Alec was a good character, but I think he was just a little over-used. It was like, here's a situation, let's put Alec in there so he can do the funny! Mostly he was great, but it must have been too tempting to set him loose in every episode, 'cause that's kinda what they did. Joshua was similar, I really liked him, but FLEAS??? PLEASE!!!
Two and Berrisford Agenda were their best episodes, because we got less smirk and mac&cheese, and more depth of character.

The biggest mistake in season two (and don't get me wrong, I love the whole show) was going for the goof, first season had it's eyes solidly on the drama, and I think it worked better for it. But when season two was serious, it too was great. I just would have liked more Max/less Alec (well, a little less).



The critical Chrisisall

i agree in some respects.

Can you blame them Max was a 2 dimensional character and Jessica Alba has no acting talent, so of course there going to want to give more screen time to characters that are more interesting and being played by actors who are far more talented.

Max was the driving force of the show, and the casting of Alba was key, she had the fire, and the emotional vulnerability that the character needed. Her 'no acting talent' got her a starring role in a major television show, and years later, she is in demand by producers and fans alike.
Jensen is very talented, but no more so than Jessica. What either may lack in acting ability, they both more than make up for in sheer presence.

Little jealous of her, are we IG?



The provocative Chrisisall

*Snort* Oh sure I'm really jealous.

She never got any of her roles based on "talent" she got cast into those movies and Dark Angel to take her clothes off and to look pretty, which does not require talent and is completely in my opinion demeaning.

You know a movie where she takes her clothes off?
Like to see that one...
Oh, you mean mostly takes her clothes off
Peeps in movies and TV have to look pretty, it's in the job description, Miss. Like Jensen was cast for being ugly? He's as beautiful a male specimen as she is a female one.
Jessica has a something, and that sets her apart from the half-million other beautiful actress wannabes.
Yeah, she was lucky, but it takes more than that, and I detect the old of resentment here in you.
Her acting on DA was spot-on for the most part, as was most of the cast's.

Who did you want as Max, Jennifer Love-Hewett???????


Goin' all Red Series Chrisisall

Someone who had actual acting talent, who could express emotions in more ways then flipping there hair

She only flipped her hair a couple of times in the second season, when it was long and straight.
Cite an example of her 'bad acting'. I bet you can't, other than to offer vague references to hair-flipping and such.
Bottom line, you just didn't like her, it's a chemistry thing- you don't have to justify it with empty, negative critiques.


Alba Advocate Chrisisall

I don't like the way this discussion is going

Guys, leave Jessica and Jensen out of the discussion. Keep it on topic: [Did] Alec took screen time away from serious characters.
And please, disagree with the post, not the poster. In other words, refrain from personal comments.


Getting back on topic, I'm not sure I understand what 'serious characters' means. I know you most likely meant Max and Logan, Chrisisall, but I don't think Alec, or Joshua, to that effect, weren't. To use Joshua's line: "Outside, lots of pretty colors. Tricks and treats. Inside, darkness. Confusion. Alec."
The easy-going side of season 2 is actually interesting, when you think of it, because who are those characters that gave us this side? Manticore "refugees", the ones who had every reason to be anything other than easy-going.
Logan had a pretty easy life. Yes, he was Eyes-Only, but for most of the series Logan had his family fortune, fortune which came from the same places Eyes-Only fought. Max had freedom. And you can't put a price tag on that. Yes, she probably had a hard life. But she was out of Manticore. Out of Hell.

I find it interesting that Alec and Joshua knew how to enjoy themselves. They were finally free, and they tried to make the best out of it.

Poor choice of words, Alec had a very serious side to him, so serious in fact, that he tried to bury it with 'lightness' and a dash of foolishness. I just felt that the silly side of his character needed to be used with more restraint, Jensen was obviously well liked as an actor, and this led to the 'Dr. Smith Syndrome', giving us almost an overdose of a very good thing. A little more, and it would have been the Alec Show, imho.

Thanks for keeping me on track here, Lyric.


The corrected Chrisisall

And that would have been bad how? Kidding! (Well, not entirely, since I love Alec, but I understand what you're saying).

I don't know. Since it's how you felt, there's not much I can argue against it. It's subjective. I didn't feel like Alec was overdone, or that his silly side, as you called it, was out of place when it was used. He was balancing Max, in a sense.

Not to mention, he wasn't there in every episode.

I guess that's why I liked 'Boo'. The more light mood. For most of the episode, anyway. Dark Angel could have used, I think, the more lighter side (at times) and I don't think it took anything from the show.

Now I just hope that I understood you right

Yeah, in that way he did bring a smile to an otherwise tense series...Max and Logan, always on the edge of emotional chayos. and up poped Alec saying what we all were thinking, lol.

I'm a solid Max/Logan dude, and I still feel the Alec character was taking some time away from that *cue Hardcore Alec fans to throw food*. I absolutly loved him in the last five or six eps, when he was part of the team- it was total ensamble there. Maybe if it had gone on long enough with the proper ratings, we might have seen a spinoff:
Alec N' Asha.

I felt happy that Jensen got another series so soon, he's a corker all right.


The not-so-feisty Chrisisall

So that's the main reason Alec took the focus from Max and Logan, and replaced a very loaded situation with a more lighter mood. Did I get that right?

I think, and it's only a feeling, that the reason Alec takes the heat (and not just in this discussion) is because he was more than a match to Max, something that we didn't have before. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that those who argue against the amount of screen time that he got hate him. Absolutely not (though I guess some do). You said yourself that he was a good character and that you liked him.

Alec was everything that Max was. He was Manticore. He didn't feel the need to justify himself and/or his actions. He could be charming, and in a split second turned into a soldier. Logan took notice at that as well when he told Max "sounds like this girl I used to know" (The Berrisford Agenda).
And it was hard not to love him, I think. What was it that you said? "giving us almost an overdose of a very good thing". So we can agree that Alec was a very good thing (others will probably disagree, of course ).

So he was Max (at least 'season 1' Max), he was charming, and he was no doubt a very good looking young man. They were, on a lot of levels, alike. So I can't help but feel, and that's the main argument on this post, that Alec was taken as a threat.

In your first post you've mentioned Joshua. But Joshua doesn't take as much heat as Alec. He was never a match to Max. He was truly a great character, but without a doubt a supporting one. Or so I think. Alec... Alec was much more than that.

And 'Alec N' Asha'? I still can't decide on this one

Oh yeah, he's great, no doubt.
I guess the whole point here is that the first season had it's lighter moments, but on the whole, it was devastatingly, almost depressingly serious (see:AJBAC).
The somewhat lighter tone of season two, supplied in large part by Alec, was welcome by many, but I feel he still could have been himself AND we could have stayed with the 'devastating' ( Any Buffy fan can tell you all about 'devastating'- seven season's worth, in point of fact ).

But, like Herbal would say, It's all good, all da time, mon. It be whot it is.


And I love it Chrisisall

I wouldn't have minded that ship if they had developed her character more, I wouldn't have shipped them together but I would have understood why people wanted them together.

Oh, I agree. Just look at 'The Berrisford Agenda'.


I can understand it as well, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it

Given the Brother/sister relationship between Alec and Max, I think they missed the boat with Alec and Asha. They hinted at it midway through...maybe they were planning something for the third season(?). Asha could have been more important; I really liked her. I kind of felt cheated that Max and Logan were definitly going to end up together, and Alec just had Mole *snicker*.

Side note: Jensen's performance as Ben was one of the best things in the first season; I cried buckets when Max 'put him to sleep'
Jessica sobs so convincingly.....


The teary Chrisisall

I don't think I have ever thought of those two as brother and sister, but that's really a discussion for another thread

I think season 2 was more Alec and Max than just Max. I mean Alec basically had a whole episode to himself ( Berrisford Agenda ) and he wasn’t even the main character. Can’t say I have no fault in that though even though there was less Logan time in season 2. I agree that he was a little overused but i loved the whole comedy thing with Alec.

I loved this discussion when we had it, so...

I've just seen Dark Angel (well, S2 and a few S1 eps) and IMO the answer to this question is No. In fact, the lack of MORE screen time and better writing for Alec vs. the leads (aka "serious characters") was a big reason why I enjoyed the show less towards the end!

The way I see it, Alec had the potential to add depth and complexity to the DA universe. What we saw wasn't always the case, due to weak writing/direction and perhaps other behind the scenes issues. Alec (and really, Ames, Joshua, Asha + the Terminal City gang in a potential S3) would have strengthened the relationships with and between Max and Logan. Instead, we got scattered glimpses of backstory, inconsistent character development and slapstick comedy. In fact, scenes of Alec as the "damsel" brother in distress were REALLY odd - didn't these reindoctrinated Manticore clones (RX5s) have at least 10 more years of training vs Max's group? As much as I like Max and her "heroine saves the day" routine, would it hurt if she *couldn't* sometimes, and Alec, Logan et al had to find ways to help her instead? Also, there was plenty of untapped potential in the Max/Logan/Asha/Alec dynamic, no matter what your "preferred" pairing is.

Agreed. DA was a series based on a great premise, but died an early death - and Alec is certainly not to blame! There's no question in my mind that it was an acting issue either as I've seen Jensen Ackles in other shows, and it was clear he tried his best given what he had.

Welcome to Dark Angel board lostinspace


Good point!

Not only that, but they gave us bits from Alec past. The guy was an assassinate! Max left Manticore when she was only a kid. Alec was right to tell her (in what is, to me, the best scene on the series) that "You think life was rough when we were ten? A little schooling, a little brainwashing, some maneuvers outside? You think that was tough?" And in the process, he spilled a little of what she went through: Schooling, brainwashing, some maneuvers. For Alec, to not only be sent alone on missions, but to also be referred to as 'Sir' by the Manticore kids, he had to do a little more than that. And by 'a little' I mean 'a lot'.

I want to take back my 'Alec was everything that Max was'. He was a hell of a lot more. No wonder the character was taken as a threat.

Agreed.