Blood ties -- Blood Price Part 2 (102)

Blood Ties
“Blood Price Part 2” (Ep 102)
The search for the killer continues
Original Air Date: Sunday, March 11, 2007

“There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of ... in the police officer's training manual."

We pick up back at the lair of the Vamp Hottie who is satisfying his curiosity by picking through Vicki’s handbag. Vicki awakes, and after some bantering back and forth is informed and then convinced that Hottie, aka Henry Fitzroy, is in fact a vampire. They eventually come to a working agreement to hunt their killer, a demon, together. Vicki doing the day work and Henry the night.
Over the course of the next couple of days, we learn a few things about Henry including:

• He’s THE Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of Henry the Eighth
• Vampires can eat garlic, touch crosses (Henry even has a rosary as a bracelet) and can be seen in mirrors
• He was turned by a woman he was very in love with, but vampires are very territorial and after a few months they had to part company or they might attack each other
• He had a prior encounter with a group of demon worshippers and stole their grimoire to keep it hidden
• He abhors dark magic (a tie back to his religious nature)
• He writes and draws several series of supernatural graphic novels, including one titled “Blood Price”

Mixed into all of this are several conversations with Mike that run the spectrum of concerned, pissed and unhappily agreeing to help. 

When conventional methods fail, Henry is forced to use the grimoire and black magic to hone in on the area of the next attack. They are unable to stop the demon before he kills and to add insult to injury Demon Dude puts a total smackdown on Henry. With Henry weakened by his wounds and desperate for blood to heal himself, Vicki offers up her own blood. Henry drinks enough to gain the strength to stumble home with Vicki’s help and as sun rises falls into his death like sleep. Vicki watches over him, even protecting him from the overly curious doorman by pretending to have Henry “tied up” in the other room, a move that leads to a very pleasant awakening for the now fully healed Henry (and proving that he’s not completely dead) when he gets an eyeful of Vicki redressing.

Some more detective work, including a consultation with an old friend of Henry’s, who is a professor of Occult Studies, and a call from Coreen, leads to a showdown at Nerdy Norman’s tricked out loft. Norman has managed to kidnap Coreen, attacks Vicki and has designs to use her as his final sacrifice. Norman brands Vicki with the marks of Astoroth (which become permanent when the spell is invoked) and calls up first the minion and then the big boss himself. Henry busts in and casts a spell that sucks the demons and Norman back into Hell.; But not before Mike busts in, gun drawn, in time to see a glimpse of the demon. 

The next day Coreen (who knows the truth about Henry) blackmails her way into Vicki’s open assistant position. That evening Henry comes to see Vicki explaining that they are now connected through their common demonic enemy and the blood Vicki gave Henry. They are interrupted by the arrival of Mike, leaving Henry (who ducked away before Mike saw him) to watch wistful as the old friends walk away laughing. 

Although sharing the name of the first novel, these two hours do not 100% faithfully follow the original plot. Several locations are changed, along with a slew of minor details. But most of these changes are forgivable as they do not change the core of the story. The only major change is the exclusion of Tony, the street punk, and sometimes male hooker, Vicki has been friends with since her beat days. He plays a major part in the book’s original attack scene when Henry needs more blood than he can safely take from one person. This exclusion was, it has been reported, necessary due to another company having the rights to Huff’s later Shadow Trilogy which features Tony as one of the major players. In exchange for this loss, we gain Coreen, who in the books disappears after the case is over. Time will tell if the substitution plays well although I feel it should provide some humor from Coreen’s interest in Henry and a possible little sister vibe with Vicki. Plus the inclusion of an occult fanatic will help with case research when things get ‘interesting’ (which will likely be more often than Vicki wishes now that she’s been touched by a demon). On a minor note in the books Henry is a romance novel writer, but this seems a tad odd for a fellow of 23 in the 21st century so the switch to graphic novels works well. One could even guess that perhaps for a time he was writing said romance novels and moved on to something new, perhaps at the same time as a move in homesteads so no one would notice his lack of aging. 

I personally like that Huff did not lock step to the various vampire myths. Huff has been quoted in interviews saying that she took each idea one by one and dismissed the ones that didn’t make sense to her. In her mind, vampires are not all evil so the whole aversion to crosses and no reflection (believed to be because vampires had no soul) were gone. Instantly bursting into flames seems a bit much, but certainly a quick and nasty sunburn is plausible (change in skin chemistry creating a kind of albino condition). And so on. Another item of note that I love is the use of Henry Fitzroy. History records that young Henry (a mere 17 when he died) was the victim of a wasting disease, later thought to be tuberculous which includes coughing up blood as a symptom. There are even tales that his father had a charge of witchcraft placed on Anne Boleyn, saying she cursed Henry to die so her own daughter would inherit the throne. Huff is recorded as saying she thought it would be fun to start off with the ‘what if’ of Henry being food to a vamp who later turned him as an explanation for recorded history. I have to agree it was a wonderful idea. 

As with the first hour, Part 2 is good campy supermarket trash fun. It is sexy without being smutty, just violent enough entertain and quippy without being too corny. In some ways it is almost a Scream like riff on the vampire romantic suspense genre. If the show can keep up this style and tempo it will be a delightful guilty pleasure. 

Episode
itunes

Songs
"Violetta" Kirk Starkey
"Control Of Me" My Project Blue
"Plead The Fifth" Family Man
"Five" Bill Mellow

Official Site

Season Sets
Season One DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes
Season Two DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes
 
Soundtracks
CD, iTunes

Theme Song:
“Live Forever” Tamara Rhodes

The Books
Blood Price
Blood Trail
Blood Lines
Blood Pact
Blood Debt
Blood Bank

Blood Ties -- Blood Price Part 1 (101)

“Blood Price Part 1”(Ep 101)
Ex cop turned PI Vicky Nelson witnesses a murder that leads her into the world of the supernatural.
Original Air Date: Sunday, March 11, 2007

“There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of ... in the police officer's training manual.”

It’s night in Toronto and we start off with Vicki Nelson, a woman in her late 20s/early 30s talking on the phone with her mother. The subject, that evening’s date, is a sore one with Vicki. We cut to a dark room with a guy, who looks like he belongs at a computer or in a physics lab (in a stereotypical way), chanting and apparently performing some kind of magic. First thought is that he’s one of those D&D junky types, until we cut back to the street with a young man of college age talking to someone on the phone before being mauled by a guy that ‘looks like the freaking Prince of Darkness’, an attack witnessed by Vicki and leaving the audience wondering if there’s a connection between the Nerd and Mr Dark.

Once police are on the scene, we see Vicki talking the talk with a young officer. We also see her not too thrilled at the arrival of one Detective Mike Celluci. In a matter of a few lines we know that Vicki is a private investigator, was once a cop and Mike’s partner, and there’s something more to their history if the passion of their argument is any clue. Later we will add to this that Vicki left the job due to degrading eye sight, which explains why she conveniently had a flashlight when she ran down the alley to the attack site.

Although shut out by Mike regarding this attack and ‘the other one’, Vicki is drawn into things when the victim’s girlfriend Coreen hires her to prove that her boyfriend--Ian-- was killed, as the tabloids proclaim, by a vampire. Vicki scoffs at the notion but agrees to ask a few questions, try some of her old contacts and so forth.

Cut to a downtown high rise and a very handsome young man in his early 20s (if you can trust your eyes) in the company of a feisty young blonde. It is quickly clear from the bite marks on her neck, his old soul demeanor and his skills in persuasion that he’s not what he seems. Any doubt that he is a vampire is erased by his overly passionate, ‘he doth protest too much’ response to the doorman’s comments about the recent news. He is spotted by Vicki while checking out the alley and an odd symbol on the wall which invokes some kind of memory for the mystery man but he slips away without a word.

At the local pub, Coreen has, it seems, attracted the eye of the Nerd. He chews out part of his nerd herd, telling them that he’s going to make some changes. Get money, new clothes, a new car and a girlfriend -- seems he’s got her picked out already (eww). It begs the question, did he send Mr Dark to pick off the competition. Survey says probably.

That evening Mike calls Vicki to berate her about asking questions only to end up with Vicki proposing a truce and sharing information over dinner. Things turn a tad nasty when the subject of Vicki’s condition comes up. Mike clearly holds hope that there’s a solution that would bring Vicki back to the force (personal motivations at place here? Most certainly), while Vicki doesn’t want to talk about it. Cutting off what is likely an old fight repeated too many times, Mike tosses out the idea of a drugged out, razor wielding cultist while Vicki tells him Coreen’s vampire theory, which not even Vicki believes as possible. Leaving Mike sneaks a kiss but is cut short when Vicki says she still has work to do.

The case leads Vicki to the nightclub where Ian worked. There she runs into her mystery man, who tries to use his unique power of persuasion on her but she seems immune to his ‘charm’. Questions lead Mr Mystery into a fight with two regulars, who get their asses handed to them by the Pretty Boy. Vicki gets the scoop and walks outside just seconds before Vampy leaps out of sight. Sensing dawn approaching he scampers home, his hand burning from a stray bit of light, a wound seen by the gossip loving doorman.

Nerd guy, aka Norman, having almost all the pieces to his formula goes after the girlfriend, only to be dissed by a pretty blonde, who just set herself up as his next target. Serendipity and some map plotting lead both Vicki and the vamp hottie to the site of the 4th murder the next night. Hottie interrupts the attack only to have Vicki think he was the attacker when she comes upon him kneeling over the girl. She starts to take a swing at him with the asp baton she carries for self defense but Hottie accidentally knocks her out defending himself. With police cars pulling up, Hottie carries Vicki off into the night as we fade to black on the episode.

The story reads like a supermarket romance with a supernatural twist, as it should since it was based on a book originally published under that genre (later reclassified to take advantage of a growing interest in vampire fantasy). It’s not very deep or complex and is even a little cheesy at times. This is not a show that will win any awards. But who says that it has to. Why can’t a show just be fun. Why can’t it be entertaining with characters that are, more or less, believable and unique. Why can’t it play up the notion of the vampire as hot and sexy, without resorting to trampy porno over the topness. Lifetime is known for selecting tales with strong woman that don’t need a man to always rescue them and Vicki Nelson is certainly of that type. Or at least she tries to be, not a shock for a woman that for a time worked in a job that was typically viewed as a man’s world. It will be interesting to see how she handles her captor and his unusual nature. If noting else, there’s enough eye candy in the two male leads to make this girl tune in again. Yummy.

Episode

itunes

Songs
"It's Over Now" Yeah Whatever
 "Dispensing Disaster" Yeah Whatever
"Bhanglesh" Othello 9
"Ain't Going So Well" Halo Buro
"Buttergroove" Fundamental

Official Site

Season Sets

Season One DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes

Season Two DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes

Soundtracks

CD, iTunes

Theme Song: 

“Live Forever” Tamara Rhodes

The Books

Blood Price

Blood Trail

Blood Lines
Blood Pact
Blood Debt
Blood Bank