Moonlight has three entries in Matt Roush's "Ask Matt" column today. I can not wait to hear what you have to say after reading them.... especially #2. *growl* Our fave scene of Josef turning Mick is Matt's highlight of the season too. He also says that he expects Moonlight to be picked up for a second season!
Question: Did you see Moonlight? It was stunning! Joel Silver has clearly outdone himself! It just blew me away. It was intense, romantic, action-packed, moved very quickly and yet had great continuity. The cast was superb. There are not enough adjectives to describe this show. The relationship between Josef and Mick was amazing. I'm so glad that Jason Dohring got a major role here. He's a very good actor. Hope to see more? The Prince of Darkness becomes Prince Charming and reverses back to save "his Beth" from the rogue vampire. Could it be any better? We ladies were salivating! Matt, no occult show on TV could possibly measure up. I'm not thinking People's Choice Award, I'm thinking Emmy! If the following three episodes are anything like this one, I'm ready for a two-hour premiere in the fall. — Sharon
Matt Roush: But did you like it? Now that's what I call a mash note, and I sure hope you enjoyed the two-page photo spread of Alex O'Loughlin in the current Sexiest Stars issue. Pages 56-57. (Who am I kidding? It's probably hanging on thousands of walls already.) I would agree absolutely on one point: The scene where Josef turned Mick back into a vampire was a highlight of the entire season, and definitely Jason Dohring's best work in the series to date. (Reminded me of the erotic charge I got out of the early Anne Rice vampire novels.) Emmy-worthy? I won't go that far. But worthy of cult status and a second season? More and more.
Question: I was a reluctant fan of Moonlight in the beginning. It was way too much like Angel, and the episode where Mick had to feed on his girlfriend to survive was very clichéd and an obvious copycat of Angel and Buffy. However, I gave the show a chance, and I have to admit, it grew on me until I found myself looking forward to its return. Then, I watched the first episode back last Friday night. Not only was the story incredibly obvious and way too easy to see where the plot was going, but the product placements were so obtrusive that they completely overwhelmed the story. There was iPhone, iPhone and then more iPhone, followed by Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft and finally Krispy Kreme donuts. There was hardly room for the badly written story. I was disappointed. — John
Matt Roush: I get this point of view as well. I'm enjoying Moonlight more as it goes, but still find much of the writing (generally, anything that doesn't involve the whole vampire/mortality thing) beyond clunky. So much of Moonlight feels like a generic CBS show: the obvious crime plots, the bland supporting cast (excepting Dohring, who has improved lately), the harsh lighting. (Has there ever been a sunnier vampire drama than the ironically titled Moonlight?) Alex O'Loughlin is pretty much carrying this show on his capable shoulders, but I hope that if things settle down behind-the-scenes in the second season (assuming there will be one), that the rest of the show can rise to the level of its star's charisma. It won't be easy. But to single this show out for its product placements is a bit naïve. That's the economic reality of the world much of network TV is living in. If you're watching the show in real time, already sitting through the commercials, you may have cause to complain. But if you're watching on DVR/TiVo, skipping the commercials, that's a big reason you're going to have to get used to this trend. But it's true they could be a little less obvious about it, especially when it comes to those loving close-ups of the phones.
Another Moonlight question: The cast in a recent interview said that the last four episodes would "stand alone" due to there being no second-season pickup as yet. That is, there would be no arcs created because they didn't want to leave the audience hanging in the event that the series did not return. They also said that all four episodes were now wrapped. My question is this: If the network announces a pickup before the final episode airs, do you think they would create (or may already have ready) an alternate ending in an attempt to leave a cliffhanger to entice second-season viewing? Or do you think they will leave it as it is and move into a less stand-alone format if a second season happens? — Lyn
Matt Roush: The CBS upfront announcement will take place two days before Moonlight's scheduled May 16 season finale, so this is a moot point. I doubt seriously any show would rejigger its finale at the last minute just to give the audience a contrived cliff-hanger, which is already a pretty overdone gimmick, don't you think? The main reason I bring up this issue is to state again my own conviction that producers of marginal series do themselves and certainly their fans a disservice by ending an "on the bubble" season with a huge cliff-hanger. It's one thing to leave a show open-ended (like, say, the finale of Eli Stone, where Eli woke from the coma with the tumor gone and a world of possibilities ahead of him) and another entirely to leave the fan hanging with a life-or-death situation (like, say, if Eli had chosen to end without letting us know if he was going to wake up.) If Moonlight gets renewed, which I expect to be the case, then let the arcs fly. Although knowing CBS's proclivities, I bet their desire is for the show to keep the stories as self-contained as possible.
askmatt@tvguide.com
Question: Did you see Moonlight? It was stunning! Joel Silver has clearly outdone himself! It just blew me away. It was intense, romantic, action-packed, moved very quickly and yet had great continuity. The cast was superb. There are not enough adjectives to describe this show. The relationship between Josef and Mick was amazing. I'm so glad that Jason Dohring got a major role here. He's a very good actor. Hope to see more? The Prince of Darkness becomes Prince Charming and reverses back to save "his Beth" from the rogue vampire. Could it be any better? We ladies were salivating! Matt, no occult show on TV could possibly measure up. I'm not thinking People's Choice Award, I'm thinking Emmy! If the following three episodes are anything like this one, I'm ready for a two-hour premiere in the fall. — Sharon
Matt Roush: But did you like it? Now that's what I call a mash note, and I sure hope you enjoyed the two-page photo spread of Alex O'Loughlin in the current Sexiest Stars issue. Pages 56-57. (Who am I kidding? It's probably hanging on thousands of walls already.) I would agree absolutely on one point: The scene where Josef turned Mick back into a vampire was a highlight of the entire season, and definitely Jason Dohring's best work in the series to date. (Reminded me of the erotic charge I got out of the early Anne Rice vampire novels.) Emmy-worthy? I won't go that far. But worthy of cult status and a second season? More and more.
Question: I was a reluctant fan of Moonlight in the beginning. It was way too much like Angel, and the episode where Mick had to feed on his girlfriend to survive was very clichéd and an obvious copycat of Angel and Buffy. However, I gave the show a chance, and I have to admit, it grew on me until I found myself looking forward to its return. Then, I watched the first episode back last Friday night. Not only was the story incredibly obvious and way too easy to see where the plot was going, but the product placements were so obtrusive that they completely overwhelmed the story. There was iPhone, iPhone and then more iPhone, followed by Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft and finally Krispy Kreme donuts. There was hardly room for the badly written story. I was disappointed. — John
Matt Roush: I get this point of view as well. I'm enjoying Moonlight more as it goes, but still find much of the writing (generally, anything that doesn't involve the whole vampire/mortality thing) beyond clunky. So much of Moonlight feels like a generic CBS show: the obvious crime plots, the bland supporting cast (excepting Dohring, who has improved lately), the harsh lighting. (Has there ever been a sunnier vampire drama than the ironically titled Moonlight?) Alex O'Loughlin is pretty much carrying this show on his capable shoulders, but I hope that if things settle down behind-the-scenes in the second season (assuming there will be one), that the rest of the show can rise to the level of its star's charisma. It won't be easy. But to single this show out for its product placements is a bit naïve. That's the economic reality of the world much of network TV is living in. If you're watching the show in real time, already sitting through the commercials, you may have cause to complain. But if you're watching on DVR/TiVo, skipping the commercials, that's a big reason you're going to have to get used to this trend. But it's true they could be a little less obvious about it, especially when it comes to those loving close-ups of the phones.
Another Moonlight question: The cast in a recent interview said that the last four episodes would "stand alone" due to there being no second-season pickup as yet. That is, there would be no arcs created because they didn't want to leave the audience hanging in the event that the series did not return. They also said that all four episodes were now wrapped. My question is this: If the network announces a pickup before the final episode airs, do you think they would create (or may already have ready) an alternate ending in an attempt to leave a cliffhanger to entice second-season viewing? Or do you think they will leave it as it is and move into a less stand-alone format if a second season happens? — Lyn
Matt Roush: The CBS upfront announcement will take place two days before Moonlight's scheduled May 16 season finale, so this is a moot point. I doubt seriously any show would rejigger its finale at the last minute just to give the audience a contrived cliff-hanger, which is already a pretty overdone gimmick, don't you think? The main reason I bring up this issue is to state again my own conviction that producers of marginal series do themselves and certainly their fans a disservice by ending an "on the bubble" season with a huge cliff-hanger. It's one thing to leave a show open-ended (like, say, the finale of Eli Stone, where Eli woke from the coma with the tumor gone and a world of possibilities ahead of him) and another entirely to leave the fan hanging with a life-or-death situation (like, say, if Eli had chosen to end without letting us know if he was going to wake up.) If Moonlight gets renewed, which I expect to be the case, then let the arcs fly. Although knowing CBS's proclivities, I bet their desire is for the show to keep the stories as self-contained as possible.
askmatt@tvguide.com
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