I'd really like to know who those people were who voted the now-canceled TV series winner of the 2008 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Drama. Were they all on executive producer Joel Silver gravy train? Because seriously, Moonlight is clearly a toothless vampire / detective show with the emphasis on light.
I don't hate it, I just feel completely inert toward everything it has to offer — the premise, the stories, the writing, the cast, the setting; everything. I remember trying to watch it when it was actually airing and finding myself simply never able to connect. But maybe on DVD, lapping it up marathon-style, I hoped things would be different.
At first blush, they were different: I actually kind of liked the pilot, in spite of the stilted acting (still can't quite decide if it's the actor's faults or the writers. I'm guessing the latter, because really, could any thesp make strings of words like "I will pursue the young suspect" roll off the tongue?). Although it was riddled with clichés bringing to mind a myriad of other supernatural series like Forever Knight, Angel, and the short-lived Night Stalker reboot, the pilot episode of Moonlight had me willing enough to keep the DVD spinning in "play all" mode. By the time episode 4 rolled around, I was asleep.
The stories revolve around a vampiric private eye, handsome but bland Mick St. John (Alex O’Loughlin), and his protégé, a pretty blonde mortal internet investigative reporter named Beth (Sophia Myles). When Beth was just a youngster, Mick saved her bacon (and blood) from being turned into an undead by his own wife, Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon). That was grounds for a divorce (and in the vamp-verse, that means him burning her to a crisp), and ever since, Mick has been secretly watching Beth to make sure she's growing up OK. Once the blonde's no longer jail-bait, he and she meet and the sparks fly (romantic ones, not the kind Coraline suffered).
So… Is Coraline really dead? Of course not. Will Mick be able to hide the fact he's a vampire from Beth? Nope. Will there be a rote crime for Mick and Beth to solve in every episode? Yup. Does the dialogue ever improve? Sorry, no.
Moonlight is not a horrible show, and if you're a real fang fanatic, you might get sucked in. But with a gritty, funny, sexy and mysterious show like True Blood being aired on Showtime, why waste an eternity on this forgettable fare?
The DVD contains no additional release material, but the set contains all 16 episodes on four discs: No Such Thing As Vampires, Out of the Past, Dr. Feelgood, Fever, Arrested Development, B.C., The Ringer, 12:04 AM, Fleur de Lis, Sleeping Beauty, Love Lasts Forever, The Mortal Cure, Fated to Pretend, Click, What’s Left Behind, and Sonata.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson