Horror TV Shows We Miss – Dark Angel

When picking the next show to cover, I always ask myself: what’s something I used to watch that people either loved or completely forgot about—but should still love? This time, it’s Dark Angel. When I mentioned Dark Angel to someone, they immediately assumed I meant a different show. “No,” I said, “the one with Jessica Alba.” She was great in Idle Hands, but Dark Angel? That was something else. Honestly, I’m a little surprised I even watched it back then.

James Cameron—who needs no introduction—teamed up with Charles H. Eglee to make Dark Angel his first big project under his production company. Eglee, of course, is best known for Piranha 2… sure, he’s done other things, but for the sake of this episode, that’s the only credit that matters. The two cooked up Dark Angel while Cameron was, as always, on a quest to create his next badass leading lady—when he wasn’t busy deep-sea diving for Alita or plotting Avatar 14. But let’s be real, Cameron (with sprinkles of Gale Anne Hurd) gave us Sarah Connor and a badass Ellen Ripley in Aliens, so he gets a pass.

Cameron was trying to bring Battle Angel Alita to life but ended up creating Dark Angel instead. As you all know, it gets a happy ending. The show unfortunately did not. It got canceled due to ratings, a massive budget, and—fun fact—that budget ended up going to Firefly. Yep, we’ve circled back to it. Feels like a sign.

Dark Angel takes place in a dystopian 2019 Seattle, after The Pulse turned everything into a hot mess. Max, our kick-ass, sassy super soldier, just wants to live life on the DL. But between shady government dealing and the mystery of her past, staying off the radar isn’t exactly her jam.

There’s a lot to like here. Jessica Alba. Michael Weatherly, before he went tits up. An endless supply of wheelchair anecdotes. Some of the worst dialogue I’ve ever heard. But damn, it’s entertaining. I will not be discussing any cat DNA episodes. Yes I will. Did I pick awful episodes? Yes, but they are at least amusing.

Episodes

Pilot- Season One, Episodes 1 & 2:

This is the best episode of the entire series. If you think otherwise, you’re wrong. It sets the tone for everything that follows, and it does it beautifully. I never even noticed it was longer than the rest—I just wanted it to keep going. It reminded me exactly why I watched in the first place.

We get real insight into the characters, their motives, and with two episodes to work with, it actually has time to breathe. Honestly, we needed more episodes written by Cameron and Eglee, but Cameron had bigger fish to fry. We learn a solid chunk about Max’s Manticore past, her dynamic with Logan is set up (and, surprisingly, really works), and her semi-inner circle at Jam Pony starts taking shape.

If anything, what disappoints me is how strong Max and Logan are here, only for that chemistry to start fading later. Logan, especially, loses his edge. And Max? She starts shifting into early Buffy the Vampire Slayer mode, but like, the ’92 movie version—not in a good way. They both could’ve kept a little more mystery. And maybe—just maybe—we don’t stick Logan in a wheelchair so fast. Or at all. It’s like listening to the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack—just let me fix it. Oh, and Jessica Alba? Ridiculously good right out of the gate.

Blah Blah Woof Woof- Season One, Episode 9:

Episodes 7, 8, and 9 were all ridiculously hard to choose from. Prodigy is also a fantastic episode since it’s when Max and Lydecker unknowingly reunite. But let’s be real—only one episode from season two made the cut because season one is solid as hell. I had to include an episode with Zach, who I actually wish had stuck around, but I get that he had to sacrifice his heart for Max. Still, it’s interesting—both Zach and Alec seemed to have beef with Logan. Are all X-5s just smartasses, or is there something up with Logan?

The interactions between Logan and Detective Sung (it’s RYU) are gold, and Normal would sell his own mother for a hundred bucks and act like he was doing the rest of us a favor. Logan takes Max and Zach to his family’s cabin to give her a fighting chance, but when she finds out Logan is dying, she immediately risks her own life to save him—only for Zach to swoop in and take the fall.

The fight between Zach and Max is intense, and something about it feels oddly dramatic, but it works. Maybe it’s just the Vancouver of it all? And as much as I like to pretend I’m above it, I can’t help but feel a little tug when Logan tells Max he’ll miss her. When she rushes back for one last kiss before walking away, I’m sorry—I’m a sucker.

Also, I have to give a special shoutout to the moment when Normal tries to “welcome” Max back, only for her to hit him with “Don’t bust my chops or I might snap and kill again.” Absolutely perfect, especially knowing he was ready to sell her out in a heartbeat.

Meow- Season One, Episode 21:

Picking this episode makes me feel like I’ve lost my mind. Max goes into heat, and the entire thing plays out like it was written by a dude whose only writing experience is fan fiction. Just when you think you’ve hit the cringiest moment—guess what? You haven’t. I don’t even know where to begin. Max and Cindy playing fridge alphabet scrabble, where Max somehow comes up with nine different slang terms for penis? The porno pizza delivery incident? Max feeling guilty for sleeping with the pizza guy even though she wasn’t even dating Logan? And then there’s the fact that Max has to do pushups, take an ice-cold bath, or literally get punched in the face by Original Cindy just to curb her lust.

To top it off, yet another tender moment between Max and Logan gets ruined—this time by Zach, who basically shows up like, “You wanna play will-they-won’t-they with this guy or save our sister?” But honestly, that’s the charm of this show—you never know what completely unhinged thing will happen or be said next. And let’s be real, half the appeal (okay, maybe more than half) is Jessica Alba, who is either dressed like she’s in The Matrix or the Wii Fit Trainer.

Flushed- Season One, Episode 4:

This episode infuriated me, yet it’s easily one of the best in the series. Max’s neurological condition is getting worse, and her seizures are hitting harder. Her genius friends, in all their wisdom, decide to flush her only real treatment—her tryptophan—straight down the toilet. Other than milk, that was it. Gone. I get it—mystery pills and all—but maybe, just maybe, ask a few questions before tossing someone’s meds? Also, people don’t owe you an explanation for their health conditions.

Max, still trying to keep her cover, gets arrested while breaking into a hospital. Long story short, her escape plan gets derailed, and she winds up at the warden’s house—where, surprise, he’s a total creep. She manages to escape, though, and in true Max fashion, frees the young girl stuck working as his live-in maid and then some.

The best part of any episode is Max stepping in to save the day, and you have to respect a girl who risks it all for the greater good when she doesn’t have to. What still annoys me? Her friends never properly apologize after Logan clears things up and explains she wasn’t a drug addict. It just gets brushed off, and that will always bother me.

Borrowed Time- Season Two, Episode 12:

At this point, I’m just trolling. I think these episodes stuck with me the most because they actually kept me engaged. This one is especially bizarre—it’s a Monster of the Week, but the monster is… well, I’ll let you decide.

Max finally finds a cure that will let her and Logan be together—physically—but there’s a catch: it only lasts 15 hours. And guess what? Every single one of those hours gets eaten up fighting off the Gossamer, who, in the end, just winds up being domesticated anyway. You keep thinking that each time Max checks the time, she’ll finally get to leave early, make out with Logan, and then some, but nope—no such luck. Oh, and the money for this temporary cure? It comes from Max and Logan stealing survival footage of Star Wars: Episode VII. (I don’t have enough time to discuss my thoughts on this.)

The Gossamer also effectively ruins Max and Logan’s one shot at finally getting together. Well, technically, Beast—sorry, Joshua—ruined it first, but at least he also saves the day, so… win?

And just when the final alarm goes off and you think Max might actually get something out of this, Logan kisses her… and then bails. But before he leaves, he tells her for the first time that he loves her. And Max? She doesn’t say it back—at least, not until after he’s already taken off.

Ackles is great in this, as he is in everything, and I really wish they had brought him in sooner. Also, let’s give some credit where it’s due—the monster is obviously just a guy running around in a costume, but hey, at least it’s practical.

Where is it now?

It didn’t last long, like I said. We got two semi-decent-length seasons—quality is subjective. Season two had changes I wasn’t a fan of, but hey, if the trade-off was Jensen Ackles, I’ll allow it. The series went from Cameron’s attitude was basically, “If we get canceled, we get canceled,” and then when it did get canceled, he went surprised Pikachu face. And what replaced it? Firefly—one of the best sci-fi shows ever… which got even less time, with one season! There’s a group of people somewhere writing in a web forum dedicated to the atrocity that was cancelling that show way too soon.

According to the DVD commentary for Freak Nation, season three of Dark Angel was supposed to tie everything together—Manticore, the Breeding Cult, the whole mythology. The big reveal? Thousands of years ago, a comet’s tail dumped a deadly virus on Earth, wiping out most of humanity. The Breeding Cult? Yeah, they weren’t just a bunch of creepy weirdos—they were keeping the survivors’ genetic immunity intact so that when the comet came back, only their people would survive. Enter Sandeman, Max’s creator, who betrayed them by deciding to spread this immunity to everyone. Max was literally built to save the world. How would she do it? Maybe an airborne release, maybe a common cold-style outbreak (Original Cindy sneezing would have kicked it off, which—hilarious).

The idea lived on in the final Dark Angel novel, After the Dark, but when the comet actually showed up… nothing happened. Turns out, the cult might’ve just been full of it. Big surprise.

Where to Watch

I mean, you can get it on DVD but it’s kind of bonkers. If you have it, just hold on to it because, well, you took notes at the physical media seminar. I was absolutely able to rewatch it. I was surprised it wasn’t more readily available, but, oh well.

Final Thoughts

It’s quintessential late 90s, early 2000s. Watching it again, I remember what I loved, when it stops being fun and starts feeling like a chore. The whole thing gets swallowed by Max and Logan’s will-they-won’t-they dynamic, which, sure, teenage me ate up—but now? Just move on already. The show could have been solid without dragging that out. And don’t make me bring up the dream sequence. It was pure teenage boy fantasy fuel, while the part that worked for me was the young adult drama wrapped in just enough sci-fi to hook my geeky little heart.

That said, Max is still a fun character. Yeah, you can predict half the dialogue before it happens, but somehow, you keep watching. I found myself deep in the nostalgia, remembering things buried in my brain for 20+ years—so obviously, something stuck.

Dark Angel should have leaned into what worked in season one. It had style, attitude, and a world that felt lived-in. Season two lost the thread, and by the time they set up for a third season, it just wasn’t working, but the series deserved better. The finale left the door wide open, but maybe some stories are better left unfinished.

A couple previous episodes of Horror TV Shows We Miss can be seen below. If you’d like to see more, and check out the other shows we have to offer, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!