Why, yes, I am a geek. Why do you ask?
So. It came to my attention some time ago that Jensen Ackles had a regular/semi-regular/recurring role on Dark Angel. Now, I've seen bits and pieces of this show on SciFi Channel, and I think I might even have seen one of Jensen's eps (he dies, I think). And since JA is my most recent thespic infatuation, I decided that maybe I should check it out. But how to do that? 'Cause I know I don't want to purchase the DVDs.
Well, Geo got a trial offer from Netflix. Problem solved!
And you know? DA has . . . some issues . . .
For all intents and purposes, this show should work. It's not my usual fair, but it's action adventure, right? I don't usually actively seek out post-apocalyptic stuff, but what the heck. And ya know? I'm not too keen on it. And I'm trying to figure out why.
I think the primary reason is Jessica Alba. She's a beautiful girl, but she has no charisma in this role. I mean, I know the character wants to stay low-key, but . . . something's missing. Chemistry with the other actors? A deeper connection to the character? Now that I think about it, maybe that's it. She just comes off as kind of one-dimensional and meh. There's nothing deeper. She's playing what's on the page without digging anything deeper out of the text. There's no internal monologue, so to speak. In fact, her "internal monologue" is all external in the form of a voice-over.
Compared to, say, Summer Glau, who had all sorts of subtext and internal monologue going on as River Tamm.
Or Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, who plays all bravado and machismo, but with the twitch of his mouth or an aversion of his eyes, can convey enormous amounts of information that are in direct opposition to the line he just delivered. ("I'm not freaked out by this." But the clench of his jaw says differently.) There's stuff going on underneath for that character, and Jensen conveys that with amazing skill.
And after watching three eps of DA, there's just so much dark, DARK material in this. It doesn't surprise me, but again, the way it's handled is . . . meh. Trite, maybe. Cliche. Entirely too obvious for me to care.
Izhilzha, I wish you could have been here to check out Alimi Ballard in this show. Once I got past the accent, I actually kind of liked this character, minor though he is. He works at the same bike messenger company as Max (Jessica Alba's character), but he has a moral code that is often crossing purposes with what he's expected to deliver. Hearing him explain why he won't deliver certain packages is very entertaining.
This show was shot in British Columbia, so there are many familiar faces. I could have sworn I saw SG-1 running through the background of some of the pursuit-through-the-woods scenes. ;-)
As it turns out, I don't think Jensen shows up until the end of season one (the show ran two seasons). I might just have Geo skip ordering the bulk of Season 1 and just have him rent Jensen's eps.
The thing I find most troubling about Dark Angel: How the heck did this show get two seasons, and Firefly didn't even get one? 'Cause FF is way better on all counts.
Well, Geo got a trial offer from Netflix. Problem solved!
And you know? DA has . . . some issues . . .
For all intents and purposes, this show should work. It's not my usual fair, but it's action adventure, right? I don't usually actively seek out post-apocalyptic stuff, but what the heck. And ya know? I'm not too keen on it. And I'm trying to figure out why.
I think the primary reason is Jessica Alba. She's a beautiful girl, but she has no charisma in this role. I mean, I know the character wants to stay low-key, but . . . something's missing. Chemistry with the other actors? A deeper connection to the character? Now that I think about it, maybe that's it. She just comes off as kind of one-dimensional and meh. There's nothing deeper. She's playing what's on the page without digging anything deeper out of the text. There's no internal monologue, so to speak. In fact, her "internal monologue" is all external in the form of a voice-over.
Compared to, say, Summer Glau, who had all sorts of subtext and internal monologue going on as River Tamm.
Or Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, who plays all bravado and machismo, but with the twitch of his mouth or an aversion of his eyes, can convey enormous amounts of information that are in direct opposition to the line he just delivered. ("I'm not freaked out by this." But the clench of his jaw says differently.) There's stuff going on underneath for that character, and Jensen conveys that with amazing skill.
And after watching three eps of DA, there's just so much dark, DARK material in this. It doesn't surprise me, but again, the way it's handled is . . . meh. Trite, maybe. Cliche. Entirely too obvious for me to care.
Izhilzha, I wish you could have been here to check out Alimi Ballard in this show. Once I got past the accent, I actually kind of liked this character, minor though he is. He works at the same bike messenger company as Max (Jessica Alba's character), but he has a moral code that is often crossing purposes with what he's expected to deliver. Hearing him explain why he won't deliver certain packages is very entertaining.
This show was shot in British Columbia, so there are many familiar faces. I could have sworn I saw SG-1 running through the background of some of the pursuit-through-the-woods scenes. ;-)
As it turns out, I don't think Jensen shows up until the end of season one (the show ran two seasons). I might just have Geo skip ordering the bulk of Season 1 and just have him rent Jensen's eps.
The thing I find most troubling about Dark Angel: How the heck did this show get two seasons, and Firefly didn't even get one? 'Cause FF is way better on all counts.