Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer ...
... there was another tv series about vampires - Kindred: The Embraced.
As I trawled Netflix, trying to think of something to order for next week, I remembered an old show that I'd liked from 1996 starring C. Thomas Howell, Mark Frankel, and Patrick Bauchau. Sadly, it consists of only eight episodes, as Mark Frankel died in a motorcycle accident soon after the show was aired.
Based on a role-playing game, it tool place in San Francisco and told the tale of homicide detective Frank Kohanek (Howell) and his investigation into the local head of organized crime, Julian Luna (Frankel). What he eventually comes to realize is the Luna is a vampire and the prince of the "kindred" or vampire clans that live within the city and who participate in the Masquerade ....
The vampiric Masquerade is a shared conspiracy of the Camarilla (the largest grouping of vampire clans) to keep their existence unknown to mortal human beings. The Masquerade began in the 15th century as a response to the Inquisition. Even though there was an ancient tradition of self-concealing among vampires in the Dark Ages, in many cases common people knew or suspected their existence and their works (for example, the Tzimisce had vast dominions in Eastern Europe and many human serfs that were aware of the nature of their masters). In any case, most people superstitiously believed in many supernatural entities including vampires.
However, as the Church became more and more powerful, the Inquisition chased and destroyed many vampires, until they became convinced that the only way to survive would be to deny their own existence. The Masquerade was taught as law in the Camarilla from then on, and took advantage of the Age of Enlightenment, by reinforcing the idea that vampires are a fruit of ignorance and superstition. By the 19th century, most educated people in the West laughed at the suggestion that the vampires of old legends were real creatures ...
I remember the show as being a kind of The Godfather meets Nosferatu, and thinking it was worth the watch .... also remember finding the character of Julian Luna very interesting :-) .... but you know how memory can play tricks on us. Guess I'll put it into my Netflix queue and let you guys know if it meets expectations.
- Frankel and Howell
As I trawled Netflix, trying to think of something to order for next week, I remembered an old show that I'd liked from 1996 starring C. Thomas Howell, Mark Frankel, and Patrick Bauchau. Sadly, it consists of only eight episodes, as Mark Frankel died in a motorcycle accident soon after the show was aired.
Based on a role-playing game, it tool place in San Francisco and told the tale of homicide detective Frank Kohanek (Howell) and his investigation into the local head of organized crime, Julian Luna (Frankel). What he eventually comes to realize is the Luna is a vampire and the prince of the "kindred" or vampire clans that live within the city and who participate in the Masquerade ....
The vampiric Masquerade is a shared conspiracy of the Camarilla (the largest grouping of vampire clans) to keep their existence unknown to mortal human beings. The Masquerade began in the 15th century as a response to the Inquisition. Even though there was an ancient tradition of self-concealing among vampires in the Dark Ages, in many cases common people knew or suspected their existence and their works (for example, the Tzimisce had vast dominions in Eastern Europe and many human serfs that were aware of the nature of their masters). In any case, most people superstitiously believed in many supernatural entities including vampires.
However, as the Church became more and more powerful, the Inquisition chased and destroyed many vampires, until they became convinced that the only way to survive would be to deny their own existence. The Masquerade was taught as law in the Camarilla from then on, and took advantage of the Age of Enlightenment, by reinforcing the idea that vampires are a fruit of ignorance and superstition. By the 19th century, most educated people in the West laughed at the suggestion that the vampires of old legends were real creatures ...
I remember the show as being a kind of The Godfather meets Nosferatu, and thinking it was worth the watch .... also remember finding the character of Julian Luna very interesting :-) .... but you know how memory can play tricks on us. Guess I'll put it into my Netflix queue and let you guys know if it meets expectations.
- Frankel and Howell
posted by crystal | 6:08 PM
6 Comments:
Did you know there's a new series coming out with a vampire as the lead character? Here's MSNBC's review:
The premise of "Moonlight" (debuts Sept. 28) is simple: Vampire Mick St. John lives among humans and works as a private investigator. Alex O'Loughlin stars as the vamp, who tells us "It's only when you live forever that you begin to understand how few things actually make life worth living." Those things include helping people who the police can't help. The new series' preview (a full pilot was not available at press time) suggests that it combines the concept of Showtime's "Dexter," the supernatural lore of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and the melodrama of "Grey's Anatomy" (even having work to do as a vampire PI won't get in the way of love). All of it comes together with "CSI"-style washed-out colors, merging the supernatural, the procedural, and the dramatic all in one.
Hi Susan,
That sounds interesting - thanks for the heads up. Vampires are really popular, I guess. My brother-in-law is even writing a vampire detective novel right now ... he could be the next Anne Rice :-)
I'm reading "The Historian" and finding it very enjoyable.
Let us know if Kindred is any good.
Have you ever Nteflixed the series 'Dead Like Me'? Betcha you'd like it. B
Liam,
The Historian sounds really good. I wonder if it's in audo .... I have a gift certificate from my sister for Amazon :-)
B,
No - I didn't know about Dead Like Me, but it sounds like it would be fun to watch. Thanks :-)
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