Let's be real. While Fox has had alot of great series like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and MadTv, they've been notorious for killing shows long before their time. Dark Angel was one of them. I was a really big fan of the show from jump. I was 13 at the time and not a sci-fi fan in the least, but something about how well the show flowed and the characters drew my attention kept me hooked.
Jessica Alba starred as Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced (as in not a cyborg or any other type of machine) girl who escaped from a secret government owned and run breeding/super-soldier training institution called Manticore. Max (X5-452) was apart of the X-5 series (previous X series were unsuccessful) and along with her "brothers and sisters" (other X-5 kids) were exposed to nightmarish experiments and brutal warfare training, but eventually made the decision to run away. The first 5 minutes or so of the pilot episode chronicles their great escape. Max and eleven of her siblings succesfully escape, but are all separated. A few months later, a terrorist activated electromagnetic pulse (simply called The Pulse) hits and turns the US into virtually a third world country. All technology is destroyed and chaos abounds. Because of this, Max is able to slip into the real world unnoticed.
The rest of the show picks up ten years later and Max is living in Seattle working as a bike messenger at Jam Pony. She enjoys being a regular girl and chillin' with her friends. Her best friend is the always sassy, "tell it like it is" black lesbian Original Cindy (Valarie Rae Miller). Cindy has always got her back and some of the funniest lines in the series. Max squats with another close girlfriend named Kendra (Jennifer Blanc) who is quite hetero and always on the prowl. Her other two friends are the stoner with a heart of gold Sketchy (Richard Gunn) and the always optimistic Jamacian mon Herbal Thought (Alimi Ballard). Her very conservative and always grouchy boss Reagan Ronald aka Normal (he is the most normal out of the group hence the nickname) is always on her back with some snarky lines.
While Max's daytime life may seem normal, her nighttime activities are anything but. She's a cat burglar in order to pay off the very expensive funds that will help her track down her missing brothers and sisters. One night, after breaking into the apartment of Logan Cale (Michael Waverley), she's caught by the man of the house himself and the two soon strike up a business relationship. Apparently, Logan did his research and found out about Max's Manticore past. The barcode on the back of her neck was a dead giveaway (did I mention the barcode?). In exchange for helping Max find her siblings, she has to help Logan solve his mysteries. See, Logan is really the cyber journalist "Eyes Only" who hacks into cable feeds to spread "the truths" of the corrupt political society of not only Seattle, but America in under 60 seconds. Max agrees and the first season officially begins.
Oh yeah, Logan also has to protect Max from Lydecker (John Savage), her former Manticore trainer. He's been searching for "the kids" as he calls them for all the ten years they've been gone and he'll stop at nothing to get them back. To give a quick runthrough of the first season, a love affair ensues between Logan and Max (you so knew that was gonna happen), Max is able to find some of her siblings, and she manages to confront Lydecker (he's one cold dude) and try to take down Manticore in one of the best finales in tv show history. Well, to me anyway. Pretty awesome stuff. Now onto season 2.
Season 2 is alot different from the first. Without giving the season one finale away, Max ends up back at Manticore, but doesn't stay put for long. She escapes after taking the prison (that's basically what it was) down and releases all of the imprisoned transgenics. About that, not all of the "gennies" are quite human. Max has a bit of cat DNA herself (the episodes where she goes into heat are hilarious), but she still has a human appearance. The older ones, not so much. See, they were given too much animal DNA in their genetic cocktails so they possess more cross breed appearances. Like Joshua (Kevin Durand), Max's friend and adoptive brother. He was the first transgenic Manticore ever created and has a human body with a dog face. Still a sweetheart though.
Anyway, all the gennies are freed and manage to escape into society. The "regular" folks freak out and new villian Ames White (Martin Cummins) is called upon by the government to cover up the Manticore crimes by exterminating them. Needless to say, Max is on the top of his list. She feels it's her job to protect her transgenic siblings while laying low as best she can herself. Her relationship with Logan becomes complicated too. While back at Manticore, the bad guys figured out Max was in cahoots with Eyes Only (they still don't know he's Logan) and infect her with a virus that will kill him on skin to skin contact. The two try their best to keep their romance going, but Logan's new assistant Asha (Ashley Scott) tends to get in the way as well.
Another new character is fellow X-5er Alec (Jensen Ackles). Max meets him back at Manticore and the two form a love/hate sibling-like relationship. Alec (as in smart aleck) is a nice guy overall, but always looking out for himself and constantly on the look out for some get rich scheme. Sweet, but not too smart since he manages to get himself in trouble alot. Original Cindy, Sketchy, and Normal also return, but there's no mention of Kendra or Herbal Thought. Where'd the hell they go? Beats me. Anyway, the second season does border on a "transgenic of the week" feel, but it has a powerful "people fear and hate what they don't understand" message that's relatable to all people. The second season finale is awesome too, although there are a couple of storylines that don't get completely wrapped up.
To wrap it all up, The best thing about Max is that she walks a fine line between a hard ass and being vulnerable. She's not at all a girly girl, but she's also not afraid to let her feelings be known. If she's sad, she'll let it out without being dramatic and with all she's been through, can you really blame her? She's also witty and a smartass. While the show did end too soon, it had a great run with no boring episodes ever. Pick it up!
Top 5 episodes from season 1
1. Rising
2. Flushed
3. Hit A Sista Back
4. Meow
5. And Jesus Brought A Casserole
Top 5 episodes from season 2
1. Designate This
2. Bag Em
3. Hello, Goodbye
4. Dawg Day Afternoon
5. Freak Nation
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