Blade - Die Jagd geht weiter

When I discovered that "Blade" was going to be made into a series, I was extremely skeptical; I didn't go out of my way to watch it when it first aired. That being said, I am extremely grateful that decided to watch the July 26 episode. I am all the more grateful that Spike, during that episode, announced their Sunday marathon, and that I watched. The storyline is extremely interesting and imaginative (the "ash" drug was an ingenious idea), and very intelligent.

"Sticky," while no Wesley Snipes, pulls off his portrayal quite well, and seems to be growing into the role; I think he'll only get better over time, and truly make "Blade" his own. Also, I like that the writers make it harder for his Blade than Wesley Snipes' portrayal, in that his encounters with them are not, consistently, one-sided massacres. The Krista character (aka Jill Wagner) is an absolute gem of a find. Very believable not only as an ex Iraq veteran, but as someone struggling with the hand she's been dealt, and with the inherent conflicts that come with it. Van Sciver and Chase are yet additional examples of excellent casting. Jessica Gower nails the Chase character as the ruthless and sadistic enforcer, and Neil Jackson portrays Van Sciver perfectly as the outwardly elegant but ruthless, ambitions operator--it is clear that he has ulterior motives coming out of his ears.

And that incredible child character, the pure-blood vampire "boss," was absolutely riveting, and from the second she entered the story. Hopefully we'll see plenty more of her. She looks absolutely frightening.

Am anxious to see more dimension to the Blade character--in fact, I think, that is going to be essential to the long-term success of the series. While interesting, he is not, by a long shot, among the most fascinating and intriguing characters we've been introduced to--and it's his series, after all. His sidekick (Nelson Lee)--who is clearly fearless and dedicated--is also sorely in need of more development; I'd like to know what drives him, as well. Since this is to be a series, however, there's time (hopefully) to take care of those essential elements.

Overall, "Blade" the series far exceeded my expectations; hopefully it will be on long enough to reach its full potential. As I've stated, I'm hooked.

Network: Spike TV; Genre: Action, Drama, Horror; Content Rating: TV-14 (for strong language, graphic violence and gore); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)

For their first big scripted dramatic series, Spike TV went to the movie well and got screenwriter David S. Goyer himself to adapt Marvel comic book character and movie trilogy star Blade for the small screen. Half-human, half-vampire, Blade (Kirk "Sticky" Jones, "Over There"), also known as The Daywalker, tries to infiltrate a vast highly sophisticated underground syndicate of vampires. Meanwhile, a battle brews between the infected, lead by Marcus Van Sciver (Neil Jackson), and the purebloods that rule the vampire bloodline, one of the leaders of which – in the show's best character twist - is 12-year old Charlotte (Emily Hirst).

"Sticky" Jones does a decent Blade, as well as Wesley Snipes, but even at series length Blade is an anti-social one-note force of martial arts destruction. The show compensates by bringing in an original character. After her brother is shot by Marcus in the pilot, Krista (Jill Wagner) ventures into the vampire underworld, is converted and is then flipped by Blade as a double agent on the inside. With Blade left to do nothing more than grunt and growl, the show follows Krista's rise to the right hand of Marcus - much to the chagrin of his beautiful partner Chase (Jessica Gower) - as he tries to develop a vaccine to kill the purebloods.

One of the most interesting things about the "Blade" movies was that vampirism was treated like a disease and the aristocratic depiction of the vampire culture and inside of which where political power struggles between the 2 "races". It is fertile ground for a series to explore and yet "Blade: the series" feels like a monumental missed opportunity. Vampirism is now sold on the street like a drug as "Ash", but otherwise the show can't think of any new avenues to take itself down. If we aren't getting action how about vampirism as a social metaphor? The whole production reeks of an inescapable feeling of creative claustrophobia. I know should be grateful, given how few shows like this actually are on TV, but good intentions don't keep me entertained.

But the marquee appeal of "Blade" was the comic book fight scenes. While the Pilot looks great (the visual style of the entire series is slick eye-candy), as the show goes to series the action is suffocated by the Spike TV budget. In order to pay for a CGI effect of vampire skeletons exploding into dust (or a bit like my favorite, where Krista decapitates a vampire with a street sign), "Blade" scrimps and saves every penny by padding the show with endless, endless, scenes of expository conversation and dramatic dialog, effectively turning "Blade" into a vampire-related drama instead of a comic book actioner. And that is the biggest, and likely unavoidable, mis-step the show makes. All the saving does pay off in the end. If you can make it that far the show delivers a satisfying face-to-face final battle between Blade and Marcus.

I should also make the point that the TV-14 rating given to the show by Spike is wildly, irresponsibly, inappropriate given the language and level of gore on display here. "Blade" is a basic cable TV-MA if I've ever seen it.

* * / 4

Blade the Series is the series following the events of Blade Trinity. Surprising that the pilot is TV-MA and the rest of the series is TV-14 with the series following 3 rated R films. It does have quite a bit of blood and violence and some sexual content, of which could make it TV-MA. Blade is definitely more of a R/TV-MA rated character than a PG-13/TV-14 rated one.

Wesley Snipes doesn't return as Blade in this series. The role of Blade went to Sticky Fingaz for the entirety of the series. It is still a sequel to Snipes' trilogy. I'm not sure the exact reason why but Sticky Fingaz did an alright job in the series.

It does some of Blade's youth towards the middle of the series. I felt like that would've been a good idea to include in the first film. I felt like it is good that they finally did a bit of it.

When the series started, it definitely seems like some time has passed since Blade Trinity and this show. Obviously not a direct sequel. Trinity ended on a note that there could be a follow-up, of which this series picks up after some time after the ending. The one season we got of this series definitely feels like it also could have a follow-up. I have researched it and it didn't get a season 2 is mainly of financial reasons of the studio. I feel like this Blade could definitely appear again in Avengers Secret Wars as a bit of insight of what happens after the series. Hopefully both Wesley Snipes and Sticky Fingaz could both return as they seem to have more time for their Blades.

The vast majority of the cast members show promise, and the plot line seems to have been thoughtfully written. I'm not crazy about Sticky Fingaz' portrayal of Blade--his performance in the debut was wooden, as best--but I'll reserve judgment for a few episodes, and hope that with more experience comes more confidence, which will lead to better acting.

My biggest issue is with the combat scenes: more money and time should be invested in training Kirk Jones; the director needs to pace the action better; or the choreographer ought to rethink his/her sequences. Even the gun battles seem oddly envisioned and strangely out-of-synch.

This series has some potential.

No, it's not the Blade movies, it is different. And that can be a good thing.

Once "Sticky" makes the role his own and stops trying to act like Wesley Snipes' Blade character, I think his role and his acting will improve.

The rest of the folks do a decent acting job and the story looks like it has an arc that can last a while. The supporting cast looks pretty strong. If Spike gives it a chance to develop an audience, I think it can stick around a few seasons.

Consider other titles that appeared shaky at first but went on to strong showings: Firefly, Buffy, heck, even Star Trek, TNG had a pretty shaky start but eventually the actors and writers found the characters and they developed them richly.