|
|
Moonlight TV Series
Director: Ron Koslow, Trevor Munson
Release Date: September 28, 2007 – May 16, 2008
Starring: Alex O’Loughlin, Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring, Shannyn Sossamon, Brian J. White
Language: English
Country: United States
Here you can find comprehensive database of movies with film synopses, reviews, casts and characters, theatrical trailers and photos of upcoming films, production notes, official sites and photos from new releases, as well as exclusive interviews and articles, news, Read movie reviews of current films from top critics and many other sources.
Moonlight is an American paranormal romance television drama created by Ron Koslow and Trevor Munson, who also serve as executive producers alongside Joel Silver, Gerard Bocaccio and Rod Holcomb. The series that follows a private investigator, Mick St. John (Alex O’Loughlin), whose bride, Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon), turned him into a vampire on the couple’s wedding night 55 years prior; he struggles in the present day with his love for a mortal woman, Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), and his dealings with other vampires in Los Angeles.
Produced by Warner Bros. Television and Silver Pictures, the series premiered on September 28, 2007, airing on Friday nights at 9:00/8:00c on CBS, following Ghost Whisperer. CTV began airing the show in Canada in simulcast with the American broadcast. Channel Nine in Australia began airing the series on December 12, 2007, but stopped showing the series after episode eight. Living began airing the show in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2008.
Les Moonves, President of CBS, speaking on December 4, 2007, stated that Moonlight was likely to return for a second season (2008–2009). Once the strike ended, CBS announced that the show would return April 25, 2008 with at least four new episodes, to be part of the show’s first season. On May 13, 2008, CBS announced that Moonlight was officially cancelled. Following the CBS cancellation, Warner Bros. is inquiring with other outlets about their interest in the show, and a campaign to save the show is ongoing.
Trevor Munson originally conceived the character of “Mick Angel” in 2004 and spent the better part of two and a half years writing a novel around this character. The story was also adapted into a feature film script, and Bruce Willis was named as a possibility for the lead. The script later fell into the hands of Nina Tassler at CBS, who paired Munson with Ron Koslow, creator of Beauty and the Beast, to turn his script into a television series.
The show was originally titled “Twilight,” and the pilot, written by Munson and Koslow, was initially commissioned as a presentation lasting from 14 to 20 minutes by Warner Bros. Television in January 2007. Joel Silver and Gerard Bocaccio also came on board to executive produce the project under the former’s production banner, Silver Pictures, in the same month. Rod Holcomb directed the presentation. The project was renamed “Moonlight” when CBS gave it an early pick-up and a thirteen-episode order on May 14, 2007 prior to the 2007 Upfronts.
David Greenwalt, creator of Miracles and co-creator of Angel, joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and executive producer alongside Joel Silver. It was later announced that a full-length pilot would be shot as the show changed creatively. The cast underwent a major upheaval as all of the original actors save for the male lead role of Mick St. John were re-cast in June 2007. Shannon Lucio, Rade Sherbedgia and Amber Valletta were originally cast in the roles of Beth Turner, Josef Kostan and Coraline Duvall respectively before Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon replaced them.
With an almost entirely different cast, a proper pilot for television audiences was re-shot and creative control of the show changed hands. Greenwalt later left the show in July 2007 citing “personal, health reasons” for his departure, and Chip Johannessen took over showrunner duties in August 2007. In February 2008, it was then announced that Chip Johhansen had also left Moonlight as showrunner, and that Joel Silver would finish out the season as executive producer and showrunner, until a replacement would be found.
The show was featured on July 27, 2007 at Comic-Con International in San Diego with executive producer Joel Silver in attendance to promote the show. In the United States, the commercial trailers on CBS featured the song “Taking Chances” by Céline Dion. In Australia, commercial trailers airing on Channel 9 and NBN featured the remix of the song “Apologize” by One Republic and Timbaland and “Mercy” by Duffy.
Cast:
- Alex O’Loughlin as Mick St. John, a private investigator who was turned into a vampire over fifty years before the start of the show’s main storyline. As a private investigator, he is a shrewd planner and remarkably honorable. His wife, Coraline, turned him into a vampire on their wedding night in 1952, when he was thirty. Even though he realizes that Beth means quite a bit to him, he is reluctant to continue a romantic relationship with her, knowing that his being a vampire would hinder any sort of normal life.
- Sophia Myles as Beth Turner, an internet reporter, and St. John’s love interest. Beth has some memories of being rescued from a kidnapper by Mick 22 years prior (Los Angeles 1985), but does not initially realize that Mick is the same man. Inquisitive and intelligent, she is a fairly successful reporter. At the beginning of the first season, she is steadily dating an assistant district attorney, Josh Lindsey.
- Jason Dohring as Josef Kostan, a centuries old vampire (he is referred to as four years old in 1603, therefore making him 409 years old) and St. John’s mentor and friend. A hedonist to the utmost, he is a shrewd businessman who doesn’t stint himself in luxuries, from an expensive house to the company of numerous beautiful women who are more than happy to sate his desire for blood.
- Shannyn Sossamon as Coraline Duvall, St. John’s ex-wife and sire. A courtesan in early 18th century France, she is approximately 300 years old. She turned Mick into a vampire on their honeymoon and the two of them eventually became estranged. She had been presumed dead for more than twenty years. When she returns, she appears to be completely human and claims to have cure for vampirism. Mick becomes desperate in obtaining Coraline’s secret to becoming mortal
The conventions of the program are based on a unique vampire mythology. Moonlight vampires can tolerate extended exposure to daylight, and a certain amount of exposure to direct sunlight, although sunglasses are helpful and exposure for too long takes a toll on the vampire. Moonlight vampires have a pulse, are not cold blooded and are susceptible to hyperthermia and fever. Unlike Nick Knight, the vampire detective from Forever Knight, Moonlight vampires must consume human blood to survive. Unlike Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wooden stakes are also largely ineffective against these vampires, producing only paralysis, but methods such as decapitation and immolation (consistent with traditional vampire lore) are lethal. Silver and Fire are also toxic to Moonlight vampires, but holy water and garlic are harmless.
Reviews were generally negative for the pilot, and for the series as a whole. The original short pilot presentation was panned by The Futon Critic, who gave the short pilot a scathing review, rating it only one star out of four, and also suggested that another CBS pilot, Babylon Fields, deserved to be picked up over Moonlight. The review further hoped that the pilot would be reshot, which it was after the cast and crew changes. Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe felt that it came close to a “full-on nightmare.”
Tim Goodman of The San Francisco Chronicle gave the show a very negative review, saying that it is “just flat-out awful” and “may well be the worst new fall show.” He said it had “woeful acting” and the “worst writing of the new season”. Travis Fickett of IGN said that “while the show isn’t terrible It’s just a mix of disparate parts that really don’t add up to much.” Regarding the actors, he said that O’Loughlin “does a decent job,” and that Sophia Myles “is perhaps the most promising aspect of the show.” He also said that “Jason Dohring is a welcome presence and that in his few scenes, he manages to create a character that does have a tremendous weariness and cynicism that comes with immortality.”
Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune said the show is “almost in the so bad it’s good category”. She said that the “direction is flat-out awful, much of the dialogue is groan-inducing, and the acting by some of the guest actors is jaw-droppingly wooden.” She said that Alex O’Loughlin’s is “passable in the lead role”, Sophia Myles “is reasonably good”, but described Shannyn Sossamon appearance as “preposterously not-scary”. She later said that she “felt sorry for the actors trapped in this mess, especially Jason Dohring.” She said that he makes the show “crackle with a bit of wit and has far more energy than it does in the rest of the plodding hour.”
Realated sites links:
Related Movies and Films:
