frelling_tralk: (Nikita by katrin_folly)
frelling_tralk ([personal profile] frelling_tralk) wrote2015-09-28 12:11 pm
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Dark Angel seasons 1 and 2

I'm really enjoying Dark Angel on re-watch, I know that it had its cheesy moments, but I just really enjoy the world-building and the characters I suppose, especially Max, Logan, Original Cindy, and Lydecker from the first season, then Alec and Joshua from the second. I enjoyed that the drive of each episode in season 1 was usually always about Max resolving her past and tracking down her siblings, and of course the flashbacks to Manicore. I always get much more emotionally invested in shows that keep most episodes focused on their main characters emotional journeys, rather than on a case of the week format

I was a shipper for Max and Logan, I thought they had a really great dynamic in the first season with him being the rich idealist and Max being the streetwise harder-edged character, although I must admit that it didn't really carry over to season 2 for me, I was shipping Alec and Max by then :P From what I've heard it was actually originally planned for Alec to be Max's new love interest, but the actor who played Logan objected and used his influence with Jessica Alba to change that? The virus storyline in season 2 lasted waaaay too long and the Logan/Max ship was completely played out for me in the second season quite honestly, they should have just got Logan and Max together in season 2 and done something different with them if they were determined to stick with them as the main romance of the show, the whole virus storyline didn't do much for their chemistry IMO

I really don't get why season 2 seems to have such a bad rep though, I know that even Jessica Alba has been really down on this season, but it wasn't that drastic a drop in quality to me at all? The realism was stretched more granted when they wanted to suggest that a secret government agency was also creating vampires and mermaids, but well that aside lol. I really liked the ensemble cast they had that year, both Alec and Joshua were really fun additions, and I tended to enjoy the subplots with them a lot more than the comic-relief B plots they had with Jam Pony in season 1 tbh. It was a shame how underused Original Cindy was once the focus switched to the Manticore characters instead though, there were quite a few episodes where I thought they could easily have thought of ways to incorporate her in the main plot more as she was Max's best friend and someone in the know, but season 2 did seem to focus mostly on Max working either with Logan, or with Alec

Alec and Joshua had really good chemistry together as friends, and you could tell that the actors enjoyed working together. I enjoyed their friendship a lot more than the way that Max tended to baby Joshua actually, I kind of felt like she would have found a way around it if it was her or Logan who had the facial deformities and couldn't go outside, but with Joshua she seemed to fall into a very rigid idea of you must NEVER go outside and it's all for your own good. She basically had him swap one basement for another without even trying to look into any alternatives, but then the Halloween episode did have Max admit to herself that a lot of it was about hiding Joshua away as a dirty little secret because she feared people looking at her differently more than anything

I wasn't a big fan of Agent White, he came across as such a generic screaming bad guy at first, and so I was never really convinced by the backstory they tried to give him to make him more interesting, they kind of lost me there actually with the breeding cult and the snakes! I much preferred Lydecker as a bad guy, I was surprised at how quickly they faded him out in early season 2 and barely bothered to resolve his story, it made him wonder if there were personal issues with the actor? I thought it was really weird that they didn't even credit the actor as a "special guest star" in his season 2 episodes, and that he didn't get any kind of memorable exit


I guess that season 2 must edge out the first season as a favourite for me as I have a lot more to say about the characters that year and the dynamics between them, even if season 1 is considered the ~technically superior~ season. I guess that some of the season 2 episodes were of dodgier quality (the vampire episode for one!) and things did get a little silly at times, but I thought that the opening three episodes were stronger than anything from the first season, same with the final stretch of episodes from season 2.


And now I'm off on holiday for this week, will be back on Friday!

[identity profile] supernutjapan.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 11:38 am (UTC)(link)
I'd love to do a rewatch of Dark Angel when I have the time! I'm with you on shipping Logain and Max until Season 2 and then switching :D I really liked Alec and Joshua together too. Not only did they get along well together, the relationship changed Alec, I think. And developed his character. We got to see more of his brooding side, which he was always hiding with Max (from what I remember).

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 11:47 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah I can't put my finger on what it was because I was really feeling the UST between Max and Logan in season 1, and then in season 2 just nothing. I guess I can see why the actor for Logan wasn't too happy lol, his character did feel like a spare part at times when you compared him to the fun of Alec and Max teaming up and snarking at one another

We got to see more of his brooding side, which he was always hiding with Max (from what I remember).

:nods: Yeah it seemed like Max was always a bit too standoffish and determined to believe the worst of Alec, so it was good that he had Joshua in his corner as a friend, although by the end of season 2 Max was closer to Alec as well
Edited 2015-09-28 11:49 (UTC)

[identity profile] lilly-the-kid.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 11:57 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I miss this show. I like season 1 better, for me season 2 is very different in tone and season 1 just works better for me. But having said that, once I made peace with season 2 being different I would have loved to watch on and see where the story would go.

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Apparently there were novels to conclude the show, although I haven't read them? And it does seem like most people prefer season 1, but I found myself more emotionally engaged with the new characters from season 2 I guess, although season 1 has its moments as well

I'm surprised actually at the general consensus being that season 2 was just really ridiculous and campy, granted there were a few episodes like that, but I thought that the episodes at the beginning and ending of that season were actually pretty dark. The blind girl being shot, Alec being forced to kill transgenics, Max being tortured at Manicore, the police hunting them down etc

[identity profile] livejournal.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 12:28 pm (UTC)(link)
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[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/ 2015-09-28 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
I think I only watched Season 1. I really don't remember it well, it was okay but not exactly my thing.

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I wasn't that impressed with Dark Angel the first time I watched it, but on re-watch I found myself a lot more engaged in the world-building and the characters
liliaeth: (Default)

[personal profile] liliaeth 2015-09-28 01:36 pm (UTC)(link)
One thing I'll always remember of this show, is how much Jessica Alba's acting improved from s1 to s2. It worked out with her character arc, but in s1, she was about as bad as David Boreanaz in s1 of btvs. And by s2, she'd leveled up to great.

Well that and it's one of the first shows I watched Jensen Ackles on*g*

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Heh yeah, I was surprised to hear that she got nominated for a Golden Globe for season 1, she was never exactly a master thespian back then

[identity profile] malicat.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't remember which season I liked more (well,I certainly didn't like the open end of the second season ^^) but I totally looooved Joshua so for me he alone made season 2 worth watching!
And I'm with you on the shipping thing. I liked Max/Logan too but I was way more into Max/Alec!

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah I think the addition of Alec and Joshua was what pushed season 2 ahead for me, I became more emotionally invested in other members of the cast besides Max that year

And Max and Alex would have been such a hot couple, too bad that it never came to pass :(

[identity profile] theron09.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, I want to rewatch Dark Angel now!

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Do it!

[identity profile] bm-shipper.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Have a great vacation week :)

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks :) It's a nice change having such a strong Wi-Fi signal at the moment!

[identity profile] emeraldarrows.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 08:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I watched a bit of season one a few weeks ago. Looked like an interesting show. (:

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-28 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Are you planning on watching any more?

[identity profile] emeraldarrows.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 01:13 am (UTC)(link)
Not now (all my Fall shows are starting so I wouldn't be able to keep up) but at some point, yes. (:

[identity profile] little-firestar.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 07:31 am (UTC)(link)
we're on the same ship! Even if I know that there are a few theings that I meant to leave behind (I always watch a few episoides of a new show to get a general idea). But there are so many new, shiny interesting things starting around this week!

[identity profile] emeraldarrows.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 07:55 am (UTC)(link)
I do the same thing! I've got about seven or eight shows to try between now and the middle of October, and 12 shows that are returning that I liked last year. :D

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 07:49 am (UTC)(link)
Cool, I look forward to hearing what you think when you do catch up with the rest :)

[identity profile] emeraldarrows.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 07:56 am (UTC)(link)
I'll let you know when I watch again! (:

[identity profile] little-firestar.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 07:29 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, Dark Angel... I remember when it first aired in Italy; back then, I remember the magazine "Ciak" writing about how the producers had seen Alba and asked her if she was real because she was too perfect; and I remember saying :"Jessica Alba? The chick who played the semi-crazy chick on Flipper?"
(You see, I was a Flipper aficionado...)
I've never been too much of a fan of the show, and I left in season two- way too stretched, even for a sci-fi shpw, and even for someone who, likes me, has geown with the x-files. And I've never been too much of a shipper, even if Jessica Alba and Michael Wetherly were dating back them. At a certain point, I even started NOT liking him too much (and I even considered NOT watching NCIS because he was on, because I imagined that he would ahve enver been able to make me like a character).

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
I really went off Logan in the second season, I can't say what it was exactly though lol because I thought that he was pretty cute in season 1. Apparently the actor was a jerk behind the scenes of Dark Angel though, I remember the writers from the show talking about it on TWOP back in the day :(

And I get why the realism would be harder to buy in season 2, they definitely started getting really out there with throwing any kind of creatures and mutants they could into the show, which was a pretty far cry from the original premise of creating one type of super soldier
Edited 2015-09-29 07:50 (UTC)

[identity profile] place-to-hide.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 09:04 am (UTC)(link)
I haven't rewatched them in a while. I wish there was a season 3.

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah they were really unfairly treated with the way that it was renewed and then cancelled, it sounded like season 3 would have tied both seasons together and properly concluded Max's storyline

[identity profile] place-to-hide.livejournal.com 2015-09-30 06:59 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. I remember it well. They canceled it and then replaced it with Firefly which then they ended up canceling Firefly.

We'll just never get to see that 3rd season. I remember wanting a barcode tattoo on the back of my neck.

[identity profile] bogwitch.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Dark Angel is so frustrating! There was so much potential in it, yet they let it get just that bit too silly. It wouldn't have taken many changes and it could have been great.

I much prefer season 2, mainly due to Alec.

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-30 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah it was a show with a really intriguing premise, but admittedly it never felt like a truly great show, they gave in to cheesy aspects a bit too often
Edited 2015-09-30 19:20 (UTC)

[identity profile] stolenglimpse.livejournal.com 2015-09-29 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Dark Angel: the little show that could but never really did.

I love it. Love season 1 for the one arc eps, the Logan/Max relationship, Jam Pony. Season 2, well, Alec, Joshua, Original Cindy (though less), the Alec/Joshua friendship of awesomeness. The Alec/Max potential.

It got too deep in that cult/snake thing and Max being the all that the more the show advanced. I much preferred Lydecker as a villain. He was but he wasn't at the same time, you know.... he basically just wanted his kids back... Renfro was something else in comparison. White was too much of the villain... and they picked the guy that more than looks the part, too.

Alba and Weatherly were dating so when came time of season 2, Weatherly picked a major fit anytime there was mention that Max (Jessica) would get closer to another character. Came in Alec and, let's face it Jensen Ackles is a babe!) and hello jealousy up to the roof. I was a Max/Logan shipper in season 1 but I became a Max/Alec shipper pretty fast. The whole virus thing might have helped... I don't know... something changed and I didn't like Logan as much...

When I think of what they were leading us towards if season 2 hadn't been cancelled and what season 3 could have been... MAN!!!! I don't know if you heard or read but Max/Alec would have actually became a thing. She would have been the leader and Alec her second or whatever also. Logan would have become so addicted to the transgenics blood it would have caused a riff between Max and him. There was more but I don't quite remember it all.

There were books made out to kinda finish what season 2 was. I had one book. No idea if it was actually part of those but I didn't even finish it... I don't think. Unless I did and it's the second one I couldn't finish. I don't quite remember. Oh wait, no. It was 1 book from before the show (that I didn't like and didn't finish) and 2 to finish season 2 that I didn't get because I couldn't find them anywhere.

I love that show. I'll have to do a rewatch (and better screencaps) soon.

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-09-30 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah it kinda felt like some of the stuff in season 2 came out of nowhere when they suddenly started bringing in the breeding cult, as well as connecting that to the dropped hints about 'Sandman' and his reasons for creating Manicore. It was almost like they changed showrunners as season 1 felt a lot more like hard sci-if, whereas season was throwing a lot of different elements in there. And White definitely wasn't my favourite villain, he just seemed like such a generic and one-dimensional bad guy in the beginning, and everything with the snake cult and his powers came out of nowhere it felt like

And it's weird isn't it, something definitely changed for me too with Logan in season 2, even though I can still go back and enjoy his character with Max in season 1, so I'm not sure what happened in the second season! I did read a lot of commentary on TWOP about what the writers were planning behind the scenes, and it's so frustrating that season 3 never came to pass when they were such big fans of Alex and would have done a lot more with his character. I remember them saying that the actor for Logan was kind of a jerk, and would do things like insist that scripts were changed so that Logan won in the pool game against Alec, or Logan coming to Alec's rescue in the finale lol

[identity profile] stolenglimpse.livejournal.com 2015-10-01 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yes, I go back to season 1 and I'm rooting for Logan, and I cannot see Logan and Max not together. Season 2, I have a hard time with Logan. People might try to explain the change by the fact Max was "dead" in the finale of season 1 and he was deeply hurt by that and I would agree there's a bit of that BUT there's more and I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe the actor's ego and jealousy chimed in through too much? It's like, "come one, man, the show isn't about you". Really have no idea what really happened...

Sometimes, I wish there would be a reboot of it. Most times I don't however. Other times, I wish they would do a reunion season or whatever. Kind of like a "where are they now? what's happening now?" after the second season finale. A season or even a movie... but I really don't see that happening for some reason... one of them being the actors are busy elsewhere...

Like I said "the little show that could but didn't quite get there". Too many things happening in season 2. Too many hints of too many things... They should have kept something for a third season. Worked on one thing first and do a season with that with small hints throughout anyway and then the following season, giving us more from the hints from the previous.
geckoholic: (jensen4)

[personal profile] geckoholic 2015-10-04 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know why people come down on S2 either. Sure, it was ~different, but I didn't think it was less good at all. Ah well.

[identity profile] frelling-tralk.livejournal.com 2015-10-04 02:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah the biggest loss for me was Lydecker as the main villain for someone as bland as Agent White (I'm still curious about what happened with the actor there!), but otherwise I didn't pick up on a drastic drop in quality or anything. There were the usual rough filler episodes that you occasionally get in a 22 episode season, but it seemed like overall the show still had pretty of strong themes that the writers were interested in tacking?