The TV series Dark Angel has been on British screens for a month and I have watched each episode so far. Enough for me to give my impressions of the series.
I'm not very impressed. It's not exactly bad, it's just extremely mediocre. Mediocre verging on bad.
I was expecting so much more. Dark Angel has been hyped as the creation of James Cameron, the director who gave us Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, and The Abyss—some of my favourite action-SF movies. Dark Angel should have been spectacular. What went wrong?
First, a quick plot re-cap, for those who haven't seen the show.
It's Seattle, North America, a couple of decades in the future. A few years prior to the series starting, a terrorist bomb caused an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that wiped out communications and computer networks across North America. EMP effects are short term, so things are pretty much back to normal now. But the aftermath of the pulse has been economic hardship and a general break-down of society.
Our hero, Max (Jessica Alba), is a runaway from a military genetic engineering laboratory, where she and others like her were trained since childhood to be perfect soldiers. Max's DNA is part cat so she's fast, strong, agile, smart, has hyper-acute senses, can jump huge distances, fights really well, and so on and so on. Standard superhero stuff. She's the girl who has it all—and an ongoing problem with government agents who want her back.
Max has been making ends meet as a cat-burglar (but a nice one, of course!) when she runs into Logan (Michael Weatherly), a young rich guy who has nothing better to do than expose government corruption, fight for the down-trodden, and speak up for the underdog. What a swell guy. Well, one thing leads to another and guess what? Max ends up working for Logan, thus setting the pattern for the rest of the series.
Hello? Are you still awake?
Okay, what do I like about the series? Well, Jessica Alba is stunningly attractive and has a good line in moody looks. The character of Max is reasonably charismatic.
The social background is a nice twist, and while not completely original it's different enough to be interesting. The aftermath of the EMP (which is based on real science) is portrayed realistically. Yes, our society is so tightly bound to our computers and communications that if you disrupt them even briefly you're going to cause big social and economic disruption. Unlike a standard post-holocaust setting, there are no bombed-out cities and mutant creatures here. Instead we have an interesting juxtaposition of the privileged elite in their big cars cruising past scenes of inner-city decay and depression-era breadlines.
Hmm. On second thought, maybe that was something I saw on the news the other night . . .
What else? Well, the stunts are competent and the fights are well executed. And it makes a change to have a science fiction series which doesn't rely on special visual effects and funny alien costumes.
What don't I like? Hold on, this could take a while.
The plots are old and tired. There's nothing new. It's been done a million times before. Secret government projects? Too many to count. Lead characters with abilities beyond that of normal men? Yawn. Evil government bad guy who just fails to catch up with Max at the end of each episode? Can you say "The Fugitive" and "The Incredible Hulk" in one breath? Mystery philanthropist who sits at home and sends our hero on missions? Standard comic-relief sidekicks who are too dumb realise that our hero is more than she seems?
It's just all been done before.
There's nothing inherently wrong with re-treading old ground. But you have to do it well. And Dark Angel doesn't.
A hackneyed format. Predictable plots. Embarrassing scripts (I cringe in anticipation of the bad dialogue, and I'm rarely disappointed).
Add to the mix one of the worst supporting casts I've ever seen. I'll be charitable to the actors (none of whom I've seen before) and assume it's the writer's fault. Supporting characters? They aren't characters, they're personality quirks on legs. Stereotypes played to the ultimate degree. Forget two dimensional, they barely raise themselves above one dimension. And I won't even mention the stereotyped bad guy.
Logan is the only character who comes close to having some depth. But, oh look, he's young and handsome. Do I spot some romantic tension coming up? They just work together, of course. "We don't have that kind of relationship, do we?". Oooo . . . will they or won't they? I'm on the edge of my seat to see how this sub-plot plays out. Not.
Let me just recap: it's all been done before. The pilot episode was like plotting by numbers. You could see every plot element lining itself up in front of you, waiting to unfold.
Do I sound bitter? It's because I expected so much from the series. With most series, I would sigh and move on, quickly forgetting it. But this is James Cameron. He's directed some of my favourite movies. I've been a fan for 20 years. I just expected better, that's all.
So, four episodes into it, will I continue watching? It seems to be popular in America and has apparently won awards. Perhaps it's a slow starter and the best is yet to come? Is four episodes too few for a fair judgement? After all, Star Trek: The Next Generation took three years to grow on me. But . . .
But when I analyse why I've watched it this far, it boils down to one element.
And I'm sorry but I just can't give up an hour every week for the sake of 15 seconds of Jessica Alba standing on top of Seattle's Space Needle, gazing moodily into the distance.
That's a really sad reason for watching a TV programme.
Maybe I can just get a big poster for my wall?
© 2001 by David Meadows. All rights reserved. 10 February 2001