Okay, here are the similarities between Mick St. John, the vampire private detective of the new CBS drama Moonlight, and Angel, the vampire private detective of Angel: both are vampires (which I said already), both live in Los Angeles, both need blood to survive, both drive classic convertibles (which, being unable to use during the day, boggles my mind), both have long coats that flap in the wind while they stand on rooftops, and they are both fighting for the innocent person.
Here are the differences: the show that Angel was in was so much better than the show that Mick St. John is in. That, and Mick sleeps in a freezer instead of a bed.
When we all heard that the Tiffany Network was picking up a series about a vampire private detective who lives in Los Angeles what was the first thing we thought of? Of course, Angel rip-off (or, at least, Forever Knight rip-off). Honestly, I wish Moonlight took some of that show's elements, because it would have made itself a more watchable program. But, it went out in a direction all its own and the results were not good for the first episode of the series. Granted, it wasn't a cringe-inducing program that made me want to crawl under the couch and hide for all eternity, but it just left enough of an uneasy feeling at the back of my head throughout the entire airing that I couldn't wait for it to be over.
Before I rant any further let me talk a bit about the show. Moonlight, which premieres Friday, September 28th, at 9:00 pm, stars Alex O'Louglin (from the last season of The Shield) as the aforementioned Mick St. John. Mick is a fairly young vampire, being bitten about 60 years ago by his new bride Coraline (think Darla to Angel). However, unlike his other vampire friends, like hedge fund trader Josef, Mick doesn't think of humans as only a source of nourishment. He has actually foregone his vampire tendencies and decided to help humans rather than drink off of them.
In the episode I viewed a series of vampire-style murders is plaguing the streets of Los Angeles (which is better than a series of gang-related murders, I guess). Mick puts it upon himself to find who is behind this. Along the way he meets up with an Internet reporter, Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), who he had saved years ago from the clutches of his ex-wife. Together, they investigate the murders to determine if they are of a supernatural force or not.
Let me begin with Myles. She is not a good fit for this role. Maybe it's the fact that she's trying to hide her British accent that's causing this ill-fit (hey, not everyone can be a Hugh Laurie). Or, since the role was originally written for someone else, she just wasn't feeling the love of the character. Either way, she didn't convince me of a gung-ho Web reporter who was willing to get to the bottom of the story.
Now Alex. The press release I was given with my screener said that Mick St. John uses 'his wit and powerful supernatural abilities to help the living.' First off, I didn't hear a lot of that wit. I heard that wit from Josef and another vampire friend Guillermo (Jacob Vargas) but very little of it from St. John. If anything I heard the low monotone that seems to be standard for all good-natured vampires to have (the not-so-good ones, like Spike, seem to be a bit more brash).
As for 'powerful supernatural abilities' . . . well, they talked about vampires a lot, and St. John's senses were shown to be enhanced once or twice, but I didn't see any of the really powerful abilities until the last five minutes of the show. That's the only time I really saw Mick turn into a vampire and exhibit super-speed and strength. I guess the producers only had money for those five minutes of effects.
And, let's talk about the producers. Besides Ron Koslow (Beauty and the Beast, the TV series) and Trevor Munson (Moonlight is the first show he has produced), the executive producer of this show is Joel Silver. You may have heard of Mr. Silver as he was the producer of The Matrix Trilogy as well as fan-favorite television show Veronica Mars. The smartness and wit that was trademark of VM is definitely not in evidence in the first episode of Moonlight.
Look, even though I thought the first episode of Moonlight wasn't very good, I'm not going to give up on this program. I want to wait a few episodes to see if they can get the kinks out. It has potential to be a good series and I want to see if it can reach that potential. Otherwise, it will be another series lost to the cancellation netherverse.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-26-2007 @ 11:46AM
Cory said...
Sounds like Jason Dohring is in a show much worse than Veronica Mars. Who would have thought.
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9-26-2007 @ 12:02PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Dohring needs to get into film. Screw TV it's a vast wasteland.
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9-26-2007 @ 12:19PM
Cody said...
Is this a serial or a procedural? In other words, will we be disappointed with cliffhangers when it inevitably gets cancelled after four or five episodes? Or do the episodes stand alone, and make them watchable even though we won't get to see very many of them? I need an answer to these questions before I can decide whether or not to watch it.
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9-26-2007 @ 12:41PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
If it's a procedural, why bother? They're so by the numbers. I can't fathom how people can watch shows like CSI or Law and Order...there's zero growth or development. It's the same week in and week out...
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9-26-2007 @ 12:51PM
Steven said...
Man that's a pretty harsh review. What I've seen has definitely looked promising. I understand people have issues with it in comparison to Angel...but so many shows on TV are derivative of others it's impossible to pan this solely because of that.
I'm giving this a chance because I liked Angel, and I like shows of that genre. Moonlight seems to have a new take on it, and I think it's an improvement.
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9-26-2007 @ 1:34PM
BC said...
"I can't fathom how people can watch shows like CSI or Law and Order...there's zero growth or development. It's the same week in and week out..."
If you watched them every week, you would understand what an ignorant and idiotic statement that is. Of course there is character growth and development. Plot development--generally most episodes are self-contained, but there are frequently arcs or recurrent problems, and the fact that another group of whiners complain about the "too-slow" or "too-confusing" pace of serials shows that there is a market for an alternative format. The fact that over the years there have probably been several hundred mystery novelists who have written dozens--some have gone into triple digits--of books centered around the same primary characters should clue you into the realization that many people like mysteries with a familiar cast. I watch serials and procedurals and appreciate both.
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9-26-2007 @ 2:12PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Muhahaha. I've been forced to watch those shows and no, there's really no character development. At all. It's basic cop show junk like everything else that came before it. Do you have any idea how ludicrously idiotic the writing is on CSI? From the crime solving techniques to the effectiveness of CSI, it's complete hogwash. CSI is so bad that prosecutors are now culling people duing voie dire based viewership of that show and its moronic spawn.
We've actually had jurors in trials demand fingerprinting, dna, etc for carjackings or simple robberies. It's so bad you have to wonder if many people watching Battlestar think Cylons are real.
Procedurals, like sitcoms, should die a painful and swift death, IMHO.
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9-26-2007 @ 3:27PM
KMF said...
I was a fan of Forever Knight, it was really cheesy at times, okay most times, and that was part of the fun. Call me crazy but didn't that show's pilot have a series of 'vampire' like murders in it too? It's been years since I'd seen it so I can't remember but it sounds vaguely familiar. Maybe vampire like murders are just tv a vampire staple.
I've never seen Angel, couldn't get the channel it was on so I can't say anything about that.
I'll give this one a few viewings, if it strikes my fancy I'll keep watching until it's cancelled.
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9-26-2007 @ 4:10PM
radwimp said...
You can just tell this show is going to bomb, lol.
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9-26-2007 @ 4:24PM
Hank said...
And it's different from 'Forever Knight' how?
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9-26-2007 @ 4:26PM
KayDee said...
I wouldn't expect any less predictable a review from Tvsquad.com. And that's too bad.
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9-26-2007 @ 7:53PM
Spadada said...
I'll be watching, but only for Jason Dohring. And if it is that painful I will start fast forwarding through everyone else's scenes.
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9-26-2007 @ 8:55PM
Justin said...
What kind of irresponsible reviewer are you to not mention Dohring (at least commenters know he's in the show) and, in my opinion the biggest reason to watch, Shannyn Sossamon?
I wrote up a bit about the show, and her, with some nice pics if anyone wants to know more.
http://www.allmyliesarewishes.com/20070922/shannynn-sossamon-actress-vampire-sire/
Shannyn's great and it'll be good to see her on a show. I hope Moonlight is successful, just for more of her each week.
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9-28-2007 @ 10:21AM
keithnl said...
What no mention of "Blood Ties" Im shocked, how can you call Moonlight a Forever Knight knock off when it doesn't even take place in Toronto, where as "Blood Ties" does :)
Blood Ties airs on Lifetime
http://www.lifetimetv.com/shows/bloodties/
The premiere of Moonlight is tonight and Im gonna to check it out.
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9-28-2007 @ 9:46PM
Julie said...
Wow, this show sucks ass!
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9-28-2007 @ 9:50PM
clgbutterfly said...
Well I'm sorry folks I just saw the first 15 minutes and I'm hooked. It's got a promising style and this lovely Vampire world that is casually living among us. Plus some of the cool Vamp stuff is very sexy.
Pilot needs work, but its very promising. Plus I like that he can walk a bit in the day or atleast look at it. Kind of nice and different. Best part, the intro!
Honestly as a Sci-Fi and Vamp TV Fan this looks like it has sticking power. Don't compare folk, just enjoy.
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10-08-2007 @ 10:07AM
clgbutterfly said...
Well I'm sorry folks I just saw the first 15 minutes and I'm hooked. It's got a promising style and this lovely Vampire world that is casually living among us. Plus some of the cool Vamp stuff is very sexy.
Pilot needs work, but its very promising. Plus I like that he can walk a bit in the day or atleast look at it. Kind of nice and different. Best part, the intro!
Honestly as a Sci-Fi and Vamp TV Fan this looks like it has sticking power. Don't compare folk, just enjoy.
Reply
10-15-2007 @ 5:32PM
Cindy said...
I love the show. Each episode seems to build the excitement of what will come next. Gives a new reason for T.G.I.F. Hope it's around for many seasons.
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