Blade: la casa di Chthon

I really didn't expect much when I first started watching the pilot, but I am pleased to say I was interested enough to watch the next episode, which I liked a bit better. I think that the length of the intro was a bit too long, and the story seemed to flow better in the second. However, the third was even better. Now this is saying a lot, considering I really wasn't a big fan of the movies. I find Kirk "Sticky" Jones much less annoying than Wesley Snipes, better looking, and without the awful hairdo. As a nice plus it's got a really cool intro. The story is getting progressively more interesting. I'll definitely continue to watch!

I wasn't sure if I'd like it at first. I was worried it would be a silly action show with no plot, bad acting, and no depth. Even after watching the pilot, I was hesitant, and I didn't watch any more for awhile. But I did record the first season(DVR). Later, when I had more time, I went back and watched a few more episodes, in order. I got hooked. My conclusion: It's not a silly action show as one might expect. A good story develops into a great one, with a lot of intrigue and mystery. To me, its a little bit like ALIAS meets UNDERWORLD. I hope people give it a chance. There just aren't many shows like this on TV. We lost DARK ANGEL and other good shows. Hopefully this one will stick around. While I like Smallville and watch it religiously, it's nice to watch something a little darker with less teenage drama. I'm a fan of a certain kind of vampire story -- like UNDERWORLD, VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE, KINDRED THE EMBRACED, and BLADE. So, this new series is satisfying me and I hope it stays. Jill Wagner's character Krista Starr was a brilliant idea. She is a very good, very necessary, character for the series. If it was just Blade and his sidekick, I believe the series would fail quickly. And, Jessica Gower's character, Chase, is great! Scary, striking, beautiful, and very memorable. I'm also fond of Neil Jackson's character, Marcus. A good choice. So there you go, a good ALIAS/UNDERWORLD show, with Marcus, Krista and Chase as my personal favorites (so far).

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.

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.

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