Vampire detectives aren’t exactly new. They’re so not new that The Middleman made a pop culture joke out of it when Wendy Watson stated, “I’ve laid eyes on at least three of the major Canadian syndicated vampire detective shows,” in “The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation.” We know she meant Forever Knight and Blood Ties and I’m thinking Kindred: The Embraced makes number three. Add in a good does of Angel and there’s really nothing new to say about vampire do-gooders on TV is there?
Actually, there are two more words that must be said: Alex O’Loughlin. This is Moonlight: The Complete Series.
Click here to read the full review at DVD Verdict.
Moonlight
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Cynthia - who has written 99 posts on TV Verdict.
Cynthia Boris is a pop culture writer. She is the author of the Official Buffy the Vampire Slayer Pop Quiz and TV Toys and the Shows That Inspired Them. Her credits include celebrity interviews for magazines such as Inside Kung Fu, Cult Times, Star Trek UK, and Young Rider and websites such as SFUniverse.com and SheKnows.com
She is a television fanatic with a true love for TV from Alias Smith and Jones to Zorro and everything in between. A collector of TV memorabilia (and boxsets) and she's been known to hang around on the set of her favorite TV show, even appearing in front of the camera every now and then.
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20. January 2009 at 3:25 pm
Thank you for your extensive review of Moonlight! I understand but don’t fully agree with your comments on the supporting cast, with the exception of Coraline/Morgan.
Beth: I love Sophia Myles in that role; she’s very pretty in a girl-next-door way which makes her non-threatening and therefore she is perceived as likable and is accepted by the majority of (female) viewers. Yes, she was sometimes whiny, contradictory and acted like a spoiled brat and although she chose Mick in her heart, she did not in deed and stuck with poor Josh way too long out of fear for Mick’s world and out of guilt. Having said that, I do realize that if she and Mick had gotten together sooner, it would have been a whole different show. I also believe that it took a while for the writers to get into their groove and “get” Beth, although I did want to kick her in the behind every once in a while for not seeing what everyone else could see
.
Josef: I had my doubts about the credibility of such a young guy in that role initially, but Jason quickly won me over. It helps that he easily has the best lines in the show and provided comic relief at the right moments. And the turning scene he has with Mick St. John in episode 13 is riveting.
Morgaline: Ahhh, the woman fans love to hate! I did not enjoy the scenes with her at all and saw a lot of over-acting, but being an Alex fan, I guess I’m not expected to like the character or the actress
. Although I do understand her part in the bigger picture.
Mick: Couldn’t agree with you more. Without Alex O’Loughlin, the show would not have been the same. Great voice, smile, body, hair, dresser, car, home… not to mention an amazing range of facial expressions, tons of charm and the ability to turn on the emotions in a believable manner without overacting. Luckily the producers saw what they had in Alex and kept him in the lineup when they recast the show.
Given a second season, Moonlight would have attracted a broader audience and worked out the kinks. The writers’ strike and having five different show runners obviously did not help the series either, which is a darned shame as I think the best had yet to come. Despite that, I still think the show did amazingly well.
20. January 2009 at 4:06 pm
Thanks for the well thought out comment. I knew my opinions on the cast wouldn’t be all that popular but I gotta go with the gut. I really wanted to like Sophia but I never felt the chemistry between her and Mick. She did grow on me somewhat and maybe if the show had gone on I would have felt it but alas. . .
Josef – loved Jason on Veronica Mars but I always felt this part was written for an older man. Then when I did my research and saw the guy who originally played the part I thought -see! I always pictured Josef as more of a Rutger Hauer type.
Moonlight was a great idea and from the start they had a bunch of problems getting it up and running and then the strike hit. I wonder if it would have made it had it had a full season to find it’s feet.
Sigh. Looking forward to Alex in a new show but he won’t be Mick St. John. Shame.
25. January 2009 at 5:39 am
Enjoyed your review greatly……it was nice to see one where the reviewer actually WATCHED the DVDs. I liked the little things you picked up on….example the filming & special effects. I have a friend in the industry who pointed those same things out & it brought a new appreciation for the show.
I am a MickBeth fan and I saw & felt the chemistry from day one. When you view the UN-aired pilot you can really appreciate that chemistry because it was NOT there with the original Beth. Sophia was a perfect foil for Alex in her looks, her style, her line delivery, etc. She was attractive in the ‘girl next door’ kind of way, which made her easier to identify with……she was REAL. Her befuddlement in her reaction to Mick was believable…..and she was quite ‘ballsy’ in her willingness to step over the line to investigate the story….breaking into victims’ apartments, etc. But what I loved was her comedic timing….it was priceless and so understated! The blood bank literature was just the beginning…and her BEST line in the series? “KARMA”! LOL!
I never hated Coraline…..I thought their final choice of actress was perfect. How can you ‘hate’ a character that GAVE you Mick? If she had not turned Mick……where would we be? She turned him for the best of all reasons: to be with him forever….just kinda forgot to ask him first. Shannon was dark to Beth’s light…..MIck caught in the eternal triangle…..neither actress over the top….put Mick right in the middle where he should have been. I thought she did a great job separating Morgan and Coraline. That killer smile as she walks toward the camera…..pure Coraline.
Jason Dohring as Josef was great to me. I was not that familiar with him from Veronica Mars, but it did make me go back and watch him! I liked the idea that he was very old but looked young….further proof of ‘not aging’. Jason did have THE best lines in the show and they were delivery with panache. Jason & Alex became real-life friends and I think it showed in the series. One of the potential story-lines we’ll never get was the conspiracy of Josef & Beth working together to keep Mick safe……behind his back.
Your description of Alex O’Loughlin is pretty universal. I think you put into words what millions of women, of all ages, feel toward him. I am continually amazed at the range of ages of his fans……….10 year olds and up……past 70 years old! And all are just as passionate about Alex as they are Mick!
The interview at the beginning of the series was shot pretty much on the fly and I think you see a lot of Alex in there with his delivery of the lines. That hooked most people, like you, and his plaintive ‘please leave, please don’t look at me’ at then end of the 2nd episode stole everyone’s heart.
You could tell when Alex really got ‘into’ the character of Mick St John. By the end of the 2nd episode he “owned” Mick. Alex started letting some of himself show through and that sealed the deal with his new found fans.
By the end of the 2nd episode, I was searching for more things about this amazing actor. Within 2 weeks I had copies of his 2 starring roles from Australia “Oyster Farmer” and “The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant”. Now I have every bit of film he has ever made in my collection.
I also agree that CBS did give Moonlight a perfect spot….between 2 well established shows…….BUT they did not promote the show like they should have. GW was just paranormal enough that those fans should have stayed tuned for Moonlight……but I don’t think the ‘connection’ was pushed like it should have been. What was interesting was the promos done for Moonlight before it began in Europe! The UK promo is legendary in the Moonlight fandom. Makes you wonder just how popular Moonlight would have been with the right publicity. They did jump on YouTube with The EYELAB videos that perfectly ‘understood’ Mick & company……and so many fans were YouTube musicvid fans anyway!
From what we’ve come to understand, it was the behind the scenes problems that really killed the show……….what hurt, is that the fans’ passion (blood drives, emails, conventions, fansites, etc) was not important enough to counteract the back stage problems & personalities clashes. The cast & the fans were in one accord….but TPTB were not listening.