Moonlight Vampires -- what did you like/dislike about them?

[Kelly]

Considering how many different takes on the vampire legend there are, I thought it might be interesting to hear what you all did and did not like about the way Moonlight presented its vampires. For instance, what is your stance on freezers vs. coffins? What about daylight? Did you like the fact that Moonlight vampires were not forced to avoid all sunlight? And then there's that "sexy vampire jumping thing"...how did that go over with you? There's so much more, so feel free to throw out more ideas.

Personally, what I loved best about ML vampires was that they blended right in with everyone else. They didn't mysteriously disappear when the sun rose, or have to worry about hiding a coffin in some dank basement out in the middle of nowhere. I also loved that stakes can't kill our vampires...and that they don't turn into dust. Most of all, however, I LOVED their vamped-out faces. I couldn't stand the squished up, goblin-like faces of the vampires in Buffy and Angel...so I am SO glad that Mick, Josef, and Coraline's vamped-out faces were kept very subtle.

There is very little that I didn't like about the ML take on vampires. One thing that I never really understood, however, was why Mick and Josef couldn't eat, but they could drink liquor. It never really added up to me.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you all think.

[wpgrace]

I LOVED the vamps among us theme... wish they would've gotten their act together a little more quickly in terms of their mythology, do's and don'ts, etc... but loved what they were trying to do...

LOVED the fact they tried to take old wives tales and legends and the old mystical based mythology and give it the veneer of scientific explanation... even when it didn't really hold up, like with the silver, it was still cool...

And the show got a raw bust when people dissed it for the vamps going out into sunlight... the oldest legends do not have them bursting into actual flames in sunlight... and there was an entire episode, fan favorite Fever, that made clear just how dangerous sunlight was, and why, to vamps...

Overall, fresh modern take on the legends IMO!

[cassysj]

I liked most things about Moonlight vamps, not much vampire experience except Buffy/Angel previously. I loved that they could go out in sunlight, unlike on Buffy burst into flames. I thought the freezer made good preservation sense, but why couldn't he sleep in a bed once in a while That seemed silly to me. I loved the jumping thing. I can see why they could drink liquor but not eat, blood is a liquid. On Buffy they couldn't eat either, I guess the lower intestines stop working when you're dead so no solid food, but maybe not the kidneys for liquid. (I'm just silly)

I also loved that it was a subtle change between vamped out.

[wpgrace]

I liked most things about Moonlight vamps, not much vampire experience except Buffy/Angel previously. I loved that they could go out in sunlight, unlike on Buffy burst into flames. I thought the freezer made good preservation sense, but why couldn't he sleep in a bed once in a while That seemed silly to me. I loved the jumping thing. I can see why they could drink liquor but not eat, blood is a liquid. On Buffy they couldn't eat either, I guess the lower intestines stop working when you're dead so no solid food, but maybe not the kidneys for liquid. (I'm just silly)

I also loved that it was a subtle change between vamped out.

LOL!! I WILL say they could've made the freezers seem more comfy... I mean the old coffins had pillows and stuff in em...

[darkstarrising]

Loved how they managed to hide in plain sight among the humans.

Loved the notion of Josef as a hedge fund manager - making a killing off the humans who would kill him if they knew what he was.

Didn't get too hung up over the dos and don'ts. They actually made a bit of sense relative to other interpretations. If they're truly dead (and decaying, sorry, but that's what happens), then the freezer makes sense. But I agree, they might have allowed them a bit of creature comforts.

Loved the initially subtle change from human to vamp (fangs, eyes and make-up weren't too over the top). What did begin to bother me toward the end of the series was the makeup did become a bit extreme, almost cartoonish.

Really loved the way they had Mick vamp out in "Love Lasts Forever" when he interrogates one of Tejada's men, and later Tejada himself. The head, initially bowed, is raised slowly, and the eyes, initially closed, are opened to reveal the silver blue vamp eyes. This may have been more of a direction thing rather than an interpretation of vampire behavior, but it was effective.

[Kelly]

Loved how they managed to hide in plain sight among the humans.

Loved the notion of Josef as a hedge fund manager - making a killing off the humans who would kill him if they knew what he was.

Didn't get too hung up over the dos and don'ts. They actually made a bit of sense relative to other interpretations. If they're truly dead (and decaying, sorry, but that's what happens), then the freezer makes sense. But I agree, they might have allowed them a bit of creature comforts.

Loved the initially subtle change from human to vamp (fangs, eyes and make-up weren't too over the top). What did begin to bother me toward the end of the series was the makeup did become a bit extreme, almost cartoonish.

Really loved the way they had Mick vamp out in "Love Lasts Forever" when he interrogates one of Tejada's men, and later Tejada himself. The head, initially bowed, is raised slowly, and the eyes, initially closed, are opened to reveal the silver blue vamp eyes. This may have been more of a direction thing rather than an interpretation of vampire behavior, but it was effective.

*Squeee* I have no idea why, but the Tejada scene just brings out that reaction in me. I think it's because, at least temporarily, we see Mick allow the vampire in him to be let loose. He felt no guilt or remorse. We got far too few of those scenes.

[darkstarrising]

*Squeee* I have no idea why, but the Tejada scene just brings out that reaction in me. I think it's because, at least temporarily, we see Mick allow the vampire in him to be let loose. He felt no guilt or remorse. We got far too few of those scenes.

ITA...those were the scenes where you really believed that at one point, he had been a monster....

[Kelly]

*Squeee* I have no idea why, but the Tejada scene just brings out that reaction in me. I think it's because, at least temporarily, we see Mick allow the vampire in him to be let loose. He felt no guilt or remorse. We got far too few of those scenes.

ITA...those were the scenes where you really believed that at one point, he had been a monster....

Exactly

[MoonShadow]

Of all the instances of vampires on film, I loved the take that ML took. You don't know they live right around the corner from you,and I loved the fact that they fill all walks of life.

For me the fact that they didn't have the extreme look of cinematography's earlier vampires was a huge plus. It made the blending into society concept much more believable.

[Carisa ITT]

Didn't get too hung up over the dos and don'ts. They actually made a bit of sense relative to other interpretations. If they're truly dead (and decaying, sorry, but that's what happens), then the freezer makes sense. But I agree, they might have allowed them a bit of creature comforts.

Mick actually tells Beth that a human has to reach a point NEAR death to be turned into a vampire. (I had checked for a previous discussion on another board *wink PNW*)

I liked most aspects about the Moonlight reinterpretation of the vampire myth - them NOT turning into dust upon immediate contact with a stake or sunlight, their faces, their capabilities and vulnerabilities. Don't care much for them always sleeping in a freezer; since we so far have not found a logical explanation for the decay (in the absence of them being dead). Plus, they should be frozen stiff after a night there (don't care much for that image either). And Josef shouldn't have been able to turn Mick back, given that the compound was still in Mick's system and still busy rendering the vamp virus inert - Mick wasn't actually human; his vampirism was merely masked for a time... And I do like the exploration of the latter too.

[librarian_7]

If vampirism were a "virus"--which I think is fanon, not canon, it should be transmissable by more mundane means, should it not?

Most of the ML vampire mythos, I find perfectly acceptable. The one part that really I didn't care much for was actually the "super speed" and (sorry!) the sexy vampire jumping thing. It looked good, sure, but they took it to extremes.

Lucky

[eris]

Hated the freezer, the reaction of vamps to photography and the make-up they used in FtP that was supposed to pass for SFx.

[Carisa ITT]

If vampirism were a "virus"--which I think is fanon, not canon, it should be transmissable by more mundane means, should it not?

Most of the ML vampire mythos, I find perfectly acceptable. The one part that really I didn't care much for was actually the "super speed" and (sorry!) the sexy vampire jumping thing. It looked good, sure, but they took it to extremes.

Lucky

The virus theory was actually put into the world by the Werksman/Stanton team in an interview done to promote Moonlight sometime in August 2007. The interview can still be found on the vampires & slayers website (I think that's what it's called).

[Lilly]

Unfortunately, the canon of ML vampire mythology was never fully -- or clearly -- spelled out. Even the "fact" cards that were handed out at events had some points of information that were at odds with what was later shown. As far as I'm concerned, if it wasn't discussed on screen, it wasn't canon -- no matter who was discussing it.

As for the speed thing, I did love Mick's quick exits, but the car chasing in the pilot was a bit extreme. The sexy vampire jumping thing -- not so much. But the sexy vampire sniffing thing? Heck, yes!!

[Carisa ITT]

Unfortunately, the canon of ML vampire mythology was never fully -- or clearly -- spelled out. Even the "fact" cards that were handed out at events had some points of information that were at odds with what was later shown. As far as I'm concerned, if it wasn't discussed on screen, it wasn't canon -- no matter who was discussing it.

As for the speed thing, I did love Mick's quick exits, but the car chasing in the pilot was a bit extreme. The sexy vampire jumping thing -- not so much. But the sexy vampire sniffing thing? Heck, yes!!

So, do you have anything DISproving the virus theory?

As the way I see it, almost a year after the cancellation, stories are really bound to go any which way...