The Kidz Are Aiight (Max saves Zack from Manticore, but is he just bait?)
Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections: Dark Angel: Season 1: The Kidz Are Aiight (Max saves Zack from Manticore, but is he just bait?)
She was designed to be the perfect soldier. She was trained to be a human weapon. But then she escaped. They came after her, and she knew they would never stop looking. For ten years she's been on her own, always looking over her shoulder. Now she has an unlikely ally. Logan Cale, cyber-journalist and crusader. But this time it's not only her creators who are looking for her. She's got the attention of a foreign covert operation that wants to use her unique genetic code for its own ruthless ends.

Zack undergoes psychoactive drug manipulation at Manticore. The doctor administrating the treatment seems to be against the procedures, but still has to yield to Lydecker's control. Zack is broken out of his cell by Max, but it turns out to be one of his Lydecker's tricks.
Meanwhile, Max and Logan get ready for their dinner one night. The same night, Zack is "buried" after "dying" at Manticore. The doctor who was against drugging him helps him escape, but is shot. Max heads for the woods, where Zack is hiding from Lydecker's men. At first, he thinks she's another trick being played out by Lydecker. While hiding, Zack tells her about the status of some of the other X-5 escapees, but it turns out that Lydecker has had him bugged. The doctor, a little scratched but otherwise fine, set him up. Zack finds the bug and fools Lydecker's men while he and Max escape. Lydecker still has enough information to track down the other X-5 escapees, though.
At Logan's apartment, Zack reveals that he has a phone number that the other X-5's can call to reach him. Logan uses Eyes Only to transmit a message across America, warning the escapees about their compromised position. Soon, Logan gets calls from some of them. However, Tenga, in Portland, is in trouble, so Zack and Max rush to rescue her. After saving her, Zack and Tenga steal a car and head for the Canadian border, and Max and Logan decide to resume their dinner. However, Logan's legs start to lose their stability, so he brashly asks Max to leave. In reality, though, Max knows what's going on.

THOUGHTS
-Not as exciting as I though it would be, but still a nice little episode.

-Another new opening teaser! This one is about 2x as long as the original one, but it's awesome.

-So Original Cindy DID have implications from the last episode! Nice continuity there, but what about the damaged building?

-Love Cindy's Xena poster! Really fits with her character.

-When Max used her enhanced vision and hearing to spy on the gas station guards, did anyone else get reminded of "The Sentinel"?

Some "Matrix" moments:
-Max running on the side of the bus in the fight scene.
-And when Max, Zack and Tenga run along the tops of the buses, from when Trinity runs along the roof at the beginning of the movie.

-Good foreshadowing, with Lydecker mantioning "her."

FAVORITE QUOTE
"All I know is it was easier before when I just didn't give a damn about anything."
-Max.

NITS
-Not necessarily a nit, but Zack seems to have gained some weight since the last time we saw him.

-So, how did Max get her motorcycle in that van?

-When escaping from the woods, Zack and Max travel across a stream. Why would they move across the stream if it's in full view?

-How did Zack find the transmitter?

-I just did a little research, and the distance from Seattle to Portland is 145 miles! How did Zack, Max, and Logan get to Tenga so fast? And just when Lydecker's men almost got her, too. A little TOO convenient.

-Why didn't Lydecker's men shoot their tasers at the X-5 trio? They were just standing there!

-Tenga doesn't seem too advanced at fighting. While she does hold her own, she doesn't do any crazy flips or anything (Max does these almost every episode)!

-Impossible moves as usual by the X-5 trio in the fight scene.
By MarkN on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 3:25 am:

I'm watching this now on tape so I'll read the rest of this post later but one thing I noticed was when Max bends over on the beach to take her shoes off her pants part just ever so slightly enough to show an itty bitty bit of white panties, right in the middle of her back. I wasn't looking for it, I just noticed it. And even if I was, so what? I'm a guy, she's a great looking gal. I'm gonna look. *S*

By Brian Lombard on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 5:43 am:

Eyes Only is a local hero in Seattle, as evidenced by his statement that he is "the only free voice left in this city." So when he went nationwide to warn the X5s, it should have dawned on Lydecker's goons that maybe, just maybe, Eyes Only knows Max. Lydecker spent several months there tracking her down. His next move should be to track down Logan to get to Max.

That doctor looked so familiar, and then it hit me. He was the slave to the sages in VOY's "False Profits."

Boy, Normal has a lousy memory. Herbal once asked to take the day off to celebrate Bob Marley's birthday. Yet in this episode, Normal acts like he's never heard the name before.

By D.W. March on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 9:13 am:

An interesting episode, if somewhat disappointing. I was hoping Logan and Max were going to finally hook up but it wasn't to be... and it was on account of Zack.

Only a few minor nits this week. This episode seemed to take great inspiration from "Terminator 2" with the "escape" at the beginning, the bike with a young person on it doing impossible jumps and the police officers that seem to be good only for standing around.

Speaking of which, Lydecker orders them to use tasers only. The next cop we see is still stalking around with his rifle in hand.

That X-5 in the LA garage is sure lucky that he's got a television to watch while he's in the shop. He's also lucky that he wasn't using equipment that would have drown out the audio. He was also lucky enough to catch the broadcast the first time around! Lucky kid!

Eyes Only is nationwide now? I'll let someone else unravel that one in it's fullness.

So I guess Lydecker is supposed to be some sort of spy, at least according to all the cryptic talk at the end. That makes it a good solid nit that he's been ordering military soldiers around.

Speaking of Lydecker, what's he doing in Vancouver at the end? If you look during the establishing shot, you'll see a building with lighted sails on it. That's Canada Place!

By Lauren Mag on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 9:34 am:

The doctor is also Crazy Eddie from First Wave and he was the super genius guy (can't remember his name) in the XF ep Ghost in the Machine.

Did anyone else think that the "waterfront" wouldn't exactly be the safest place to take off your shoes? I assume they just don't care but there could be all sort of glass and needles and such. But like I said I guess they're just living on the edge and don't care if they get a cut on their feet...

By trekkerxphile on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 8:40 pm:

::-WHen escaping form the woods, Zack and Max travel across a stream. Why would they move across the stream if it's in full view? :: - Mike

I'd think for the same reason Zack got his feet and hands wet when he first escaped: to cover their scent and hide the trail better.

Score one against females' sense of fairness: Max got mad at Logan before because he canceled dinner to "save the world. Now she canceled a (more important!) dinner to help Zack. D'oh!

Minor, minor thing, but the X-5s named themselves -- in the flashback Lydecker says he can make them forget their own name, their own barcode. I'd think he'd say barcode first, since that's what the kids are to him. But it was more dramatic the other way.

I loved the "Wrong way" scene . . . and the parallel cutting while Bling and OC tease Max and Logan about their relationship was just priceless! Very well timed and shot.

I'm more curious than skeptical: how did the guy who "helped" Zack escape survive? I thought we saw him get shot and then we saw him later in the ep.

The date: Okay, this is bad, but when Max and Logan said "So" together, all I could think was, "a needle pulling thread! La, a note to follow so! . . . "

How long did this ep take? Max and Logan were wearing their "date" clothes in the last scene!

That's all I can think of . . . it was really good! The actor who played Zack did a good job, I thought.

By Butch B on Thursday, February 22, 2001 - 5:27 pm:

Trekkerxphile, I believe Zack's whole "burial/escape" was an elaborate charade by Lydecker to trick him into giving away the location of the other Manticore kids. The doctor being shot was faked as part of it.

By Anonymous on Thursday, April 05, 2001 - 8:43 pm:

Another reason that the Doctor at the beginning may look really familiar is he plays "Crazy Eddie" on First Wave!

SPOILER:

Sebastion Spence who is also on First Wave will appear in the Ep, Hit a Sista Back.

By Rodney Hrvatin on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 10:31 pm:

So what does the title of this episode stand for? if it was "The Kids Are Alright", apart from refernce to the WHo song, it would be obvious, but "aiiright"??? Come to think of it, a couple of the other eps have s t u p i d titles as well. I like Oesoteric titles but completely off the wall?? Gives me a headache (or maybe it's my head suffering from the beating I gave it for the last ep board)

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