Moonlight: The Complete Series

Even though it barely limped through one truncated 16-episode season in 2007-08, Moonlight will doubtless attract the attention of fans of the wildly popular Twilight, which covers similar ground (albeit with a younger cast). Alex O'Loughlin stars as Los Angeles-based private eye Mick St. John, a secret vampire inhabiting a shadowy netherworld, who take advice from a sinister mentor named Josef (Jason Dohring). Unwillingly recruited into the ranks of the undead by his seductive ex-wife Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon), Mick is drawn to sassy reporter Beth (Sophia Myles), whose presence at crime scenes becomes an irresistible lure, even though Mick realizes that romantic relationships between humans and vampires are fraught with peril. Moonlight started out a little rocky but settled into a solid groove about halfway through the run, with the final five or six episodes all top-notch. Particularly good are “Fated to Pretend,” in which ADA Ben Talbot (Eric Winter) launches a hard-charging investigation into the death of Beth's boss, and the finale, “Sonata,” in which Mick and Beth reevaluate their commitment to each other in the wake of a human being killed by a vampire lover. The glossy production values help make this fanciful material palatable, and even though Moonlight might skew to a younger audience thanks to its subject matter, it's actually aimed at adult viewers. A strong optional purchase. (E. Hulse)