TV Review: Moonlight

I recently rewatched the 2007 television series Moonlight. Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin) is a private investigator with a secret: He’s a vampire. He looks about thirty, but he’s actually eighty-five. He takes an interest in protecting Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), a reporter who really is about thirty. They work together, doing some mild breaking and entering for clues for their respective lines of work.

Beth keeps saying that Mick looks familiar, but he brushes that off. As a walking CSI lab, Mick can tell if a vampire was around a dead body, and he can smell blood from a crime scene and tell if it matches an individual’s blood sample. And he uses his incredible strength and speed to save Beth and others.

It turns out that when Beth was a child, Mick saved her after she was kidnapped by a vampire. They sure make a cute couple. I wonder if they will get together?

Mick is front and center, Beth is on the right

Moonlight is different from other television or movie series on the subject. Mick does not normally kill other vampires, nor is he an isolated individual. Instead, there is a thriving but secret vampire community in Los Angeles. Mick’s best friend is a four-hundred-year-old vampire who has lots of vampire contacts. Mick has a contact in the coroner’s office who supplies him with blood. If Mick meets another vampire, they pick up each other’s scent and say something like, “Oh, so you’re a …” This large, secret community is an interesting take.

Keep in mind this was written in the early 2000s. The characters have cell phones, but they aren’t smart. Research on the internet is by desktop computer, and it takes a while. Beth works for an internet news group, and though they have higher ratings than more established sources, it’s still viewed as a novelty.

Another interesting fact is that this was one of the last of the great American private investigator shows set in modern times, until a new batch came out fairly recently. Most crime investigation shows involve the police or CSI types, and all the government resources they have. Seeing how private enterprise does things differently is refreshing.

But what kept viewers coming back was the on-again, off-again relationship between Mick and Beth. Mick thinks he’s no good for her. Beth keeps getting more and more fascinated with him. What will happen? 

Aye vs. Yes

What’s the difference between “Aye” and “Yes” when watching a military program, especially a science fiction one that uses these terms? A friend of mine who used to fly Naval Air told me that in the Navy and Marines, “Yes” is used to respond to a question, but “Aye” is used to respond to an order.

Many science fiction novels, movies, and TV shows use naval ranks and terminology. John Hemry, who is my favorite author and an old Navy hand, said that was because the Navy has experience keeping crews on ships for extended periods, and the Navy has bases around the world. That may be why this is used for spaceships in science fiction.

My current science fiction story is Alpha Shift. I’ve finished doing a thorough re-edit of the manuscript. Here’s what it looks like printed out.