It is so good to have DARK ANGEL back. Too bad I'm still bad about keeping up with these reviews, but I am trying. Law school part time and working full time keeps me pretty busy as you can imagine. I've had to cut back on my TV shows. How depressing is that? Of course, my way of trimming down my TV watching is cutting out every show that doesn't include aliens, vampires, or transgenics. If I have trim down anymore, I don't know what I'll do. I guess invest in more videotapes and sleep less.

I finally got around to watching my videotape of Dark Angel last night so here's the first of three reviews coming your way. "Bag 'em" was written by Marjorie David, and in it we get to meet the new bad guy in Max's life, Ames White played by Martin Cummins. I like this actor. He was the main reason I used to tune into POLTERGEIST: THE LEGACY. Of course, on POLTERGEIST, he was much nicer. I have a feeling that Mr. White is going to be a large and rather annoying thorn in Max's side for some time. I'm very interested in learning what his motivations are. We know Lydecker had a sick obsession for his 'kids'. Renfro was looking for something at Manticore. It appears she might have been looking for Max all along, but what is Mr. White's motivation? He is interested in Max, but I'm thinking he has another motivation as well.

Lots of good moments in this episode. Max flashing Normal at Jam Pony to get her job back was hilarious. I'm sure some of you guys out there would have liked to on the receiving end of that. It's good to see Max back where she belongs. Looks like they cut down the Jam Pony crew some. No more Herbal Thought. I doubt I'll miss Herbal much. I think the trimming down of the Jam Pony crew and the addition of other transgenics to the cast, is a sign that the show will focus more on Max and Manticore this season without the sometimes-amusing side stories that the Jam Pony crew provide. As long as we keep Original Cindy, I'll be happy. Of course, I love the addition of Jensen Ackles to the cast. I'm wondering how he's going to be entangled into Max's life. Alec doesn't seem the type to stick around Seattle and help out.

While we're on the subject, Jensen is not only delicious to watch, but he is great at portraying Alec. I have no doubts that Alec is nothing like Ben was. Alec is carefree and all about taking the easy road. He certainly feels no loyalty toward Manticore or his X series siblings. He doesn't want to see them get hurt, but he won't go out of his way to help them either. Alec did come through in a pinch though, which makes me believe there is some hope for him, especially if he hangs around Max.

I didn't quite buy the military act with Max and the Manticore kids, but I'm thinking that was because they are just kids. We're not used to kids acting like soldiers, so it just seemed a bit off. The X-7's were super freaky though. Can they talk I wonder? Or just communicate ultrasonically? Why does Mr. White trust the X-7's though? Or is he planning to kill them as soon as he's able to catch the remaining Manticore kids? Kudos to the girl named Ralph, Bugler, Zero, and Fixit, and the other guy was okay too. The best was that freaky desert creature Max tried to save. Lydecker made a brief appearance in this episode. How he got passed the guard alive I don't quite know? Wasn't there a standing order to shoot Lydecker on sight?

Well, he made it passed the guards and found out Max's secret. We all know Max's secret now actually. She has no 'junk DNA'. I did a little bit of research and it appears that the term 'junk DNA' is used because a lot of DNA has an unknown function. It's not that the DNA has NO function, but that we just don't know what their function is. However, the implication here was that 'junk DNA' are base pairs that contain no viable genetic information. The pairs are used to fill space and have no actual function. This a bit contradictory, but it's not like I know the ins and outs of genetics, so I'm willing to give the writer's a little leeway. Well, supposedly Max's DNA is coded for something, and White would like to found out for what. I'm guessing we'll found out sooner or later.

The tension between Max and Logan is continuing. It's heartbreaking to watch, but I'm loving it. Jessica and Michael are pulling it off well too. You can see how much they want to reach out to each other, to touch each other. It's like if they were in the same space for too long, they wouldn't be able to resist. I know all you Max and Logan shippers out there are going crazy, but it's much more interesting this way.

Next episode is 'Proof of Purchase'. I actually just watched it, so I'll be working on the review ASAP.