Year:
2001
Studio:
Fox
Feature:
3/5
DVD:
3/5
I've always panned the second season of "Dark Angel". To me the first
season was great and changing the whole tone and direction of the show
was seen as a mistake. Now, I realize most people would probably not
really notice the changes, but to me it seemed like the mistake that
"SeaQuest DSV" did during their second season. "Dark Angel" was
subsequently cancelled, though the did finish their second season, but
I don't blame the cancellation on the second season changes.
Anyway, after watching the second season again I can appreciate that it
wasn't that bad. Although the changes were not necessarily improvements
all around, they weren't the dreck that had colored my perceptions when
I was originally watching them.
There were a lot of changes:
1. They got rid of Manticore the military genetic lab in the first
episode. Donald Lydecker (John Savage) and the whole "Manticore hunting
down the wayward X-5's" was replaced with Ames White (Martin Cummins)
and a secret government agency chasing down all the transgenics. Later
in the season we also got Manticore the cult, which is the original
Manticore.
2. Three new cast members were added, besides Ames White: Alec (Jensen
Ackles) aka X5-494 who is sort of the black sheep of the X-5 family and
really gets on Max's nerves; Joshua (Kevin Durand) who is the first
genetic experiment, a dog-man with a heart of gold; and Asha (Ashley
Scott) who heads S1W, a band of rebels working with Eyes Only.
Unforunately while Alec and then Joshua got more and more screen time,
Asha started out strong and quickly faded to the background and then
disappeared in the last few episodes.
3. Monster transgenics -- Anomalies -- were introduced. Joshua is one
of them. There were also lizard people and cat people and lots of weird
transgenics to be hunted down by Ames White. Originally I thought this
was a stupid idea but now I just have a neutral opinion.
4. Instead of Logan being in a wheelchair we have Max carrying a lethal
virus targetted at Logan and will kill him if they touch. I know we
have to keep the whole romance alive and keep them from consumating
their love, but this was a bit silly.
The show is still Max dealing with the world and trying to help her
fellow transgenics, except there are many more transgenics to help.
There is actually a sort of "she's The One" plot that manifests itself
towards the end of the season which would have been developed further
in season 3.
And the main things that I liked about season one are still there: Max
is beautiful and kicks ass and the romance between Max and Logan.
I also really liked Alec who is good looking and quite the rogue yet
still has a certain ineptitude compared to Max. Asha was starting to
get interesting, especially with an Asha-Alec thing going but it was
never developed.
If you liked season one, season two is still quite good and recommended.
Episodes
201. "Designate
This" - Max escapes from Manticore and burns it down.
Introduces new characters Alec, Joshua, and Asha. BONUS:
Commentary with executive producers, episode writer and episode
director.
202. "Bag 'Em" -
FBI hunts down the escaped Manticore transgenics.
Introduces new master villain Ames White.
203. "Proof of
Purchase" - Alec is captured by FBI and is forced to
hunt down fellow transgenics. Joshua looks for The Sandman and Max
looks for Joshua.
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204. "Radar Love"
- Competing romances: Max and Rafer (Kris Pope) Logan
and Asha. Mad scientist engineers a lethal plague targetted at
transgenics.
205. "Boo" -
Halloween. Max and Joshua search around town for the body
of a headless transgenic. To complicate things, Rafer is with them and
has to be kept in the dark.
206. "Two" - Alec
joins Jam Pony. Some sort of dog-man is attacking
cops and Max fears it's Joshua.
207. "Some
Assembly Required" - Zack (William Gregory Lee) returns as a
rebuilt cyborg who remembers almost nothing.
208. "Gill Girl"
- Max and Alec go into a nightclub to rescue a mermaid
transgenic.
209.
"Medium is the Message" - Max tries to rescue Ames White's son from a
new super-powered non-transgenic faction. Joshua finds his artistic
ability. White reveals his true colors.
210.
"Brainiac" - A new X-5 makes himself known as the S1W is betrayed from
within. One of the scientifically weaker episodes unless you believe in
precognition (which wasn't the explanation for the X-5's powers).
211. "The
Berrisford Agenda" - An Alec episode as he confronts the ghosts of his
past and a lost love. Meanwhile Joshua throws a dinner party for his
friends. One of my favorite episodes. BONUS: Commentary with episode
writer and Dark Angel producer.
212. "Borrowed
Time" - Max gets a temporary cure for the virus, but before she can get
busy with Logan she has to help Joshua stop a Gossamer, a
plant-dinosaur-monster-thing that's on the rampage. In a side plot,
Alec and Asha commiserate about love.
213. "Harbor
Lights" - Max is shot and taken to the hospital. Both the Center for
Disease Control and Ames White are after her as she tries to escape the
hospital.
214. "Love in
Vein" - A vampire transgenic holds a group of teenagers under his sway
by addicting them to his blood.
215.
"Fuhgeddaboutit" - Max inflitrates the local mafia and gets more than
she can handle in the form of a transgenic with mind control powers.
216. "Exposure" -
Max and Logan track down Ames White's son (from episode 209) to cult
headquarters. Meanwhile Sketchy (Richard Gunn) gets a photographer's
job a Trans World Weekly.
217. "Hello,
Goodbye" - Subplots galore: after another close call Max decides to
call it quits with Logan, Alec is mistaken for his evil twin Ben and is
captured by the police, Joshua befriends a blind woman named Annie
(Kandyse McClure). BONUS: Commentary with episode director and episode
writer.
218. "Dawg Day
Afternoon" - Chased by angry humans and the police, Joshua goes into
hiding in the sewers, taking Annie along with him.
219. "She Ain't
Heavy" - Ames White coerces Max's twin sister to track down Max.
Meanwhile, the Eyes Only broadcasts are finally traced to Logan's
apartment. Meanwhile Joshua goes to Terminal City to join the
transgenic enclave living there.
220. "Love Among
the Runes" - Max and Alec join the transgenic underground based in
Terminal City. A lunatic escapes from the Manticore cult with important
secrets. The FBI raids Jam Pony.
221. "Freak
Nation" - When an extraction mission goes bad, Joshua, Alec and Max are
trapped in Jam Pony with a pregnant X-5. And their secret is revealed
to Normal (JC MacKenzie) and the rest of the Jam Pony staff. Meanwhile
the Manticore cult sends in their elite special ops team to kill Max.
BONUS: Commentary with Richard Gunn (Sketchy), episode writer, and some
of the series producers. Since this was the final episode made, lots of
background info and plans for what would have been in Season 3 are
revealed.
Special Features
1. Max Resurrected - 15 min overview of season 2 with interview clips
2. Making the Manticore Monsters - 6 minutes
3. Manticore on the Loose - 2 minute montage
4. Bloopers - 4 minutes
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