Blade: The Series | |
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Genre | Superhero |
Based on | Blade by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan |
Developed by | David S. Goyer |
Starring | |
Composer | Ramin Djawadi |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Gordon Mark |
Camera setup | Single-camera setup |
Running time | 46 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Spike |
Release | June 28 – September 13, 2006 |
Blade: The Series is an American television series created by David S. Goyer for Spike based on the Marvel Comics character Blade. Sharing continuity with New Line Cinema's Blade film series, it was produced by New Line Television in association with Marvel Entertainment. The series takes place after the events of the film Blade: Trinity (2004) and stars Sticky Fingaz (credited as Kirk "Sticky" Jones) as Eric Brooks / Blade, with Jill Wagner, Neil Jackson, Jessica Gower, and Nelson Lee also starring. The two-hour pilot was directed by Peter O'Fallon from a script by Goyer (who wrote the scripts for all three of the original films) and Geoff Johns.
Blade: The Series premiered on June 28, 2006, and aired for one season, concluding on September 13, 2006. The show received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action scenes while criticizing a large number of clichés, as well as the absence of Wesley Snipes in the title role. However, Snipes reprised his role as Blade in the MCU film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Soldier Krista Starr returns from military service in Iraq to learn that her twin brother, Zack, has died in mysterious circumstances. Her investigation reveals Zack had been a "familiar"—a human who serves a vampire in the hope of eventually being rewarded with eternal life. Krista's search leads her to Marcus Van Sciver, Zack's killer, and to Blade, a vampire hunter. Marcus is a powerful vampire and high-ranking member of the House of Chthon. Smitten with Krista, Marcus turns her into a vampire by injecting her with his own blood. Krista is then approached by Blade, who injects her with the serum he uses to control his own vampire instincts, offering her a chance to avenge her brother's death and help him bring down Marcus and the House of Chthon. Blade reveals that Zack was helping him with a sting operation, and he and Krista form a reluctant partnership. The remainder of the season follows Krista's attempts to maintain her cover in the House of Chthon while struggling with her growing predatory nature, and Marcus's work on the Aurora Project, intended to develop a vaccine to render vampires immune to their traditional weaknesses (sunlight, silver, and garlic). It is revealed that Marcus has sabotaged the project and created a virus that is deadly to "purebloods"—the ruling vampire class—and leaves unscathed the "turnbloods"—vampires who were once human. With Blade's help, he eventually unleashes his weapon in the series finale. [1]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
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1 | "Blade: House Of Chthon" | Peter O'Fallon | Geoff Johns & David S. Goyer | June 28, 2006 |
2 | ||||
3 | "Death Goes On" | Michael Robison | David Simkins | July 5, 2006 |
4 | "Descent" | John Fawcett | Adam Targum | July 12, 2006 |
5 | "Bloodlines" | Felix Enriquez Alcala | Geoff Johns | July 19, 2006 |
6 | "The Evil Within" | Michael Robison | Daniel Truly | July 26, 2006 |
7 | "Delivery" | Alex Chapple | Barbara Nance | August 2, 2006 |
8 | "Sacrifice" | David Straiton | Chris Ruppenthal | August 9, 2006 |
9 | "Turn of the Screw" | Norberto Barba | Barbara Nance | August 16, 2006 |
10 | "Angels and Demons" | Felix Enriquez Alcala | Adam Targum | August 23, 2006 |
11 | "Hunters" | Brad Turner | Geoff Johns | August 30, 2006 |
12 | "Monsters" | Ken Girotti | Daniel Truly | September 6, 2006 |
13 | "Conclave" | Alex Chapple | David S. Goyer & Daniel Truly & Geoff Johns | September 13, 2006 |
In February 2006, Spike TV gave the green light for a television series based on Marvel Comics superhero Blade as the network's first original scripted series. Spike TV executive Pancho Mansfield said: "We're extremely pleased with the pilot for Blade, which delivers a thrilling action-adventure for its built-in fan base as well as a character-driven drama filled with heart-pounding tension and suspense. The series will be the first of our scripted fare as we embark on creating a greater mix of original programming for our viewers". [3]
David S. Goyer, who had written the scripts for all three of the films and created the television series, commented that the open-ended nature of a TV series supported the kind of storytelling that allows viewers to delve more into the inner workings of the vampire world. [4]
Rapper Sticky Fingaz signed to star as Blade in November 2005, replacing Wesley Snipes, who had portrayed Blade in the movies. Fingaz later commented that he was not out to make people forget about the Blade films, but wanted to put his own spin on the character: "I think it's more my own direction, but I have to incorporate some of what [Snipes] did. That's what people are familiar with, and you don't want to change it up drastically. You might want to change the seasoning a little bit, but you want the same meat". [4]
Spike TV ordered 11 one-hour episodes, in addition to the two-hour pilot episode, to be produced by New Line Television. The pilot was shot in 2005, and production of the series began in Vancouver in the spring of 2006. [5] The show premiered with the pilot on June 28, 2006, followed by standard one-hour episodes from July 5.
In the chronology of the Blade film series, the TV series takes place after the film Blade: Trinity (2004): certain events in the film are mentioned in the pilot episode. [6] The series adds several new characters, including Krista Starr (played by Jill Wagner), Marcus van Sciver (Neil Jackson), Chase (Jessica Gower) and Shen (Nelson Lee). Goyer later explained: "What the series is, in a weird way, is kind of like Wiseguy with vampires, because Jill's character is kind of a double agent working for Blade, within the vampire community, and [we're] treating the vampires sort of like the ultimate crime family. Blade realizes at the beginning of the pilot that he's not making much headway, just sort of hacking and slashing, that he needs to know more about their inner workings". [4] [7]
The series premiere had 2.5 million viewers and was the most-watched original series premiere in Spike TV history. It was also the #1 show on evening cable TV for men 18–34 and 18–49. [8] This occurred in a year where most cable premieres were outstanding, and the series failed to hold its numbers. [9]
On Rotten Tomatoes the series had an approval rating of 50% based on reviews from 18 critics. The site's consensus was "Blade: The Series emphasizes gore and techno music over dramatic development, making for a bland action series". [10] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 49% based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [11]
Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review and wrote: "When gunplay, kickboxing, and throat slitting actually feel like breaks in the action, you've got a series with brains as well as teeth". [12] The Guardian wrote: "Like most genre shows, it fumbles a lot in setting up the world and characters, but stick with it: after a few weeks it hits its stride and is a good antidote to the rather soppy bloodsuckers of True Blood and Twilight". [13]
Brian Lowry of Variety wrote that the series "feels more like a bland swig of plasma than the bloody romp that it ought to be". [14] Reviewing the series in 2017, Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire was critical of the show: "Despite some interesting twists at the end, the cliches did pile up" and the absence of Wesley Snipes. [15]
On September 28, 2006, Jill Wagner announced that there would be no second season of the show. [16] The next day, Spike announced in a press release that the show would not be picked up. As a response to a letter in Wizard Magazine, series writer/producer Geoff Johns stated that "the network didn't want to cancel it, I just think Spike TV is still a young network, and the price it was costing to make...they just weren't able to do it".
Blade: The Series was the second TV show to premiere on iTunes before ever having aired on mainstream television. [17] [18] The short-lived Law & Order spin-off Conviction was the first. [19] [20]
The pilot episode of the series was released on DVD as Blade: House of Chthon. [21] The complete series was released on February 12, 2008 on a 4-disc DVD set by New Line Home Entertainment / Warner Bros., featuring the episodes revamped and alternated, with uncensored scenes considered "Too Graphic for TV". [22]
Delroy George Lindo is an English-American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as a NAACP Image Award, a Satellite Award, and nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Tony Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the 1992 film, also written by Whedon, although they are separate and unrelated productions. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner of the series under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on March 10, 1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20, 2003, on UPN.
William "Spike" Pratt, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Spike is a vampire and played various roles on the shows, including villain, anti-hero, trickster and romantic interest. For Marsters, the role as Spike began a career in science fiction television, becoming "the obvious go-to guy for US cult [television]." For creator Whedon, Spike is the "most fully developed" of his characters. The character was intended to be a brief villain, with Whedon originally adamant to not have another major "romantic vampire" character like Angel. Marsters says "Spike was supposed to be dirty and evil, punk rock, and then dead." However, the character ended up staying through the second season, and then returning in the fourth to replace Cordelia as "the character who told Buffy she was stupid and about to die."
Blade is a 1998 American superhero film directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, it is the first installment of the Blade franchise. The film stars Wesley Snipes as the titular character with Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson and N'Bushe Wright in supporting roles. Blade is a Dhampir, a human with vampire strengths but not their weaknesses, who fights against vampires.
Blade II is a 2002 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by David S. Goyer. A sequel to Blade (1998), it is the second installment in the Blade franchise, followed by Blade: Trinity. The film follows the human-vampire hybrid Blade in his continuing effort to protect humans from vampires, Blade must join forces with an elite group of vampires to fight against mutant vampires who plan a global genocide of both vampire and human races.
Blade is a fictional character and antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character, but he later went on to star in his own storylines. Devoting his life to ridding the world of all vampires, Blade utilizes his unique physiology to become the perfect vampire hunter. While originally depicted as a human immune to vampire bites, Blade was retroactively established to be a dhampir following his adaptation as such in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the Blade film series. He is the father of Brielle "Bri" Brooks (Bloodline).
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Blade: Trinity is a 2004 American superhero film written and directed by David S. Goyer, who also produced with Peter Frankfurt, Lynn Harris, and Wesley Snipes, who also starred in the leading role as the title character, in his last widely released film until 2009. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the third installment in the Blade trilogy, and co-stars Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Kris Kristofferson, Dominic Purcell, Parker Posey, and Triple H in his acting debut. In the film, the war between humans and vampires continues. Blade has been framed for numerous murders by the vampire leader Danica Talos, who is determined to lead her bloodthirsty compatriots to victory. Blade must team up with a band of rogue vampire hunters to save humanity from his most challenging enemy yet, Dracula.
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Eric Cross Brooks is a superhero primarily portrayed by Wesley Snipes in the New Line Cinema Blade franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—commonly known by his alias, Blade. Brooks is depicted as a dhampir with superhuman abilities after his mother was bitten by a vampire while giving birth to him. Brooks is trained as a vampire hunter by Abraham Whistler and dedicates himself to protecting humanity. A variation of the film's storyline was integrated into Spider-Man: The Animated Series by John Semper in 1995 ahead of the first Blade (1998) film, and Blade's redesigned costume and powers were integrated into comics in 1999. Snipes reprised his role in two further sequel films, Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004), as well as in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which incorporated his iteration of the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise through the multiverse. The character also appeared in Blade: The Series (2006), portrayed by Sticky Fingaz.
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