Fandom Overview: Dark Angel

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Dark Angel was a futurist/sc-fi/action-adventure show created by Terminator/Titanic famed director James Cameron and Charles H Eglee. The show initially aired in the United States and Canada for two seasons on Fox, from Oct 3, 2000 to May 3, 2002, before it was cancelled.



The overall premise—Season 1: A shadowy corner of the government, an institution known as Manticore, is working to create/breed the perfect soldier, using genetic material from animals. These experiments were done on children, who were designated numbers in place of names and tattooed on the back of the neck with a barcode for identification. Under Colonel Lydecker’s command, they are specifically trained and encouraged to use their special enhancements in order to be the perfect soldier.


In the winter of 2009, a unit of twelve children known as the model X5 series escaped. A few months later, the U.S. was attacked by terrorists using an electromagnetic pulse that destroyed the majority of the computer and communication systems throughout the United States, instantly throwing the country into third world status. This also enabled the escaped X5s to remain free, though they were continually on the run from Manticore.

Ten years later in 2019, we are introduced to Max ‘X5-452’ Guevara, one of the escaped 12. Now working as a bike messenger at Jam Pony and illegally squatting in an abandoned building, she keeps her identity/barcode hidden from her friends and fellow workers. Off the clock, and later when she leaves friends at Crash (a local bar and hangout for Jam Pony crew). Max is secretly searching for her brothers and sisters, the unit of escaped X5s she considers to be her siblings, whom she was separated from during the escape. To fund this endeavor, Max uses her abilities to steal from the rich. In one such venture, Max meets Logan Cale in the middle of procuring a statue. Max makes her escape, and in doing so, unintentionally shows Logan a few of her enhanced abilities. Shortly afterwards, Logan tracks down and contacts Max with hopes to recruit her to his cause—Logan is Eyes Only, a renegade journalist who secretly fights injustices. As Eyes Only, Logan hijacks airwaves to broadcast his messages about the wrong doings of the government. Initially Max wants nothing to do with Logan or his cause, and turns him down. Afterwards, during an incident where Max refused to help, Logan is caught in the crossfire and is injured, losing his ability to walk. Feeling guilty, Max offers her services. They strike a deal and work together—covertly Max takes assignments for Eyes Only, while Logan uses his expansive contacts to try and find info on her lost brothers/sisters.

Throughout season one, we have the cat/mouse play of Max and Manticore, and a slow build of attraction between Max and Logan.





Season 1 cast:


Max

Max (X5-452)—the central character of Dark Angel. She’s an X5, designed to be the perfect soldier She escaped Manticore, the institution that created her, as a child. She’s genetically enhanced with feline DNA giving her superior strength, speed, healing, reflexes, eyesight, hearing, agility, and intelligence, to name a few. It is also canon (& written in fandom) that about three times a year, because of her feline DNA cocktail, Max goes into heat.
S1 Max

S2 Max

Young Max played by Geneva Locke before she escaped Manticore, and as we see her in flashbacks.

Excerpt from S1E2 Heat: Max"Kendra was right. I am in heat, or something like that...all because they spiced up that genetic cocktail called me with a dash of feline DNA. So I can jump fifteen feet of razor wire and take out a 250-pound linebacker with my thumb and index finger, which makes me an awesome killing machine and a hoot at parties. But it also means that three times a year I'm climbing the walls, looking for some action".
Max’s Achilles heal is the inability to create enough serotonin. Without it she has seizures that leave her completely vulnerable. To get by she takes a food supplement with tryptophan, an amino acid that induces serotonin—without it she can die.
Excerpt from S1E3 Flushed:
Logan: It's pretty bad this time, huh?
Max: Every once in a while, I hit a rough patch. Usually the Tryptophan helps, but...these seizures are much stronger than usual.
Logan: Should I call a doctor?
Max: What are you going to tell him? That your genetically engineered friend has a design flaw in her brain chemistry?
Logan: That stuff really helps?
Max: Supplements the serotonin that my brain's supposed to make but doesn't. When the levels are low, I have a seizure. I'm supposed to be a revved-up girl. Truth is, I'm a lemon.

Logan Cale: (Eyes Only) played by Michael Weatherly.


As Eyes Only:

Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a Video Free America bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city...
Logan is a white knight, using his skills in technology/computers to fight and expose corruption. In an incident where he is trying to save a witness, he is hit in the crossfire and loses the use of his legs. Though they have a rocky beginning, Logan and Max have immediate attraction/chemistry; sadly they only make googoo eyes at each other. *sigh*

Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker: played by John Savage

Col Lydecker in S1 is cold and methodical. During the escape, he orders his men to terminate any of the kids (X5s) who reach the perimeters. Later in the series, Lydecker’s character softens enough that by the end of S1, he switches sides and ends up helping Logan and Max.

Original Cindy: aka O.C. played by Valerie Rae Miller.

OC is Max’s best friend, and co-worker at Jam Pony.

In the later part of S1 and throughout S2 she and Max room together after OC discovers Max is a supersoldier. OC refers to herself in the third person, and is openly gay.

Normal: played by JC MacKenzie.

The dispatcher/manager/owner of Jam Pony Express, the courier service where Max works. Normal's real name is Reagan Ronald, but he is nicknamed Normal because his conservative persona clashes with everything around him (Jam Pony and the world at large). He’s an annoying button-down, workaholic. The show uses him as a source of comic/tension relief, and he uses phases like: “bip, bip, bip” to get people moving and back to work. One of my personal favorites is in S2 where Normal completely man-crushes on Alec, and, though it’s one-sided, Alec does use it to his advantage. Normal even calls Alec his golden boy *g*

Sketchy: : played by Richard Gunn.

Another Jam Pony worker/friend of Max’s. Throughout S2 Sketchy tries to freelance for a tabloid rag sheet trying to find and catch photos of mutant freaks. This became a problem for Max as several of those so-called mutant freaks were her friends, and could lead Manticore back to her doorstep.

Kendra: played by Jennifer Blanc.

A friend of Max’s and her roommate in S1.

Herbal: played by Alimi Ballard.

Another friend/co-worker at Jam Pony.

Zack: (X5-599) played by William Gregory Lee.

Leader of Max’s X5 unit, brother, and fellow escapee from Manticore; Zack led their escape back in 2009. Since then he has secretly kept tabs on his unit, keeping their locations secret from each other for safety— in case one was captured. Zack is deeply devoted and protective of his unit, and even gives his life in order to save Max.

Ben: (X5-493) played by Jensen Ackles.

One of the escaped children. He learned early on to deal with Manticore’s tactics in imaginative/creative ways that only manifested after they escaped. Years later he cracks and becomes a psychopath killer that Max tries to save. In the end she having to kill him.

Madam X aka Renfro: played by Nana Visitor.

Dr. Elizabeth Renfro works for Manticore & vies to take Lydecker’s position.

The 12 escapees: Max—X5-452 (played by Jessica Alba every episode), Zack—X5-599 (played by William Gregory Lee S1E6, 8, 9, 14, 20, 21, 22 S2E1, & E7—side note: actor played 3 seasons of Dante Cove’s Ambrosius Vallin), Ben—X5-493 (played by Jensen Ackles S1E17 deceased), Brin—X5-734 (played by Nicole Bilderback S1E8, 20, 21, 22), Tinga—X5 656 (played by: Lisa Ann Cabasa in S1E14, 20, 21, 22 deceased), Zane (unnamed actor S1E14), Syl (Nicki Aycox S1E22—side note: same actress played Meg Masters on Supernatural), Kit (Joshua Alba S1E22), Jonda (never shown as an adult), and Seth (from the book). The last 2 are unnamed characters.

Season 2-cast photo:


Season two, premise:
A shift is made and three arcs are created, losing a few cast members (notably Max’s first roommate/friend Kendra, & Herbal), while new cast members are added (White, Alec, & Joshua).
One: there is less focus on the post-apocalyptic world and more on Manticore’s freaks/anomalies of the week.
Two: Logan and Max's budding relationship is thwarted by Manticore, using a virus that literally keeps them physically apart (physical contact leads to painful death for Logan). Max is killed at the end of S1 by her younger clone, but is saved by Zack, who sacrificed himself to save Max. She is captured by Manticore and given Zack’s heart in order to live. They hold her prisoner, hoping to recondition and breed her. She escapes with Alec’s help (her breeding partner). Believing she would run to Eyes Only, Manticore allows the escape after infecting her with a virus that is designated to attack and kill Eyes Only - who happens to be Logan. While trying to get the antidote from Renfro, it is destroyed. Hence an entire season where Max/Logan have only lovelorn, longing looks—no touching involved. *sadness*
Three: IMHO a confusing arc that didn’t have the time/opportunity to be really fleshed out—but in a nutshell: an ancient cult (the familiars), one that Ames White is a part of. White is also a Manticore senior operative and the main villain of S2. Sandeman, the creator of X5s and the other anomalies/supersoldiers, was part of the cult but left to create Manticore. The cult is in search of 'the one'—we discover that it’s Max. She has no 'junk DNA' like the others, and Sandeman created a message to appear all over her body in tattoos, info that would destroy the cult. Like Manticore, they are constantly seeking Max.

S2 new cast members:
Alec: (X5-494) played by Jensen Ackles.




Clone/twin of Ben and trained as an assassin by Manticore. Helps and works with Max at Jam Pony. Jensen, via Dean Winchester of Supernatural, is what drew me to DA, where I fell hard for Alec.
Excerpt of how Alec got his name: scene S2E1 Designate This:
Max: You should have a name too.
X5-494: I told you, my designation's 494.
Max:Doesn't suit you. I'm gonna call you Alec.
X5-494: Alec?
Max: As in smart aleck.
X5-494: I can live with that.

Joshua (first): played by Kevin Durand.



Joshua was the first successful creation by Father aka Sandeman— meaning he has no bar code. Joshua’s DNA cocktail mix is largely canine, and once free from Manticore, he has to hide from humans. Reads the classics as father taught him, and loves to paint. Friends and formed familial ties with: Max, Alec Logan, and OC.



Ames White: played by Martin Cummins.


Ames takes over after Renfro’s death to ‘clean things up’ - to capture and destroy the escaped X5s, and all the other freaks/anomalies. Later we find out that he has his own agenda with the cult Familiars.

Asha Barlow: played by Ashly Scott.

Asha is part of S.I.W - a resistance group that is giving/receiving tips via Eyes Only to stop government corruption.

Sandeman (a shadowed figure): Broke away from the cult to start Manticore—created the anomalies/freaks and X series of supersoldiers.



By the season’s end the show was sitting on the bubble for possible cancellation. Fox showed it’s usual insight of starting a great show then messing with its familiar winning time slots and moving it. The result was low ratings combined with a change of format. To help in that endeavor James Cameron came in to direct the last episode. Hopes were high that it’d be renewed, and the season’s end of Freak Nation reflected that optimism. It wasn’t until after the episode aired, that they discovered they were cancelled in favor of Joss Whedon’s retooled pilot Firefly.

Excerpts: S2E21 Freak Nation:
Mole: Escape and evade. We divide up into teams, pick an azimuth, and go to ground.
Max: No, we stay here.
Mole: In a couple of hours, that perimeter will be completely locked down. Tanks, National Guard, every cop within a hundred miles.
Dix: We'll be digging our own grave, Max.
Luke: Mole's right. If we move now, they'll never be able to catch us all.
Max: Where are we gonna go? I can't stop anyone from leaving, but I'm through running and hiding and being afraid. I'm not gonna live my life like that anymore. Aren't you tired of living in darkness? Don't you want to feel the sun on your face? To have a place of your own where you can walk down the street without being afraid? They made us, and they trained us to be soldiers, to defend this country. It's time for them to face us and take responsibility, instead of trying to sweep us away like garbage. We were made in America and we're not going anywhere. So they call us freaks; who cares? Today I'm proud to be a freak. And today we're gonna make a stand, right here. Who's with me?

(Max raises her fist into the air. After a moment, Joshua does the same, followed by Logan and Alec. One by one, the others join in. Mole looks around.)
…….

(Days later)

Reporter: As dawn breaks on this, the third day of the siege at Terminal City, the situation is tense but unchanged. While several hundred transgenics remain barricaded inside the restricted area, police and National Guard stand an uneasy watch at the perimeter--each side seemingly waiting to see what the other will do next.

(On a rooftop inside Terminal City, a group watches as Joshua and a few other transgenics raise the flag he painted. Max and Logan, both wearing gloves, are holding hands.)

Logan (to Max): Now look what you've done.

(They give each other's hands a squeeze. Fade out as the flag flaps in the wind.)





TV tie-in books:
A prequel to the TV series: Dark Angel: Before The Dawn by Max Allan Collins
Continues where the series left off: Dark Angel: Skin Game by Max Allan Collins
Dark Angel: After the Dark by Max Allan Collins
& Dark Angel: The Eyes Only Dossier by D.A. Stern
Each of the books is still available through Amazon, as are the DVD’s for S1 & S2, here: Dark Angel on Amazon

The fandom: Thankfully is still going, but has trickled down since it’s been off the air—noticed by inactivity and dead links to older sites, though the fame/popularity of some of the main cast members has had a 6 degrees affect, where the fandom has had a surge of growth from new fans that just discover the show/fandom. People like me who, via Supernatural fandom (Jensen Ackle fan), discovered DA. Others are from NCIS (Michael Weatherly), and Jessica Alba’s growing fame from various movies.

I don’t know about DA’s heyday, but searching back through the fandom it does have a strong het genre. One that feels slightly torn between two groups: Max/Logan and Max/Alec, with a heavier slant of fanfic geared toward Alec/Max.

Now my preferred genre is slash, which is even smaller. The main pairing there is Alec/Logan. Though there have been break out fics of Alec/Ames, Alec/Joshua, lots of Alec/Sam (Sam Winchester from Supernatural), Alec/OMC and xovercharacters—catch the theme here? Alec seems to be DA’s little black dress, he goes with everyone ;)

Links…

Gen fic related comms (I listed only comms with recent posts ((at least within the last couple months)) except where noted):
jam_pony_fic
darkangelfic
x5_darkangel_x5
thefreaktimes last updated 11-17-07 but the links still work (main archive linked to a delicious acct)
crossover_news multiple fandom that includes DA crossovers
sn_crossovers Supernatural/Dark Angel crossovers
spn_darkangel Xover comm
da_halloween Active, not just a seasonal comm
vigilantelove Max/Logan
max_alec Max_Alec
transgenesisMax/Alec
soldierfetish Logan/Alec
da_challenges
timesxaxwastin Alec/Ames


darkangel_icons
darkangelfans_

Off site, message boards/fanfic-archives:

Raising Hell: Engineered to Raise Hell active and supportive of all genre
Born for War Alec/Max
Nuns With Pens
Gumbootmafia gen fic
The Conclave Ames White centric
A Broken World

Dark Angel 2019 Last updated 2-2008, nice pic--many I have used in this post.

Dark Angel Fic Archive older archive, last updated in 2003. Various pairings including some slash.
DA listings on FFN
Twisting the Hellmouth-Dark Angel pg Dark Angel crossovers with BtVS/AtS
Supernatural Twisted archive Dark Angel pg crossovers with Supernatural


Valjean's fic Alec/Max

Eyes Only Fan/reference site. No longer updated, but has nice resources-transcripts/screen caps etc..
Manticore screencaps for S1/S2


If I missed your fav comm please lmk/comment, & I’ll add, or if you catch this after my turn it’ll be saved in comments for future reference :)

Credit for caps/resources:
chelsea_icons (use a few samples)
Manticore
Dark Angel 2019
Wikipedia: Dark Angel_(TV_series)
IMDB: Dark Angel
newbieguide: Dark Angel by shopfront
Dark Angel Introduction byprofshallowness