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Exclusive Breaking News: DAVID GREENWALT ON WHY HIS NEW SERIES 'MOONLIGHT' IS NO 'ANGEL'
Joss Whedon's right hand man is back in the saddle on a new vampire show for CBS
By SEAN ELLIOTT, Senior Editor
Published 7/19/2007
LOCATION: The TCAS
THE SKINNY: Well, you’ll read it here first folks, David Greenwalt is once again an Executive Producer and creator of a new vampire detective show called MOONLIGHT set in Los Angeles. What makes this series different from his other “vamp” show ANGEL? Read our exclusive Q & A and find out!
iF MAGAZINE: It is inevitable that comparisons are made between this new series and ANGEL. Can you tell me how they are different?
DAVID GREENWALT: This is vampire 2007. When I first heard about this show, I said I couldn’t do another vampire show, but then I asked myself if Steven Bochco was never going to do another cop show. I read it and it was really good and had a big heart and soul and was modern and funny. I decided I liked it and I’d rather do it over anything else.
iF: So our vampire hero this time is not a brooding hero?
GREENWALT: He is more of an ironic hero who has accepted who he is and what he is and his lot in life. He wants to do good things for people and help people and there are some star-crossed lovers in it. The vampire makeup is different. It’s a very sleek modern world in which he lives and moves. There’s lots of fun to be back in there as well.
iF: So is it tough to be back on night shoots again?
GREENWALT: Well, we’ve only just started shooting, but one of the marvelous things about this world of vampires. Whereas sunlight is not good for them and too much sunlight turns them into vampire beef jerky; they can move around in the daylight. So, it won’t be all night all the time.
Reader Comments
GiGi from philadelphia sez....
this is a GOOD show... I see a touch of Fitzwilliam Darcy in the Mick St John character and as a nonpurist Austen fan, what a great combination. I hope that the characters continue to develop, the plots stay non formulaic, and you keep us wanting more.
11/17/2007 10:13:36 AM
Wendy from sez....
The basis for Moonlight is very similar to Angel. When I first saw the previews for the show, I immediately thought, "Wow, that sounds a lot like Angel." Mick, like Angel, is living in LA as a private detective, cares about humans, and bags his blood. There are a lot of similarities but it's just surface stuff. Once I watched Moonlight, it had a completely different feel than Angel. It had a much lighter air to it and now I just see it as Moonlight, not the show that's like Angel.
I look forward to seeing what the writers will do with this show, I'm hooked. :)
10/20/2007 8:07:07 AM
Darkman from Atlanta GA sez....
Ummm you people are doing acid or something? I just watched the pilot and this show is nothing like Angel. It is quite a bit like Forever Night and Bloodties. However both of those are pretty good shows. I'd MUCH rather watch this than some of the other crap out there.
Get a grip on reality. We all liked Buffy/Angel but they are gone. MAYBE they might make a movie or something but they will NEVER be a TV show again. So I suggest you pick one of these new shows and get behind it or it will go the way of Surface, Invasion, and countless other sort of ok shows. Even better it will go the way of countless other KICK ASS shows like Farscape.
Personally this is the best new show I've watched this week., and I watched like 10 new shows. I loved Sophia in Dr Who (Lady in the Fireplace). She does a good job in this.
Owe and all you Forever night fans... stop bitching about spin offs. They aren't bringing back an 18yr old show(see Battlestar Galactica). At least not in any form worth watching. So I'd MUCH rather have a new show WORTH watching. Than hang on to the hope of an impossibility. Get over it.
9/28/2007 10:54:16 PM
KL from Toronto sez....
I don't trust Greenhack. I'm sure if you give him time he'll destroy both the lead male and the lead female.
Even if I did? This show doesn't sound all that interesting. He's all trying to talk it up about how "modern" it is..it's going to be different because "The vampire makeup is different."? Oh please.
It would have made sense to not create a new show that is "somewhat" and I use that term loosely because they're trying to play it up as similar to "Angel", but now they've got to try and talk it up, bring in viewership on a not so new concept?
Jasoh Dohring has too many teenie bopper fangurl fans, I don't know if that's the right target market for this genre.
I don't agree with bringing BTVS/ATS actors/characters onto the show, it would just be a) a stupid gimmick (not unlike the addition of Spike to "Angel") b) it would be a step backwards for all of the alumni.
7/20/2007 9:46:13 PM
Joyce from Minneapolis MN US sez....
Big Buffy/Angel Fan here...but I agree with Johnothan that is is more similar to Forever Knight than Angel from what I've read about it. Looks like the hero wil be in a triangle of sorts with a Janette like vampire and a Natalie like human.
7/20/2007 8:29:28 AM
Ginny from Washington, D.C. sez....
I personally don't see how this show could possibly survive. Angel had a pretty big fan base and only went off the air a couple of years ago. I agree that there are not a lot of great concepts on the air right now, but I feel like this show is going to constantly have to prove to the audience that is it "not" Angel which will not endear it to Angel fans, who would most likely be the show's fan base. Ugh.
7/20/2007 7:55:41 AM
Hfan from New York sez....
FAIL. This one gets a big no from me. It doesn't even sound as good as The Embraced, and if you remember that show...
This is not like Angel... because the title isn't Angel? And the stunt casting of Jason Dohring is to drag in the squealing tween crowd?
Greenwalt nearly WRECKED Angel in Season 3. Why the heck would I trust him with another vampire show... which actually sounds like THE SAME vampire show.
No thank you.
7/19/2007 5:05:35 PM
Johnothan Pedak from Canada sez....
Great. Another "Forever Knight" ripoff!
7/19/2007 12:15:46 PM
Sean from Texas sez....
People need to bring at least some sorta Angel back to TV, These other shows are not even worth the sit down time.
7/19/2007 10:42:32 AM
Lisa from TX sez....
Because this is CBS and not Fox. You can't all steal ideas and characters from another production company. Moonlight is not Angel, it will never will be and it never should.
7/19/2007 10:40:44 AM
Brandon from Maryland sez....
There's no way they could bring Angel or Buffy characters over to this new show. I mean, for one, Joss would never allow it, and for two, they'd have to get Fox's approval, and everyone knows that Fox isn't the brightest. Besides, this show already is going to have to go a long way to prove that it's not Angel at all, especially with Greenwalt behind the wheel, so having Angel or Buffy alums would just do a disservice to the show.
7/19/2007 8:47:36 AM
Connie from Oregon sez....
It would be great to have James Marsters (Spike) co-star. I would be thrilled to see him again.
7/19/2007 8:40:19 AM
Lorelei from USA sez....
I totally agree with the other contributors - adding some BtVS and Angel characters and/or actors/actresses would be sweet! CBS would bring a lot of viewers to the show with that angle.
7/19/2007 6:45:45 AM
Juanito from US sez....
They can't bring back Angel because Boreanaz isn't interested. Would still be good to see Spike, Illyria and dead Wesley back, though...
7/19/2007 5:35:00 AM
Nicolas M. from New Zealand. sez....
Agreed. Why not just bring back Angel it would definitely have the fan base and wouldn't have critics looking at it as another vampire spin off.
7/19/2007 5:24:29 AM
Dan from Australia sez....
Louis is right. Why not bring back Angel, or at least borrow some of the Angel / Buffy characters. That would be cool.
7/19/2007 2:17:25 AM
louis from australia sez....
Why not bring back angel or at least keep it in a similar world and borrow some of the characters from Angel. It would bring in a lot of the old Angel & Buffy viewers over to the new show.
7/18/2007 9:06:17 PM
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