Vampire TV and a little more

I have always has a fascination with all things supernatural and at the top of that very long list is vampires. Up until a few months being a Buffy or an Angel fan, or any vampire for that matter meant a lot of strange looks from people. Well the worm as really turned as far as that one is concerned. Now I am regularly stopped in the lunch room and asked what is a good vampire book to read? It seems that I am in now and I hadn’t even realized that I was out!!!!
The worrying thing is that people that are new to vampires tend to think that they are all pretty and sparkly like Twilight and the lead Edward. The look of disappointment when you tell them that this is not the case is quite priceless actually. One can only guess at their reaction if they were to watch Night watch or something similar!!!
So what is new for vampire fans?
Lots of stuff is new. It seems with the success of Twilight and TV shows like True Blood and DVD releases of Moonlight and Blood Ties Hollywood as caught up to the rest of us. You can look forward to a vampire movie release in a cinema near you shortly. The calendar for 2009 is jammed packed and 2010 is also looking promising.
My new favorite TV series is Blood Ties. For those of you that haven’t seen it do yourself a favor and get it now. It is hands down one of the best shows that I have seen in a long time. The show centers around Henry Fitroy (vampire) a novelist and Vicki (human) a PI. The unlikely duo team up to investigate strange events in their home town. The developing relationship between the two leads is the best part of the show and it is a shame that it was cut short after only two seasons. Despair not the TV show is based on the Blood Books by Tanya Huff and there are five of them to keep you entertained. There is a sixth book but that is simply a collection of short stories about the main characters. The books explore the relationship between he leads in more depth than was possible on the show and certain aspects of the books were left out of the TV show and they add a tantilsing twist to the characters. These books a simply a must read.
Another TV vampire that has been warming the winter nights for me is Mick St John from the TV series Moonlight. Mick is another vampire detective that teams up with a report to solve crimes. This series deals a little more in reality and the crimes are of the human kind not the super human kind. Of course the relationship between the two leads Mick and Beth is the basis of the show but there are some really interesting side characters as well, my favorite being Josef the oldest vampire in the town, and an interesting friend for Mick. This show was also cut short after one season, a decision I am sure is being regretted as you read this.
I have started to watch Buffy again from the start and I quickly remembered why Buffy and Angel quickly became two of my favorite shows. It is important if you are new to Buffy and Angel to ensure that you watch the first three seasons of Buffy before you begin to watch the Angel series if you really want to enjoy and take in as much as possible from both shows. Both of these were long running series with Buffy running for seven seasons and Angel for five. I get the impression that Angel’s demise came a little quicker than Joss had planned with the end seeming rushed and actually not an ending at all but rather a cliffhanger for the end of a season.
Both of these shows have been continued on in graphic novel format which I kind of like. I have not followed the Buffy comics but I have the Angel ones and I have to say they would have made for great TV. So get out and grab the first season of Buffy but be warned it is addictive TV.