dangermousie: (SPN: Dean blood by karanna1)
dangermousie ([personal profile] dangermousie) wrote2006-07-06 01:20 am
Entry tags:

Dark Angel rewatch

Anyone who was on my flist around fall-early winter last year would have seen me go nuts for the post-apocalyptic, gritty and OMG!worthy show Dark Angel. Well, it's time for a rewatch.

And I am rewatching the Pilot and it's just as good the second time around. I love the cynical, world-weary attitude of both Max (the heroine) and the story as a whole. I like the reimagining of US as a third-world country, not evil but rife with corruption and poverty and lawlessness, something like a North American version of Nigeria or former USSR. It's striking (and much as I enjoyed the second season, I am sorry that theme got derailed, even if understandably so, in the post 9/11 world).

I lovee Max. She is gorgeous, but she is also somewhat world weary, with a cynicism that is partially put on because despite it all she wants to hope, but also is a result of school of very hard knocks. She is tough and fun and messed up. And she is afraid to open up or believe. Her meeting and involvement with Logan and his causes gradually changes all that, and one of the pleasures of the show is watching her transform, but she never loses the slightly hard edge. Logan is the dreamer, the idealist. Max is the voice of pragmatism.

And that brings me to Logan. I love him. Idealist intellectual revolutionaries are a rarer scifi breed than manly tough-jawed heroes, but are as a catnip to me. Max/Logan is an OTP that not only has unholy levels of angst (a Max/Logan-centric ep in S2 is one of the very few TV eps that made me bawl), but also has a thing a lot of my OTPs have: a more practical girl and a more idealistic guy. And a girl who is tough enough to rescue the guy AND kick his ass if she wanted to. But Logan is no Gary Stu, far from it. He has his own issues and flaws and he is entirely too reserved and too proud and too prickly and too bitter about his handicap (and how much do I love that the romantic lead of this show is in a wheelchair?) ax and Logan are both very unique, very messed up people who fit together. And Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly have one of those really rare things: scorching hot chemistry. I love their meeting in the Pilot: she is robbing his house and when they lock eyes, you feel something on the TV screen. I like the way the ship is written throughout, true. But no writing could be substitute for that spark. (And I love that he is really arresred by her when she talks about the statuette she stole, the Goddess Bast and quotes her descriptions from the Egyptian texts. He is caught not just by the incongruity but by her brain. He's a keeper).

I love Normal and Original Cindy (if I were a lesbian, I'd do her) and, as [livejournal.com profile] dtissagirl pointed out, the unusual use of language. I am going to have fun rewatching this.

But never fear, I am still going to rewatch the rest of Veronica Mars and continue with Supernatural. Multitasking rocks.

[identity profile] damsels-fly.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
I don't multi-task well. And, the name crossovers & the actor crossovers is confusey! OMG!Logan E., no wait... that other Logan. DEAN! er... that other X-5 mmmAlec!

Besides, Alec pretty much eclipsed all other real thoughts for me re: DA. Very much like Dean & Logan do now. I just kept thinking, DA needs way more Alec and much less... everybody else.

[identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
I know, the names get confusing. There is Logan Cale in DA, Logan Echolls in VM, Logan in X-Men and Logan in Logan's Run and Logan in GG etc etc etc. Heeee. I wish they'd be more creative with names. It's like Bollywood where 2 out of 3 manly heroes are named Raj.

Re: Alec. I like his character quite a lot (Berresford Agenda is one of my fave eps), but I admit I like him as supporting only and am all about Max/Logan theater of pain in S2.
ginger001: (aamir)

[personal profile] ginger001 2006-07-06 09:44 am (UTC)(link)
Oh oh! Dark Angel... Just two nights ago I caught the pilot also here in a tv station and started watching too so I have the pilot and the second episode fresh in my head. Those very first moments of Max and Logan made me fell into the OTP... They do have such a chemistry!!!! And as you say it's the moment she gets into the house and their eyes meet... Just amazing!!!

So now I'm trying to get both dvd sets because I have never been able to watch season 2 because they never aired it here :S

Oh, I need icons! as well as from Queer of Folk! Arggg!!

[identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 06:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Those very first moments of Max and Logan made me fell into the OTP

Yay, another Max/Logan fan! And it only gets better from there. I love how two such prickly people fit so well together.

But yeah, the DVD sets are really cool.

And I need icons too!

[identity profile] vanimy.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 10:34 am (UTC)(link)
Chemistry is the word for Logan and Max... *sighs* But I'm still disappointed they never solved the virus thing later and S2 quite derailed IMO. I didn't like that ending. So much potential... *sighs*

[identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
S2 did mutate (hee, pun, I slay me!) into a Buffyish-style horror, and I prefer the first, snarkier, darker season. But considering 9/11, I can see why the studio had them rework the formula.

As to Max/Logan? Sigh. One of my all time fave OTPs. The virus thing did get solved in the authorized book sequel (yes, I am pathetic enough to have bought those). I guess they didn't know they'd get cancelled. Ironically, Fox cancelled it because of Firefly (another great show) which they cancelled double quick too. Sigh.

[identity profile] vanimy.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I liked S1 better too. Oh the virus thing got solved in a book sequel? Mmh... Interesting, I'll look for it. :)

[identity profile] ewanspotter.livejournal.com 2006-07-09 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
Those books were pretty aweful. I know I read the one where they cured him, but I forgot what happened.

Did you ever read the virtual season three? I know fans wrote it, but I liked the way they resolved it.

[identity profile] catteo.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I LOVED DA. Such a shame it got cancelled without any real resolution. And Jensen Ackles was at his most beautiful as Alec in S2. And DA simply proves once again that, in TV land, people named Logan are hot. And WORD to the scorching hot chemistry - they dated in RL I think. Now I want to go buy the DVDs. Damn. The list is getting looooong.

[identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com 2006-07-06 06:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Alec was so freaking gorgeous. It was my first time seeing Jensen and I couldn't believe someone that gorgeous was real.

DA simply proves once again that, in TV land, people named Logan are hot.

Oh yes indeed. DA really did bring the pretty out: Logan, Alec and I also loved Zack. So I gotta say, Jessica Alba in leather or not, this show was not devoid of eye candy for straight women either.

they dated in RL I think.

They were actually engaged (which must have been odd :P)

[identity profile] ewanspotter.livejournal.com 2006-07-09 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, season two kind of lost itself sadly. Too Freak of the Weak, you know? It had it's moments though. When Logan just lays that kiss on her, virus be damned, guh! Or the scene where he's wearing the latex gloves looking at the ruins on her back?

But Max/Logan? OMG. Yeah. I watched the series on DVD (I think I saw a few episodes on TV) and fell in love. Even the side characters, as you mentioned, were great.

I don't think Jessica Alba is a good actress, but she wasn't too bad in DA. She was good at the kicking butt, looking hot, and quipping. But the rest of cast were good enough to hold up the acting aspects.

Logan. OMGANGSTYPRETTYJOURNALIST. Although I must say, the costuming people in season two must have been on crack, because he looks horrible for about half the season. The longish hair wouldn't have been that bad, but they gave him these fugly old man glasses. hehe

You were mentioning the chemistry between the actors and yeah, it was so there. There's this great scene in the bloopers where they're casting Logan and Jessica Alba is sitting there as Micheal Weatherly comes in. He shakes her hand, says something to the people behind the camera, and sits down. The whole time (and an arrow on screen points this out) she is just *staring* at him. Her eyes don't leave his face. It's pretty histerical.

[identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com 2006-07-09 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
There's this great scene in the bloopers where they're casting Logan and Jessica Alba is sitting there as Micheal Weatherly comes in. He shakes her hand, says something to the people behind the camera, and sits down. The whole time (and an arrow on screen points this out) she is just *staring* at him. Her eyes don't leave his face. It's pretty histerical.

Heeeee. I so need to watch that.

I agree about the glasses of fugliness but Logan overcame it through sheer hotness.

I like virtual S3 a lot actually.

When Logan just lays that kiss on her, virus be damned, guh! Or the scene where he's wearing the latex gloves looking at the ruins on her back?


that scene with the latex gloves? That was the hottest scene EVER. Guuuuh.

[identity profile] ewanspotter.livejournal.com 2006-07-09 07:41 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, I think it's time to break out the Dark Angel DVDs.

And he does overcome through sheer hotness. I think that was the only way I could watching, knowing that under there somewhere was still Michael.