Battle of the Vampires

David Boreanaz played the title character, a broody vampire P.I. in Los Angeles who's seeking redemption on "Angel." Geraint Wyn Davies played Nick Knight, a hopeful but naive vampire detective in Toronto on "Forever Knight." Alex O'Laughlin plays Mick St. John, a... well I haven't got a bead on his disposition yet but I can tell you he's a vampire P.I. in Los Angeles on CBS' new show "Moonlight."

As a fan of both "Forever Knight" and "Angel" I was chagrined when I heard about "Moonlight." My gut reaction was, "Didn't they already do this with Angel?" And some part of me wondered why the creators of these shows feel compelled to make their heroes involved in some way with law enforcement. They're either private investigators solving cases brought to them or they're actually on the force.

I suppose it's a logical place for them to be. They want to help the helpless so it stands to reason they'd put themselves in a position to help, such as detective work or taking cases as an investigator. So I guess I can get past that roadblock.

But after three episodes of Moonlight, even though I don't mind it, I can't help feeling like the creators are not really very creative. Let's look at some more similarities between the three aforementioned shows:

Tortured Vamp falls in love with feisty blonde:
- Angel never really got over his love for Buffy.
- Mick St. John seems to be falling for a spunky blonde internet reporter.
- Nick's loves weren't blonde but they were plenty feisty.

Vamp feels overwhelming guilt for his past:
- Angel was cursed with a soul that forced him to face hundreds of years of slaughter and mayhem. For most of the show's run, Angel holds on to a slight hope from a prophecy that says if he redeems himself fully, he will be rewarded by becoming human.
- Nick Knight refuses to drink human blood as he searches for a cure that will make him human.
- Mick also won't drink 'from the tap' so to speak, preferring instead to drink bagged blood.

Vamp has an even older vampire, or 'sire' that either guides them or tries to get them back to their old ways:
- Angel's sire, Darla, did her best to make Angel lose his soul and return to his wicked ways.
- Nick's sire, LaCroix was always looking for ways to manipulate Nick in an attempt to get Nick back in the killing fold.
- Mick's comes in the guise of friend who's centuries older than himself. So far his purpose has been to make Mick ensure the fact that vampires are amongst the cattle stays a secret. I haven't quite figured out what his game is but I've only watched three episodes.

When "Moonlight" was announced there was a lot of rumbling from fans of "Angel" who felt the it was 'ripping off' their beloved show. Looking at the similarities I've come across, I think a case could be made for that. But I also think I'd like to watch more of it before I pass judgement.

"Angel" was deeply steeped in a carefully woven tapestry of vampire and demon lore that began as far back as the first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" It's richly layered, well-written and had that as its base when "Angel" the spin-off began. I believe, despite the similarities seen in "Moonlight," it will be very difficult to touch the brilliance of "Angel." I don't think "Moonlight" is even trying to do that.

I think perhaps "Moonlight" will strive to be its own show despite borrowing some themes from other shows in this genre. It's beautifully shot. The sets are dramatic and lovely. The use of flashbacks has slowly unraveled a bit of Mick St. John's brief vampiric life and created interest in it. That's one definite difference from the other shows: Mick St. John is a relative newbie to vampirism than his counterparts on "Angel" and "Forever Knight". Angel was around 250 and Nick Knight was around 800.

I'm going to give the show a chance. There are some things I rather like about it such as the fight sequences and well, the vamps just look cool when they vamp out :) And if you're wondering why I'm writing about all this anyway, this will probably be turned into my TV column for the paper this week :)