Moonlight

A vampire show just ahead of the curve. A couple of years later we've seen The Twilight Saga, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries amongst those who've made a genre of vampires.

Moonlight follows private investigator Mick St. John in LA. He's also a vampire, and his life is about to change as he gets involved in the life of a mortal reporter. I'm not all that impressed by Alex O'Loughlin as St. John, but I adore Sophia Myles as Beth Turner (the female reporter) and I once again enjoyed Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars) more than his role enables him to.

The arch stories aren't quite deep enough, but the episode stories work quite well. Easily enjoyable popcorn show that only got 16 episodes, and deserved better.

Firefly

Unlike movies, TV-shows are much like people in some ways. Movies might receive a cold welcome, they don't take in the expected cash and obviously disappear into oblivion for a while. Still. If it's really a quality movie, sooner or later word of mouth will salvage it into cult status. A cult status that will inevitably make sure it gets seen by thousands and thousands of people in years to come, and in its intended form.

That can't happen to a TV-show. When a TV-show is canceled, it can't be restored. If it dies in its youth, it'll never get around to live the life it might have deserved or planned. The world isn't fair, and many people die way too young. Such is the case with TV-shows as well, and Firefly was slaughtered as a child, never even hitting the teenage years of rebellious youth. I pray whoever was responsible for that decision is kept far away from making similar decisions still.

Firefly's short life at Fox started by the canceling of the last show I reviewed here, Dark Angel. I never liked that decision either, but Dark Angel did at least live to see its early twenties. How I wish Firefly had managed the same.

From the creative mind of Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel) came the story of Sci-Fi outlaws, well cast, well written and well directed. It didn't help much as Fox screwed over the airing, advertising and everything else, but Firefly have become a legend in time. A cult story that will live on forever as the cautionary tale. TV isn't about quality.

12 episodes were aired, but there's 15 to be watched, including the original opening double episode they actually aired last. It's well worth your time. I get the chills just by hearing the opening sequence linked to in the video above. Pure entertainment. Thankfully Whedon got to clean up some of the mess with a 2005 movie entitled after their home, Serenity. Some of the loose ends got tied up. It's not much of a bandage for the wounds of those fans that had to live through the cancellation, but it's more than many ever get. There's some consolidation in that.

R.I.P. Firefly, you'll always be remembered. . .

Shows followed from birth to death

Just making a list of shows I'm sure I've watched every single episode of, and as my memory will probably fail my I'll have to update this as I recall them. Alphabetically listed and shows seen more than once in bold.


Alias
Beverly Hills, 90210
Corner Gas
Coupling
Cupid (both 98/09)
Dark Angel
Dawson's Creek
Fastlane
Friday Night Lights
Friends
Firefly
Joan of Arcadia
Joey
Kidnapped
Monk
Moonlight
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
NewsRadio
Num3ers
NYPD Blue
Party of Five
Seinfeld
Sports Night
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
The Good Guys
The King of Queens
The O.C.
The Shield
The Unit
The Unusuals
The West Wing
The Wire
Third Watch
Traveler
Two Guys and a Girl
Veronica Mars
War at Home
Without a Trace

Currently airing multi-seasonal shows I haven't abandoned yet:

Bones
Chuck
Criminal Minds
Entourage
Flashpoint
Fringe
NCIS
One Tree Hill
Spooks
The Big Bang Theory

Dark Angel

I'm not going to pretend I'm something I'm not. I got hooked and ran through Dark Angels in two days, and I just wish it lasted for three or four days. Jessica Alba might not have the TV-show presence of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) or the beauty of Sarah Walker (Chuck, Yvonne Strahovski), but she sure made a presence and showed her sex appeal through her movie career after Dark Angel got cancelled. I like both Alba and Michael Weatherly (NCIS), but Dark Angel never got its chance to survive into fame. For that I'm truly sorry.

The arch story isn't as interesting as it could have been, but it's hard to resist the Max character. She might kick some ass, she might have some attitude and Jessica Alba sure is pretty, but it never took of like it might have done. I'll still remember Jessica for bringing Max to life, and hopefully will some others. Dark Angel still deserve an audience, just a little more than it ever got airing.

You'll never be truly satisfied by its ending, but its better than it could so easily have been. I'll remember Max, and I'll save a quiet prayer for her man to stick by her side. Hopefully you'll too.

Books read

I'm not intending to review any of my read books, but as I read on I'll try to keep this up do date with what and when I've read, as well as how well they were enjoyed. As I rarely have the time and inclination to review TV-shows anymore, I'll just add it here at the same part of my blog-sphere.


A Walk To remember by Nicholas Sparks (03/11)
Jane Grey by Charlotte Brontë (02/11)
Emma by Jane Austen (02/11)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (02/11)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (01/11)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (01/11)
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer (12/10-01/11)
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (11/10-12/10)


Notes:
Title by Author (read:mm/yy)
Highlighted books/series considered well worth the read.
Highlighted and underlined books/series considered must read classics.