The two become partners and as Henry faces an old enemy, Vicki becomes more open to the previously unknown supernatural elements around her. They discover that the killings have a purpose and they must stop the perpetrator or face hell on earth.
This episode introduces all the characters and sets up the Vicki/Mike/Henry love triangle. There are plenty of sparks among the three leads and as Vicki’s relationship with the frustrated Mike is rekindled it feels real. Vicki’s and Henry’s mutual attraction is also believably handled. Standard vampire conventions are dispensed with – Henry wears a cross, has a refection, and has no aversion to garlic. There is plenty of snappy, well-written dialogue. The only thing that lets the episode down is a fairly poor villain which shows the obvious lack of a decent budget.
Episode three, "Bad Juju", deals with voodoo and zombies and is not based on any of the original books. Vicki is visited by a young woman named Angelique who is searching for her missing brother. After Angelique and her escort are attacked, Vicki attempts to defend them but the assailant seems unresponsive to her attacks, kills Angelique’s escort, then knocks Vicki to the ground and takes off after Angelique. The police arrive with Celluci in the lead, resulting in a heated discussion about Vicki’s involvement. This leads to a magic moment where Vicki storms off indignantly, and Celluci calls out “Garbage can, 12 o’clock” just in time for Vicki to avoid a collision.
Vicki turns to Henry for help, who identifies her assailant as a zombie and advises Vicki to drop the case. Kyle Schmid gets his chance to shine here with Henry’s “don’t forget what I am” speech. As they are drawn further into the investigation, it becomes apparent that Angelique may not be what she appears, and Vicki becomes the victim of a voodoo curse.
This episode manages to improve on a good beginning with some brilliant throwaway dialogue such as Vicki and Henry questioning a barman, “I’ll have a beer, and him… you don’t want to know”, and Henry’s comment on zombies in the movies, “Don’t trust the movies – look what they did to vampires”. Hopefully the series has a sound base to build from, and if they can avoid the old Kolchak trap of each episode turning into a “monster of the week” formula, it could be around for a long time to come.
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Article comments
1 - BigFire
Why did they change Henry's profession from writing bodice ripping romance novel to graphic novelist?
2 - Bill Sherman
Why did they change Henry's profession from writing bodice ripping romance novel to graphic novelist?
More visually interesting, perhaps? I've only seen the voodoo episode, but there was a nice camera shot in it of Henry inking black shadow into a comic panel . . .
3 - Justin Mohareb
According to Tanya Huff's blog, they changed it from a romance novelist to a graphic novelist because drawing is just more visually stimulating than writing.
4 - Marie
Loved the review. I agree that the chemistry between the three leads sparkles and the series is great fun. It's my new favorite show.
5 - Tony Woolstencroft
Thanks Marie. Much appreciated. Hopefully it will appeal to the Buffy/Angel fans and become a hit.
6 - Mary
I've been searching all over the web, looking for the ratings numbers for Blood Ties. Do you happen to know where they would be posted? I read somewhere that the premiere drew 1.6 million viewers, but it's all I could find. Thanks for your help. Blood Ties is my new favorite show.
7 - Tony Woolstencroft
I've been trying to track them down myself but haven't found them yet. Rumour has it that Lifetime have only picked up 13 of the 22 episodes until they see how it goes. Haven't been able to verify that one yet. But it's been picked up by Virgin Media's Living channel in the UK and goes out sometime in July. Here's hoping...
8 - kat
I have been trying to find one of the songs that played in the episode "Heart Of Ice" and i can't find any websites that tell what it was so i was wondering if you knew?
9 - Angela
I was wondering if anyone knew the name of the song that was playing in Episode "Stone Cold" when Vicki was burying the stone pieces of that boy in the ground. I would LOVE to have that song.
10 - Ashley
Does anyone know the name of the song that plays in the begining, end, or the song in 'Heart Of Ice' where Vicki is standing by the shades and Henry is eating? D: Please help.
11 - jojo
Song is Carlucci Girl Nobody