'' (2000–2002) was a
Cyberpunk Science Fiction Television series, created by
James Cameron and
Charles H. Eglee . The show starred
Jessica Alba as
a genetically-enhanced super-soldier who searches for others of her kind, while trying to lead some semblance of a normal life.
The series was filmed in
Vancouver, British Columbia ,
Canada at
Lions Gate Studios .
- '' theme that takes place in a dystopian city (post- EMP Seattle , and ''Scrap Iron City''), and so on.
- '''' (1991)—shared similar settings as well.
- '''s 1987 film '' RoboCop ''. Both take place in cities where violent crime is commonplace, and share recurrent themes such as corporate corruption and moral ambiguity in the scientific community. In addition, the protagonists of both are reluctant heroes created by scientists, who are seeking to minimize the loss of human life in combat/law enforcement. Coincidentally, a character killed in Season One returns as a cyborg in Season Two.
- '''s 1982 novel, ''Friday''. The main protagonist is a multi-ethnic, genetically enhanced young woman surviving in a dystopian future who often has trouble forming personal relationships due to her differences from un-enhanced humans.
- '''' (i.e. the Spice Girls ) upon popular culture during the late 1990s and early 2000s . In this light, Max (who was created with cat DNA) may have been loosely modeled after the character from ''Batman,'' Catwoman (with Logan as the Bruce Wayne figure) as well as Emma Peel of '' The Avengers ''. Original Cindy may have been influenced by characters portrayed by Pam Grier in Blaxploitation films such as '' Coffy '' and '' Foxy Brown .''
- s Caine, Max of ''Dark Angel'' is a super-human but marginalized figure who is on the run and bears the Curse And Mark Of Cain . In each episode, the childhood of the protagonist is referred to in flashbacks and focuses upon a school-like environment where children with shaven heads are being groomed for specialized roles by unique figures of authority. As adults, Caine and Max live in obscurity but use their abilities in the Martial Arts to fight for the good. Furthermore, in episode two of the first season of ''Kung - Fu'' (written by Herman Miller ) which aired on November 11, 1972 and was entitled ''Dark Angel,'' Caine discovers that he has a half-brother and sets out on a mission to find him {Link without Title} .
- ''Season Two'': ''Dark Angel'' changed significantly in its second season, moving from Cyberpunk to Monster-of-the-Week quasi-horror and something closer to '' Buffy The Vampire Slayer ''. The influence, however, of ''Battle Angel Alita'' was still apparent, as well as the '' Matrix '' and the '' X-Men .'' In addition, with the character of Joshua, comparisons could be made to the novel '' Frankenstein '' and in particular to Frankenstein's Monster . Joshua himself was modestly reminiscent of Vincent from '' Beauty And The Beast ''.
In the year
2009 , a
Genetically Enhanced female child (Cameron's term for this prototype is
Transgenic ) super-soldier named Max Guevera, also known as X5-452, escapes, along with 11 others like her, from a secret government institution codenamed ''
Manticore '' where they were made and trained to be soldiers and assassins. Months after her escape, terrorists detonate an
Electromagnetic Pulse weapon which destroys the vast majority of
Computer and
Communication systems in the
U.S. , throwing the country into utter chaos.
The First Season begins ten years later in
2019 . It follows the life of the now 19-year-old Max as she struggles to search for her ''Manticore'' brothers and sisters living in a
Post-apocalyptic world (an element that was more or less dropped after
9/11 ), while trying to live her life, learning to trust and love, and evading capture. She is aided by Logan Cale and her friends at Jam Pony, a courier company that she works for. Other X-5s are periodically introduced as well.
In the Second Season of the show, the tone changes as Max brings down Manticore, but finds that she has an even more deadly enemy in a millennia-old breeding cult structured similar to the
Illuminati . This has resulted in humans even more formidable than the Manticore-produced
Transgenics , and now this cult is trying to hunt them all down. It turns out that a renegade from the cult, Sandeman, was largely responsible for Manticore's genesis. The villain Ames White is Sandeman's son, which essentially makes him Max's brother. The series was cancelled before the producers could really play with this dynamic, however.
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, though 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.
- -- A Genetically Enhanced female (or Transgenic ) super-soldier also known as X5-452, and an escapee from Project Manticore who searches for others of her kind, while also trying to lead some semblance of a normal life. She has a Barcode with the number 332960073452 on the back of her neck. She eventually teams up with ''Eyes Only''.
- -- Also known as ''Eyes Only'', Logan is on a crusade to bring down the corrupt power brokers of the new millennium. He uses his resources to find out who Max is and the two develop a deep and complex relationship. He delivers his messages through video bulletins by hacking into television cable networks.
- -- A Genetically Enhanced male (or Transgenic ) super-soldier named also known as X5-599, Zack was the leader of the breakout where Max escaped, and he is very protective of his fellow escapees. He hates Manticore with a passion, and is somewhat mistrustful of regular humans.
- -- Max's co-worker and drinking buddy. In the middle of Season One, she discovers that Max is from Manticore and that Logan is ''Eyes Only.'' She usually refers to herself in the third person.
- -- Colonel Lydecker is one of Manticore's senior officers, and the archenemy of Max and Zack. He eventually switches sides after the project's director betrays him.
- -- Reagan Ronald is the head of the Jam Pony Express courier service, where Max works. He is called Normal because his conservative demeanor clashes violently with his usual surroundings.
- -- This character replaces Zack (who makes only a brief appearance in season two). X5-494 (named Alec by Max, because he is a smart alec) is a Genetically Enhanced (or Transgenic ) male super-soldier. Alec is a rogue in the mold of Han Solo or Gambit . He is the Identical Twin of Max's "brother," Ben (X5-493), a psychotic Manticore escapee that Max fought in Season One. He eventually joins Jam Pony Express and befriends Normal (sort of).
- -- This character replaces Lydecker, and is similar to Agent Smith from '' The Matrix '' in his demeanor and invulnerability. An NSA agent charged with tracking down and exterminating Manticore escapees, White is also part of an ancient cult (called ''Familiars'') that have infiltrated various levels of society to breed super-humans (without the need of lab-bred genetic modifications like those of the Manticore project).
- -- An early Manticore experiment, Joshua was engineered with canine DNA and consequently has some unusual facial features. Because of his beastly appearance, Max and Original Cindy must find creative ways to hide him from public view. He had a brief romance with a blind woman named Annie Fisher, before she was murdered by Agent White.
- -- Asha is a member of S.1.W., a militant resistance movement against government corruption. She works closely with Logan on Eyes Only missions (much to Max's annoyance) but apparently doesn't know Logan is Eyes Only. She is also in love with Logan.
- -- Sandeman is a figure who is referred to but does not appear in the show. He was part of the same ancient cult as Ames White but rejected it and created Manticore. Joshua and Issac (Joshua's younger brother) were his first creations. In addition, Sandeman created X5-452 (aka Max Guevera), in whom he implanted a message in an ancient language related to the cult, which manifests itself as tattoo-like markings on her skin. Max was created as a "perfect being" to stop the ancient cult. This is hinted at in very early episodes as she is said to have no "junk DNA."
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 more 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.
- ''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 .
- ''Dark Angel: After the Dark'' (2003) follows ''Skin Game'', describing the days in December 2021 . It tries to tie up all the storylines presented in the second season – Max is cured of the virus, the Conclaves agenda is revealed, Lydecker returns and Max and Logan finally get together.
