The second and last series of Dark Angel, the inventive James Cameron show about mutants during a future Depression, has some real strengths, as well as having one or two bad ideas that partly explain its much-regretted cancellation. Among the strengths are Alex, the thoroughly unreliable mutant charmer whose flirtations with heroine Max complicate her doomed love for Logan, the crippled newshound whom she cannot now even touch--she has been infected with a deadly virus tailored specifically to kill him. The distrust this sows between the doomed couple does not always avoid soap opera clich??s, but often produces fine performances, especially from Jessica Alba as Max.

On the down side, John Savage's memorably ambiguous villain Lydeker from Series 1 (who is alternately the mutants' nemesis and their protector), disappears to be replaced by the melodramatically sinister Agent White. White appears to be just a shoot-to-kill operative of the state but turns out to be another sort of superhuman, a product of an occultist breeding programme going back to the dawn of history. After White's first ruthless killing, Max's reluctance to use deadly force is tested to near implausible limits. The show ends with a rousing and moving finale, "Freak Nation", in which a theme often neglected in this final year--Max's relationship with her fellow couriers at Jam Pony--reaches a powerful climax.

On the DVD: Dark Angel's Series 2 release is ungenerous with special features, giving us an interesting but short documentary in which James Cameron, producer Charles Eglee and various designers describe how they created this rundown future Seattle with a mixture of location shots, set dressing and CGI, as well as a preview of the Dark Angel game. --Roz Kaveney

This was one of the best shows on tv at the time mainly due to ms alba. The first season was better but the second was nowhere near as bad some people think and it wasn`t cancelled just because it didn`t get the viewers apparently it`s viewing figures were pretty good, it was cancelled mainly because they wanted the slot for america`s next top model and the two main stars then went on to do other things, in jessica`s case become a big star in hollywood. As for ms alba`s acting, i`ve always thought she is a good actress, james cameron thought she was since she was the only one he wanted for the role. I was really hoping that a film version of dark angel would be made to tie up loose ends. if you like beautiful girls and action then this is the boxset for you.

Yes season 1 was great James Cameron does these types of shows credit however the second season as all before has mentioned is highly flawed both in direction & way to many things added way to soon.

However its a great shame re-watching the thing now to just how great it is in general & three stars were borne from this second season MW obviously & Alba (why?) & last but by no means least a very baby faced Jensen Ackles here!

The boy saved the show literally for giving depth way & above the material given & also had the best episodes of season 2 being The agenda epi & Hello Goodbye.

Well worth the buy on that account plus Michael - Alba - Ackles played well of each other & put it this way the show gave them the key to the door to fame.

All three doing well since but I got to say its Jensen Ackles that makes this season worth the buy superior actor in the making & even puts Michael Weatherly in the shade! So for Supernatural fans this is a must & Alex was a worthy addition to season 2 great shame about the rest of it though.

The second and last series of Dark Angel was below par compared to the first series, mainly due to the bog standard plots and Jessica Alba's limited acting skills.

The series is saved however thanks to the lovelyness and superiour acting talents of Jensen Ackles a.k.a Alec, i.e The Pretty/mmmAlec. In particular the episode TBA where his character Alec finally gets to shine and his acting skills on show. This, to me, is the only reason to get this series.

If you like this, pre-order Supernatural with Jensen and Jared also starring. Full of lovely fangirl prettiness.

Dark Angel season 1 was a great introduction to the characters and storylines of the Dark Angel world. It was set in a believable world. And it was, at times, an exciting series. Series 2 should have improved on that debut with more interesting characters, more action, deeper storylines and even more excitement. It only succeded on one of those accounts. Let me explain.

There are a few fundamental problems with series 2. Firstly, it's unbeliavability. It may have been set in the future, but it was a future that could have come to be. Believable, as it were. However, season two brings in human/animal hybrids, and puts the series straight into fantasy.

It seems like they were tryting to copy Buffy The Vampire Slayer - we get monsters, vampires, religious cults. We get what are called transgenics, humans who look half human and take on animal instincts. This just doesn't work. It ruins the Dark Angel world. Genetic humans was fine, believable, they are just enhanced beings. But mix them with animals, and it all starts to get a bit silly. But at least the make up is good.

The second stupid thing the film makers did was separate ourtwo main characters. Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly have a scren chemistry about them, particularly in the first series. However, by series two, Alba has been infected with a virus that will kill Logan if he touches here. they spend the ENTIRE series apart. That's no fun. We want to see them together, not force each other away.

That's another point - the show is overly depressing. No-one ever gets what they want. If something good happens to a character, teh scripters have to weight that down by then doing something bad to that charactrer, seemingly to make up for their moment of happiness. Not only does that mean the show gets very depressing, there is also no hope that things will ever work out.

And finally, the new characters are just plain annoying. Alec, all arrogant, blustering, annoying swagger who needs to get rid of his ego trip, and plain, boring, comic relief Joshua, half dog half human who just gets on your nerves. Baddie this time round, White, is just a sub-Lydecker, who isn't very evil, or menacing, and just comes across as a petulant schoolboy who hasn't got what he wanted. In fact, it makes the characters who were annoying in series one look much better, and its a shame you don't see more of them and Jampony.

But, the few things that have kept the series good are it's marvellous action scenes and fights, and two outstanding episodes where Max battles an evil clone of herself (TWO Jessica Alba's...mmmmm) and any episode with Zach in are excellent.

However, this is the last Dark Angel series because it was cancelled half way through. That meantthe scripters had to wrap up all the storylines - and that's a lot of story! The final five episodes are fast paced excellent affairs, however, tied in with this problem is the fact that the storylines are just too big, and they never get satisfactorily concluded.

If you watched the first series, then you should watch this. Despite being poor most of the time, it does at points exceed and live up to the original series.

Season 2 continues from the last episode from Season 1 (...And Jesus Brought A Casserole) when Max gets brought back to Manticore. In the first episode of season 2 Max as you can see has been in Manticore for a long time and has been saved from her gun shot wound and has a new hairdo. But she finally escapes with the help of another fugitive in Manticore. But when she goes back to Logan she gives him a really deadly disease that she was given in Manticore to kill 'Eyes Only' but she finds a cure and has to keep a distance from Logan through the second series.
Episodes:
1. Designate This
2. Bag 'Em
3. Proof Of Purchase
4. Radar Love
5. Boo
6. Two
7. Some Assemby Required
8. Gill Girl
9. Medium Is The Message
10. Brainiac
11. The Berrisford Agenda
12. Borrowed Time
13. Harbor Lights
14. Love In Vein
15. Fuhgeddaboudit
16. Exposure
17. Hello, Goodbye
18. Dawg Day Afternoon
19. She Ain't Heavy
20. Love Among The Runes
21. Freak Nation (Last Episode In The Series As It Was Cancelled)

It was a shame that Dark Angel was cancelled because if it went on to a third series then it would explain what happened to the mutants (or freaks).