I couldn't make it through the fist episode, and I didn't bother to watch episode 2. How, then, did I end up waiting with anticipation for episode 3? Well...I might have been doing some research on the kinda cute vampire guy, aka Alex O'Loughlin. Shut up! I'm a grad student - research is what I do! I didn't even think he was that hot from the trailers - kinda cute, but not enough to make me watch if it weren't about a vampire gone good. What?! I told you I had a soft spot for the genre, didn't I?
My best friend said recently that it's because of the moral quandary built into the character, and I think that's a lot of it. Anyway, I didn't think he was that hot at first, but he grew on me. Not enough to watch the second ep., but, you know, enough for a google search.
So, given my soft spot, and my budding attraction to AOL/Mick, I thought I might give
Moonlight another shot. I did feel a little less bad when, in the course of my research, I ran across good things about episode 2. "Sucked a lot less than episode 1" seemed to be a common theme. And, let's be honest: I'm a sucker with an unhealthy love the The Angst and a high tolerance for manpain. And for less-than-stellar acting. And writing.
*sigh* Listen, I watched
Forever Knight, OK? And Geraint Wyn Davies was no David Boreanaz. (Yes, younguns, there was a vampire detective long before
Angel - look it up. Moonlight seems to be far more of a
ripoff descendant of that older show, IMHO. But I digress.)
I watched episode 3, then went back and watched episode 2, and I mostly enjoyed them both. I've now also seen episode 4-6, and I alternate between thinking its improving and thinking that I've just heard the worst line delivery ever. Is
Moonlight cheesy? Hell, yes! But, I like the junkie-esque aspect of the bloodlust in this mythology, AOL and Jason Dohring have both shown some acting and snarkery potential (not consistently, but more than once). Bad writing did not initially stop Jason Dohring from being
a little bit awesome, though I've been disappointed the last couple of episodes: when he's on, Josef is bitchy, decadent, and over-the-top, without being histrionic. And, no, I haven't watched Veronica Mars (any of it), so I'm not carrying over the Logan-love I've heard so much about.
AOL has had some sketchy line deliveries, but is mostly solid, with a few flashes of brilliance and very good facial expressions. And, careful research has shown that he is, indeed, good to look upon. I'll admit it:
this
and also this
will go a long way towards getting me through some craptastic (or just crappy) dialogue. Though I will need him to close his mouth
a little more often. Breathe through your nose, sweetie.
There are also some women on the show, most notably Sophia (pronounced SoFYEuh) Miles, co-starring as intrepid reporter/obligatory love interest Beth. The MickBeth thing is, IMHO, all kinds of wrong and some important kinds of creepy. There's her boyfriend, the part where Mick has kind of been lurking since he saved Beth as a little girl, and also the part where Mick is very much DEAD (fine, UNDEAD), making him a blood-drinking "cradle-robbing creature of the night" (ask Buffy Summers where *that'll* get you). But it makes for some serious UST, and it's developing (speaking generously) in interesting ways. I'm still not sure how I feel about Beth/SoFYEuh, mostly because I can't tell if SM is supremely lacking in talent, or if the writing/direction are making her look bad. Or both. And then there's Shannyn Sossamon as Coraline, the bad, bad woman who made Mick a monster. We haven't seen so much of her yet, but I kind of hate her face, ever since
A Knight's Tale (for no good reason, but there it is). Her very presence was almost enough to put the nail in
Moonlight's coffin, but then Mick set Coraline on fire, and I was OK with that. I know she's coming back, but I'm holding out hope that she'll get gone again soon. Or, at the very least, that Beth will find an excuse to stake/bitch slap her.
In summary, despite the show's glaring issues (like not being terribly good), I think it's got guilty pleasure potential, with
just a little more effort. And I do find myself wanting to
lick AOL's face be suck(er)ed in. We'll see if it survives the strike.
In the meantime, I'll be watching, shamelessly, hoping for another glimpse of WetMick.
PS - Like many of my favorite slightly not good shows, it features a lot of music that I like. It's usually playing too loudly over a scene, (or being used inappropriately, as we'll discuss in my next post), but that's a different beef.
