Moonlight: The Complete Series

"When darkness falls, a hero will rise . . ."Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin) is a private investigator in a town where there is little that surprises anyone - Los Angeles, California. But Mick has a secret that might surprise a few people - he's a vampire. Welcome to his world.The death of a college co-ed brings BuzzWire internet reporter Beth Turner (Sophia Myles) into Mick's life - she's traipsing barefoot through a freezing fountain at 2 am in order to get a photo of the corpse. And on that corpse are what appear to be two bite marks. It seems to be the work of a vampire, assuming one believes in them. Mick's and Beth's paths keep crossing, as each tries to solve this mystery, for different reasons - what more logical than that they work together? Despite the fact that Mick tells her that he works alone. Why does Mick look familiar to Beth? She swears that she has seen him before.It seems that Mick has a connection with Beth which goes back some 22 years, to the kidnapping of a 4 year old child. He protected her then from the very monster who was responsible for his being what he is - his ex wife Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon) - and he's protecting her now. He has a mentor named Josef (Jason Dohring), a 400 year old vampire who is a real wiz at business, although his people skills leave something to be desired, and Mick has a connection who works in the morgue, Guillermo (Jacob Vargas), one that supplies him with donated Red Cross blood. You see, Mick has principles, and one of them is that he will not drink human blood, voluntarily given or otherwise, directly from the source, and he will not kill humans, unless he has to.The one season series revolves around Mick and Beth and their developing relationship. She struggles to remember where she knows him from, and when she thinks she recognizes him from the time of her abduction, he leads her off on other tangents. She has a relationship with a young man named Josh, who works in the DA's office. They've been together for a while. And yet it's obvious that she feels something for Mick, something that she cannot deny. And he would do anything for her.Due to unexpected circumstances, Beth learns Mick's secret, and promises to keep it. The fact that she trusts him, and he trusts her with his secret, only serves to deepen their relationship. As the series progresses, this relationship sometimes puts her at odds with her assistant district attorney boyfriend, Josh, but she refuses to give up on Mick or their friendship, as they battle a crazed killer, a rogue vampire, a vicious ex and more. Tragedy nearly engulfs them - will what they have withstand it?Commentary:I was smitten with Moonlight from the first episode. With Mick, with him and Beth, and with their love story, not to mention with the entire series. Mick St. John is an anti-vampire vampire. He refuses to kill for the sake of killing, he is swift to protect humans and vamps alike. He does his job as a private investigator and he does it well - watching him follow the scent at any given crime scene is amazing, not to mention he moves with an elegant grace all his own - but he also holds himself aloof, away from most others, except for Josef. Mick is a very multi-layered character, and he has an intriguing story, not the least of which is his relationship with Beth Turner, whom he first rescued as a small child from a crazed kidnaper, whom we learn was his ex, Coraline. He watched her grow over the next 22 years, and protected her, and when he came face to face with her, he fell deeply in love, although he tries desperately to hide that fact. Beth is a bright, lovely ambitious young woman with a nose for news and a high sense of morality. Their mutual attraction is inevitable.Josef is a great foil for Mick - he is several times Mick's age, he's been around quite a bit, and he's very wealthy, but he does have something of an attitude problem. As Mick reminds him when he says, "I'm the only friend you have that doesn't like you for your money," to which Josef replies, "Oh yeah." One of my favorite episodes actually centers around Josef, combining a threat on his life with a trip into his past, for a very character revealing story, showing a more compassionate side of the cynical vampire.Mick's relationship with the morgue attendant, Guillermo, has definite moments of humor, as Guillermo not only supplies Mick with the blood he needs to survive, from the donor supply, but also gives him access to the bodies in the morgue, which becomes very helpful in the course of his investigations. Beth has the same relationship with him, and she and Mick meet a few times that way, by chance. During a brief respite in Mick's vampire status, Guillermo complains that he has no one to sell Mick's preferred blood to, since he isn't consuming any - and the compassionate Mick helps him out of his bind.The situation in the desert which marked the watershed of their relationship occurs in the desert, where Mick almost dies and Beth must take drastic measures to keep that from happening (naturally the desert is anathema to a vampire) A tragedy in Beth's life forces her to reevaluate her priorities and she takes a step back from Mick, blaming him not for what happened but not doing what she felt he could do about it, but of course it doesn't last. A person from Mick's past is also a threat to their happiness. Another one of my favorite lines is when Josef explains to Beth that in another life, Coraline was a courtesan, and Beth exclaims, "Oh, a hooker!"The writing is very good, and the acting is wonderful, it's an excellent cast. Although before the series began, when it was still in the talk stage, Bruce Willis had been considered for the lead. What a different show that would have been. I like Bruce and all, but he does not have the same sexy presence that Alex O'Loughlin does, not by a long shot.Over the course of the series, the writers developed their own vampire mythology, which was pretty unique as such things go. Their vamps walked in daylight, but it weakened them. Fire and silver were their enemies. Silver is generally reserved for those of the lycan persuasion - or werewolves. Fire - well, that makes sense, goes along with the whole weakened by the sun thing and heat in general. Garlic, holy water and crucifixes are no more powerful against vamps than humans. Mick does not sleep in a coffin, but in a large freezer. In the very first episode, Mick is speaking with a reporter, as if he is being interviewed, as we are introduced to him, and he actually lays all of the myths to rest in this unique and candid interview.It's a shame that there are only 16 episodes of this wonderful series, it had many places yet to go, but its death can be attributed to the writer's strike that year. It wasn't the only casualty. Hope remained that there would eventually be a revival of the series, but I think those are long extinguished, as Alex O'Loughlin is busy with his new series, Hawaii 5-0, on CBS, and doing well. But at least we have these 16 episodes to remember it by, and even if the 16th wasn't meant to be a last one, it possesses its own form of closure, as we bid Mick and Beth a fond farewell.

Reviewer note:This is a critique of the show, not Alex O' Loughlin or the fandom.Being a fan of the sci-fi genre, I'm always very leery and skeptical of these type of shows. But, Moonlight is a great sci-fi/supernatural show that builds upon itself and was very worthy of second season.The first episodes are slow. I will be honest. But, once the characters and plot are established, things take off. You've got a bit of everything in each episode: action, plot development, romance, and comedy. A good episode in the first half of the show is "Fever." It lets the actors shine early on, and show that they can play these characters believably. Then, there is a crescendo in the series (in my opinion) at episode 11, "Love Lasts Forever," where we really get to see some major character development. This episode also showed the audience that the writers were not afraid to kill off someone. That is something newer shows are afraid of doing once an actor gets big. Another amazing episode is "What's Left Behind." Again, you are given a slice of why this show is so enduring to the fans. The writers since of character and plot development permeate in this episode. You feel for the characters, and by the end of the episode can feel yourself rooting for the best possible thing to happen. Finally, the last episode of the series is the most heartwarming and bittersweet. After a long season of watching our characters, we get a resolution and a cliffhanger all in one. The way it ends will leave you screaming. There is no more, and will not be (unless you take a dive into fanfiction).Overall: The show gets off to a slow start. The characters all seem to be fumbling around: looking for motivation and trying to get into each others lives without much success. In the first few episodes, the production value is a bit shabby. You will find yourself cringing at the substandard fight scenes, the shaky camera angles, and the blurred city landscapes. But, as the show progresses, everyone seems to find their place in the vampire world of the series. The episodes, as stated, begin to build on themselves. And, as you start to see the characters back stories unravel, the drama and romance begins to deliver something special and sweet to the audience. The best thing about this show is that they writers knew how to unveil a storyline, they knew how to develop plot. And, for those of you who are immersed in the impatient way shows are shot now, you will be turned off. This show never got the attention it deserved. To fans of the series, this is disheartening as we sit back and watch subpar shows like "The Vampire Diaries" take off. A hint of advice: If you like the current vampire genre, take time to watch this show. And, if you tend towards plot and character development, take time to watch this show.