Writers: Erin Maher & Kathryn Reindl
Director: Paul Holahan
Cast: Alex O'Loughlin (Mick St. John), Sophia Myles (Beth Turner), Jason Dohring (Josef Konstantin), Kevin Weisman (Steve Balfour), Brian J. White (Lieutenant Carl Davis), Jordan Belfi (Josh Lindsey), Anil Raman (Terrance), Holly Valance (Dolores 'Lola' Maxford Whitaker), Josh Kelly (Calvin), Patrick Fischler (Alan), Kaylee Quilling (Renee Beresford), Adam Shapiro (Attendant), Frank Latten (Guy at Bar), Tim Talman (Man in Bagging Room), Michelle Lee (Black Crystal Girl), Angie Simms (Walla), Danny J. Evans (Bouncer) & George Ketsios (Photographer)
Director: Paul Holahan
Cast: Alex O'Loughlin (Mick St. John), Sophia Myles (Beth Turner), Jason Dohring (Josef Konstantin), Kevin Weisman (Steve Balfour), Brian J. White (Lieutenant Carl Davis), Jordan Belfi (Josh Lindsey), Anil Raman (Terrance), Holly Valance (Dolores 'Lola' Maxford Whitaker), Josh Kelly (Calvin), Patrick Fischler (Alan), Kaylee Quilling (Renee Beresford), Adam Shapiro (Attendant), Frank Latten (Guy at Bar), Tim Talman (Man in Bagging Room), Michelle Lee (Black Crystal Girl), Angie Simms (Walla), Danny J. Evans (Bouncer) & George Ketsios (Photographer)
Mick helps Josef find a 500-year-old vampire who used to be his lover, now that she's returned to Los Angeles to mastermind the production of a dangerous new drug..."Let me get this straight: she stood you up, so, instead of
moving on, you became so worried that you immediately
came over here. How much does she owe you?"
moving on, you became so worried that you immediately
came over here. How much does she owe you?"
-- Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin)
I'm a week behind with Moonlight reviews, so episode 7 will be reviewed shortly after its LivingTV repeat later this week...
Former Millennium scribes Erin Maher and Kathryn Reindl make their debut on the show, delivering a taught story with an original idea at its core. It doesn't quite satisfy after a very promising first half, but the storyline is very easy to follow, the plot develops nicely, the cast look to have settled into their roles, and it's obvious the writers know Moonlight's strengths. Oh, and it's easily the sexiest episode yet...
Mick (Alex O'Loughlin) is asked by best-friend Josef (Jason Dohring) to find an erstwhile girlfriend of his, 500-year-old vampire Lola (Holly Valance), who has returned to L.A. Beth (Sophia Myles) is struggling to look interested as she reports on a vacuous modelling shoot, but is surprised to find herself in the middle of a hot story when beautiful model Renee Beresford (Kaylee Quilling) dies of an apparent drug overdose mid-shoot.
Eventually, Mick and Beth cross paths at the morgue, having been trying to avoid each other since their first kiss. Of course, both once again realize they're investigating the same case from different perspectives. Mick has already found the dead body of a vampire, whose body was drained of all its blood, contained traces of silver and was burned to a crisp. Renee's body also contained traces of silver, so the two must be connected.
After investigating a nightclub run by Lola (giving Sophia Myles an opportunity to swap her flared jeans for a small skirt), Mick and Beth finally meet Josef's on/off lover: a tall, slim, woman who stalks the club with a frosty demeanour and air of superiority. It later becomes clear that Lola is preying on her own kind; paralyzing vampires with silver, and draining them of their valuable blood, to manufacture a drug called "Black Crystal". The drug, when taken by a human, gives them a brief experience of being a vampire – heightening senses and delivering feelings of unparalleled strength and sexiness. Unfortunately, continued use leads to a likely fatal overdose, as Renee discovered to her cost.
Beth, who has been especially fascinated by Mick since she learned he was a vampire, secures a sample of the drug and can't help taking some herself. She arrives at Mick's apartment wearing a slinky black dress and full of uncharacteristic sexual confidence, with a predatory glint in her eye. Mick is aroused by this fantasy-come-true turn of events, but realizes Beth's under the influence of Black Crystal, so represses his feelings and ensures she takes a cold shower to dampen its effects.
The next day, Beth learns that her boyfriend Josh (Jordan Belfi) and the police are closing in on Lola's operation, having discovered the whereabouts of her "factory". She tells Mick, who rushes to the warehouse where Lola has dozens of coffin-sized glass containers with silver-paralyzed vampires trapped inside. A fight ensues between Mick and Lola, whose old age grants her superior strength and speed. However, Mick manages to catch her off-guard and throws her into one of her own glass containers, neutralizing her. With the police closing in, Mick can't allow them to discover the vampiric background of their planned drugs bust, so torches the entire building just as the cops arrive – destroying all the evidence
I really enjoyed this episode, for two main reasons: the notion of a vampire-made drug giving people a supernatural high is a fresh idea, in a sub-genre it's difficult to be original in, and the sexuality of the episode was a lot of fun. Sophia Myles is a beautiful woman, so any story that creates a necessary reason for her to glam-up gets my approval, and I don't think there was any man watching who didn't envy Mick when "vamp-Beth" sashayed into his apartment with come-to-bed eyes. The presence of Holly Valance (the former Neighbours babe who's been appearing in a few US TV shows after her pop career fizzled out) was another superficial highlight, and Valance did well with an (admittedly) unchallenging femme fatale character.
In fact, the only disappointments with B.C were the underwritten Lola (particularly her limp face-off with Mick at the end), and the continuing marginalization of Josef in the series. This was particularly notable in B.C, as the episode seemed to promise a long-awaited Mick/Josef team-up, but Josef quickly faded into the background again. For an episode that revolved around the return of Josef's centuries-old girlfriend, it was extremely disappointing that Josef and Lola didn't even share a scene together! I'm also not convinced about lawyer Josh's omnipresence at crime scenes, as it seems the writers are regretting not making him a policeman, as he's basically being portrayed as one!
Overall, B.C didn't escalate events to a dramatically satisfying level in the second half, but the journey was still enjoyable to watch unfold, and I appreciated the sexiness from Valance's and (especially) Myles' performances. The cheeky shower scene between Mick and Beth was particularly witty, and there was generally a good vibe from how this episode played out. There was certainly room for improvement (mainly with Lola's one-note characterisation, the lack of depth in the drug-taking idea, and the sidelining of Josef), but this episode was essentially polished, amusing, sexy fun.
25 March 2008
LivingTV, 10.00 pm
