Greetings,
Okay, I haven't done one of these in a while. Are vampires still popular? Maybe. Well, whatever. Today, I'm going to talk about a show wherein the lead character was a vampire. And not a particularly bad guy vampire, because that's how they are these days. Hey, you wanna be a mean vampire, fine, but you aren't getting the lead in our show...or book...or movie. So let's talk about Moonlight.
Moonlight premiered on CBS in the fall of 2007, and it starred Alex O'Loughlin. Most people know him now from the new Hawaii Five-O or, perhaps, from another show I talked about here, Three Rivers. Anyway, he plays a guy named Mick St. John, an 85-year-old vampire who is also a private investigator. Well, that's new. And I must point out that, when I said he was an 85-year-old vampire, I did not mean that he had been one for 85 years. No, he had only been one for barely over fifty. That was one of the criticisms of the show, like, as a vampire, he should have been older. Although, I did hear someone make a joke that, at a mere 85, he was a little young for CBS. Ha! I see from where they were coming, though. I mean, you're always going to have newbie vampires hanging around, but your leads should be at least a hundred. That's just how I feel. Plus, the flashbacks weren't as elaborate or interesting when they were only taking us as far back as the fifties, as opposed to the 17th century or something. You know, like Angel. Yeah, we'll get those comparisons in a minute.
So we can't have a hot, male vampire without a human love interest, can we? Nope, because, again, that's how it is these days. To fill that role we have Beth Turner, an internet reporter, played by Sophia Myles, who ironically played a vampire in Underworld. As a child, Beth was kidnapped and then rescued by a stranger, and that stranger was Mick. Twenty-two years later, she meets him again, though does not initially realize that he was the one who saved her. Of course, everything comes out eventually, and they begin to build a relationship, whilst dealing with the fact that she is human and he is vampire. Not so easy, though, because she has a boyfriend named Josh, played by Jordan Belfi, who is a District Attorney. There you go, conflict.
Now we've also got some other vampires on the show, because no one wants Mick to be too lonely. I'm kidding. We always want them to be alone and depressed and sad and whatnot, because that's sexy...apparently. Anyway, we have Jason Dohring as Josef Kostan. He is a 410-year-old vampire (now that's what I'm talkin' about!) who is Mick's friend and mentor, though they are pretty different from one another. Mick is a bit brooding, whilst Josef is quite ostentatious with every aspect of his life, from his actions to his belongings and living arrangements to the fact that he regularly had women over to give him blood and, I'm sure, other things. But he was pretty awesome and even fun, as I recall. Also, there was Shannyn Sossamon as Coraline Duvall, Mick's sire and ex-wife. She was also quite old, around 340. She returns at one point using a pseudonym and appearing to be very different from when she was last seen. I actually found the story line with her rather interesting.
Some other cast members included Jacob Vargas, Brian J. White and Tami Roman, who you may remember from the second season of The Real World. My word, that was a long time ago. Actually, I really liked the supporting cast on this show. They were just the right amount of entertaining and, well, supporting. What are the odds?
Oh, I suppose I should talk about what the particular vampire rules are in this universe, since everyone just makes up their own for whatever they're doing. So, in this world, we do follow the basics of them needing human blood to survive, the idea of the sire, immortality, and superhuman abilities. However, whilst silver and fire can be toxic, crucifixes, garlic and Holy water have no effect. Also, they can go out in the sun. Relax. They do not sparkle, and thank you very much for that, show, but what the daylight does is weaken them. So they can be out in the day, just not for long. Fair enough. Also, this made Mick always have to wear super-cool sunglasses.
Now why did this show not make it very far? Well, the critics weren't exactly kind to it from the beginning. It was considered not so great when it came to the writing, and the acting, and the chemistry between those doing the acting. I think the only person who got really good feedback was Jason Dohring, and it was well-deserved. And oh, the Angel comparisons. I suppose I can see from where they were coming on that point, too, but it is difficult to come up with a completely original idea to begin with. However, once one starts with a familiar foundation, one must build upon it with new and unique ideas. I'm not so sure that Moonlight was great at doing that. At least, not within the year they were allotted. And as a writer, I would agree, somewhat, that the writing here wasn't the best in all of television. But, again, it could have improved.
So did this show deserve a second season? You know, I'm going give it a verdict of maybe. The thing is that Moonlight was one of the shows that fell victim to the writer's strike of 2008. Now I think it did have something of a fan following, but not a super strong one. Factor in that, the not-so-stellar reviews from the critics and the strike, and it kind of didn't stand a chance. Still, I personally got a bit of a kick out of it, and I think it was a show that had some potential and may have hit its stride, given some more time. Even a lot of those critics who were harsh in the beginning made mention that it did improve as it went on. I guess not enough.
If this interests you at all, the show is available on DVD. I'd say it's worth a watch, especially if you dig the vampire thing. Actually, as you have your 'popcorn movies', I might be inclined to call this a 'popcorn show'. It's kind of kitschy and could entertain you a bit. Or just watch it for the Alex O'Loughlin. That's why I watched it in the first place.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
