Moonlight has been slowly improving each week, though the inconsistencies still grate on occasion. As of last week, Beth not only knows that Mick is a vampire, but he also told her that she is the only human he has ever trusted to tell how he was made.  The charming wedding story just gives me more ammunition to not get married. I don't want to become a vampire!

Our show starts and I wonder for a moment if I am watching Moonlight or some new Nine Inch Nails video. But there's Mick, chilling in a bathtub.  Literally, because the tub is filled with water and ice. Beth is also there, and as the voice over lets us know how awful it is to know the only thing that can save you can also destroy something else, we watch him sink his teeth into her neck.  But how did we get here, to this far advanced flash forward?  It starts with a court case, which Beth's significant other is involved in.  They watch her coverage of the case and he grins saucily, letting her know he has an ace up his sleeve. She tries to get him to give up what he's hiding, but he staunchly refuses.

What he is hiding is a secret witness, stashed in a safe house, although from the look of the place, "safe" may not be a great descriptor. There is a young girl, Lenny, there with two cops who are playing cards. She tries to talk them into letting her leave the hotel, but that's not part of keeping her safe.  So instead she lifts one of their cell phones, goes into the bedroom and makes a call. She's not on the phone long before there's a knock at the door. One of the cops goes to answer and gets a bullet through the eye for his trouble, courtesy of the peep hole in the door. A shoot out ensues and both cops end up dead, with Lenny dropping out a back window.

The next scene we see is narrated by Mick, who mentions that when Beth calls, he always answers. Which she hasn't done in a week. All the same, she wants to come over now and he agrees. What he did not agree to was her bringing her DA boyfriend, Josh, with her. He tells Mick they are there because there is an emergency and that despite the fact that they did not get off on the right foot, he wants to hire Mick to find the Lenny. He admits that he cannot use the cops because he suspects there is a leak in the force.  He also admits the Beth had not wanted to him to hire Mick, which a nice dose of passive aggressive salt. Way to go Josh! You are still not as hot as Mick. Josh gives Mick the skinny on Lenny, such as how she was a nanny for Amir Fayed's daughter, is 22 and smart, but was in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessed Fayed murder one of his henchmen, named Jack, thus she is willing to testify. Rather, she was, before the safe house was shot up.

Josh is being an optimist in thinking she may still want to testify, so he brings Mick to the scene of the crime.  Mick, having his super scent, quickly sees all that happened before, and goes about shooting down all of Josh's theories, such as there being two shooters and that Lenny left through the kitchen's service entrance. He quickly picks up her trail and ends up in the alley outside the hotel. He tells Josh that the trail dead ends behind a dumpster and they figure out Lenny likely stole one of the cops undercover vehicles, which has lo-jack. At this point, however, Josh seems less concerned and decides to dash back to the office. Beth puts in a cal to one of her contacts and gets a hacker to get the lo-jack info. Not so secure now, are you, lo-jack?

From here the episode gets very fast paced and involved, and I can say with complete assurance that it is far and away the best episode yet. Mick tells Beth not to follow him and for once she listens, but this means he eventually ends up wandering the desert with the pregnant witness by himself. And deserts at daytime are not a good place for vampires to be. Mick gets increasingly ragged and gnarly looking as back in the city Josh and his DA crew try to zero in on Fayed. Which they don't manage to do before a helicopter armed to the teeth shoots up the cop car Mick stole to try and escape with Lenny. Luckily they were not in the vehicle, but the DAs office doesn't know that and neither does Beth, who points out that Mick only talked to her and Josh so the leak must be on Josh's side. She angrily runs away to cry which is fine as Josh didn't exactly act supportive when telling her he got her friend killed. 

Meanwhile, Mick and Lenny have found there way to some sort of Hotel California, where he is taking an ice bath while Lenny tries to reach Beth. Which she finally does, she gives her directions while Mick fights back the urge to drain the only source of blood near him - the pregnant girl he is supposed to be protecting.  Lenny comes in to the bathroom to tell Mick she got through the Beth, only to have him attack her.  Just kidding!  It seems Mick is hallucinating, but I swear that scene made me gasp. She tells him Beth is on the way and he tells her to get out.  Through all this, Josh is closing in on his leak, but not fast enough.

Beth arrives at the hotel and seeing how bad Mick is offers him her blood, which he is reticent to accept, but eventually caves, telling her she will have to stop him at some point. Which is where I would have some questions if I were in her shoes. Such as stop exactly when, and how? He sinks his teeth into her wrist and we see Josh find his leak, but the dispatch has been made. By the time Beth emerges from the bathroom, the hotel room is dark and when she calls for Lenny, she gets a gun to the temple instead, thanks to the department leak. Thank goodness Mick is felling better, because he snaps the intruders neck handily enough, saving the day. Back at the city, Josh kisses Beth's arm and she brushes the injury off on her own clumsiness before going to visit Mick, who won't answer the door, having realized he is a danger to her.

There were a few weird moments in the episode, such as the moment during the opening where Mick's voice over tells us sunlight will kill vampires eventually, which contradicts what we heard in the pilot, but I am willing to let it slide. There is also a moment where it seems like the rogue cop who is after them is a vampire, as Mick asks him why he is wearing a heavy jacket in the desert and the cop answers that he is always cold, but since Mick kills him by simply snapping his neck, that must not have been the case.  All the same, it was a comparatively solid episode. I still think the series is moving a bit too quickly and not giving us enough time to emotionally connect to the characters, but I am slowly coming around as the writing improves.

What say you, fellow Moonlighters? Do you feel connected to Mick and Beth? Connected enough to have felt for Beth when she thought Mick was dead tonight? I wasn't feeling the amount of sympathy I think I would had this happened toward the end of the season, personally, but I am starting to have hope for this show again!

Comments

The episode was nice and I do feel connected to Mick and Beth.
I especially liked the bonding via biting in the bathtub...

DG | Oct 19, 2007 9:55:04 PM | #

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yep, this ep got the biggest rise out of me of all the shows i've seen this week.

i jumped, too, when he bit lennie, and i think i swooned when he sunk his teeth into beth's wrist.

gawd, the guy is gorgeous. this is the first vampire i've seen onscreen that so owns the seductiveness that anne rice wrote so deliciously into her first books. tom cruise and brad pitt never even came close to mick st john.

i think they've got a hit on their hands. at least i hope so.

KR | Oct 19, 2007 10:37:49 PM | #

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This show seems like it is steadily improving. I do agree in that the character development seems to be a bit lacking, but maybe with time, it gets better.

Thing that bugs me a bit is this. With me, when I watch a show, I like to know the potential endgames out there. And I'm not sure what the endgame in this show is. It's not a straight procedural, and yet, it almost feels that way in some respects.

Random rumination - ugh ... I wonder if they are going to have Mick turn Beth at some point. That would be somewhat lame, but I could see it happening.

I am coming around to Alex O'Loughlin in this role. At first, it seemed a bit, eh. Guess I got used to him on The Shield, where he was a pretty intriguing character that didn't get the development (partially due to the cable short seasons).

I'd like to see this show get shifted to another night to have a better shot at success, but it doesn't seem to mesh too well with the other CBS shows, unless you look at it from a procedural/cop perspective.

One side note. From my viewing, the department leak didn't seem to have anything to do with the bad cop finding Mick, Beth, and Lenny at the hotel. Remember, the guy drove up and saw the car first before the phone call was made. Explanation's a bit flimsy, but I guess it would be something along the lines of how the cop thought it was a bit out of the ordinary to have a car like that in the middle of no where (makes sense).

Tony | Oct 20, 2007 12:03:31 AM | #

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Remember Forever Knight. Moonlight actually much more like that series than Angel.
Though, am enjoying. Beth! WOW The rest should be interesting.

RF | Oct 20, 2007 8:26:31 AM | #

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The show gets better and better with each episode. It's fun watching Mick try to be in denial about things. The viewers get to know that there is no way he's going to be able to keep it up.

Keep this show on the air, CBS! You've got a winner!

Leeser | Oct 20, 2007 8:29:41 AM | #

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This episode was a great one. I love how it all flowed and came together.

Great show!

nw | Oct 20, 2007 8:31:34 AM | #

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This is by far my favorite show on TV. I hope CBS gives this show a chance to build on the characters. There is some really good acting on this show AND eye-candy. Usually one doesn't get both.

"Some people find vampires attractive" I know I find THIS one HOT!

Smiles,
Holly
http://www.theabundanceplace.com

Holly | Oct 20, 2007 8:34:25 AM | #

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A mix of intensely felt and shallow. After the sharing of blood, how much further can the show go? It's great to have 2 such charismatic leads; their interactions, particularly on her part, are complex and interesting. I hope that the writing continues to improve and that consistent story line and purpose lead us to a gripping season.

glorysinger | Oct 20, 2007 8:50:23 AM | #

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Save the Vampire; Save My World!
Aka/ Fever

New Rule: CBS should give a warning! Had the scene of Mick showing his gorgeous, buffed (someone’s been working out) and totally yummy body would be electronically beamed into their homes, they could have taken precautions. Why? I’ll tell you why. When Mick walked in shirtless, going to retire to his bed…err…freezer, a certain viewer *all eyes trained on Rafferty* was so overcome with naughty passionate thoughts that she tried to jump through her television. Which startled the dog, bird, and cat. Which caused such a ruckus of zoo-like proportions…no not them; they were looking at me! Yeah. They pretty much kicked back, eating my snacks, drinking my drinks; and in general, giggling at me drooling from an erotic state of euphoria, yelping from suspense, and sniffing from a possible unattainable love. On second thought, scratch the warning. I love living on the edge!

Moonlight New Rule:

When one becomes a vampire they will regenerate missing body parts. Mick explained that during the Battle of the Bulge he lost a foot due to frost-bite. So obviously his foot grew back when he was turned.

Funniest line: “You had to go piss off an arms dealer!” *he*

This episode dramatically brought the viewer closer to the inevitable question; can Mick and Beth be together? I love how in the beginning of the series, Beth was shown, once she found out Mick’s secret, that being with him was all a game. When she thought she had lost him, she was devastated. It hit her like a ton of bricks, having not admitting to herself, what Mick means to her. And Mick seeing himself through Leni’s eyes that her boyfriend Jack loved her so much that he was willing to change. Regardless of genre, Fever is one of the best episodes I’ve seen in a long time. It brought all the elements of suspense, storyline, sfx, acting and skillfully brought them together like a symphony orchestra. All tuned. All on point. And the scene when Beth offered herself to Mick to save his life; it was sweetly erotic. I can honestly say that this was the first episode that not once was I distracted by gaffs or plot points. I was hooked, reeled in, and even now, flapping like a guppy. *the next Disney animated film…Finding Rafferty…will be coming to a theatre soon.*

After repeated viewings, just a couple of thoughts. A vampire should adopt the Boy Scout Rule; 'always be prepared" and if said vampire is going out of town and doesn’t drink from humans, should have a flask of plasma on their person. Was that a real rocket fired from the helicopter? If so, what kind of permit would a sfx team have to get? And it’s not really a complaint…just would like the record to show…at the end when Mick said in the v/o that his relationship with Beth had to end because as long as she's with him, she would be in danger…Someone needs to grab him, smack him and quote the great Cher; “Snap out of it!” We’re 4 episodes in and 3 out of the 4 Beth has saved your life Mick! To see the last scene, Beth on one-side of the hallway wall and Mick on the other; so close, yet so far…and the song Into Dust playing in the background…heartbreaking!

Next week…Teenage vampire. Can’t wait. This will be "The Hills...With Fangs”

Rafferty Rulz | Oct 20, 2007 9:04:02 AM | #

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I just now caught up on all the episodes for this new show and I must say I'm "sucked" in. Its sorta a guilty pleasure, how can a vampire be so HOT. I don't know where it will all go but I'm in. Please CBS don't cancel this one on me!!

Jo | Oct 20, 2007 9:36:46 AM | #

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it wasnt his foot he lost, if you listen close, it was his friends, and yes i watched the show a few dozen times, love the dvr....love mick boy oh boy he is one sexy hot vamp

micksgal | Oct 20, 2007 12:22:07 PM | #

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Oh my! Oh my! I am definitely hooked on Moonlight and last night's episode, "Fever", was terrific! This show keeps getting better and better and at the end of each episode, it leaves me wanting to watch next week's episode now!

In "Fever", I loved the part of her giving a part of herself to save him. I also like the part where Beth was arguing with Mick about taking her blood because he was dying and she was holding his face in her hands to make him look at her. The ending though was a killer. Seeing her on one side of the door and him on the other and Mick wouldn't open the door, that was so heart wrenching that it was killing me!

Alex O'Loughlin is definitely one fine looking man and I'd love to know what his personality is like. In the extra video clips I have seen on the net, he looks like he would have a fun, playful personality and be intelligent to boot! He likes to read so that is a plus!!!

Bottom line is I truly hope CBS keeps this show on the air! If they do not, I'll be devastated and very upset. Depression might even set in over the loss of Moonlight, Mick and Beth.

Becky | Oct 20, 2007 12:54:31 PM | #

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I love this hot vampire. The show is fun to watch and I so hope others feel the same way.

Popcorn | Oct 20, 2007 1:28:34 PM | #

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Ok people, the badguy wasn't a vamp. He killed a local Cop (remember the bullit hole in the glasses ? ) took the car,uniform etc in order to get close to his hit. Mick knew the hitman was not a Cop. He could smell the blood on the uniform concealed by the jacket.

Thus, one very dead human badguy.

ladylw | Oct 20, 2007 2:47:39 PM | #

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The show's not very good, but it's a decent time-filler. I really don't like Sophia Myles, though. Her acting is dreadful! During the scene where she was crying, there wasn't a hint of a tear. It was embarrassing to watch.

As vampire series go, Moonlight isn't anywhere NEAR Angel, but it's probably a little better than Blood Ties.

Lisa | Oct 20, 2007 2:48:38 PM | #

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I definitely thought this was the best episode yet! Really, there's only one thing that's bugging me... in the flash forward at the beginning, Mick bites Beth's neck, but once the story has unfolded and we reach that point within the episode, he bites her wrist... somewhat of a glaring inconsistency, if you ask me. Still, this was definitely a great episode.

Michelle | Oct 20, 2007 3:12:43 PM | #

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I started watching this show with a chip on my shoulder: wanting it to fail since Angel is so dear to my heart. I felt vidicated after the pilot which didn't get good til the second half. But I decided to give it a chance and have watched each week. I agree that this was by far the best episode and Mick and Beth are starting to matter to me. As you say, a lot of inconsistencies that are bothersome, but
I'm willing to stick it out to see where this goes. Anyone know how the ratings are?

AE | Oct 20, 2007 5:49:30 PM | #

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A fascinating show! I'm really enjoying it each week--it stretches my imagination and wins my heart! Especially love Alex O'Loughlin as Mick--simply gorgeous!

Michelle was wondering about the clip of Mick biting Beth's neck versus the actual biting of her wrist? I think both neck biting scenes (with Lenni too) were to show that he had been hallucinating--the actual taking blood from her sweet wrist was more tender and giving.

Lidia | Oct 20, 2007 8:18:24 PM | #

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I adore this show. I didn't think anything could knock Supernatural out as my favorite show, but this one did. With each episode Moonlight improves, and I really hope that CBS keeps it around so we can see what happens. I think this is easily the best new show of the season.

Allykat | Oct 20, 2007 8:52:37 PM | #

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i hope anyone who disliked the first two somewhat cheesy eps, will give this show another try. it's obvious that some thing changed significantly between eps 1-2 to 3 because, even though i knew i would watch it until the bitter end, i though it was not a very good show based on the first two outings. this episode turned everything around. no more cheesy, badly produced, directed, and acted, noir car rides, and no more truly terrible dialogue (though there were a couple of terrible lines still in there, but overall, a vast improvement). the guy who plays mick is improving on me (i still think that, while he is hot, he was woefully miscast), and i love the actress who plays beth. so, things are looking up. i am no longer embarrassed to tell people that i watch the show. i can't wait for more. great review, btw.

ghypscee | Oct 20, 2007 9:57:51 PM | #

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I am definitely one of those people who wasn't much impressed with this show at first who really enjoyed Friday's ep.

Nice job!

I really felt that CBS was not using the fact that their lead character is a vampire, and that the show is set in a world where vampires walk among us, to its best advantage. It all seemed like someone was afraid to fully "go there," or something. Mick is not what I'd call a vampire and neither are any of the vamps they've shown so far. Also, O'Loughlin's and Myles' attempts at maintaining standard American English accents seem, to me, to hamper their other acting abilities.

But this last episode combined vampire lore (sorta) with your standard cop show clichés and good acting to create an enjoyable episode. I hope they continue on this path in the future, because then I might just stick around through the end of the season.

One inconsistent thing that bothered me in the episode, though: Mick smelled blood at the safe house site and claimed that it wasn't Lenny's blood because he couldn't smell estrogen in it. Interesting way of moving the story forward and showing Mick's investigative prowess over Beth's bf's, but, come on.

Any ninth grader who's taken health class knows that men have estrogen in their bodies just like women have testosterone in theirs. I think the writers for this show might want to brush up on the science they use as they continue to brush up on vampire lore and history.

Oh! And I thought the Hitman kept his jacket on because he was hiding additional weapons not normally carried by cops. That's what I thought Mick was calling him out about. ?

Berlin | Oct 21, 2007 12:56:17 AM | #

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This episode was terrific. Alex's acting really conveyed Mick's anguish. It was palpable. And Beth showed the right amount of fear, and then the resolution to help the man she's beginning to care for.

I believe the show is progressing in a timely fashion. Each episode has given us a little more information, created a new vampire mythology for us to enjoy and has drawn Mick and Beth closer. I want to see them fall in love and continuing solving crimes together. They could be the next Nick and Nora Charles. Nora didn't obey Nick's commands either!

Moonlight should do well in the time slot between Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs. According to the Nielsen ratings on 10/12/07 Moonlight retained most of the nearly 8 million viewers who watched Ghost Whisperer.

Hopefully, CBS will give it a chance to develop. If not, we Moonlight fans could protest as the Jericho fans did.

Grimlin | Oct 21, 2007 1:59:17 AM | #

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My VCR cut out and so when I tried to watch it I only had the first half to watch! Talk about frustrated!!!

Fortunately, CBS has the eps on-line and I got to finish seeing it - and well worth watching, too.

Love the show! Sure hope it stays on the air!

Sure wish it wasn't on directly opposite that other wonderful vampire show Blood Ties (on Lifetime) in my area - and me not home to watch either one! I wind up taping them both and watching them later.

mermiz | Oct 21, 2007 4:59:51 AM | #

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I really hope CBS keeps this one. Each week it is getting better and better - I love it.

Denise | Oct 21, 2007 12:10:04 PM | #

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Great show. This was the best episode yet and looks to keep improving.

Steven Carroll | Oct 21, 2007 3:36:41 PM | #

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I thought it was a good episode also.

Although I can't say I was too impressed by using the boring start in the middle before showing the lead up to that part of the ep cliche. I don't like it when any show does this (this was especially frustrating watching Alias as they seemed to do that every 2nd or 3rd ep).

I'm liking seeing Vanessa Lengies again (American Dreams) even though it was likely just a one off.

I didn't like the fact that they had Mick state that "I always answer when Beth calls" b/c it was obvious then that he wouldn't at some point in the ep (ended up being not answering the door rather than phone, but it still fit the scenario).

I also didn't like the inconsistentcy that Jessica mentioned in the blog (about how sun affects vamps).

I also didn't like not seeing Jason Dohring (his first missed ep) and Shannon S. (her second missed ep out of the first 4) - I am excluding archived footage.

I know that by this post it probably seems like I didn't like the ep, but I actually did. I also haven't been as hard on the show as many of the other viewers up to this point. I wasn't expecting this show to be the next "The Wire" so I was just hoping for an hour of mindless entertainment and up to this point I have been entertained enough to continue watching the show.

Rishi | Oct 21, 2007 5:08:34 PM | #

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I do like this show but it's getting a bit too close to the Buffy/Angel forbidden love thingy for my liking. Yes, Mick's hot but why can't Beth have a hot boyfriend too at least make it worth the fight. And what happened to her Alias cameraman she had a new bloke this week and no-one mentioned where the other one had got to.

Sirius | Oct 21, 2007 11:23:24 PM | #

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finaly got up with the show...it's not ripping on Angel or Forever Knight...it's taking it's cues from Kindred: The Embraced and it's source material, Vampire: The Masquerade.

It's not a bad show...even slowly...if only Mick wasn't so boring.

VideoBeagle | Oct 23, 2007 9:07:19 AM | #

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The phony ice cubes in the bathtub showed that the4 star of the show won't get coild for the sake of the show. There was no sign of thatever they were cubes of melting. They may as well have been pieces of cardboard.

Dean L. Kaufman | Oct 23, 2007 7:29:52 PM | #

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Re: phony ice cubes. I agree that they were fake. Styrofoam, I believe.

And that belief is my point. To wholly enjoy just about any form of entertainment you must, to a certain degree, " Suspend Disbelief ".

This is a not a text book of Vampire Science 101. It is a TV show with Vampires. I groaned when I saw the ice cubes,( and rolled my eyes ) but still enjoyed the show.

A lot.

I had already accepted other bits of bent Physics, why stop at a few ice cubes that did not behave like ice cubes ?

Perhaps our lead Actor doesn't mind laying down in a tub of ice water. Pehaps real ice melts too quickly under the hot lights to film the scene.

Of couse, if I was in a tub with this fellow, I'd melt too...even without the lights !

I will tolerate a few cheesy FX's if I am being well entertained...And so far, this show is doing just that.

ladylw | Oct 24, 2007 3:24:45 AM | #

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Yeah! this episode was totally like a nine inch nails video!! how funny!

This show is so great and keeps getting better. And i agree with some of the comments about it being one of the best episodes of the show compared to other shows i watch this week.

Man that guy who plays Mick St. John is sooo perfect as a vampire. What a great actor and he does this brooding, torn complexity so well. I'm ready to get bitten by him!

I do feel the connection between Beth and Mick!! I want them together so bad already although in hindsight, it's too soon for that. man, i love this show! i'm starting to like it more than heroes.

leslie | Oct 25, 2007 8:35:36 AM | #

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