| Moonlight | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Format | Supernatural, Action, Horror, Drama |
| Created by | Ron Koslow Trevor Munson |
| Starring | Alex O'Loughlin Sophia Myles Jason Dohring Shannyn Sossamon Brian J. White |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ron Koslow Trevor Munson Gerard Bocaccio Joel Silver Rod Holcomb Chip Johannessen |
| Running time | 42 minutes (approximately) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | September 28, 2007 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Moonlight is an American supernatural television drama created by Ron Koslow and Trevor Munson, who also serve as executive producers alongside Joel Silver, Gerard Bocaccio and Rod Holcomb.[1] The show is a paranormal romance series that follows a private investigator, Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin), whose bride, Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon), turned him into a vampire on the couple's wedding night 55 years prior; he struggles in the present day with his love for a mortal woman, Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), and his dealings with other vampires in the city. Produced by Warner Bros. Television and Silver Pictures, the series premiered on September 28 2007, airing on Friday nights at 9:00/8:00c on CBS, following Ghost Whisperer.[2] Channel Nine in Australia started airing the series on December 12 2007. On November 6 2007, CBS announced that only eleven of the planned twelve episodes will be completed, due to a strike by the Writers Guild of America.[3] This seems to be in error however, as the show is now scheduled for 12 full episodes. Les Moonves, President of CBS, speaking on December 4, 2007, stated that Moonlight is likely to return for a second season (2008-2009) along with fellow freshmen Comedy The Big Bang Theory.[4]
Contents |
Cast
Main cast
- Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin), a private investigator who was turned into a vampire over fifty years ago. As a private investigator, he is a shrewd planner and remarkably honorable. His wife, Coraline, sired him on their wedding night in 1952. He remained solo for the next thirty plus years of his life. Then in 1985 he was approached by a mother desperate to find her kidnapped daughter Beth. Mick rescued the child from the kidnapper, his ex-wife Coraline, who he then killed. He has continued to keep track of Beth over the years and they soon grow close after a string of "vampire" murders, with leaning to romance. Though he realizes that Beth means quite a bit to him, he is reluctant to continue a romantic, and at times any sort, relationship with her, knowing that his being a vampire would hinder any sort of normal life. Mick meets a photographer who works with Beth in Buzzwire who closely resembles his ex-wife, Coraline. After he discovers it really is her, and she has turned back into a human, he pleads with her to find the 'cure'. Mick and Coraline are becoming attracted toward each other again, and Beth, full of jealousy, stabs Coraline not knowing she's human.
- Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), an internet reporter, and St. John's love interest. Beth was rescued by Mick 22 years ago (Los Angeles 1985) after being kidnapped by his ex-wife Coraline. Inquisitive and intelligent, she is a fairly successful reporter and steadily dating an attorney. In the first episode, she meets Mick over a dead body and is curiously drawn to him, only to find out that he is a vampire. Though he occasionally has to bail her out of trouble, she soon becomes invaluable to him as backup and emotional support, going as far as to feed him her blood to help him regain his strength. The longer she knows Mick, the more she starts to remember about the fateful night when she was a child and Mick rescued her, until she finally realizes that he was the one who saved her. When Beth gets jealous toward a photographer and Mick working together on a case, she investigates the photographer's background. She finds out she's actually Mick's wife, Coraline. When she goes to tell Mick, she finds Mick and Coraline partially undressed, she is furious and stabs Coraline, who is in fact human. This becomes a tremendous blow to Mick and Beth's fragile relationship, though they soon make amends.
- Josef Konstantin (Jason Dohring), a centuries old vampire (he was four years old in 1603 as mentioned in the episode The Ringer, therefore making him 408 years old), and St. John's mentor. Not much is known about his past and he doesn't reveal anything of it unless prompted. He claims to have gone insane when first turned into a vampire in Dr. Feelgood, was chased by a mob in There's No Such Thing as Vampires, and has known Coraline for roughly a hundred years before she met Mick. A hedonist to the utmost, he is a shrewd businessman who doesn't stint himself in luxuries, from an expensive house to the company of numerous beautiful women who are more than happy to sate his desire for blood. Cynical and wry, he humors what he calls Mick's sentimentality regarding humans, from aiding them to only drinking dead or donated blood. However, he rebukes Mick rather harshly from time to time, especially concerning Mick's growing affection for Beth. In Sleeping Beauty, a 93 year old man sends an mercenary to kill Josef, on the grounds that Josef killed his daughter, Sarah, 50 years ago. Mick and Beth find out that Josef was in love with Sarah, and tried to turn her into a vampire but something went wrong in the process, resulting in leaving her comatose for fifty years. Curiously, she hasn't aged.
- Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon), St. John's ex-wife and sire. A courtesan in early 18th century France, she is approximately 300 years old. She turned Mick into a vampire on their honeymoon. She was presumed dead for 22 years after Mick rescued Beth and set the building on fire, trapping Coraline within. Cool, collected and sophisticated, Coraline never lacked male attention, favoring musicians, which led to a fateful encounter with Mick and his band in the 1950's at a garden party. Despite driving Mick near insane with obsession, she grew to love him or perhaps obsess about him, leading to his fateful turning. In the episode entitled "The Ringer", Mick meets a human photographer named Morgan. Both Mick and Josef see Coraline's mannerisms and style in Morgan, yet she is human, not a vampire. Mick tried to force her to reveal herself, looking for the fleur de lis tattoo that his former wife had on her right shoulder, but Morgan's shoulder was bare. The last scene of the episode shows Morgan wiping makeup from her shoulder, revealing the tattoo, Morgan herself shortly later confirmed she is Coraline. In the episode fleur de lis, the tattoo is shown as being a brand. It is later shown that Coraline is not really cured of vampirism, but had somehow managed to suppress it. After being stabbed in the chest with a piece of wood, Coraline is taken to the hospital where her vampiric traits start to exhibit themselves as her conditions worsens.
Supporting cast
- Jacob Vargas as Guillermo, a morgue worker who steals blood from dead bodies for himself and other vampires.
- Brian J. White as Lieutenant Carl Davis, one of Turner's contacts.
- Jordan Belfi as Josh Lindsey, Beth's boyfriend who works in the DA's office
- Kevin Weisman as Steve Balfour, friend of Beth and co-worker at BuzzWire
Production history
Conception
Originally titled "Twilight", Trevor Munson and the creator of Beauty and the Beast, Ron Koslow, wrote the script for the pilot which was initially commissioned as a presentation lasting from 14 to 20 minutes by Warner Bros. Television in January 2007. Joel Silver and Gerard Bocaccio also came on board to executive produce the project under the former's production banner, Silver Pictures, in the same month.[5] Rod Holcomb directed the presentation.[6] The project was renamed "Moonlight" when CBS gave it an early pick-up and a thirteen-episode order on May 14, 2007 prior to the 2007 Upfronts.[7]
Cast and crew changes
David Greenwalt, creator of Miracles and co-creator of Angel, joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and it was announced that a full-length pilot would be shot as the show changed creatively.[1] The cast underwent a major upheaval as all of the original actors save for the male lead role of Mick St. John were re-cast in June 2007. Shannon Lucio, Rade Sherbedgia and Amber Valletta were originally cast in the roles of Beth Turner, Josef Konstantin and Coraline respectively before Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon replaced them as a proper pilot for television audiences was re-shot and creative control of the show changed hands. [8] [9] [10] Greenwalt later left the show in July 2007 citing "personal, health reasons" for his departure. Chip Johannessen took over showrunner duties in August 2007. [11] [12]
Marketing
The show was featured on July 27, 2007 at Comic-Con International in San Diego with executive producer Joel Silver in attendance to promote the show.[13] In the United States, the commercial trailers on CBS feature the song "Taking Chances" by Céline Dion.
Reception
The original short pilot presentation (not the aired version) was panned by The Futon Critic, who gave this short pilot a scathing review, rating it only one star out of four, and also suggested that another CBS pilot, Babylon Fields, deserved to be picked up over Moonlight.[14] The review further hoped that the pilot would be reshot, which it was after the cast and crew changes noted above.
Episodes
| Number | Episode Title | Premiere | U.S. Ratings (Live + Same Day) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "No Such Thing as Vampires" | September 28, 2007 | 8.54 Million |
| 2 | "Out of the Past" | October 5, 2007 | 8.05 Million |
| 3 | "Dr. Feelgood" | October 12, 2007 | 7.10 Million |
| 4 | "Fever" | October 19, 2007 | 7.67 Million |
| 5 | "Arrested Development" | October 26, 2007 | 8.39 Million |
| 6 | "B.C." | November 2, 2007 | 7.57 million |
| 7 | "The Ringer" | November 9, 2007 | 7.96 million |
| 8 | "12:04 AM" | November 16, 2007 | 8.19 million |
| 9 | "Fleur de Lis" | November 23, 2007 | 7.33 million |
| 10 | "Sleeping Beauty" | December 14, 2007 | 7.62 million |
| 11 | "Love Lasts Forever" | January 11, 2008 (Scheduled) | N/A - Unaired |
| 12 | "The Mortal Cure" | January 18, 2008 (Scheduled) | N/A - Unaired |
See also
References
- ^ a b Nellie, Andreeva. "Greenwalt bites into 'Moonlight'", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-06-01. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Nellie, Andreeva. "CBS announces premiere week lineup", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-07-19. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ "How Shows and Networks Will Be Affected By Writers Strike", The New York Post, 2007-11-06.
- ^ Consoli, John (2007-12-04). CBS to Air Showtime's Dexter; Will Renew Big Bang, Moonlight. Mediaweek. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
- ^ The Futon Critic Staff. "Development Update: Monday, January 29", The Futon Critic, 2007-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ The Futon Critic Staff. "Development Update: Thursday, March 8", The Futon Critic, 2007-03-08. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford. "CBS Picks Up 'Bang,'Power' Plus Four Dramas", The Futon Critic, 2007-05-14. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Nellie, Andreeva. "Myles set for 'Moonlight' run on CBS", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-06-27. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Nellie, Andreeva. "CBS pulls Dohring into 'Moonlight'", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Zap2it.com. "More Recasting For CBS' 'Moonlight'", Tribune Media Services, 2007-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Nellie, Andreeva. "Greenwalt exits CBS' 'Moonlight'", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-07-27. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Nellie, Andreeva. "Johannessen to run 'Moonlight'", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-08-02. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ ComingSoon.net. "Full Comic-Con Schedule Online!", Coming Soon Media, 2007-07-09. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford. "The Futon's First Look: CBS's "Moonlight" (Plus "Babylon Fields")", The Futon Critic, 2007-06-13. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
