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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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Dark
Angel: The Complete First Season
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Reviewed
by: |
David
Litton |
| Genre: |
Television
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| Video: |
1.33:1
fullframe |
| Audio: |
English Dolby
Digital 2.0, French Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital
2.0 |
| Language: |
English,
French, Spanish |
| Subtitle: |
English,
Spanish |
| Length: |
NA |
| Rating: |
Not
Rated |
| Release
Date: |
05/20/2003
|
| Studio: |
Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| Commentary:
|
Episode commentaries |
| Documentaries:
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None |
| Featurettes:
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"Dark Angel: Genesis"
featurette, "Seattle Ain't What It Used To Be" featurette, "Creating
an X-5" featurette |
| Filmography/Biography:
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None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
Audition
tapes, blooper reel, promo spot |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Jessica Alba,
Michael Weatherly, Valarie Rae Miller, Richard Gunn |
| Written
By: |
Assorted
|
| Produced
by: |
Assorted |
| Directed
By: |
Assorted
|
| Music: |
Assorted
|
| The
Review: |
While it certainly had potential
(not to mention director James Cameron's name to its credit),
"Dark Angel" just wasn't the series that people were looking
for to fill their weekly time slot. Featuring a WB-ish storyline
that focuses on genetically-enhanced superheroes who fill
out dark spaces and sad facial expressions, this two-year
clunker features Jessica Alba in a role that doesn't really
exercise her talent in a pleasing fashion. She pouts, she
looks sullen and unhappy, but does she ever really get into
the role outside of the physical elements? Judging by what
I've seen onscreen, I don't think so. ***
Cameron certainly appears to be
trying here: the whole post-Apocalyptic idea, the dark look
of the show, the lofty production values, and the overall
pinache with which it is produced certainly looks good enough,
but as eye candy only. When it comes down to things like story
and character development, it's either a case of first-day
jitters for the cast, or a sense of been-there-done-that which
becomes really old really fast. It only lasted for two seasons,
and in all honesty, it's easy to see why. "Dark Angel" may
have the visual guts, but it lacks heart.
|
| Image
and Sound |
One of
the best TV-to-DVD transfers I've seen to date. Cameron's
intention to produce the show on DVD in fullframe aside, these
are some very impressive-looking images. Color saturation
is excellent, with vivid and accurate hues and some striking
contrast and shadow detail throughout. Blacks are always solid,
and edges are sharp with almost no signs of enhancement halos
or compression artifacts. Top-notch! ***
The sound,
however, is mastered in Dolby 2.0 Surround, and isn't very
impressive. For one thing, despite the fact that everything
sounds clean and organized, it's all very front-heavy, with
very little use of the surrounds or deep bass from the .1
LFE. Stereo separation is good and dialogue is natural, but
this could have really used a full 5.1 upgrade.
|
| The
Extras |
First
things first: if you're buying "Dark Angel" on DVD, do it for
the show, and not for the supplements. There's really nothing
too terribly interesting here outside of a few commentaries
(see below), and a handful of miniscule featurettes that don't
provide much insight into their topics. "Dark Angel: Genesis"
provides the obligatory introduction to the series without digging
too deep into anything important, while the following pieces,
"Seattle Ain't What It Used To Be" and "Creating an X-5," are
even less appealing. These are followed by some audition tapes
which, at the very least, shows us what sci-fi dialogue really
sounds like sans the sets and F/X, a blooper reel, and a promo
for a video game based on the series. |
| Commentary |
This
six-disc set includes four episode commentaries: one for the
pilot featuring executive producer and creator Charles Eglee
and director David Nutter; one for "Rising" with Eglee and co-executive
producer Rene Echevarria; one for "And I Am a Camera" with Eglee,
Echevarria and director Jeff Woolnough; and one for "...And
Jesus Brought a Casserole" with actors Jessica Alba and Michael
Weatherly. To be brief, none of them are particularly interesting
in their musings about things like character and plot, with
Alba and Weatherly providing the worst of the quartet of commentaries.
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| Final
Words: |
Not
quite the hit that Cameron had hoped for, I'm sure, "Dark Angel"
may find a home audience on DVD, but then again, it had it chance
in the living room on TV, and didn't do so well then, either.
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