When this show was on Spike, I, like many Blade fans, did not care for it much at first. I followed it and slowly grew to enjoy it and I was very disappointed when it was canceled. However, I recently watched the series on DVD and, knowing how things were going to work out, it was like watching a whole different series. Wow, it was great! This show kept almost all of the movie Blade canon and added a few twists (such as dealers selling vampire ash like a drug). The ash dealers were a large part of the first few episodes but quickly that faded to almost non-existent so I wish they had never started that line of stories since it gave the series a bit of misdirection at the start. In truth, this series had an excellent overall arc and one episode really led to the next in developing both the characters and the stories. As stand-alone watch once a week episodes without an overall knowledge of the overall arc, it was more difficult to watch. In a sad way, the show was a victim of its own excellent writing and characters.
"Sticky" Jones was excellent as Blade. He was different from Wesley Snipes (who was different from the comics) but Jones's Blade was more in line with the comics and very well played. Jill Wagner is ultra-sexy and played Krista about perfect. I am amazed that she is now reduced to sideline commentary on a show like Wipeout since I believe she should really be a bigger star by now. The other players (like the characters Shen, Marcus and Chase) are much better when watched on DVD since they make a lot more sense. For example, originally I found Chase to be whiny and Marcus to be too much of a wimp to be the big vampire leader he was supposed to be. In later episodes, you learn more about Marcus (and see him kick some butt) and you see he is not a dopey wimp just trusting any ol' new vampire like Krista. He is seen in a new light and I liked his character much better.
Overall, the series reminded me of a show you would more likely see on HBO, Showtime or the like where they really develop the characters and the audience expects to have to get to know the characters first. Imagine if the Sorpanos or Oz tried to be a broadcast network show. No one would have gotten to know the characters because the first couple of episodes do not exactly hook you. I really wish this series would be restarted on one of those other networks (or that Spike would give it another chance) because I could see some really great things coming from it.
"Sticky" Jones was excellent as Blade. He was different from Wesley Snipes (who was different from the comics) but Jones's Blade was more in line with the comics and very well played. Jill Wagner is ultra-sexy and played Krista about perfect. I am amazed that she is now reduced to sideline commentary on a show like Wipeout since I believe she should really be a bigger star by now. The other players (like the characters Shen, Marcus and Chase) are much better when watched on DVD since they make a lot more sense. For example, originally I found Chase to be whiny and Marcus to be too much of a wimp to be the big vampire leader he was supposed to be. In later episodes, you learn more about Marcus (and see him kick some butt) and you see he is not a dopey wimp just trusting any ol' new vampire like Krista. He is seen in a new light and I liked his character much better.
Overall, the series reminded me of a show you would more likely see on HBO, Showtime or the like where they really develop the characters and the audience expects to have to get to know the characters first. Imagine if the Sorpanos or Oz tried to be a broadcast network show. No one would have gotten to know the characters because the first couple of episodes do not exactly hook you. I really wish this series would be restarted on one of those other networks (or that Spike would give it another chance) because I could see some really great things coming from it.