Dark Angel (series premiere)

Dark Angel is the new sci-fi series from James Cameron, the same man who brought you modern classics like The Terminator, T2, Aliens, and all-time box office champ Titanic. So when he decides to bring a story he wrote to the small screen, it's a fairly big deal. And accordingly, Fox has been advertising this two-hour premiere like there's no tomorrow. So is it worth all the hype?

I'm still not sure. I guess I'll just say that for a TV show, Dark Angel wasn't...bad. It did, however, remind me of some pretty bad movies, specifically Escape from L.A. and Soldier. The basic premise is that at some point in the near future, civilization is thrown for a major loop by a terrorist EMP (electromagnetic pulse) from above which instantly wipes out all machines and computers. About this time, a group of genetically enhanced supersoldiers escape from the government while they're still kids, and because of the pulse, no one knows where they went. Max (Jessica Alba) is the superhuman babe of which the story revolves, as she tries to keep a low profile and lead a normal life. As normal as possible in this half technological/half poverty ridden Seattle of 2019. She's always wondered, though, how many like her there are and if anyone else made it out alive.

At the same time, there is Logan Cale, a "cyber-journalist", who makes it his duty to send a pirate signal every now and then onto television airwaves and tell people of the many wrongs the government is up to. Naturally, it's a top secret operation and he's marked for death. Max gets involved with him initially because she's tops off her paychecks with a little burglary, and just happens to pick his place. Logan is more than a little impressed when she disarms his 225 lb. bodyguard and jumps out a window like Batman. (of DC comics fame, not our very own John Shea) He does a little digging, figures out who she is, and asks for her help in his endless crusade for justice. She initially refuses, but comes around when a friend of hers dies from a government scheme Logan warned her about.

The main problem with Dark Angel, is that while the backdrop for the story is pretty intriguing, the story itself really isn't. Or at least wasn't in the premiere, but that can be a consistent problem with first episodes. In order to set up the story, nothing much happens. This was certainly true for Farscape in the beginning, so I'll reserve judgment on Dark Angel for the time being. That being said, though, I don't really see this being a long term production. I don't know how many weeks viewers will tune in to see what I'm guessing will be the same thing -- Max running from the government, Max helping Logan to stop injustice. The show was just not that compelling. Don't get me wrong, there are worse ways to spend 2 hours than looking at Jessica Alba, but I'll honestly be surprised if this show has staying power. Like previous Fox sci-fi shows, expect good ratings at first, but don't count on a second season. Of course, this is James Cameron's pet project, so conventional thinking may be useless here. He probably has the influence to keep this on the air. Hopefully, the story will get better and we won't mind.

- ultra magnus