Moonlight - The Complete Series DVD: Review By Dodd

The writer's strike that occurred during the 2007-2008 television season has felt like a blur to me. It seemed as though one minute everything in TV Land was normal until it was hit with turbulence. The next thing we knew, half of the shows that even stood a chance of survival were cancelled due to programs losing momentum and losing viewership. While I realize shows get axed left and right during a normal season, the strike delivered an abnormal beating. The ones I tend to forget are the ones that debuted new that Fall and did not even stand a chance after the season's interruption. One of these shows is the vampire series Moonlight. However, after viewing the short-lived series that just debuted on DVD, I am not sure if this snoozefest would have stood a chance on network television.

Originally aired on CBS, Moonlight follows a private investigator named Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin). What is so special about Mick is not just his keen investigation skills, but the fact that he is a vampire. Of course he is a "good vampire" which means he cannot attack innocent victims regularly from episode-to-episode. Instead his blood-sucking ally who works at the morgue sets him up with blood packs from the already-departed. In addition to Mick as a hero, we also have reporter Beth Turner (Sophia Myles) who is hung up on the same cases as Mick. In fact, the two of them share a certain connection that revolves around an encounter from Beth's past. What is comes down to is that Beth and Mick team up on every episode to crack some of the most unusual cases to come across their radar in the Los Angeles area.

There was once a time when I thought vampires were cool. But lately, they've gone from scary and badass to boring and sensitive. Moonlight is certainly no exception. It is bad enough that Twilight has introduced us to those "good vampires" who sparkle in the sunlight rather than burst into flames while also showing their sensitive sides. Moonlight has a decent concept with protagonist Mick narrating his findings in the style of film noir. However, the storylines are unsuspenseful and the chemistry between Mick and Beth never really takes off.

I am not sure if this series would have succeeded had the strike not occurred. After all, the vampire craze is quite rampant. One of my biggest problems is that Mick just didn't give me enough incentive to follow in his foot steps for another season. Despite his occasional transformation into a vampire, he is a pretty boring character not so different from other heroes in short-lived series.

There is absolutely nothing to see here. Not even a retrospective piece explaining the demise of the show.

Widescreen. The show has a film noir style to it. Unfortunately the directing is another low spot for the show. There are paricularly bad effects used in moving vehicle sequences. This may be a homage to old school film noir, but the contemporary setting just doesn't match this technique.

5.1 Dolby. The sound comes through loud and clear. Considering that I cannot even remember the music from the series, I would not go so far to call it memorable.

The series comes on four discs. These discs are housed in a standard case that is packaged in a thick sleeve for aesthetic reasons. The front cover is a close-up picture of series star Alex O'Loughlin.

Moonlight may be a series that took with it a following, but I just do not see the appeal. Like the latest vampire craze in the entertainment industry, this thing delivers tepid results without the slightest element of horror involved. Maybe that was not the objective of the creators, but I fail to see why making vampires so friendly is a positive change to the genre. Despite the strike, I am not sure if this series would have had a longer shelf life. Sadly I cannot label this as an underrated gem that was wrongfully axed.