Question: I have read your columns and reviews since you were back with USA Today. I'm sure you remember a little show back in the late 1980s called Beauty and the Beast created by Ron Koslow, whose name is now on the credits as a cocreator of Moonlight. I tuned in to Moonlight because of Koslow's name. I love Moonlight, although it is different in tone than Beauty and the Beast, but still the emotional bond and unrequited love between Mick and Beth is reminiscent of Vincent and Catherine. I was wondering how much input Koslow has, since I haven't heard much about his involvement with the show even during the upheaval in the production staff that seems to have gone on. On a final note, the fans loving Moonlight and fighting to keep it on the air are also reminiscent of the fan outpouring of support for Beauty and the Beast, also on CBS 20 years ago.
Answer: Not just the CBS connection, but it also aired on Fridays, back before the night was considered a graveyard. Do I remember Beauty
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Hi all-I'm checking in again and this time I think I have the correct link to connect you to a fellow moonlighter's blog. Try this.If all else fails, leave your comments and critiques below.Also, here is the link to Alex O'Loughlin's recent appearance on TV Watercooler. Enjoy!
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As promised, Part 2 of my recent sitdown with Alex. This time the Moonlight star (and TV Guide's Sexiest Star!) answers your questions about how the series would be different (OK, naughtier) were it on cable, the funniest thing that has happened during filming (unexpected answer on that one), the color of his eyes and much more. Plus: One of you poses a question that Alex declares utterly "great"!Enjoy!
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In the world of supernatural TV, anything’s possible: a sexy vampire, a dapper Devil. Anything, perhaps, except overcoming so-so ratings and a creatively uneven first year. Two purely escapist series, CBS’ vampire mystery Moonlight and the CW’s satanic comedy Reaper, are on the bubble for renewal (their fates are announced the week of May 12 during the networks’ up-front presentations). While neither is likely to become a genre classic of Buffy or X-Files status, both deserve a chance to keep going and growing.
Moonlight in particular enjoys buzz from fans smitten by Mick St. John, a dashing private-eye vampire (Alex O’Loughlin) who bares his chest more often than his fangs. Overcoming a dreary pilot stuffed with noir clichés, Moonlight quickly developed into a sizzling romance between Mick and Beth (Sophia Myles), a reporter who seems to crave the immortality he has come to despise.
An awful lot of
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Hi all-Once again, I'm happy to provide a space for you to discuss the latest developments, share your thoughts on Friday's show, etc. Also, one of our fearless friends/colleagues has taken up the call to blog — follow this link.In case you missed Alex O'Loughlin's appearance on TV's Sexiest Stars, check this out. Be patient. His clip follows one for January Jones.
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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.
Answer: 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
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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.
Answer: 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. (Wh ...
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Question: 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?
Answer: 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
...
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Question: Anything new with Moonlight? Do you know if there is going to be a second season yet?
Answer: The show held its own in the ratings last Friday, so I'd say its chances are improving.
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Question: What is the difference between a pilot and a presentation? I'm a Moonlight addict, and I've read about this quite a few times but don't know the difference.
Answer: Simply put, a pilot is usually a full-length episode (sometimes even of TV-movie length) meant to introduce the show's premise and establish its tone. A "presentation," such as Moonlight made before it was picked up last year, is more or less an expanded trailer, a collection of scenes that tell the network what the show will look like and where it's going, but produced at far less expense than a typical pilot. There are more series than ever producing presentations or even bypassing the pilot process and going straight to series production, and the reasons are all economic. Pilots traditionally are produced at a much greater budget than a regular series episode and thus tend to promise more than the actual series can deliver week in and week out. The one thing that pilots and presentations have in common, though ...
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