Let's talk about Moonlight's pilot episode ~ No Such Thing as Vampires (#1x01). SPOILER ALERT! If you STILL haven't seen the first episode of the series, do not read this post..... unless you want to know what happens :)
I enjoyed watching the pilot again! Reviewing it with the knowledge of what happens in future episodes made it especially interesting. We know that Moonlight just gets better and better every week.
Did you notice it is Beth's voice asking the questions during the "Interview with a Vampire" opening scene? Mick wants her to understand him. He is afraid she will see him as the monster that he perceives himself to be since being turned.
The first time we see Mick in his trusty freezer. YUM!
Marshall sighting! I like the show Alias, so it was nice to see Kevin Weisman pop up as Beth's camera guy. Just wish he had more to do. He had one of the lines that made me giggle. When Beth says, "I've become a news whore overnight." Steve replies, "Not overnight." ha!
When the handsome Lt Carl and Beth are talking at the crime scene, I wondered (again) just how well they know each other. They appear to be pretty familiar. Is that just from Beth's crime reporting? It is mentioned that this is her first on air story for BuzzWire, but she has obviously been writing articles for a while before making the move to being on camera.
I still want one of those cool iPhones.
Many of my favorite Josef quotes are from this episode. "Sooner or later your inner vampire is going to demand to be fed." <--- currently my profile phrase on MySpace. "What is it? Like... Non-fat, soy, Vegan blood?" "Vampire experts ~ beautiful! Now, we got the food mouthing off about the farmer." "Vampire solidarity ~ rah, rah, rah and all that." Better restrain myself or I will end up quoting every line that Jason utters.
Rudolf Martin plays Professor Christian Ellis. He thinks he is a vamp on our show, and he portrayed Dracula on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Beth smashing a vase over Mick's head and his emotionless "Ouch" makes me laugh every time. As does this exchange.... "How do I know you're not the killer? Well, because I'm not killing you. ......let's go with that cuz that's comforting..."
She is surprised that he knows who she is and all about BuzzWire.
I've mentioned this before.... this bit of dialogue between Beth and Mick gets me laughing too. "So, we're talking Vampires? You know, some people actually find them attractive. Really? Yea." Poor Mick! His "yea" sounds so deflated.
Leaving the funeral, Mick gets into his car. Beth places her hand on his to stop him & ask for the blood vial. He looks down at her hand on top of his for a split second. Alex is great with these little moments that tell you so much about Mick's feelings.
Mick is so smooth with the professor's wife. Imagine him showing up on your doorstep. Ooooo my....
The scene in which Mick confronts the professor, and he thinks he is schooling Mick in the ways of the Vampire is too amusing. "When most people hear the word Vampyre, they immediately conjure up an image of some undead monstrosity running around at night trying to drink human blood." With the perfect expression on his face, Mick says "hate that" under his breath. *chuckle* This scene also reminds me of one in Alex's film, Feed, in which he faces off with the cop.
Love the camera angle used when Mick closes the blinds in the professor's office.
Carl.... "Threesomes never end well" hehehe
Josef in Mick's loft when he returns is a cool scene. They play so well off each other. I will contain my desire to quote the whole thing. :)
Since I'm super into diners, Cadillac Jack's is my kinda place. Well.... except for the possibility of getting murdered by a crazy grad student thing.
Speaking of.... How come the creepy killer TA, Daniel, gets to use an accent but Alex doesn't?!? *grin*
Adore how Mick is protective and concerned for Beth.
We got to see Mick vamp out several times in this episode. YEA! He easily manhandles the professor (priceless expression on his face when Mick transforms into a Vampire in front of him) and the killer.
Even though he is hurt during the car chase/crash, Mick wills himself to get up and run to save Beth. The silly killer thinks he has triumphed by stabbing Mick. That smug expression quickly changes to shock & fear as Mick stands again... and hurls him effortlessly!
During the flashback fight scene with Coraline, they are beating each other senseless. In the middle of it, for a brief moment they starting kissing! Then, back to fighting. Josef is correct in his assessment of their crazy love.
Throughout the episode, Beth is convinced that she has seen Mick before they "met" at the crime scene. After he rescues her from Daniel, she awakens on his couch. She says that he saved her when she was little. Mick dismisses the truth again by saying, "You got a really nasty bump on your head tonight."
Moonlight does ending scenes better than any other show. It all began with the one tonight. Beth hugs Mick in gratitude and he slowly puts his arms around her in return. Just the look on his face conveys the emotions.
There are some time line discrepancies, which we have talked about previously. Josef says Mick is 90 years old, but Mick tells Beth he is 85 in a future episode. When Mick holds out his hand to Beth at the end, the voice over states, "60 years is a long time to deny yourself the touch of another." However, he has only been a vamp since 1952. He was on & off with Coraline until she kidnapped Beth (and he thought he killed her) in 1985. Several things could explain these differences...... We have all rounded years up and/or down in telling a story. Or, exaggerated to make a point. There were sooo many behind the scenes changes before Moonlight ever even aired. Originally, Mick was supposed to meet & marry Coraline in the 1940's. None of this keeps me from loving the show ~ in case you hadn't noticed *wink*
3 comments:
I also enjoyed re-watching the pilot. It is the only episode I haven't downloaded and watched over and over again and I was curious as to why I was so unimpressed by the pilot but became so addicted to the show in only a few episodes. Also, I wanted to revisit the pilot in light of all the poor reviews it got.
In my opinion, the cast should be applauded for the effort they have made in developing these characters. That effort has made the show improve episode to episode so that by the time "Fever" came along, it was already 300% better and continued improving at that rate every week.
Thoughts on the pilot itself? Much as I LOVE the show - lets be fair... it wasn't great, was it? My worry is that all the folks who have been told what a great show this is might watch the pilot and think we are all nuts and not give future episodes a try. We need to tell them we KNOW the pilot isn't great TV, but keep watching and it will repay the effort... and fast!
Remembering some of the criticisms that were made at the time, my thoughts on the pilot are: (1) the best parts are the Mick/Beth scenes (of course) mainly because we know what's coming, but the now famous chemistry was already there from the first scene; (2) Alex is already nailing that whole, wry & dry "how did I find myself in this predicament" sexy thing; (3) some said Josef was "shallow" in this epsiode... are they nuts! He lays the foundation for Josef's cynicism right here - which we later find out what that's all about (4) The much criticized "Interview" is explained if you listen to what Alex's first dialog lines are... "I have often wondered what it would be like if I got the chance to explain myself" and "its just a fantasy". It was a dream - and a nifty way to get his situation established so the action could start right away. Also - so now we know Vamps dream. I missed seeing the "4 F's" line in the TV version - not only was it cute AND sexy, but important I think in explaining why Mick knows he can't just hop into bed with Beth - guess it was a little "adult" for Network; (5) Originally critics said Beth's accent slipped a few times in the first one and it did a bit (I am a Brit too) but so what? Along the lines of your earlier comment about the TA... I never figured out why Beth couldn't be British anyway. Might have made an interesting past for Mick if he had lived in Europe, met Coraline there and rescued Beth there too as a kid, no?
It was great to see the Pilot again in context of what we know now... I still won't download this one :o( but I will keep downloading and rewatching all the others.
Thanks Kandyegirl for this great site. I check it 2x a day... its my central source for all things Moonlight.
Some encouraging indications on the future for our show... keep voting and keep writing and keep hoping we get MORE moonlight next year!
I really like the first episode- I KNEW I was gonna like Moonlight, I Tivoed the first episode when it aired in September and have been doing so ever since. Iphones are SO cool-I want one too! My absolute favorite part? (and there are lots )- the way Mick looks at Beth after he extends his hands to help her up off of the sofa- she stands up and that look he gives her-bingo! That really did it for me. It's all about those looks...
OK, so I watched the pilot the first time and watched it again last night. Was it good? Not really, especially when we match it against other vampire shows we've loved. Was it derivative? Yes, especially when compared against other vamp shows we've loved. Did I keep watching? YEs, because even bad vampire shows are better than most anything else. And I'm glad I struck with it, because I agree with the general opinion that it's so improved that it seems like another show entirely. I'm OK with the time discrepancies -- no biggie. The thing that always gets me is the fact that stakes are supposed to paralyze vamps. Mick stakes Coraline, yet we see her at the end standing with the fire all around her. (Oh, and did anyone else hear Nick Knight say, "Fire, au diable" when Mick was staking and burning Coraline? -- as I said, derivative.) Want to know what really kept me watching? It was the ending of that first ep. The endings, combined with fantastic music, kept me coming back. Gotta love DVR, cos I can watch those endings over and over.
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