1. Vampires don't have a heartbeat, and no circulation (this is a recent decision by TPTB).
2. Apparently because of this, vampires sleep in freezers. It is also more comfortable for them to be cold when they sleep. They don't breathe when they sleep, which explains why they don't suffocate while inside the freezers (this last point is also newly clarified by TPTB).
3. Vampires can't fly or turn into bats (although some enjoy bat-related humor), but they are very strong, and can perform some pretty incredible jumps.
4. Whenever they are injured, they need blood to heal--and subsequently they heal quickly.
5. Vampires can drink or inject blood.  Drinking seems to be preferred.
6. Vampires can go out in the sun for short periods of time;  it does weaken them, however, and they should get inside and drink blood as soon as possible; otherwise, it will kill them.
7. Vampires can drink alcohol.
8. Vampires can technically eat food, but it has no taste, and they can't digest it.
9. All of vampires' senses are enhanced, except, apparently, the sense of taste (see 8).  They can smell other vampires, and can guess their approximate age by the stench of decay (which humans can't smell).  They can also identify vampires they know by smell alone.
10. The usual Hollywood standards--crosses, holy water, and garlic--don't have any effect on them.
11. Vampires "vamp out" when they feed, fight, or engage in, er, other physical activity.
12. Yes, vampires can have sex.
13. Silver is poisonous to vampires; enough of it will kill them.
14. A wooden stake through the heart will paralyze, but not kill a vampire.
15. Fire kills vampires.  Vamps turn to ash when they come into contact with flame.  However, there have been 2 (and possibly 3) instances of vampires surviving and healing after being burned (Mick's wife/sire, Coraline; mystery vamp Lance; Mick's friend, Josef).  There may be superior bloodlines within the vampdom that have special abilities, but this has not been directly addressed--yet.  This aspect will likely be explored more during the hoped-for second season.
16. Decapitation kills vampires.

Recently, Rogers attended the California Independent Film Festival, and blogged about what she learned there:  “Most notably, I learned about the importance… of a music supervisor in a film.  Besides finding the music for a film, a big and very important part of a music supervisor’s job is to get… music rights.  Without the proper clearance, lots of legal problems can crop up… that could have been avoided simply by… due diligence” (21 Apr 2008).  But behind-the-scenes tips and legal issues aren’t all she writes about; her blog also keeps readers up-to-date on former I-Man actors’ and crew members’ other projects, often giving fans a timely heads-up about films, television shows, or live productions.

I met Amanda several months ago in California; a director friend of hers took us to lunch at the famous Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.  (I think I offended the headwaiter there, but that’s another story.  In fact, he probably wasn’t even a headwaiter; he probably had a French title.)  While there, the director tried to convince us a man at the table next to us was John Travolta.  He was sitting with his back to her, and she was going by his voice, which did, indeed, have a certain low raspiness similar to Travolta’s.  However, I had a near perfect view of his profile, and while he did look like an actor I’ve seen before, trust me, Travolta he was not. 

It was a good lunch.  I think I had the duck.

Shoom Zone Productions has come a long way since its inception, and shows great promise of achieving its goals.  I’ve spoken to Amanda off-the-record about her work—she doesn’t write all the nitty-gritty details of the daily grind on her blog—and believe me, she is making great progress.  I’m looking forward to that film.

1. watch, Tivo, or record Moonlight on your DVR (these latter 2 help the ratings), and
2. write to CBS, tell them you watched, and ask them for a second season. 

Mr. Les Moonves
CEO of CBS
51 W 52nd St
New York, NY  10019-6188
(e-mail: lmoonves@cbs.com)

and

Nina Tassler
CBS Entertainment President
7800 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA  90039-2112

The opening sequence of “Fated to Pretend” was both a present for fans (including as much of O’Loughlin’s bare chest as possible), and a way to bring new viewers up to speed.  Even though a vampire, he is now temporarily human, and is enjoying the little things in life, like wolfing down a chili dog or walking on the beach.  The beach picnic with Beth (played by Sophia Myles) provides a transition from the previous twelve episodes, and introduces a turning point in her relationship with Mick—dubbed “MickBeth” by hopeful fans.  Although she had a boyfriend up until episode 11, she tells Mick she has realized something: she cares deeply about him, and tells him point blank to figure out “what he’s going to do about it.”  This puts the emotional weight of the episode on Mick’s shoulders, as usual, but in a new way: previously, the show has been about Mick resisting his feelings for Beth; now, he must find the courage to act on them.

At this point, the plot shifts into detective mode and things speed up.  Beth’s boss at Buzzwire, Maureen (Tami Roman), is murdered, presumably due to a story she was working; the problem is, she was working on three stories, and Mick and Beth must look into each.  Two are fairly quickly dismissed, and Mick focuses on a suspicious-acting politician (Christopher Cousins, who portrayed Jack Carelli in an episode of The Invisible Man—2000).  The twists, turns, and red herrings are a bit convoluted and hard to follow if all you really care about is the Mick/Beth relationship, but the plot does make sense.  It also allows for some memorable moments and fun quotes.  In questioning Josef about his connection to the murdered woman, Josef asks flippantly if the body was in the La Brea Tar Pits, because “That was the only person I’ve killed this week.”  When Mick asks to speak to Josef’s publicist about the investigation, he simply replies, “Remember the Tar Pits?”

But Josef, the king of one-liners on the show, is not the only one who gets great lines.  When Mick and Beth break into the dead woman’s apartment, Beth remarks “It’s too bad you can’t do that sexy vampire jumping thing,” to which Mick replies, “Yeah, well the jumping was kind of tied to the whole blood-sucking thing.”  Also, there are a couple of very effective voice-over moments during a foot-chase.  Voice-overs are difficult to pull off in any genre, but they work in this episode, and make this sequence exciting and humorous.

Overall, “Fated to Pretend” is a very satisfying episode.  Because it tries to fit so much into 43 ½ minutes, it does feel compressed.  The scene wherein Mick turns back into a vampire is beautifully choreographed, but faster than I expected.  Still, it illustrates the bond between Mick and Josef, and ultimately strengthens it.  And the developments in the Mick/Beth story arc are well-paced, spread out over the whole episode with a very natural feel.  Mick’s vampire jump at the end struck me as very fake.  I don’t think the fault is with O’Loughlin: he bends his knees and pushes off as in a jump.  But there's just a little too much of a floating sensation—coming from the invisible wires, of course—and the wind billowing his clothes is obviously from a fan placed directly below him, increasing the phony factor.  This is unfortunate, but is really the only discordant note in an otherwise fine episode.  

Moonlight airs new episodes for the next three Fridays on CBS at 9 Eastern.