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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Dark Angel-Season 2: Part 1 (2001)

Dark Angel-Season 2: Part 1 (2001)

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Released 17-Jun-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Post Apocalyptic Menu Audio
Main Menu Introduction
Rating ?
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 466:55
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Multi Disc Set (3)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Vern Gillum
Jeff Woolnough
Nick Marck
Bryan Spicer
Studio
Distributor

Twentieth Century Fox
Starring Jessica Alba
Michael Weatherly
Jensen Ackles
Valarie Rae Miller
Richard Gunn
Kevin Durand
J.C. MacKenzie
Ashley Scott
Case ?
RPI $79.95 Music Joel McNeely


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles Danish
English
Finnish
Norwegian
Swedish
Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement Yes, no secretive journalists voluntarily use Apples.
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    "Good morning everyone. Welcome to the first lecture for "How To Destroy a Promising TV Show 101". Our first case study will be Dark Angel."

    Actually, it's not quite that bad. By the end of this second season of Dark Angel, the show had pulled itself out of its decline, and had created an interesting mythology that would have been fun to explore further. Unfortunately, by then the damage had already been done, and the ratings fall caused by the very poor start to this season lead (at least in part - but more on that later) to the show's cancellation. As with any TV show that is cancelled when it doesn't really expect it, the story is not cleared up, and we are left with many questions unanswered. Luckily there was at least enough time to prepare a special extended series final that leaves the story in a position of hope, in a very similar manner to the conclusion to The Matrix.

    Somewhat ironically, there are almost as many conspiracy theories about the cancellation of this show than are espoused by the show itself. These were mostly caused by the fact that while its ratings had slipped, they still weren't at terminal level - in fact when it was cancelled, it was still winning its timeslot. Financial consideration would have played a part, as Dark Angel was an expensive series to make, and had some of the biggest names in Hollywood attached. At the very least, it is almost certain that not only was the cancellation due to Hollywood politics (James Cameron may be one of the biggest names around, but that brings a lot of enemies with it), but that it was not a successful move by the Fox network, as Firefly, Dark Angel's "replacement", did not make it past 13 episodes. So with an open ending, will the show be resurrected? Picked up by another network? Will they make a movie? No one knows for sure, and as James Cameron has shown, once he gets an idea in his head, he doesn't let go easily, but the chances of Dark Angel returning as a TV show in the near future are virtually nil - compounded by the fact that it has now been over a year since the cancellation. Don't write off a Star Trek-like resurrection a few years down the line though.

    So where did the show go wrong? The problem was caused in the first five episodes of this season, where it did almost everything that could be done to alienate the fans of the original series. Bad guys from the first season became good guys in season two, the main enemy, the reason for the series' existence in the first season, was destroyed in a flash in the second. New characters were introduced that were more annoying than anything else, and to top it all off, the fifth episode is a truly abominable farce. From episode six on it started to pick up again, but by then the damage had been done - people had stopped watching what had become an entirely different show. The dynamic of government conspiracy and the idea of a few against the odds, so carefully maintained in the first series, was completely turned on its head. The first few episodes of this season virtually invalidate all that happened in season one, and that is a difficult thing to swallow. Oh, and did I mention the annoying characters. Even if by the end of the season they had at least attained some level of personality, early on the "freaks" play more like guys in masks than anything else.

    This second, and final, series of Dark Angel has again been split into two. As there were only 21 episodes this season, that means the split is 11 episodes in the first half and only 10 episodes in the second half. Following are the plot synopses for the the first 11 episodes of season two. If you have not seen them, please be aware that some storylines carry through, and you are probably better off not reading them. The 11 episodes presented in this half are:

    By the end of the 11th episode, the series had become, if not compelling viewing, then very interesting viewing, with the main story starting to be uncovered and the mythology proving to be quite intriguing. If you were a fan of the first series, but were turned off by the first few episodes of this series, it is well worth checking out the latter episodes in this box set, as they get better with each episode.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    All I can say about the video transfer is "wow!" It is extremely good, and is the best a television show has ever looked, bar none. You would be forgiven for thinking this was a big-budget movie.

    Presented in the original, made-for-widescreen-TV aspect ratio of 1.78:1, this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    Sharpness is very good, and the image is never left wanting for fine detail. There is very little grain, with only one instance in which the grain becomes worryingly heavy for this half of the season, and in fact for the whole season. That occurs up until 0:10 of episode 8 (Gill Girl). Shadow detail is superb, and for a series as dark as this (after all Dark by name would generally imply dark by nature), that is a major boost. There is no low level noise present.

    Colours, like the first season, are somewhat on the muted side, with only the occasional dash of colour to liven the monotony. In comparison to the first season, the visits to the richer areas of town are far less frequent, but when they do occur the wider colour palette they bring with them is well rendered.

    There are no film artefacts to be found on these discs, and any aliasing is extremely minor, with no noticeable instances in the first half of the series. For the most part, there are no compression artefacts, however on a few occasions, the entire image breaks up ever so slightly. It only lasts one frame, and is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it type scenario, but it causes what appears to be a discoloured flicker. These happened at 3:45 of episode 5 (Boo), and 3:59 of episode 7 ("Some Assembly Required"), for this half of the series. They are so minor that if not for their curious nature, they wouldn't be worth mentioning. It would appear to be something to do with specific MPEG decoders, as they did not occur on my computer's DVD-ROM-based DVD player.

    The worst aspect of this set is the subtitles. They are not at all good, often re-phrasing large chunks of dialogue to make for economy of text. While subtitling some 14 and a bit hours of TV would not be a thrilling job, it still should have been done better.

    These discs are dual layered discs, with the layer change placed between the episodes on each disc.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    While not quite as good as the video, the audio transfer presented for the second season of Dark Angel is good enough to get the job done.

    The solitary audio track present on these discs is the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround (at 192Kbps).

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. The heavily-accented and mumbling character of season one (Alimi Ballard's Herbal Thought) has been moved on, so there are very few problems understanding the dialogue. There are a few occasions where it becomes "tinny", such as from 24:30 to 25:00, but these occurrences are few and far between.

    Audio sync is spot on throughout this half of the season, and never causes an issue.

    Ahh...yet more of that wonderful theme tune that I recalled so fondly from the first season. Not since Marco Beltrami spilled his ink bottle across the page to create the hideous The Practice theme tune has there been such an abomination traversing the airwaves. The culprits this time are two gentlemen going by the names of Chuck D and Gary G-Wiz. Okay. Luckily the score music is provided by Joel McNeely, and it does a generally good job. The action theme in particular is quite stirring and befitting of the fight scenes it accomplishes.

    Despite being a surround encoded and produced soundtrack, the response from the surround speakers is quite flat. They see some use in the odd music cue or sound effect, but for the most part remain silent. Fortunately, the front soundstage is nice and wide, with the dialogue all drawn to the centre speaker, allowing the front left and right to produce a very good background for it.

    The subwoofer is certainly not overused. With only re-directed bass to work with, it gets a reasonable amount of material, but is far from spectacular.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    Extras? I know I saw them around here somewhere. Just give me a second. Nope - they're gone. No extras to be found here. Better luck next time. But wait! There isn't a next time. Well, just plain tough then.

Menu

    The menus are 16x9 enhanced, animated, themed around the show, and feature Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    As normal for recent TV series, syndication issues have held up this title's release in the US (although it should not be too far behind). As normal for Fox TV titles, the UK release of the series has slightly preceded ours, and also as usual that release is a single box set containing the entire season. There does not appear to be any difference in features (or the lack of them), and I do not know if the UK version is censored - there is no reliable information available (anyone who knows for sure, feel free to drop me a line).

Summary

    The second season of Dark Angel starts weakly, then gets worse rapidly, before picking up quickly towards the end of this half of the season. Unfortunately, as the series was cancelled following the conclusion of this season, these discs will really only be of interest to avid fans and completists.

    The video quality is absolutely stunning. A TV show has never looked this good before.

    The audio quality is solid, although the lack of surround use is a little disappointing.

    There are no extras - at all. Not even a measly trailer. It's easy to see what Fox really thinks of this series.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Nick Jardine (My bio, it's short - read it anyway)
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-555K, using Component output
DisplayLoewe Xelos 5381ZW. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationOnkyo TX-DS787, THX Select
SpeakersRochester Audio Animato Series (2xSAF-02, SAC-02, 3xSAB-01) + 12" Sub (150WRMS)

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