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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 1: Part 2 (2000)

Dark Angel-Season 1: Part 2 (2000)

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Released 25-Nov-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Post Apocalyptic Main Menu Introduction
Menu Animation & Audio
Interviews-Cast & Crew
Trailer-James Cameron's Dark Angel Game Trailer
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2000
Running Time 461:19
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Multi Disc Set (3)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By James Whitmore Jr.
D. J. Caruso
Joe Ann Fogle
David Nutter
Studio
Distributor

Twentieth Century Fox
Starring Jessica Alba
Michael Weatherly
Alimi Ballard
Richard Gunn
J.C. MacKenzie
Valarie Rae Miller
John Savage
Case ?
RPI $79.95 Music Joel McNeely


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
French 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
French
Norwegian
Swedish
French Titling
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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

Plot Synopsis

    This is the second half of the first season of Dark Angel. For the first half of the season, see my earlier review. Dark Angel went through a small re-tooling for the second half of Season 1. The biggest change was the writing out of Max's roommate Kendra (Jennifer Blanc), but both the tone of the series and the visual style shifted subtly. This is also apparent in the video quality which improved somewhat - see the transfer quality section below for more on that.

    The second half of the first season was the best that Dark Angel ever got. The focus shifted a little bit more towards the characters, and as such, the drama became more human. The second series destroyed this by introducing more non-human characters - but that is another matter. Here we are presented with some very good stand-alone episodes - such as the one that kicks off the set, Art Attack, and the very touching Meow - and the series-long arc comes to a close with some unexpected twists.

    Dark Angel was never a brilliant series, but this second half of the first season showed that it at least had the potential to become something more - unfortunately that opportunity was never taken. Even so, it is good to be able to watch these episodes and reflect on James Cameron's brief attempt at television. The episodes in this half of the series are as follows:

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Transfer Quality

Video

    This second half of the series features a marked improvement in video quality. Presumably the reason was a change in film stock, because the results are - with only a few exceptions - like night and day.

    As with the first half of the season, these episodes are presented at 1.78:1 and are 16x9 enhanced - take note Channel 7, this is how it should be!

    The first big improvement in this second half of the season is a marked increase in sharpness. This is noticeable from the very first episode of this half onwards - in fact it takes just the first 1:50 of Art Attack to establish the differences. The other big improvement is that the majority of the heavy grain is gone. There are still a number of instances where it gets quite bad, such as between 38:08 and 38:34 of Hit A Sista Back, but they are far more infrequent in this half of the season. All this is not to say that the gritty nature of the production has been lost - there is still quite a bit of creative use of grain - it is just that it gets out of hand far less frequently. The shadow detail is the same as the first half of the season, being generally very good. There are a few occasions when the darkness of the screen will be virtually impenetrable, but for the most part it is easy to make out action in less well lit scenarios. There is no low level noise.

    The colour palette is still rather restricted, displaying mostly shades of grey. When flashes of actual colour are present, they are handled well, without becoming overwhelming.

    With the reduction in heavy grain, there has also been a reduction in background pixelization - this time around there is very little to be seen. Fortunately, the increase in clarity has not lead to an increase in aliasing, as there are still only a few instances, with the worst being on the grille work of the research chamber from 41:11 to 41:15 in Hit A Sista Back. Film artefacts are still infrequent and small, although there are some, such as at 6:59 of Rising that are a little more noticeable. Overall, however, they are not a real problem.

    The subtitles have all the same pluses and minuses as the first half of the season - they are generally accurate, but do tend to abbreviate on a frequent basis, sometimes to the detriment of the dialogue's intent, and they are not particularly easy to follow due to the style of language spoken by the characters.

    Once again, these are all Dual Layered discs, with two episodes on each layer, apart from disc three that has two episodes on one layer, and one episode with the extras on the other.

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

Audio

    The audio quality for the second half of season one is equivalent to the first, being of a high quality, especially for a television series.

    The episodes contain two audio tracks, being the original English dialogue and a French dub, both in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround (at 192 Kbps).

    Dialogue is generally clear, although once again, the language used and the way it is spoken (especially by the character Herbal Thought) is often not easy to understand - although the intent of the dialogue is usually easy enough to pick up. There are a few problems, such as at 9:56 and 11:28 of Hit A Sista Back, where the dialogue sounds distant, as if the microphones were having pick up problems, but these are infrequent, and not too much of a distraction.

    Audio sync is never a problem, and the dubbing mixer must have learned from experience, as even looped dialogue is not a problem in this half of the season.

    Unfortunately, that hideous theme music by Chuck D. and Gary G-Wiz (honestly, it would have been better to use a Muzak version of the Macarena than the horrible mess of noise that is the Dark Angel theme) is still here, although the scoring abilities of composer Joel McNeely seem to have picked up. This half of the series sees the score music more commonly match the on-screen action for tone and effect. A much more satisfying effort.

    The surround channels are used quite well, carrying both ambient sound, and on occasion, true surround sound effects. It is not unimpressive when the sounds of a gun-battle are coming from all around while watching a TV series.

    The subwoofer keeps going at its usual pace, keeping the score pumping along and making various effects noises all the more impressive - it can be a little surprising when the subwoofer track of a TV series rattles a window.

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

Extras

    Lo and behold! This half of the season features some extras! Are they interesting? A little. Are they in depth and engaging? Absolutely not. Oh well, maybe next time.

Menu

    The menu is once again static with animated intro and transitions, themed around the show, 16x9 enhanced, and replete with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio (that just loops the wonderful theme music over, and over, and over...).

Q&A On The Set With:

    There are four "on the set" interviews as follows:     All interviews are presented at 1.33:1, are not 16x9 enhanced, and feature Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio. While they are of mild interest, the loose editing, and short length removes any real value they may have had. Probably the most interesting aspect of the interviews is that for once Jessica Alba - when not affecting the Max attitude - actually sounds her age.

James Cameron's Dark Angel Game Trailer (1:26)

    This is the trailer for the computer game based on the TV series - given that the series is set in the type of world that computer games have been using for years, it should fit in quite well. Presented at 1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and featuring 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 is typically the case with recent TV series, syndication issues have prevented Dark Angel's release in the US. There is a continental European version available that appears to be the same as ours, as well as a version of the pilot available in Japan. It would seem, however, that we are the first English-speaking country to get Dark Angel on disc.

Summary

    This second half of the first season of Dark Angel is better than the first, presenting some strong individual episodes, as well as bringing together a large and complicated season-long story arc. This is as good as Dark Angel ever got.

    The video quality is much improved over the first half of the season, and is now a pleasure to watch.

    The audio quality is also very good, and as a bonus the score work has improved. Unfortunately, the original theme music is still being used.

    The extras are limited in both quantity and quality. One must wonder why they even bothered.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Nick Jardine (My bio, it's short - read it anyway)
Monday, December 09, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-535, 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
SpeakersAll matching Vifa Drivers: centre 2x6.5" + 1" tweeter (d'appolito); fronts and rears 6.5" + 1" tweeter; centre rear 5" + 1" tweeter; sub 10" (150WRMS)

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