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September 26, 2007 (Reuters / Barry Garron) -- You can describe this series in three words: vampire private detective. As such, it adds a few twists to an old genre. With a vampire on the case, bad guys are easier to overpower. On the other hand, women are more difficult to romance without undesirable consequences. And, without a doubt, cases that can be solved at night take priority. "Moonlight," with its updated vampire mythology, charismatic hero and vague resemblance to the Linda Hamilton-Ron Perlman starrer "Beauty and the Beast," has the potential to be a Friday night cult favorite. Whether it can succeed opposite two other new series (ABC's "Women's Murder Club and Fox's "Nashville") and NBC's highly praised "Friday Night Lights" is one of the fall season's bigger unknowns. Aussie actor Alex O'Loughlin stars as Mick St. John, a member of Los Angeles' relatively small vampire community. He was inducted into the tribe by his bride, Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon), who didn't want to see him get older while she stayed the same. That was in the 1950s, and Mick has looked 30 years old ever since. Once they become vampires, most feel only disdain for humans. Mick, on the other hand, decided to use his strength and athletic prowess to help them. His first act was to rescue a little girl kidnapped by nutty Coraline. That little girl grew up to become Internet investigative reporter Beth Turner (Britain's Sophia Myles). In the premiere, he saves her life (again) and then they touch each other's hearts, but in a good way. Writers Ron Koslow and Trevor Munson don't waste any time explaining the ground rules of modern vampires. In the opening scene, Mick dreams of being interviewed about his bloodthirsty life. In barely a minute or two, Mick lets us know he sleeps in a freezer, gets his blood from a medical supply house and isn't bothered at all by garlic, holy water, crucifixes or wooden stakes. However, decapitation and flame-throwers are definitely to be avoided. And, chivalrous vamp that he is, he would never harm a woman or a child. His best friend, Josef Konstantin (Jason Dohring) works as a hedge-fund trader, is extremely wealthy and doesn't get why Mick is so interested in helping humans. Sold to CBS as a 26-minute presentation and then completely recast (except for O'Loughlin) before it went to series, "Moonlight" gives short shrift to crime solving. In the two episodes provided for review, criminals are barely more than one-dimensional comic book villains. Instead, the focus is on the dangerous and forbidden relationship between Mick and Beth and his efforts to keep his past a secret. Whether there's enough material there to knit together a series remains to be seen. Director Rod Holcomb's fast-paced pilot had plenty of action and the lighting and set designs are particularly effective. Cast: Mick St. John: Alex O'Loughlin Beth Turner: Sophia Myles Josef Konstantin: Jason Dohring Coraline: Shannyn Sossamon Lt. Carl Davis: Brian White Guillermo: Jacob Vargas Steve Blafour: Kevin Weisman Maureen "Mo" Williams: Tami Roman Christian Ellis: Rudolf Martin Executive producers: Ron Koslow, Rod Holcomb, Joel Silver, Gerard Bocaccio; Co-executive producers: Gabrielle Stanton, Harry Werksman, Trevor Munson; Consulting producer: Josh Pate; Producer: Paul Kurta; Co-producers: Jill Blotevogel, Tod Feuerman, Stacey Fields; Director: Rod Holcomb; Teleplay: Ron Koslow, Trevor Munson; Director of photography: Marvin V. Rush; Production designer: Alfred Sole; Editor: Tod Feuerman; Music: John Frizzell; Set designer: Chris Marsteller; Casting: Barbara Fiorentino, Rebecca Mangieri, Wendy Weidman, Jessie Disla.
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A vampire loses his fangs
September 27, 2007 (Rocky Mountain News / Mike Pearson) -- When I was a kid I used to rush home from elementary school every afternoon to watch my favorite TV show. Batman? Superman? The Lone Ranger? Nope: Dark Shadows, the gothic soap opera whose star (Jonathan Frid) just happened to be a vampire.
How far we've come since those days in the '60s, when vampires were charming and deadly. There was no middle ground, no nice ghoul ethic, no Anne Rice romanticizing the undead.
Which brings us to CBS' new vampire series, Moonlight. It's about as far from Barnabas Collins as you can get.
Alex O'Laughlin stars as Mick St. John, a 90-year-old vampire (he still looks 30, the age at which he was bitten), who works as a private detective in Los Angeles.
Mick is a decent guy, his bloodsucker tendencies notwithstanding. Indeed, he doesn't attack humans; he has a "hook up" at the local morgue who sells him plasma.
His decency extends to wanting to help humans, which manifests itself in Friday's premiere, with Mick tracking down the killer of two young women who died from puncture wounds to their necks. Naturally, the tabloid press screams about vampires. And naturally Mick's vampire cohorts - urbane creatures who drink blood from wine glasses - want this scandal hushed up. They ask Mick to take care of it. They've been framed, but by whom?
Mick does, of course, teaming with Internet reporter Beth Turner (Sophia Myles) to unmask a cult at the local university run by a professor consumed with vampire mythology. That includes sleeping with his students.
There's also a lot of back story to be woven in: How Mick was turned into a creature of the night by the woman he loved. How his first job involved rescuing a young child who grew up to become - gasp! - an Internet reporter. How Mick can actually exist in sunlight, but not for very long.
Moonlight tries to shake off several vampire clichés. For example, our hero doesn't fly; he drives a car. He sleeps in a freezer, not a coffin. He's got fangs and those eyes that go all catlike on his victims, but mostly he tries to soar under the radar.
It's a novel approach, but it doesn't make for the most exciting drama. In the first episode, action takes a backseat to chatter. Not until the final 20 minutes do we get a chance to see Mick in action. We need more.
Do viewers want their vampires to be nice? I doubt it. They can be gentlemen and cosmopolitan, but at some point they need to be ferocious. Otherwise, why not make the Pillsbury doughboy a private eye?
It remains to be seen where Moonlight will take us. Given all his pining for physical affection in the premiere, it's a good bet Mick will fall hard for Beth as the series continues. Let's also hope he does a better job of exercising his calling as a lean, mean, fanged machine.
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