Blade The Complete Series DVD (2006)

Vampires are all the rage at present, but it is a shame that the better shows about them fail, while the less interesting ones thrive. True Blood is the subject of much adulation, although it is little more than Bold and the Beautiful in a swamp. Vampire Diaries seems to have attracted some love as well, but its characters are less scary than the cast of Beverly Hills 90210 before makeup. The Twilight movies have captivated a generation of twi-hards, but the stories show less imagination than the Teletubbies. Blade lasted a measly 13 episodes and, like other interesting vampire shows (eg Being Human and Blood Ties), is mostly ignored.

Blade is a spin-off from the Blade movies (which was a spin off from the comic), with Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones (The Shield) taking over the Wesley Snipes role as the title character. Jones brings a pouting, muscular seriousness to the role and his demeanor is sometimes the object of ridicule for his sidekick, Shen (Nelson Lee – Ring Of Death).

Blade is a daywalker (half human, half vampire) on the same mission as the movie Blade, kill bloodsuckers. The series creates a vampire hierarchy of true blood and turned blood vampires, including Blade’s ally, the newly turned, spunky Krista (Jill Wagner – Wipeout, Stargate Atlantis), the ambitious and evil Marcus (Neil Jackson – Quantum Of Solace, Push) and Marcus’ bitchy assistant/lover/henchwoman, Chase (Jessica Gower – Blurred).

The first couple of episodes (ie the pilot) are a little slow but, once the characters are established, it’s a well scripted, well acted, well paced show loaded with intrigue and surprises and action. My favourite aspects of the show were the moral ambiguity of the characters and Blade’s increasing use of violence. In the later episodes, Blade rips off someone’s jaw and pops out someone’s eye. Great stuff for prime time television.

It’s a pity Blade never lasted more than a season. I still hope they bring him back, maybe in a crossover with some of the weaker vampire shows. Until then, we can still watch Wipeout for a dose of Jill.