Under the Influence
BY ED WEINER
TV Guide Online

You can almost imagine James Cameron and Charles Eglee making the pitch for Dark Angel: "Think Xena meets The Matrix." What helps make the futuristic Dark Angel so compelling (besides star Jessica Alba, of course) is the way it draws inspiration from movies and TV series of the past.

Mad Max: Alba can only hope that Dark Angel does for her what this 1979 low-budget Australian sci-fi action film (and its 1982 sequel, The Road Warrior) did for Mel Gibson. Director George Miller’s vision of a world wrecked, both physically and morally, cinematically defined the postapocalyptic landscape. In its littered streets of abandoned cars, people and principles, Dark Angel speaks the Mad Max language fluently.

Blade Runner: The shadowy, sinister side of Dark Angel’s Seattle takes several pages from this 1982 classic’s visual playbook, especially in the recurring scene of Max standing atop a scarred and deserted Space Needle. Glimpses of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York (1981) can also be spotted.

The Bionic Woman: Max doesn’t make that weird springy sound when she leaps, but otherwise she and ’70s superhero Jaime Sommers have a lot in common: They’re both engineered to run like the wind and hear the slightest sound. Another of Max’s celluloid sisters is Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman in Tim Burton’s 1992 Batman Returns. (Remember, Max’s DNA is part feline.)

Kung Fu: A youngster raised in a cloistered environment is taught self-sufficiency and martial arts. Soon, that protagonist — marked by an identifiable tattoo — is forced into the world and chased by enemies while searching for a long-lost sibling — all the while making the world a bit better. Sound familiar? Kung Fu, another show from the ’70s, is the direct antecedent of Dark Angel in story line (even down to the shaved-head flashbacks). If any character knows the scary, intense path Max is on, it’s Kwai Chang Caine.

Flipper scenes, characters, and logos are a trademark of SGM Productions in association with Tribune Entertainment Last Modified: November 23, 2000