By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
A thoroughly entertaining series that lasted just one season, Moonlight tells the story of a sexy vampire who wants to do good.
(Think along the lines of Angel from the Joss Whedon series of the same name.) Mick (Alex O’Loughlin, August Rush) became a vampire in the 1950s when his beautiful vamp bride Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon, A Knight’s Tale) created his new incarnation. Shunning that lifestyle and turning against his wife when she attempts to add a little girl to their family, Mick creates a new identity for himself as a private detective.
The job has its perks. Mick, who normally shuns fresh human blood, doesn’t feel as badly partaking from the fluids of a criminal.
Though Coraline would actually make a more intriguing ongoing love interest for Mick, he falls in love with Beth (Sophia Myles, Underworld). The two have a history together, too, though Beth doesn’t remember it right away (Mick saved her from Coraline some 20 years ago); now, they’re working together. O’Loughin and Myles make a handsome couple, but they don’t share the type of chemistry that makes his scenes with Sossamon so intoxicating. Moonlight originally aired on CBS during the 2007-2008 television season.
The season was truncated to just 16 episodes due to the Writers Guild Strike. Because of that, the series at times feels unresolved–especially in the finale. But Moonlight is well-crafted and has beautiful production value.
Mick at times utters groaners like, “Being a vampire sucks,” but the Aussie actor makes it work. The series in some ways is debating the age-old question of whether eternal life is a blessing or a curse. The answer depends on who–or what–you are.
