her (through extensive personal research) as one of the escaped X-5s. Max and Logan make a pact: he will help her find her missing siblings if she will help him solve mysteries. Logan also helps to protect Max from Lydecker, who is obsessed with the need to find her and the other children. Through their work together, Max and Logan eventually fall in love.

Their feelings for each other, however, become complicated when Max finds Zack, who is also in love with her. Eventually, as more siblings are discovered, a plan is developed to attack Manticore, one which eventually involves Lydecker who defects from "Manticore" (in retaliation against Dr. Elizabeth Renfro/Madame X (Nana Visitor). The plan fails, however, and Max is assumed to be dead by Logan and her friends. Instead, she is being held at "Manticore" along with other children and young adults created by the lab. Eventually, the plan to destroy "Manticore" succeeds, which allows numerous transgenics to escape, an event which eventually leads to public knowledge of their existence. Max reunites with her friends and Logan, only to discover that she has been contaminated with a virus which was designed to kill Logan.

Max's problems are also further complicated when Lydecker mysteriously "disappears" and Max is suddenly being hunted by Ames White. White is both an agent for the government and a member of a breeding cult which spans back centuries into humanity's past. It is his goal to find and destroy transgenics, particularly Max, who is revealed to have been created for a special purpose. At the same time, Max befriends one of the new escapees, the half-human, half-dog, Joshua (Kevin Durand) who often speaks of his father "Sandeman." Max also, at times unwillingly, teams up with Alec (Jensen Ackles), an X-5 who looks like her dead half-brother Ben, but has a personality which offends Max. Eventually, Max, Joshua, Alec, Max team up with other transgenics to fight those who discriminate against them. The series was canceled before this theme was further developed, however.

Background to series
Director James Cameron had planned to make a film of the comic book character Spider-Man, a project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films. Disputes arose focusing on Golan's role in the Carolco project. A screenplay dating back to 1989 exists with Cameron's name appended to it, indicating erroneously he worked with a series of writers on the project (John Brancato, Barry [sic: Barney] Cohen, Joseph Goldmari [sic: "Joseph Goldman," Menahem Golan's pen name] and Ted Newsom), but the script was identical to one presented to Columbia Pictures by Golan in 1988, where the project had been in development (Cameron never worked with these writers at all.) Subsequent to the delivery of this script to Carolco, Cameron presented a 45-page Spider-Man screen story to Carolco, which bore substantive similarities to a number of earlier screenplay drafts, particularly one written by Ethan Wiley (writer House and writer/director of House 2). When Carolco went into bankruptcy, all previous "Spider-Man" scripts were acquired by MGM-UA, including the "Cameron material," i.e., both the multi-author screenplay and the later treatment credited solely to Cameron. MGM in turn sold the material to Columbia Pictures in exchange for Columbia dropping their plans to do an alternative James Bond series based on the Kevin McClory Bond material. Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt Cameron's treatment into a screenplay, and Koepp's first draft is taken often word-for-word from Cameron's story, though later drafts were heavily rewritten by Koepp himself, Scott Rosenberg, Alvin Sargent (husband of producer Laura Ziskin), and (allegedly) Ivan Raimi, brother of director Sam Raimi. Columbia preferred to credit David Koepp solely, and none of the scripts before or after his were ever examined by the Writers Guild of America to determine proper credit attribution. Cameron and other writers objected, but Columbia and the WGA prevailed. The Columbia screenplay was credited solely to Koepp.

Unable to make Spiderman, 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:


 * After the Sarah Connors and Ellen Ripleys of the eighties, the nineties weren't so kind to the superwoman format --Xena: Warrior Princess excepted. But it's a new millennium now, and while Charlie's Angels and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are kicking up a storm on movie screens, it's been down to James Cameron to bring empowered female warriors back to television screens. And tellingly, Cameron has done it by mixing the sober feminism of his The Terminator and Aliens characters with the sexed-up Girl Power of a Britney Spears concert. The result is Dark Angel, a weekly action series that's burning up the ratings on America's Fox Network and has recently premiered in the UK.

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 because Joss Whedon's Firefly was ordered to series so FOX wouldn't have to pay for two big budget shows. Ironically, Firefly didn't last an entire season and Dark Angel's numbers, while low, were better than anything else that has aired Friday nights on FOX to date.

Cancellation
Despite a strong fan base (and a second season finale directed by James Cameron), Dark Angel was cancelled in 2002 after just two seasons due to budget costs and low second season ratings. Avid fans of the show attribute the loss of ratings to a misjudgement on the part of FOX Network 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 also cited as contributing factors to its demise. Many of these changes were unavoidable due to budgetary concerns, departing actors, and 9/11, which forced the show to downplay its post-apocalyptic setting. 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.

Fox poll
During mid-April 2006, Fox held a poll on its broadcasting website, asking, "Now we've brought back Family Guy for another series, which of these would you like to see resurrected for another series?" Among the choices were Dark Angel, Tru Calling, Angel, Futurama, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At the conclusion of the poll in May, Dark Angel won with 34.5% votes, with Tru Calling at 28.1% behind it. Fox has not announced if it will renew the series or not.

Region 1
On May 20, 2003, 20th Century Fox released Season 1 of Dark Angel on DVD. Season 2 was released on October 21, 2003. Both seasons were re-released on June 5, 2007, with slim packaging. 

Region 2
Seasons 1 and 2 were released in the UK on February 24, 2003 and June 2, 2003 respectively. However, the majority of the extras included on the Region 1 releases were omitted.

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

Spinoffs
Written by Max Allan Collins, a trilogy of novels expands upon the Dark Angel television 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 a 13th 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 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.
 * Dark Angel: The Eyes Only Dossier (2003) describes Logan's various adventures and happenings from the days of the EMP (Pulse) to the current days in 2021.

Miscellanea

 * Jensen Ackles got the part of Alec, after playing Ben in Season 1, with no audition for the character of Alec. The producers had no idea at that point if he could play a comedic character when he was cast.
 * The series is very similar to the books series, Maximum Ride, also about a girl named Max with bird DNA who escapes from a lab called 'The School'.
 * Pro wrestler Lita suffered a spinal injury on the second season finale when during a rehearsal, the stuntwoman dropped Lita causing her to suffer three cracks in her C5 and C6 vertebrae, necessitating surgery.