How it all began

[Lilly]

So, fellow Moonlightaholics – we’d love to hear about “how it all began” for you.

When did you first hear about MOONLIGHT?

What were you expecting? An exciting new vampire show? A new supernatural romance? Just a solid diversion on a Friday night?

Had you seen or heard of any of actors before?

When did you first turn in? Were you there on Friday, September 28, 2007?

And what was your first impression?

[Ella713]

I remember everything about that year. I had fallen madly in love with an ABC show called Pushing Daisies and was switching channels when I saw a promo for Moonlight. Now as a devout follower of vampires, I knew I was going to check it out and I was so glad that I did. I caught it after the first 3 episodes had already aired so I was catching up. I was blown away by the plot and the actors. Everything about this show was fresh and new (and that's hard to do when developing a genre that's older than all of us) Mick St. John especially stood out because he wasn't the average blood-thirsty vampire. He was melancholy and even sad at times which made me love him so much more. I remember telling a then boyfriend how much I was addicted to this show and he laughed at me and said he would never watch it with me (he was dumped soon after by the by) but that show inspired me to write my very first fan fiction ever!

I'd never heard of any of the actors on the show before, but I sought out their work after seeing them in Moonlight.

[Lilly]

Ella, I have a similar experience, although it all started out a bit differently...

I first heard of the show in the summer of 2007. There was a very short write-up in some magazine where they had summarized the various new Fall shows. It must have been biased or, at the very least, quite poorly written, because I usually gravitate towards vampires, but all I got out of this was that there was an 80-year-old vampire who had romantic ideas about a young woman he had watched since she was a little girl. My reaction: Ewwww. So, I dismissed it. I had no intention of watching.

But then, in October, I happened to catch the promo for "Fever" on CBS and it stopped me in my tracks. That voice -- Mick -- explaining his dilemma as he lay in that tub. OMG. I knew I was hooked.

So, I had to go find the first 3 episodes online so that I could catch up before that 4th episode aired and find out why this vampire didn't want to bite this woman.

I had never seen or heard of any of the actors before -- but you can bet I checked out that lead vampire guy immediately! And yes, I have sought out past projects for many of them. Don't even get me started on Jason Dohring.

I missed the premiere on 9/28/2007, but caught up during the week of 10/15 and never looked back.

[allegrita]

I'm gonna cheat, and copy from what I said in our "Moonlight on the CW" watch and chat thread for NSTAV, because it answers some of Lilly's questions...

I'd seen the ads in the late summer of 2007. Yeah, yeah, *yawn* another vampire private eye. Been there (Forever Knight), done that (Angel). The guy's cute, but so what? Hollywood's full of cute guys. Whatever. If I don't have anything better to do, I'll watch, I guess. After all, I already watch Numb3rs... that's what went through my mind.

So hubby and I watched the first episode. The interview didn't thrill me--I thought it was a kinda cheesy way to give us a bunch of basic facts about the way their vampires differ from others. But the twists on the traditional vampire mythology were cool... these vamps can go out in the sun? Stakes don't kill them?

Then the guy was sleeping naked in a freezer. Wow. And he shot up blood?! Hmm...

And then he saw the girl in the fountain. No, not the dead girl. The live girl--barefoot, wearing jeans and a white-striped shirt and that bad-goat-cream-colored jacket. He had this... look on his face...

And then he did a little B&E, and the girl was there again. She looked nervous, something went "whoosh" in the dark, and suddenly she picked up a vase and broke it over the guy's head. And he said, "Ouch."

I was hooked.

So yeah, I liked vampire stuff, I'd watched Buffy and Angel and Forever Knight. I'd read Anne Rice's vampire novels, and Bram Stoker's Dracula. But I wouldn't say I was nuts for vampire stuff. It had to be the right kind of vampire stuff. And at first, I thought Moonlight was just going to be a massive Angel rip-off. Vampire detective in LA? Come ON, hadn't that been done to death?? But I watched anyway, because hey, it might be good.

I had never heard of any of the actors before, except for Jason Dohring, but I hadn't been a Veronica Mars fan, so I didn't really have much interest in him. So it really was just a mild curiosity that got me to watch. It helped a lot that my hubby liked it too, since it was a sort of "snuggle up with your sweetie" show. (Plus, if Mr. A. doesn't like a show, he makes it difficult for me to watch, just sayin'.)

I think we missed the next couple of episodes due to real life getting in the way. I'm pretty sure the next show we caught was Fever, and it was quite a shock that the urbane, cool vampire we'd seen in Episode 1 was so desperately sick, and the reporter lady already knew he was a vampire (??) and she let him bite her!

So I had to scramble to find the episodes online on the CBS website, and I think that's when I found Beth's diary (remember that? I loved it) and the cool promo pictures and other stuff they had online for Moonlight. And by the time I'd caught up, and seen Mick so hurt and desperate at the end of OOTP, and seen Beth in shock and getting flashbacks of something from her past, and then the way she was so curious about his vampirism, but he was so guarded in Dr. Feelgood... well, I didn't miss any more episodes. I'm not sure Mr. A. saw the episodes we missed till I bought the DVD, but he still liked it enough to watch it with me. And bless him, he has tolerated my addiction with only mild derision, all these years. (He's a keeper.)

I wrote my first fanfic about Fever, 'cause I had to know what happened inside that bathroom!! But I didn't join a forum for a while, maybe even January or February. First I joined LiveJournal, and found some Moonlight fanfic there, and then I joined Moonlight Detective. It was a much smaller site than Moonlightline, and I felt less intimidated by it. Plus, at first I thought Moonlightline was only about the convention, and at that point I had no interest in going to a con. It seemed so... silly. (BOY, did that attitude change later on!)

One of the other things that really caught my attention, right away, was the way the show was shot. The gorgeous flyovers of Los Angeles. The way my city seemed magically cool, and the beautiful lighting in the interior shots. I loved the old-school noir feel, with a bluish cast to many of the shots, and all the shadows. I loved the beautiful wooden screens in Mick's place, and the ultra-modern feel of Josef's house. I may by the only person who didn't mind the clunky driving scenes, because we got to see Mick's hair blowing in the breeze as he drove through the dark LA streets. I loved the clothes that the different characters wore. Everything about the costumes and sets seemed carefully and lovingly crafted to be almost super-real, but also fantastical.

And I loved the idea of a fully functioning vampire sub-society flourishing right next to our own. The whole thing just worked for me.

[maggatha3]

August 2011..i was up late waiting for my husband to get back from work. I watch TV, well..almost never and that night I turn it on just as it airs. Captivated from the very first scenes, I watch it all.. Luckily, re-runs are daily in the summer, so, the next day I find myself in front of the TV waiting for the show to start... In the I AM A VAMPIRE scene, I am smitten... Mick will be with me for ever. I see Moonlight sparkles in my daily life, a song, a phrase someone says, a memory of a scene,the ringtone of my cell, last but certainly not least, my Moonlight friends from all over the world..

[MickLifeCrisis]

I'll cheat, too. I wrote this in 2010, explaining about how I got hooked on ML.

Becoming MickLifeCrisis

I settle in for my usual Friday night ritual. Ghost Whisperer at eight o’clock. Numb3rs at ten o’clock. Hmm, the ads during Ghost Whisperer for that Moonlight show look interesting, and that guy is pretty cute, but I’m not going to commit myself to three solid hours of television every Friday night. I might need my brain cells later in life. So at nine o’clock I turn off the television and work the Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle that is published only on Fridays. I look forward to it every week. Keeps those brain cells sharp.

Finished the puzzle. It’s early yet for Numb3rs, but I click on the TV. Oh, that vampire show.

“You can’t feed here. We have rules.” A fight. A stake. A body in flames.

Two friends sharing a drink and a tale by the fire.

The good looking one, Mick I think his name is, nervously knocks on the blonde’s door.

“You’re the first human that I’ve told any of this to, about who I am or what I am. So yeah, I trust you.” The words. The touch. The music. She watches him walk down the hall. Wow. I have to see more of this.

Saturday morning. Fire up the laptop. Go to the CBS website to see if they show the full episodes. They do! Watch the first one. Boy, this is good. Watch the second one. I have to have more. Watch the entire third one. I am hooked. Who cares about brain cells? This grabs me deep inside. Never felt like this about a television show before.

Oh, look. There is a message board on cbs.com and people are commenting about Moonlight. I’ve never used a message board before. Wow, look at all the people talking about this show! I come back again and again to read what people say. A guilty pleasure. Someone posts that there is a board especially for Moonlight, called Moonlight Fans. I’ll just take a peek. So this is what a forum looks like! I had no idea. Pictures. Screen names. Lingo. Other people who love this show as much as I do. Who feel drawn to it like I do.

I learn the vernacular. I lurk for a week or two. I come up with a screen name and get up the nerve to join. My name fits what is happening to me. My mid-life crisis. It has to be. What else could explain it?

Several board splits later. Same online friends. New online friends. New computer skills. So this is fan fiction. Wow, these stories bring the characters to life! I have a story inside me. Where did it come from? It bubbles up to the surface. I wasn’t so bad at writing in school; maybe I could try one. But these authors are so good. Dare I post one? What if no one likes it? I’ll just do this one.

The show ended before its time. Not the ending I wanted, but one I can live with. I have a DVD of sixteen episodes. I watch then over and over and over. Mick and Beth are everything to me. The emotions Alex can convey with a look, a gesture. They still move me.

Two years later, and I am still drawn to my computer every night. Every. Night.

And I still visit at least once a day. Love you all!

PS... and that part about I'll just write one story? HAHAHAHAHA! Gets me every time!

[Ella713]

I'll cheat, too. I wrote this in 2010, explaining about how I got hooked on ML.

Becoming MickLifeCrisis

I settle in for my usual Friday night ritual. Ghost Whisperer at eight o’clock. Numb3rs at ten o’clock. Hmm, the ads during Ghost Whisperer for that Moonlight show look interesting, and that guy is pretty cute, but I’m not going to commit myself to three solid hours of television every Friday night. I might need my brain cells later in life. So at nine o’clock I turn off the television and work the Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle that is published only on Fridays. I look forward to it every week. Keeps those brain cells sharp.

Finished the puzzle. It’s early yet for Numb3rs, but I click on the TV. Oh, that vampire show.

“You can’t feed here. We have rules.” A fight. A stake. A body in flames.

Two friends sharing a drink and a tale by the fire.

The good looking one, Mick I think his name is, nervously knocks on the blonde’s door.

“You’re the first human that I’ve told any of this to, about who I am or what I am. So yeah, I trust you.” The words. The touch. The music. She watches him walk down the hall. Wow. I have to see more of this.

Saturday morning. Fire up the laptop. Go to the CBS website to see if they show the full episodes. They do! Watch the first one. Boy, this is good. Watch the second one. I have to have more. Watch the entire third one. I am hooked. Who cares about brain cells? This grabs me deep inside. Never felt like this about a television show before.

Oh, look. There is a message board on cbs.com and people are commenting about Moonlight. I’ve never used a message board before. Wow, look at all the people talking about this show! I come back again and again to read what people say. A guilty pleasure. Someone posts that there is a board especially for Moonlight, called Moonlight Fans. I’ll just take a peek. So this is what a forum looks like! I had no idea. Pictures. Screen names. Lingo. Other people who love this show as much as I do. Who feel drawn to it like I do.

I learn the vernacular. I lurk for a week or two. I come up with a screen name and get up the nerve to join. My name fits what is happening to me. My mid-life crisis. It has to be. What else could explain it?

Several board splits later. Same online friends. New online friends. New computer skills. So this is fan fiction. Wow, these stories bring the characters to life! I have a story inside me. Where did it come from? It bubbles up to the surface. I wasn’t so bad at writing in school; maybe I could try one. But these authors are so good. Dare I post one? What if no one likes it? I’ll just do this one.

The show ended before its time. Not the ending I wanted, but one I can live with. I have a DVD of sixteen episodes. I watch then over and over and over. Mick and Beth are everything to me. The emotions Alex can convey with a look, a gesture. They still move me.

Two years later, and I am still drawn to my computer every night. Every. Night.

And I still visit at least once a day. Love you all!

PS... and that part about I'll just write one story? HAHAHAHAHA! Gets me every time!

Yeah, that was funny! Moonlight Fan Fiction is like Lays potato chips. No can do just one!

[cassysj]

I was never a big vampire person with the exception of Buffy and Angel. I saw the promos because I taped Guiding Light daily on CBS. My sister recommended it and I fell into it quickly. I didn't fall into online with Moonlight until around the time of the cancellation. I did fall hard for Josef and I found Coraline fascinating. So much potential it's a shame but at least it never went on so long that we grew to roll our eyes. I've made wonderful relationships though this show and that is amazing.

[Moonlightsonata]

I don't know if the post I put on the Ten Year Thread more appropriately belongs here or not, but it includes my thoughts on "How it all began" as well as some other information. Since I don't want to repeat it, I am leaving it there.

[LaughtersMelody]

I sort of stumbled upon Moonlight by accident.

I was in the middle of college at the time, and I had a pretty heavy class load that semester. The day I found it, I had managed a few hours sleep after a long night of studying, but then I woke up and I just couldn't fall back to sleep, even though I was exhausted. So, I got up to watch some TV in hopes that it might help lull me back to sleep again. While flipping through the channels, I happened upon a Moonlight marathon that the SyFy channel was having. I didn't stay on it at first. I just got a really brief glimpse of Coraline when she was in the hospital after Beth stabbed her. (Maybe that's part of why I love Coraline's character so much - she's the first one I saw! ) I just kept channel surfing after that, but something about that little glimpse I got intrigued me enough that I finally went back to watch some more. I watched the end of the episode and then went back to bed.

A few days later, on a whim, I looked around to see if there was any fan fiction for the show. The stories I read helped explain some of the concepts I hadn't understood from the little bit of it I had watched, and it wasn't long before I tracked down the DVDs on Amazon and ordered them. A Moonlight marathon was then in order as soon as possible - as well as a second one to introduce my mom to the show (oh, such a burden ) - and I have loved the show ever since.

[MoonMarg]

I was another one who was channel surfing and stopped to watch it. I can't even remember the episode but it was early on. I had an instant attraction to Mick and his voice - I remember hearing him narrating and thought - who is this guy? I didn't even realise it was a show about vampires for a while. But I was fascinated by Mick. And here I am 10 years later.... Last year on a trip to Hawaii I was lucky enough to run into Alex at our hotel - it was amazing. He was everything I'd dreamed he'd be.

[Ella713]

I was another one who was channel surfing and stopped to watch it. I can't even remember the episode but it was early on. I had an instant attraction to Mick and his voice - I remember hearing him narrating and thought - who is this guy? I didn't even realise it was a show about vampires for a while. But I was fascinated by Mick. And here I am 10 years later.... Last year on a trip to Hawaii I was lucky enough to run into Alex at our hotel - it was amazing. He was everything I'd dreamed he'd be.

I'm sorry MoonMarg. I think I just fainted!

[MoonMarg]

It was 1 year ago today Ella (the memory just came up in my Facebook feed ) I was standing outside our hotel with my 2 friends discussing our dinner plans for the night when we turned around and Scott & Alex were walking towards us. Believe it or not there was not another person around at the time. We got some great photos and the guys were great. Alex was definitely a lot nicer than Scott. He was chatting and joking whereas as Scott just wanted to get the photo done and leave. It was so surreal - I was standing there hugging 'my Mick' for ages.

[aolver]

Was there from the beginning. Still there after all these years. Still read fan fic. Will always love it. I look at my pic of me with my arm around him every day and smile. He was so nice to me and Kath. He is nice to all his fans.

[Shadow]

I've been meaning to pop over here and answer this question for a while now!
I didn't quite make it to Moonlight on September 28, 2007. I'd heard about the show (not sure where, probably something in the paper) and had thought about maybe giving it a try, but the description didn't really sound very good, and I ended up going off to do something else that night. But the next day I got an email from a close friend, recommending Moonlight. My friend mentioned that it was a Ron Koslow project, which really excited me (I'd loved Ron Koslow's 1980s series Beauty and the Beast), and she'd found out that the pilot episode was being shown twice that week, so I'd have another chance to watch. (I still don't know why it was shown twice, Friday and Monday that week .... that's unheard of, really.) Well, I still didn't sit down to watch it, but I turned on the VCR for the second showing, and Thursday night I finally had time to give it a try.

I have to admit, my first impression was .... not great. I really, really did not like the interview. But when Sophia Myles' name came up, I was intrigued, because I'd recently seen her on Doctor Who and liked her. So that was another reason to watch. And when the last few minutes came along, I was finally hooked. Finding out that Beth and the little girl really were the same person. Suddenly seeing so much depth in this show .... and in that final embrace and voice-over, so much heart. I was there in front of the TV the next Friday, because I was so eager to see the next episode, and can you really totally trust a VCR with a show like this?

Ten years along, unbelievable! Which has also made me realize how long it's been since I actually watched the episodes. I watched all of them a few times in 2008, but never since, except in clips and bits and pieces. I wanted to not watch for a while so they'd be fresh and new again, but I never meant to wait this long! I'm happy to say I've started a re-watch .