At first glance Blade: The Series appears to be just a low budget version of it’s film predecessors, however the pilot proved to be something completely other than what I expected.
Spike TV has just debut it’s first ever original-scripted action-adventure show in Blade: The Series, and after watching the 2 hour pilot episode, I can admit that I had this show pegged all wrong.
Blade: The Series features Kirk Jones in the title role as Marvel�??s immortal half-man, half-vampire who uses his superhuman powers and skills to fearlessly battle the demonic creatures of the night in a blood-drenched crusade to prevent their rise over mankind.
Being a fan of the “Blade” trilogy of films (more so of the first two than the third), I was pretty hesitant going into this show because the previews left me less than impressed. Another reason I had my doubts was because I had never seen Kirk Jones (I just can’t bring myself to call a man “Sticky") act in anything before. I was familiar with him from his days in the group Onyx, but up until his casting as Blade I didn’t even know he was an actor.
As I mentioned previously, the commercials for this show really didn’t impress me at all. I don’t know what it was about them, but every time I saw one only one word came to mind; “cheap.” Now while I still say that the FX in the show could be better (namely the ash effect on the vampires), the show has actually really impressed me, and made me want to become a regular viewer. While the show does borrow elements from it’s predecessor, it does not try to be a direct copy of the film series, which I found to be quite refreshing.
In doing anything “Blade” certain elements MUST remain intact in order for it to stay true to the character: Blade must wear black (I wasn’t a fan of them trying to introduce color into his costume in the 3rd film), Blade must wear sunglasses at the most inappropriate times, Blade must carry all kinds of Vampire-ass-kicking weaponry, and Blade must cruise around on a motorcycle (formerly a Ducati, now a Harley). The show maintains those elements, but also “does it’s own thing” in setting the story in Detroit rather than New York, and introducing an all new cast of characters to the “Blade” family.
Jones does a decent job of stepping into the role that Wesley Snipes made famous in 3 films. While he lacks some of the charisma Snipes brought to the character (like his dry humor and quick wit), he does do a good job in capturing the serious side of Blade in the show’s pilot (although his voice bothers me for some reason). The rest of the cast is kind of hit or miss with me. Jill Wagner portrays “Krista Starr,” (sounds like a pornstar huh?) a former army Sargent newly returned home who discovers her brother has been murdered by vampires. Jill does a good job with what she has to work with. Krista Starr isn’t a terrible character, but she’s not incredibly original either. Why they always have to make these female characters army Sargent, or cops...etc in order to give them an “edge” is beyond me. Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t need to be a former army Sargent to be pissed off that my brother was murdered by vampires....I think that’d be enough to get me going. Nelson Lee stars as “Shen” who fills the void left by Whistler’s death (his second death that is) in the third Blade film. While NO ONE can come close to Kris Kristofferson’s portrayal as Abraham Whistler, Lee’s character doesn’t really try to be, so I guess it works out nicely. Rounding out the cast are Niel Jackson as the main baddie Marcus Van Sciver (think Deacon Frost and Spike from “Buffy” only without the depth) who runs the vampire organization Blade is determined to shut down, and Jessica Gower who plays “Chase,” Van Sciver’s vampire groupie.
The show actually caught me off guard with the amount of blood and violence they were able to depict. With in the first 10min you’ll witness Blade stick an axe thru a vampire’s leg, and slash his throat allowing for a ridiculous amount of blood to pour from his neck, and a prostitute get fed to a hungry pack of vampires....not your typical primetime fun. Also add in the fact that somehow Spike managed to talk the censors into allowing the “S word” to fly freely throughout the show, and you’ve got some pretty intense content for a cable TV show pilot.
While I enjoyed the pilot a lot more than I initially thought I would, I still remain skeptical that the remaining 11 episodes can deliver as much as this one did. I think with a few minor tweaks Blade: The Series could definitely be a great way to spend Weds nights.