Moonlight Episode Discussion - Ep 1: NSTAV

[GuardianAngel]

Episode One: No Such Things As Vampires

Summary: Mick St. John is not your average P.I. He's a vampire, he's trying to make an (un)living in L.A, and maintaining his secret. A co-ed is murdered with vampiric undertones. A female reporter tries to find the culprit as well, and why Mick seems so familiar to her.



We open this episode with an imaginary interview. Mick would love the opportunity to explain himself, to explain vampires.

In the original pilot, the interview was quite a bit longer. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfnC1i123u4
There are some details that don't jibe with the aired version but it offers more information.

We are offered a differing vampire lore than what we have been used to. How do you feel about it? Do you wish they'd stuck to the night stalking, garlic leery vamps of old? Or do you prefer the more modern, they walk among us, version?

[bluedahlia3]

I loved the interview portion of the show. It was an information dump, which is said to be a sloppy writers way of getting the plot premise out quickly, but I still liked this part of the show. I think it showed Alex off well, although there really wasn't much Mick there. I caught my attention too, especially when they used it as a trailer to promote the show.

[redwinter101]

Well first off, I have *never* seen that version before. I like it - Mick is much flirtier and there's much more detail about how he became a vampire etc.

I know a lot of people thought the interview concept was cheesy - but I liked it. It was a good way to get the basics established. Plus it gave Mick some quality screen time to set him up as the main character.

As for the lore, I'm no expert, and frankly, not particularly interested. I liked that they were able to go out in daylight though - it gave the show so much more scope and firmly moved it away from the monsters and demons end of the spectrum.

Garlic, holy water and crucifixes? I wouldn't have been bothered either way. But I shall be eternally grateful for the freezer concept - purely from an aesthetic POV

Red

[GuardianAngel]

I like the interview too. It set a tone for the show right off the, umm, bat. We know, up front, that this vampire show is a little different. And it showcased our very sexy, flirty, Mick.

It also has Beth's voice asking the questions which I thought was neat. When we meet her, we've already associated her with Mick and had some introduction.

[redwinter101]

And then we get the "first" meeting. Mick's already told us the story's about a girl and Beth is introduced, clearly establishing her character and setting up the "How do they know each other?" intrigue.

[PNWgal]

I much preferred the original interview to the one that ended up on the show - it gave us a much better peek into Mick and was lighthearted and fun. Plus it gave us the line "I'm undead..I'm not DEAD" and The List: the eleven things Mick says makes life worth living. (A gold star for whoever can name all eleven things) Oh yeah - and gave me my avi.

I thought the interview was clever in an episode I didn't much care for, but I'll get into that later.

I'm a vampire girl. Have been since I was about 10 and this take on vampires was a switch for me - vampires in the sunlight? REALLY? But...there's so many turns on the lore that I could buy it.

[eris]

I'm a vampire girl. Have been since I was about 10 and this take on vampires was a switch for me - vampires in the sunlight? REALLY? But...there's so many turns on the lore that I could buy it.

Even Dracula could walk in daylight.

The one element from the pilot that I wish they'd kept was Mick's shooting up to get his daily blood. THAT was interesting... so therefore it was axed.

[Fleur de Lisa]

Never being much of a vampire girl before, other than the basics (garlic, holy water,coffins) the take that ML presented was fresh to me. Since I was introduced to the vamp world via my daughter insisting that I read Twilight, ML was a natural progression. They had a lot of similarities, which I felt made the whole vampire vibe contemporary.

Hey, times change, vamps have to adapt to them. So glad that the coffin idea went by the wayside. This was going to be a sexier vamp show, and the freezer and other accoutrements really established that.

I liked the interview as a way to establish some of Mick's backstory. Instead of it taking up an episode explaining vamp culture, they were able to condense the information and give it in a cool, modern way.

And I agree, the longer interview was so light and humorous, it showed a much more playful side of Mick.

[mitzie]

I love the interview! I think it was a great idea to introduce a new way of thinking about vampires that was intriguing so people would watch the show. I've loved vampires since I was a little girl so I am familiar with the old ways of what vampires did. I like the new take on it much better!

mitzie

[GuardianAngel]

The one element from the pilot that I wish they'd kept was Mick's shooting up to get his daily blood. THAT was interesting... so therefore it was axed.

When I saw Mick shoot up I thought "okay, here is something different". I wonder why they even bothered to leave that in if they weren't going to follow through with this being one of Mick's ways of feeding.

[PNWgal]

I'm a vampire girl. Have been since I was about 10 and this take on vampires was a switch for me - vampires in the sunlight? REALLY? But...there's so many turns on the lore that I could buy it.

Even Dracula could walk in daylight.

The one element from the pilot that I wish they'd kept was Mick's shooting up to get his daily blood. THAT was interesting... so therefore it was axed.

So I've been told, Eris.

And I agree - I would have liked to see them keep the injection, at least occasionally.

[bluedahlia3]

I also liked the way he kept popping in and out in the first episode. That was playful.

[Fleur de Lisa]

Okay, am I weird? Because I thought the injection thing was sexy as hell!
His reaction to it, Lord have mercy. They should have kept that in.

[GuardianAngel]

Mick sees Beth broadcasting her first story and rushes down to the crime scene. Why? Do you think he just had to see her up close? Do you think he might even have hoped that she would recognize him?

[PNWgal]

Do you think he just had to see her up close? Do you think he might even have hoped that she would recognize him?

I think he had to see her up close. He says he's always stayed just out of sight in case she needed him, and I'm wondering if the temptation was just too great.