'Moonlight' is not so bright

At this point, there probably isn't a whole lot completely new and original that anyone can do with a show about vampires.

And it's easy to argue that CBS's "Moonlight" doesn't do anything new and original.

There are always going to be comparisons to other shows about vampires. Other movies about vampires. Other books about vampires.

For "Moonlight," there are the inevitable comparisons to other vampire/detective TV shows that preceded it. Shows like "Forever Knight," "Blood Ties" and "Angel."

Not that there's anything wrong with doing a show in the same genre as programs that preceded it. How many cop shows have there been? Doctor shows? Lawyer shows?

So why not a few vampire/detective shows?

It all about execution. The writing has to be good. It has to be well cast. The leads must share chemistry.

On all counts, "Moonlight" draws solid C's across the board. It's not a bad show, but it's nowhere near the head of the class.

Tonight's episode (8 p.m., Ch. 2) picks up where the show left off way back on Jan. 18. Vampire/detective Mick St. John (Alex O'Laughlin) has taken a cure of sorts and is, at least temporarily, human. He's pretty jazzed about this. He even goes to the beach, where he runs into Beth Turner (Sophia Myles).

"Mortality suits you," she says.

Yes, but for how long? This is, after all, a show about a vampire/detective ... so nobody will be surprised if this transformation isn't permanent.

The episode features a murder with three possible motives, all of which require detective work and none of which is particularly well written. It's all way too easy and the dialogue sometimes devolves into, well, overwrought baloney.

"Secrets are like a disease and if we don't share them, they're going to eat us up on the inside until it feels like we're already dead," Mick intones with a straight face.

(Now that's acting.)

And, while Beth was distraught over the death of her boyfriend in the last episode, she gets over it quickly as the show resets into "Beauty and the Beast" with a vampire as the beast. If only O'Laughlin and Myles had more chemistry, it might work.

As it is, the fact that O'Laughlin is hunky isn't enough to build a show around.

"Moonlight" has its devoted fans, some of whom will probably want to drive a stake through my heart because I don't love the show as much as they do.

It's not a bad show, but it could be a better one. A much better one.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com