No Such Thing as Vampires
Encyclopedia
"No Such Thing as Vampires" is the pilot episode
of the American paranormal romance
television drama Moonlight
, which premiered on CBS
on September 28, 2007 in the United States. It was written by series creators/executive producer
s Trevor Munson and Ron Koslow, and directed by executive producer Rod Holcomb
. The pilot introduces Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin
), a private investigator who has been a vampire
for over fifty years; Beth Turner (Sophia Myles
), St. John's love interest; Josef Kostan (Jason Dohring
), St. John's mentor and friend; and Coraline Duvall (Shannyn Sossamon
), St. John's ex-wife and sire.
The series, originally titled Twilight, was commissioned by Warner Bros. Television
as a presentation lasting 14–20 minutes. Alex O'Loughlin, Shannon Lucio
, Rade Šerbedžija
and Amber Valletta
were cast in the lead roles, and Rod Holcomb was hired as director. The project was renamed Moonlight when picked up by CBS for the 2007–2008 American television season. David Greenwalt
joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and executive producer alongside Joel Silver
; however, health reasons forced Greenwalt to leave the series. All of the original actors save for the male lead role were recast in June 2007, and Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon replaced them. With an almost entirely different cast, a retooled, full-length pilot for television audiences was re-shot.
Although received poorly by critics, the pilot managed to finish first among total viewers and adults 18–49 for its night. Many critics criticized the acting and the writing; one said that it had the "worst writing of the new season". A few found that even though the series did not seem great, it "had potential". Jason Dohring's performance was praised, and one critic wished that he had "a bit more screen time".
BuzzWire, notices two large puncture wounds on the woman's neck. While walking around the scene, she meets Mick and tells him he looks very familiar, but he insists that they do not know each other. Beth gives the murder article a vampire theme, using the puncture wounds as inspiration. The article makes Josef, a 400 year old vampire friend of Mick's, concerned for the safety of vampires. To get more information on the murder, Mick goes to the morgue
, where his friend Guillermo (Jacob Vargas
) supplies him with blood. Mick does not detect any traces of vampire contact on the dead woman, eliminating them as her reason of death. Mick then comes across Beth at the dead woman's apartment, where they find a necklace with a vial of blood inside.
Professor Ellis (Rudolf Martin
), a lecturer of the dead woman, gives a eulogy at her funeral. Chloe, a friend of the dead woman, attacks Ellis and slashes his neck, whose blood Mick recognizes as the blood in the vial. Beth tracks down Chloe, who explains that the professor has a vampire-worshipping blood cult
, and he believes that he is a vampire. Later, Mick finds Chloe's dead body, who was murdered by Ellis. Knowing that Beth has gone to Ellis's class, he rushes to save her. After the class, Beth talks to Ellis about vampires and the young woman's murder, but he discovers that she is wearing a wire. Ellis attacks Beth and although she escapes, she is kidnapped by the professor's teaching assistant. Mick tracks down the assistant, defeats him, and takes an unconscious Beth to his apartment. In flashbacks
to 22 years in the past, Mick investigates the case of a missing girl. In a domestic fight between Mick and his ex-wife Coraline over the kidnapped girl, Mick stabs Coraline's heart with the leg of a broken chair. He lights the house on fire and rescues the girl, leaving Coraline to the fire. It is revealed that the little girl has grown up to be Beth, and that Mick has tried to watch over her and keep her safe over the years. In the present, Beth wakes up and remembers that Mick was stabbed by the assistant, and that he was the one who saved her as a child. Mick dismisses the claims as being caused by her head injury, and hugs her.
Trevor Munson conceived the character of Mick Angel in 2004 and spent two and a half years writing a novel featuring the character. The story was adapted into a feature film script, and Bruce Willis
was considered as a possibility for the lead role. The script was shown to Nina Tassler at CBS, who paired Munson with Ron Koslow, creator of Beauty and the Beast
, to rewrite the script as a television series.
The series was titled Twilight, and Koslow and Munson wrote the pilot, which Warner Bros. Television
initially commissioned as a presentation lasting 14–20 minutes in January 2007. Joel Silver
and Gerard Bocaccio were hired to be executive producers on the project under the former's production banner, Silver Pictures
, in the same month. Alex O'Loughlin and Shannon Lucio were cast in the presentation, and Rod Holcomb was hired as director.
The project was renamed Moonlight when picked up by CBS on May 14, 2007, prior the upfronts. David Greenwalt, creator of Miracles
and co-creator of Angel
, joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and executive producer alongside Silver. CBS hired Greenwalt during the pilot process to restructure the original concept by Koslow and Munson, however health reasons forced him to leave the series, and Chip Johannessen took over showrunner duties in August 2007. All of the original actors save for the lead role of Mick St. John were recast in June 2007: Shannon Lucio, Rade Šerbedžija and Amber Valletta were originally cast in the roles of Beth Turner, Josef Kostan and Coraline Duvall respectively before Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon replaced them. With an almost entirely different cast, a retooled, full-length pilot for television audiences was re-shot. To promote the series, Silver, along with the rest of the main cast, attended the Comic-Con International
in San Diego on July 27, 2007, where the show was featured.
Joel Silver approached Dohring "out of the blue and said, 'There's a role, and I'm making it younger'". Dohring read two pages of script featuring Josef, and was interested by the character's "dark" and "sharp" personality. Dohring had to go through the normal audition process and was not sure if he would have gotten the role without Silver, who had "pushed it all the way through to the end". Munson explained that the goal of the casting changes was "to lighten the show up a bit". He believed the changes granted the studio's and network's wish to "make it a little younger and hipper". O'Laughlin felt that the whole cast's becoming "a little bit younger" especially effected the character Josef, as the originally chosen actor, Šerbedžija, was twice Jason Dohring's age. The creators and the network were concerned that Josef, whose relationship with Mick was important, would appear as more of a "father figure" rather than as a friend. O'Laughlin supported the recasting of Josef with a younger actor due to the resulting "level of ease in that age difference".
"No Such Thing as Vampires" finished first among total viewers and adults 18–49 for its night. It was seen by 8.54 million American viewers, and received a 5.7 household rating and a 10% share of all televisions in use. The critical responses to the pilot were overall unfavorable. Several critics compared it detrimentally with the television series Angel, as well as other vampire related media, including Forever Knight
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blood Ties
, The Night Stalker, Dark Shadows
and the works of Anne Rice
. Tim Goodman of The San Francisco Chronicle considered it as a "flat-out awful" pilot of what "may well be the worst new fall show". Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
described the pilot as "a weak, generic private-eye drama with a vampire story overlay", and Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe felt that it came close to a "full-on nightmare".
The writing of the pilot was critizised as "ponderous", and having "familiar, conventional plots". One critic claimed it did not offer much "to inspire an actor", while another thought it had the "worst writing of the new season". The dialogue was described as "groan-inducing". Tom Shales of The Washington Post
criticized the series creators' decision to make St. John a private investigator, and felt that they "appear eager to avoid what makes their show unique". Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times
saw promise in the series, but remarked it got "lost between concept and execution, and instead of suspense we get silliness, as if the creators were determined to use only the clichés of both genres". The acting of the pilot was criticized as "sub-par" and "woeful". Robert Bianco of USA Today
felt that Moonlight had a "less adept cast" than Angel. Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe depreciated the chemistry between O'Loughlin and Myles as "artificial", and said that they "exchange lines of dialogue with a stilted rhythm and no natural flow". O'Loughlin was described as a "flatliner", and "passable in the lead role", while Sossamon's appearance was said to be "preposterously not-scary". Travis Fickett of IGN
praised the actors, however, and felt that O'Loughlin did "a decent job", and that Myles was "perhaps the most promising aspect of the show". Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
commended Myles as "reasonably good".
Not all reviews, however, were negative. Sarah Stegall of SF Scope gave the pilot a decent review, and said that if Moonlight could survive "the Friday night time slot" and the "thwarted expectations of [vampire] fans who were expecting Blade", she thought it would "rock". Kara Howland of TV Guide
gave the pilot a positive review, and thought it was a "solid start". Several critics praised Jason Dohring's portrayal of Josef. One said that he gave the pilot "a small burst of energy", while another said that he made it "crackle with a bit of wit". Dohring was described as "a welcome presence", and one critic wished for "a bit more screen time". Travis Fickett of IGN praised the action scenes, and noted that "once the action gets started, it plays well".
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of the American paranormal romance
Paranormal romance
Paranormal romance is a sub-genre of the romance novel. A type of speculative fiction, paranormal romance focuses on romance and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the genres of traditional fantasy, science fiction, or horror...
television drama Moonlight
Moonlight (TV series)
Moonlight was an American paranormal romance television drama created by Ron Koslow and Trevor Munson, who was also executive producer for all episodes with Joel Silver, Gerard Bocaccio, Gabrielle Stanton and Harry Werksman. The series follows private investigator Mick St...
, which premiered on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on September 28, 2007 in the United States. It was written by series creators/executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s Trevor Munson and Ron Koslow, and directed by executive producer Rod Holcomb
Rod Holcomb
Rod Holcomb is an American television director and producer. He has directed episodes of television series such as Quincy, M.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, Battlestar Galactica, Fantasy Island, The A-Team , ER, The District, The Lyon's Den, Lost, Invasion, Moonlight, Shark, The Pentagon Papers,...
. The pilot introduces Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin
Alex O'Loughlin
Alex O'Loughlin is an Australian actor, currently starring in CBS's Hawaii Five-0 as Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. His best known earlier roles include Kevin Hiatt in The Shield, Mick St. John in Moonlight, Dr. Andy Yablonski in Three Rivers, and Stan in The Back-up Plan...
), a private investigator who has been a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
for over fifty years; Beth Turner (Sophia Myles
Sophia Myles
-Early life:Myles was born in London. She is the daughter of Jane, who works in educational publishing, and Peter Myles, a retired Anglican vicar in Isleworth, west London. Her maternal grandmother was Russian, and she refers to herself as "half-Welsh, half-Russian". She grew up in Notting Hill,...
), St. John's love interest; Josef Kostan (Jason Dohring
Jason Dohring
Jason William Dohring is an American actor who is best known for his role as Logan Echolls on the 2004 television show Veronica Mars and for his role as Josef Kostan on the 2007 series Moonlight.-Personal life:...
), St. John's mentor and friend; and Coraline Duvall (Shannyn Sossamon
Shannyn Sossamon
Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon is an American actress. She starred in the film A Knight's Tale, which gained her wider fame and praise. She has since established herself in Hollywood after starring in several films such as 40 Days and 40 Nights, Wristcutters: A Love Story, and One Missed Call...
), St. John's ex-wife and sire.
The series, originally titled Twilight, was commissioned by Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
as a presentation lasting 14–20 minutes. Alex O'Loughlin, Shannon Lucio
Shannon Lucio
Shannon Lucio is an American actress who played Lindsay Gardner on The O.C..Lucio is a graduate of the University of Southern California and was cast in the lead female role of the CBS television drama Moonlight , but was replaced by Sophia Myles in April 2007...
, Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...
and Amber Valletta
Amber Valletta
Amber Evangeline Valletta is an American actress and model. She began her career as a model for fashion agencies, and appeared on cover pages of internationally recognized magazines. She made her film debut in Drop Back Ten . She then starred in the hit film Hitch...
were cast in the lead roles, and Rod Holcomb was hired as director. The project was renamed Moonlight when picked up by CBS for the 2007–2008 American television season. David Greenwalt
David Greenwalt
David Greenwalt is an American screenwriter, director and producer.He was the co-executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of its spinoff, Angel. He is also co-creator of the short-lived cult television show Profit...
joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and executive producer alongside Joel Silver
Joel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
; however, health reasons forced Greenwalt to leave the series. All of the original actors save for the male lead role were recast in June 2007, and Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon replaced them. With an almost entirely different cast, a retooled, full-length pilot for television audiences was re-shot.
Although received poorly by critics, the pilot managed to finish first among total viewers and adults 18–49 for its night. Many critics criticized the acting and the writing; one said that it had the "worst writing of the new season". A few found that even though the series did not seem great, it "had potential". Jason Dohring's performance was praised, and one critic wished that he had "a bit more screen time".
Plot
Mick St. John, a private investigator, dreams of being interviewed by a woman off-camera, where he reveals that he is 90 years old, and that unlike other vampires, he has standards and does not hunt women, children or innocents. Mick's job leads him to the scene of the murder of a young woman, where Beth, a reporter for the online newspaperOnline newspaper
An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on the World Wide Web or Internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed periodical....
BuzzWire, notices two large puncture wounds on the woman's neck. While walking around the scene, she meets Mick and tells him he looks very familiar, but he insists that they do not know each other. Beth gives the murder article a vampire theme, using the puncture wounds as inspiration. The article makes Josef, a 400 year old vampire friend of Mick's, concerned for the safety of vampires. To get more information on the murder, Mick goes to the morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
, where his friend Guillermo (Jacob Vargas
Jacob Vargas
-Early life:Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, since 1971. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family.-Career:...
) supplies him with blood. Mick does not detect any traces of vampire contact on the dead woman, eliminating them as her reason of death. Mick then comes across Beth at the dead woman's apartment, where they find a necklace with a vial of blood inside.
Professor Ellis (Rudolf Martin
Rudolf Martin
Rudolf Martin is a German actor working mainly in the US. He first appeared in off-Broadway productions and then moved on to extensive TV and film work. He has made guest appearances on numerous hit television series and recently started working in Germany as well. He currently resides in Los...
), a lecturer of the dead woman, gives a eulogy at her funeral. Chloe, a friend of the dead woman, attacks Ellis and slashes his neck, whose blood Mick recognizes as the blood in the vial. Beth tracks down Chloe, who explains that the professor has a vampire-worshipping blood cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
, and he believes that he is a vampire. Later, Mick finds Chloe's dead body, who was murdered by Ellis. Knowing that Beth has gone to Ellis's class, he rushes to save her. After the class, Beth talks to Ellis about vampires and the young woman's murder, but he discovers that she is wearing a wire. Ellis attacks Beth and although she escapes, she is kidnapped by the professor's teaching assistant. Mick tracks down the assistant, defeats him, and takes an unconscious Beth to his apartment. In flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to 22 years in the past, Mick investigates the case of a missing girl. In a domestic fight between Mick and his ex-wife Coraline over the kidnapped girl, Mick stabs Coraline's heart with the leg of a broken chair. He lights the house on fire and rescues the girl, leaving Coraline to the fire. It is revealed that the little girl has grown up to be Beth, and that Mick has tried to watch over her and keep her safe over the years. In the present, Beth wakes up and remembers that Mick was stabbed by the assistant, and that he was the one who saved her as a child. Mick dismisses the claims as being caused by her head injury, and hugs her.
Production
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
was considered as a possibility for the lead role. The script was shown to Nina Tassler at CBS, who paired Munson with Ron Koslow, creator of Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (TV series)
Beauty and the Beast is an American drama series which first aired on CBS in 1987. Creator Ron Koslow's updated version of the fairy tale has a double focus: the relationship between Vincent , a mythic, noble man-beast, and his Catherine , a savvy assistant District attorney in New York; and a...
, to rewrite the script as a television series.
The series was titled Twilight, and Koslow and Munson wrote the pilot, which Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
initially commissioned as a presentation lasting 14–20 minutes in January 2007. Joel Silver
Joel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
and Gerard Bocaccio were hired to be executive producers on the project under the former's production banner, Silver Pictures
Silver Pictures
Silver Pictures is a film production company founded by Hollywood producer Joel Silver during 1985. All movies after Ricochet have been distributed by Warner Bros and its subsidiary New Line Cinema.-Films:-Television series:*Moonlight...
, in the same month. Alex O'Loughlin and Shannon Lucio were cast in the presentation, and Rod Holcomb was hired as director.
The project was renamed Moonlight when picked up by CBS on May 14, 2007, prior the upfronts. David Greenwalt, creator of Miracles
Miracles (TV series)
Miracles is an American drama television program starring Skeet Ulrich and Angus Macfadyen. Created by Richard Hatem and Michael Petroni, the series has sometimes been dubbed a "spiritual version of The X-Files" by its creators...
and co-creator of Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and executive producer alongside Silver. CBS hired Greenwalt during the pilot process to restructure the original concept by Koslow and Munson, however health reasons forced him to leave the series, and Chip Johannessen took over showrunner duties in August 2007. All of the original actors save for the lead role of Mick St. John were recast in June 2007: Shannon Lucio, Rade Šerbedžija and Amber Valletta were originally cast in the roles of Beth Turner, Josef Kostan and Coraline Duvall respectively before Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon replaced them. With an almost entirely different cast, a retooled, full-length pilot for television audiences was re-shot. To promote the series, Silver, along with the rest of the main cast, attended the Comic-Con International
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
in San Diego on July 27, 2007, where the show was featured.
Joel Silver approached Dohring "out of the blue and said, 'There's a role, and I'm making it younger'". Dohring read two pages of script featuring Josef, and was interested by the character's "dark" and "sharp" personality. Dohring had to go through the normal audition process and was not sure if he would have gotten the role without Silver, who had "pushed it all the way through to the end". Munson explained that the goal of the casting changes was "to lighten the show up a bit". He believed the changes granted the studio's and network's wish to "make it a little younger and hipper". O'Laughlin felt that the whole cast's becoming "a little bit younger" especially effected the character Josef, as the originally chosen actor, Šerbedžija, was twice Jason Dohring's age. The creators and the network were concerned that Josef, whose relationship with Mick was important, would appear as more of a "father figure" rather than as a friend. O'Laughlin supported the recasting of Josef with a younger actor due to the resulting "level of ease in that age difference".
Reception
Forever Knight
Forever Knight was a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern day Toronto. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a homicide detective on the night shift while struggling to find a...
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blood Ties
Blood Ties (TV series)
Blood Ties is a Canadian television series based on the Blood Books by Tanya Huff; the show was created by Peter Mohan. It is set in Toronto, Canada and has a similar premise to an earlier series also set in Toronto, Forever Knight, in which a Vampire assists Police in dealing with crime...
, The Night Stalker, Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
and the works of Anne Rice
Anne Rice
Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
. Tim Goodman of The San Francisco Chronicle considered it as a "flat-out awful" pilot of what "may well be the worst new fall show". Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
described the pilot as "a weak, generic private-eye drama with a vampire story overlay", and Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe felt that it came close to a "full-on nightmare".
The writing of the pilot was critizised as "ponderous", and having "familiar, conventional plots". One critic claimed it did not offer much "to inspire an actor", while another thought it had the "worst writing of the new season". The dialogue was described as "groan-inducing". Tom Shales of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
criticized the series creators' decision to make St. John a private investigator, and felt that they "appear eager to avoid what makes their show unique". Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
saw promise in the series, but remarked it got "lost between concept and execution, and instead of suspense we get silliness, as if the creators were determined to use only the clichés of both genres". The acting of the pilot was criticized as "sub-par" and "woeful". Robert Bianco of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
felt that Moonlight had a "less adept cast" than Angel. Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe depreciated the chemistry between O'Loughlin and Myles as "artificial", and said that they "exchange lines of dialogue with a stilted rhythm and no natural flow". O'Loughlin was described as a "flatliner", and "passable in the lead role", while Sossamon's appearance was said to be "preposterously not-scary". Travis Fickett of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the actors, however, and felt that O'Loughlin did "a decent job", and that Myles was "perhaps the most promising aspect of the show". Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
commended Myles as "reasonably good".
Not all reviews, however, were negative. Sarah Stegall of SF Scope gave the pilot a decent review, and said that if Moonlight could survive "the Friday night time slot" and the "thwarted expectations of [vampire] fans who were expecting Blade", she thought it would "rock". Kara Howland of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
gave the pilot a positive review, and thought it was a "solid start". Several critics praised Jason Dohring's portrayal of Josef. One said that he gave the pilot "a small burst of energy", while another said that he made it "crackle with a bit of wit". Dohring was described as "a welcome presence", and one critic wished for "a bit more screen time". Travis Fickett of IGN praised the action scenes, and noted that "once the action gets started, it plays well".