Spike's TV series Blade sharper than expected
By Chauncey Mabe
Entertainment Writer
Posted June 28 2006
When Wesley Snipes declined the television reprise of the half-vampire superhero he played in three respectable B-movies, fan message boards predicted
Blade: The Series would be the worst sci-fi show in action-adventure history.
Which would, of course, be impossible, considering that history includes such cable and syndicated monsterpieces as
Earth: Final Conflict, TekWar, Andromeda and
Total Recall 2070. (Note to geeks: Hold your calls and letters. I said the shows were awful. I didn't say I don't watch them.)
Lost in the uproar over the loss of Snipes was the good news: David S. Goyer, who wrote all three
Blade theatricals, and directed the last one, signed on to shepherd the franchise's transition to Spike, where it will be the manboy netlet's first scripted drama.
Happily, Goyer's touch can be seen all over the pilot, which he co-wrote. Boasting more wit, polish and attention to detail than generally found in the genre
, Blade: The Series rivals
The Invisible Man (2000, Sci Fi) and
Witchblade (2000, TNT) as among the most promising sci-fi debuts in recent memory.
This might accurately be termed
Blade Jr. Rapper-turned-actor Kirk "Sticky" Jones lacks the intensity of Snipes' big-screen charisma, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It allows Jones to make the nocturnal avenger slightly more human -- certainly a valid variation on a theme.
Goyer, though obviously mindful of the films, successfully reimagines the premise for the long haul of series TV. Gone are cool sidekicks Whistler, Hannibal and Abigail; Blade's new techie assistant is wiseacre Shen (Nelson Lee,
Traffic: The Miniseries). The formerly globe-trotting Blade will now fight vampires primarily in Detroit (actually Vancouver, the city without which cable sci-fi could not exist).
His nemesis remains the shadow vampire empire ("vempire"?), now led with admirable Eurotrash smarm by Marcus van Sciver (Neil Jackson,
Alexander), who specializes in dastardly plots to enslave and otherwise inconvenience the human population.
The biggest change in the
Blade universe is the introduction of Krista Starr (Jill Wagner), a battle-tested Army vet whose twin brother, a snitch for Blade, has been murdered by Sciver and his henchmen. Avid for revenge, she makes a risky decision to infiltrate Sciver's organization by becoming a vampire. This puts her allegiance in doubt, and neatly leaves Blade as the sole hope for saving her human soul.
Wagner, best known as a spokesmodel for Mercury cars and for a recurring bit on
Punk'd, is generic cable cheesecake in the Angie Everhart/Jamie Luner tradition. Sure, she's a sop to Spike's demographic, but she's well used here. By toning down the sex appeal early on, her transformation into a curvaceous, leather-clad vixen with superpowers is a lot more fun than it might have been.
Suffice to say that Goyer and company -- six other writers are credited, and director Peter O'Fallon deserves acknowledgement -- whip all this into a satisfying comic-book saga that does a good job of setting up the series to follow.
One worry:
The Invisible Man and
Witchblade, hampered by cliched writing and diminishing production values, both morphed into mediocre series, the sharpness of their pilots sadly left behind. With Goyer staying on as an executive producer, maybe that curse can be avoided. But don't stick your neck out.
Chauncey Mabe can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4710.
I'm hoping this show leads to more hero shows like Daredevil or...well...any Marvel Knight or Max title.
