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Starring Presented by 692 minutes |
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MOONLIGHT: THE COMPLETE SERIES Review
Last season, CBS as part of its Friday night lineup, put the popular drama GHOST WHISPERER with a new melodrama with vampiric tendencies with a familiar formula: a vampire "moonlights" as a private investigator in a seedy Los Angeles nightlife as the cases he works on in the present remind him of elements in the past he is haunted by. Although the series was cancelled after one Writer's Strike filled season, it gained a cult following well enough that the series has been given a release on DVD. While the episodes prove that the show could've held its own for a few years, the fact that there are no extras hurt this collection. MOONLIGHT stars Alex O'Loughlin as Mick St. John, a vampire who in the pilot episode, becomes drawn to police detective Beth Turner (Sophia Myles, who may have a thing for vampires with the UNDERWORLD films and a BBC DRACULA film amongst her credits). Of course, when Beth discovers Mick's secret, it only brings their relationship closer. What's good is that although there is good chemistry between the two characters (and the actors playing them), it doesn't delve into the love story right away. The horror element of MOONLIGHT shows mainly in Mick's past, where he dreams and eventually comes face to face with Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon, excellent), the sultry vampire who turned Mick immortal. Another unique twist to the story is that Mick's best friend is Coraline's ex-fiancee and fellow vamp Josef (Jason Dohring), who helps Mick when he is really in trouble. At sixteen episodes, the series did have a ton of potential, and was just starting to get on its groove when it was cancelled, but there are some good to great episodes here. The best for me was THE RINGER, which uses a familiar plotline of a lookalike to Coraline haunting Mick, but the episode also reveals the fate of Coraline in a nice way. The problem with the series lies in the fact that while dark in many spots, there are a lot of similarities to the first season of the much better ANGEL, which also dealt with a vampire private eye (though to be fair, Angel was already an established character by then). Although the stories were different (and well written), at times the relationship between Mick and Coraline rivaled that of Angel and Darla as well as Beth reminding me of the Kate Lockley character in the first two seasons of ANGEL (one that was written off). However, Sophia Myles is splendid in a role that's really nothing much more than being the damsel of the piece. O'Loughlin is also good in the role, providing a vulnerability that shows decades of pain behind his chiseled features but can brood very well. For the DVD however, all we get are the sixteen episodes, which is a shame because I would've loved to have seen more. I know that there was an original pilot with a different actress playing Beth (it was heavily promoted on CBS) that never saw the light of day. There is an option which allows you to see the previous episode's recap to keep you up to speed if you want to skip episodes, but with just sixteen episodes, you can get through the series in a day or two. In all, MOONLIGHT: THE COMPLETE SERIES shows the potential this series could've had, as I did watch a few episodes during its run and was intrigued by it. However, it's not as good as similar shows that preceed, namely ANGEL and the terrific FOREVER KNIGHT. Here's hoping that the DVD will draw interest in a revival, but with a lack of extras, the DVD end up being like the series itself: full of potential, but ultimately falling just short of the mark. MOONLIGHT: THE COMPLETE SERIES: 6 Out Of 10 Maggots
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