MOONLIGHT

THE COMPLETE SERIES

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: thematic elements, violence

Rated:

It has been awhile since there was a good vampire drama on television, and audiences have missed them. There's proof enough in the loyal fan base of Moonlight, which pairs up old tradition with a few new ideas to bring about a charming classic retelling of a vampire on the search for redemption.

There is not much about Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin) that would peak the curiosity of strangers. He seems quite normal. He lives in a lovely apartment and takes on detective cases as his day job. He does like the darkness better than sunlight and has a better nose for clues than any police dog, but apart from that, he's normal. Except of course that he happens to be a vampire. Most people do not know this about him, but if there's one thing Beth (Sophia Myles) is fascinated with, it's a man with a past. There is something familiar about Mick. She senses it the first time they meet across the police tape. A young woman has turned up brutally murdered, and all the clues seem to indicate a local professor with an obsessive fascination with vampires and the occult.

Beth works for Buzzwire, the hottest news source on the internet. Mick tunes in to most of her broadcasts. But not because she's such a good journalist (although there's that, too). When Beth was a child, she was kidnapped and he was called in to investigate. He has not aged a day since he hurried her out of that apartment after subduing her assailant. While Beth attempts to unravel the mystery of Mick, his associate Josef (Jason Dohring), a four hundred year old vampire, warns him that attempting to help out humans can have dangerous consequences. But Mick cannot help himself... or falling in love.

That's about the time that the past starts to catch up to him, and memories of his ex-wife and sire, Coraline (Shannon Sossomon) start to surface. The sixteen episode series had me hooked from day one, and every weekend most of my friends would gather for a viewing. It was the show we looked forward to most, and with good reason. It's the most unusual, funny, and adventurous program to come around in a long time. True, it does bum certain plot lines and twists off its predecessors but always manipulates them in a new and original way. Mick is a completely likable guy who keeps his blood drinking to a minimum and would love nothing more than to return to being human. Beth is a fun, quirky leading lady torn between the two men in her life -- her devoted boyfriend Josh, and the handsome and mysterious detective who has stumbled into her world. And then there's Josef, who is much more than he first appears.

All obsessive gushing aside and overlooking the fact that the scripts are tightly written (only one or two episodes founder a bit), Moonlight is just a good show. At least for a vampire fan. Non fans of the genre might find it hard to tackle because of its numerous themes relating to the undead. There's also a heavy dose of sensuality because, as everyone knows by now, vampires have a certain eroticism attached to them. There are numerous references to affairs, couples living together without marriage, occasionally scantily clad women, and children out of wedlock. The content is never graphic and there isn't even that much of it, but certain scenes do bear mentioning.

"No Such Thing as Vampires" involves a murder investigation that implies a college professor has been taking sexual advantage of his female students. Beth is attacked and her shirt is ripped open, revealing her bra. "Arrested Development" deals with an underage, sexually frustrated vampire murdering hookers. He's shown frequenting escort sites. In "Fleur di Lis," overcome by his passion for Coraline, Mick opens the shower door and kisses her (the camera stays above her shoulders). He also holds a clothed Beth in a tight embrace in that shower in "B.C.," as he helps her come down off a drug high. In "The Mortal Cure," Josef is having a massage surrounded by mostly naked models. Discussion revolves around whether or not vampires and humans can have sex (the answer is yes, but it's inadvisable). That question is answered in the season finale, when a murder reveals that a vampire has accidentally killed their lover in the heat of passion.

Occasional mild language is present but it's the violence that is more prevalent, of the nature one would expect from the genre: vampires are staked through the heart, thrown through windows, incinerated, and decapitated (the most graphic decapitation and severed head are shown in "The Mortal Cure"). Humans are attacked and bitten by them -- sometimes off screen, and sometimes on. Mick is forced to feed on Beth to save his life, with her permission. The worst instance is in "Click," in which a journalist is taken out by vampire assassins who enjoy their job a little too much. Mick engages in frequent fist to fang contact, and in several instances is beaten to a bloody pulp.

The original aspect of the series is fascinating. Beth is not your typical heroine, because even she is capable of showing a darker side to her nature. One of the most likable characters on television, Mick is not perfect either but wins you over as a vampire in search of redemption. Audiences tend to underestimate Josef, but then discover that for all his charm, he's the equivalent of the Godfather. The performances are beautiful and it has a wonderful original score that comes in at the more dramatic moments. It will not appeal to non fans of the genre but for those looking for something to watch after the cancellation of Angel, this might just fill the void.