Editing Dark Angel (American TV series) (section)

==Production==

===Background===
[[File:James Cameron by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|alt=James Cameron, a man in his late fifties with white hair, smiling|James Cameron (pictured in 2016) co-created the series with Charles H. Eglee.]]

Following his success with the film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'', director [[James Cameron]] teamed up with [[Charles H. Eglee]] with whom he had previously worked on projects including ''[[Piranha II: The Spawning]]''.{{sfn|Garcia|2012|page=57}} The two formed a production company, Cameron/Eglee Productions, and began working on ideas for a television series. They considered several options, including a family drama, before deciding on the idea of ''Dark Angel''. Cameron said they began with the idea that Max would be a genetic construct who "looked normal on the outside but was different on the cellular, genetic level. We explore what that could mean."{{sfn|Garcia|2012|page=57}} Cameron was influenced by the [[manga]] ''[[Battle Angel Alita]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=James Cameron Hasn't Forgotten About 'Battle Angel' |url=https://screenrant.com/james-cameron-battle-angel/ |work=[[Screen Rant]] |date=August 20, 2010}}</ref> which he was originally intending to [[Alita: Battle Angel|adapt into a film]] after completing ''Dark Angel''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Green |first=Scott |title=Live-Action "Alita: Battle Angel" Finally Shows Its Hand |url=http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/12/08-1/live-action-alita-battle-angel-finally-shows-its-hand |work=[[Crunchyroll]] |date=December 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828035527/http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/12/08-1/live-action-alita-battle-angel-finally-shows-its-hand |archive-date=August 28, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=August 27, 2018 }}</ref>

''Dark Angel'' would be the first and only work by Cameron/Eglee Productions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9a093764 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161014015140/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9a093764 |archive-date=October 14, 2016 |url-status=dead |title=Cameron/Eglee Productions |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=October 14, 2016  }}</ref> Max followed a long line of strong female characters in Cameron's work, including [[Sarah Connor (Terminator)|Sarah Connor]] and [[Ellen Ripley]]. Cameron said "it's a win/win situation" as "women respond to characters who appear strong and capable" and young male audiences "want to see girls kick ass".<ref name=jay/> Later they decided to set the series in a post-social collapse world,{{sfn|Garcia|2012|page=57}} saying that the hysteria surrounding [[Year 2000 problem|Y2K]] served as inspiration; in the series, an [[electromagnetic pulse]] previously destroyed every computer in the United States.{{sfn|Wright|2010|page=164}} [[Working title]]s for the series included "Experimental Girl"{{sfn|Garcia|2012|page=57}} and "Maximum Girl".<ref name=tyner/> The project marked Cameron's television debut; he worked mainly as a writer and executive producer for the series.<ref name=jay>{{cite news |last=Bobbin |first=Jay |date=September 29, 2000 |title=James Cameron's "Dark Angel" fights the future in new Fox series |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dP9TAAAAIBAJ&pg=4288%2C3054832 |newspaper=[[Boca Raton News]] |page=23}}</ref>

===Casting and filming===
[[File:Jessica Alba SDCC 2014.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=A portrait shot of Jessica Alba, an attractive woman with long brown hair, smiling|Jessica Alba (pictured in 2014) won the role of Max over more than 1,000 other actresses.]]

More than a thousand young actresses were considered for the part of Max.<ref name=jay/> Cameron started reviewing audition tapes when the field had been narrowed down to twenty or thirty applicants. He was initially not impressed with Alba's audition tape, saying "she had her head down, she was reading out of the script&nbsp;... she didn't present herself all that well. But there was something about the way she read the script that copped an attitude that I liked." Cameron continually reviewed the audition tapes but kept coming back to Alba's, eventually deciding that he needed to meet her.{{sfn|Garcia|2012|page=57–58}} Alba was hired for the role before the script was written. Eglee said: "We had the benefit of being able to write a script kind of backward, we were writing for this actress, with her cadences and her rhythms and her sensibilities and her attitude and her slang." To train for the role, Alba spent a year doing martial arts and gymnastics and riding motorcycles.<ref name=storm/>

The two-hour premiere episode cost up to $10 million to produce, and Cameron reportedly "brought the pilot in on time and on budget".<ref name=jay/> Subsequent episodes had a considerably smaller budget. Fox spent heavily on the promotional campaign for the premiere, paying for theatrical trailers, billboards, and [[guerilla marketing]].<ref name=sandra/> Cameron took a "very basic view" of the show's chance of success, saying: "If it flies, it flies. If it doesn't, it doesn't&nbsp;... If people connect with it, which I hope they will, fine. If we don't find an audience, we deserve to be off the air. It's that simple."<ref name=jay/> Eglee admitted the series had been "routinely over budget" in the first season, and feared that this would be a factor in whether or not the show was renewed for a second season, though Cameron downplayed these concerns.<ref name=heldenfels>{{cite news |last=Heldenfels |first=R.D. |date=July 21, 2001 |title=Producer Tells of New Plans for 'Dark Angel' |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6aZGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3992%2C3309875 |newspaper=[[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)|Sun Journal]] |location=Lewiston, Maine |page=10}}</ref>

Fox "just barely" renewed the series for a second season.{{sfn|Muir|2008|page=244}} The budget for episodes in season two was $1.3 million each.{{sfn|Muir|2008|page=246}} After the intended director of the final episode did not work out, Cameron decided to step in and fill the position. He did this partially for the experience but also to show the network the potential for a third season. It was his first experience directing a TV drama.

The producers were initially told a third season had been approved, but two days later Fox informed them that the series had been canceled.

{{blockquote|They called us on Saturday and told us we were on schedule and we'd been picked up. We got together Saturday night and celebrated. Sunday goes by, and Monday morning we get a call saying, "No, you're not on the schedule! It's been changed." I've never heard of that happening. But then, I'd never been around television.&nbsp;... We were supposed to be on a plane on Monday to go to the [network] upfront in New York on Tuesday. They called us that day and told us not to go! I was pissed!{{sfn|Garcia|2012|page=62}}|James Cameron}}

''Dark Angel'' was set in Seattle, and filmed in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]] at [[Lions Gate Studios]]. Other filming locations included the [[Vancouver Art Gallery]], as well as [[Buntzen Lake]] and [[Riverview Hospital (Coquitlam)|Riverview Hospital]], also in British Columbia.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626121932/http://ca.complex.com/pop-culture/2015/02/10-tv-shows-filmed-vancouver/dark-angel |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |url=http://ca.complex.com/pop-culture/2015/02/10-tv-shows-filmed-vancouver/dark-angel |title=10 TV Shows You Didn't Know Were Filmed in Vancouver |last=Turner |first=Christopher |date=February 28, 2015 |work=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] }}</ref>

===Unproduced season===
In the DVD commentary for "Freak Nation", the series finale, Charles H. Eglee explained what had been planned for season three. The intention was to bring together the storylines of seasons one ("Manticore") and two ("Breeding Cult") and reveal the mythology of ''Dark Angel''. The season would reveal that thousands of years ago, Earth passed through a comet's tail which deposited viral material that killed 97% of the human race. The breeding cult preserved the survivors' genetic immunity so that when the comet returned, only members of the cult would survive. Sandeman, a cult member, and Max's creator betrayed the cult and decided to give this genetic immunity to the rest of humanity through Max, who would be the savior of the human race. There were multiple ideas on how to spread Max's immunity, including an air burst that would disperse the antibody through the atmosphere, or attaching the immunity to a [[common cold]] virus (Eglee detailed how a scene would show Original Cindy sneezing as part of the beginning of the immunity spread).<ref name=commentary>{{cite AV media |people=[[Charles H. Eglee]] (writer) |date=October 21, 2003 |title=Dark Angel: The Complete Second Season – "Freak Nation" audio commentary |publisher=20th Century Fox |medium=DVD}}</ref> This  storyline is expanded upon in the final ''Dark Angel'' novel ''After the Dark'' though when the comet returns nobody falls ill, and it is believed that the cult simply had a false prediction.{{sfn|Collins|2003|pages=246–247}}

===Broadcast history===

The first season premiered in the United States on Tuesday, October 3, 2000, from 9:00 pm until 11:00 pm. Fox had to obtain agreements from its affiliates to broadcast past 10:00 pm, as most of them air local news programs at this time.<ref name=storm>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626111712/http://articles.philly.com/2000-10-01/entertainment/25585350_1_charles-eglee-dark-angel-dodges-bullets |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |url=http://articles.philly.com/2000-10-01/entertainment/25585350_1_charles-eglee-dark-angel-dodges-bullets |title=Actress Lights Up Screen In Fox's 'Dark Angel' |last=Storm |first=Jonathon |date=October 1, 2000 |publisher=[[Philadelphia Media Network]] |access-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref> In subsequent weeks the show aired from 9:00 pm till 10:00 pm Tuesdays. During its first season, the show was preempted on several occasions, including by the [[2000 World Series]], the [[Billboard Music Awards]] and coverage of the [[2000 United States presidential election|presidential election]]. The frequent preemptions became a running joke on the set.{{sfn|Muir|2008|page=244}} ''Dark Angel's'' scheduled air time put it in direct competition with ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]'' on [[The WB]]. Critics debated which of the similarly named shows would dominate the time-slot.{{sfn|Muir|2008|page=52}} Jonathon Storm from ''[[Philadelphia Media Network]]'' believed that ''Dark Angel'' would prove victorious,<ref name=storm/> while Brad Adgate, a research director at ''Horizon Media'', predicted that ''Dark Angel'' would only initially take the lead in the ratings, as ''Angel's'' strong fanbase would prevail in the long run.<ref name=sandra/> Brad Turrell, executive vice-president of Network Communication for the ''WB'' conceded that the heavy promotion for ''Dark Angel'' would give it higher initial ratings at first but believed that as ''Angel'' was a "better show" it would not be affected long-term. Concerned that there might be confusion between the two shows, the ''WB'' took out a full page ad in ''[[TV Guide]]'', which read "There is only ONE. [[David Boreanaz]] is ANGEL."<ref name=sandra/> ''Angel'' won the time slot when Fox moved the broadcast time of ''Dark Angel'' to 8:00 pm on Fridays for its second season,{{sfn|Muir|2008|page=52}} where it preceded the new series ''[[Pasadena (TV series)|Pasadena]]''.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713175852/http://www.popmatters.com/review/pasadena/ |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/pasadena/ |title=Pasadena |last=Tucker |first=Sarah |work=[[PopMatters]] |access-date=June 22, 2015}}</ref>

The final episode of the series aired on May 3, 2002, as a special 90-minute episode.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627073502/http://nypost.com/2002/05/02/king-cameron-kicks-butt/ |archive-date=June 27, 2015 |url=https://nypost.com/2002/05/02/king-cameron-kicks-butt/ |title=King Cameron Kicks Butt |last=Stasi |first=Linda |date=May 2, 2002 |work=New York Post |access-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref> ''Dark Angel'' has been syndicated on [[Syfy]]<ref name=elka>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715151924/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/dark-angel |archive-date=July 15, 2015 |url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/dark-angel# |title=Dark Angel |last=Karl |first=Elka |publisher=[[Common Sense Media]] |access-date=June 23, 2015|date=November 19, 2010 }}</ref> and the [[El Rey Network]] in the United States<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017131329/https://www.yahoo.com/tv/bp/robert-rodriguez-on-his-el-rey-network---television-in-a-way-that-nobody-gets-to-do-television-232142958.html?nf=1 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |url=https://www.yahoo.com/tv/bp/robert-rodriguez-on-his-el-rey-network---television-in-a-way-that-nobody-gets-to-do-television-232142958.html |title=Robert Rodriguez on His El Rey Network: 'Television in a Way That Nobody Gets to Do Television' |date=March 13, 2014 |publisher=Yahoo |access-date=June 22, 2015}}</ref> and on [[E4 (channel)|E4]]<ref name=four>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715103455/http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dark-angel |archive-date=July 15, 2015 |url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dark-angel |title=Dark Angel |publisher=[[E4 (channel)|E4]] |access-date=June 22, 2015}}</ref> and the [[Horror Channel]] in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715153611/http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/shows.php?title=Dark%20Angel |archive-date=July 15, 2015 |url=http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/shows.php?title=Dark%20Angel |title=Dark Angel |publisher=[[Horror Channel]] |access-date=June 22, 2015}}</ref>

===Music===
The [[film score|score]] for the ''Dark Angel'' pilot was composed and conducted by [[Joel McNeely]].{{sfn|Muir|2008|page=247}} The pilot score track "Bicycle Ride" was used in the end credits for the duration of the series. The pilot score was released in full as part of the original publicity press kit, titled ''Dark Angel: Complete Score from the Dark Angel Pilot''. The 37-track CD was for promotional use only and not for resale.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=[[Joel McNeely]] |year=2000 |title=Dark Angel: Complete Score from the Dark Angel Pilot |medium=CD}}</ref> McNeely returned to score the entire series, making frequent use of "grumbling [[timpani]] rolls, bass drum beats and shrill brass and violin crescendos that familiarly sketch the action arcs of the narrative."{{sfn|Butkus|2012|page=188}} Traditional orchestral elements are integrated with innovative electronic sounds and female vocals to create a sense of Max's "otherworldliness", "haunting wind chimes, pseudo-Orientalist refrains and extenuated high-pitched eerie sounds" evoke Max's super-human abilities, and "driving hip hop bass beats with heavy percussive effects [and] high-pitched feedback and reverberation" convey Max's struggles with violence and her memories of Manticore.{{sfn|Butkus|2012|page=190}} The theme song for the series was composed by [[Chuck D]] and [[Gary G-Wiz]].{{sfn|Terrace|2002|page=61}} Both McNeely and G-Wiz cited ''Dark Angel'' as an opportunity to push sonic boundaries; G-Wiz stated that Eglee and music supervisor Randy Gerston kept calling him and telling him to make the theme song "crazier". McNeely said scoring the series was "like the difference between jazz and classical music. I'm a jazz player, so ''Dark Angel'' is as free form and as weird as we want to get."{{sfn|Butkus|2012|page=188}}

A soundtrack album consisting of [[hip hop music|hip hop]] and R&B songs was released on April 23, 2002, through [[Artemis Records]].<ref name="allmusic"/> Eglee explained that he and Cameron began with the idea that they could do a "hip hop youth ensemble thing", noting that "hip hop had become the dominant influence in the country [and] in the world" and that they saw an opportunity to give the future of ''Dark Angel'' the soundtrack of contemporary American popular culture. In the soundtrack's liner notes, Eglee writes:<blockquote>Reminiscent of another time and place&nbsp;... that part of the Bronx in the late 1970s known as [[Fort Apache (hostile place)|Fort Apache]]: a place that for [[White Americans|white America]], defined lack and limitation, violence and hopelessness. What white Americans couldn't see or hear then was the beautiful thing being birthed there, which, years later, would come to be known as Hip Hop.&nbsp;... This album remembers the foundations of Hip Hop as it contemplates its future.{{sfn|Butkus|2012|pages=190–191}}</blockquote>  Randy Gerston said that because of the near future setting of the series, he avoided any major hit songs as these would not sound futuristic. This gave them the opportunity to discover new talent instead.{{sfn|Butkus|2012|pages=190–191}} The album features predominately female hip hop and [[neo soul]] artists whose lyrics typically "focus on the expression of female agency and power – particularly with regard to sexuality."{{sfn|Butkus|2012|pages=193}} It peaked at No. 50 on the [[Top Independent Albums]] chart.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017132122/http://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-angel-mw0000216856/awards |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-angel-mw0000216856/awards |title=Original TV Soundtrack: Dark Angel – Awards |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=June 20, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Jason Birchmeier of [[AllMusic]] gave the soundtrack three out of five stars. He noted the lack of major artists on the album and commented that it "seems to be a female-orientated soundtrack, perhaps because of the show's female lead character". Birchmeier said many of the songs were "quite impressive" and that it "exceeds your expectations for a television show soundtrack".<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630225322/http://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-angel-mw0000216856 |archive-date=June 30, 2013 |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-angel-mw0000216856 |title=Original TV Soundtrack: Dark Angel |last=Birchmeier |first=Jason |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=June 20, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{track listing
|title1=Dark Angel Theme
|music1=[[Public Enemy (music group)|Public Enemy]] & [[MC Lyte]]
|length1=3:07
|title2=[[My Neck, My Back (Lick It)|My Neck, My Back]]
|music2=[[Khia]]
|length2=3:42
|title3=Trouble Again
|music3=[[Tricky (musician)|Tricky]] & [[John Forté]]
|length3=4:26
|title4=No Dealz
|music4=MC Lyte ft. Ericka Yancey
|length4=4:12
|title5=Bring It to Me
|music5=[[Samantha Cole]]
|length5=3:14
|title6=Moving With U
|music6=[[Q-Tip (musician)|Q-Tip]]
|length6=3:23
|title7=Candy
|music7=[[Foxy Brown (rapper)|Foxy Brown]] ft. [[Kelis]]
|length7=3:43
|title8=Bad News
|music8=[[Damizza]] ft. [[Shade Sheist]] & N.U.N.E.
|length8=3:55
|title9=The Life
|music9=[[Mystic (singer)|Mystic]]
|length9=3:32
|title10=Somethin' About This Music
|music10=[[Abstract Rude]] & Tribe Unique
|length10=3:53
|title11=[[Things I've Seen]]
|music11=[[The Spooks]]
|length11=4:35
|title12=The One
|music12=[[Niki Haris]]
|length12=4:12
|title13=Bring It to Me
|note13=Dark Angel Remix
|music13=Samantha Cole
|length13=3:15
|total_length=49:09
}}