Customer Reviews

Blood Ties: The Complete Series

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Vampires are very hot right now -- the bestselling "Twilight" series, the hit TV show "True Blood," and the tragically cancelled "Moonlight."

And one of the better vampire stories to emerge from the crypt is "Blood Ties: The Complete Series," a too-brief show based on Tanya Huff's urban fantasy series. The series has a slightly slow start, but it's a solid action/fantasy series with plenty of sensual romance, gritty crime, and supernatural spookery -- and the trio of main actors are simply brilliant.

On her way back from a date, PI Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox) sees a caped figure attack and kill a young man -- leaving the body drained of blood. The victim's girlfriend hires Vicki to find the culprit. But as Vicki starts prodding around goth clubs and alleyways, she encounters the mysterious Henry Fitzroy (Kyle Schmid) who is doing his own murder investigation on the same case.

Turns out Henry is also a sexy 500-year-old vampire, and the bastard son of Henry VII. Together they have to find a creepy demon-summoner, before something far worse is unleashed. And soon she has to deal with a lot of other supernatural problems, with the help of Henry and her former partner Mike (Dylan Neal), who loathe one another.

Among the problems: voodoo priest and his zombies, time loops, an Incan mummy, a murderous "imaginary friend," a heart-crushing Celtic ghost, a suburban incubi, a man-eating Wendigo, creepy art crimes, a Goth club plagued by supernatural drugs, Egyptian gods, a Medusa, a fertility clinic that produces eerie results, Henry's ex-lover/vampire-mother, and an immortal priest with an unending vendetta against Henry. Worst of all, they must grapple with the creepy demon-summoner and his evil master...

"Blood Ties Season One" fits into the same niche as "Moonlight" and "The Dresden Files" -- a detective series with vampires and spooky things, and a human mired in the supernatural. But it's not entirely the same -- "Blood Ties" has a distinctly dark, grimy feel, with lots of pale light, shadowy urban streets and a unique vampire ("I don't have mojo. I have charm!").

It also has a nice murky mystery in each episode, with monsters ranging from notorious (zombies! mummies!) to obscure (svartalfar! bug demons!), tightly wound action scenes and some very sensual bloodsucking. And the writers spin up some lovely dialogue for Vicki and Henry, usually to each other ("Talismans don't kill people -- people kill people"). And the entire series is given a distinctly dark, grimy feel, with lots of pale light, shadowy urban streets, and a storyline that becomes quite bleak at times. The only real problem is the totally unsatisfying, inconclusive ending (TV movie! We need a TV movie!).

Cox is excellent as Vicki -- tough, strong and capable of handling her own life, but with the vulnerability of a degenerative eye disease and a demon curse. And she's backed by Neal as a skeptical, straight-and-narrow cop who doesn't trust the supernatural, but is forced to put his career in jeopardy to help Vicki, and Gina Holden as a perky Goth who appoints herself Vicki's new secretary/gofer/research assistant.

And Schmid is the perfect good-guy vampire -- he's devastatingly hot, and he mingles impish charm, sensuality, passion, ferocity and down-to-earth quirkiness ("If this book isn't at the printer's by the end of the month, my editor's gonna kill me... again!"). His most brilliant work is the prolonged torture of "Heart of Fire," especially during Henry's heartrending struggle against his bloodthirst.

The finale is unsatisfying, but the rest of "Blood Ties: The Complete Series" is a brilliantly written, well-acted series that stands head and shoulders above your average vampire TV show. It deserved way more than it got.

This is a review of the actual product for Blood Ties: The Complete Series [Blu-ray], not the series itself (though I enjoyed it very much). This is NOT a review of the Blood Ties TV movie from 1991.

Blood Ties: The Complete Series on Blu-ray is presented in Widescreen (1.78:1) 1080 High Definition (HD), not 1.33:1 Standard Definition (SD) letterbox like the separate Season One and Season Two DVD releases. (The format info on the back of the Blu-ray box is incorrect.)

Features:

Twenty-two episodes on four discs (HD)

24-minute Behind the Scenes featurette (SD)

Three-minute Series trailer (SD)

32-second Season 1 DVD trailer (SD)

Five-minute photo gallery (HD, about 30 pictures, including production stills, art and Blood Price covers.)

Two-channel DTS (Stereo) for each episode, but no commentaries (subtract one star from rating) or alternate language dubbing.

Optional English subtitles.

Eight-page booklet with synopses of each episode.

Verdict: This Blu-ray release is superior to the DVD, and a much better deal, too! Most TV series are now produced in HD, but they are usually released on inferior DVD's instead of Blu-ray (Moonlight, Castle, Legend of the Seeker, The Mentalist, etc.) This release is a rarity. If you watch TV shows broadcast in HD, as I do, and you want to see them released in an HD format also, then buy this series on Blu-ray.

Vampires are all the rage on the small screen. Just look at recent entries Moonlight - The Complete Series, True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series), or the CW's "The Vampire Diaries."

Blood Ties is a Canadian TV production that was filmed as a 22-episode season. In the US, Lifetime TV decided to split was was actually one season into two, with the first eleven episodes ("Blood Price" to "Post Partum") as Season One and the remaining eleven ("Norman" to "Deep Dark") as Season Two. This box set collects all 22 episodes for the first time in North America (the British box set that was released several years ago features all 22 episodes, but no extras). The TV budget doesn't allow top-notch special effects, but the show really works with what it has (the set designs are great, but the CGI is largely lacking), and its strength is in the writing and performances.

Blood Ties revolves around Victoria "Vicki" Nelson, an ex-cop with Toronto's Metro police. Vicki was forced to resign due to a degenerative eye disease, retinitis pigmentosa, and is trying to make a living as a private investigator. Her fiery romance with fellow cop Mike Celluci is an on-again, off-again affair, and her first case as a PI gives her more than she bargained for: someone is summoning demonic forces, and Henry Fitzroy, her new partner on the case, just happens to be a 480-year-old vampire and is the illegitimate son of Henry VIII.

The series pilot Blood Price is faithfully based on Tanya Huff's Blood Price (BLOOD SERIES). The remainder of the season finds Vicki exploring demons, incubi, reanimated corpses, shapeshifters, mummies, voodoo, ghosts...while caught in a crackling love triangle between former flame Mike and sensual, deadly Henry (Kyle Schmid beat out RPatz as sexiest vampire in a recent poll). Vicki's new assistant is the perky Goth Coreen, who also has her eye on Henry.

Blood Ties consistently satisfies my cravings for an intelligently handled supernatural cop drama. Its premise sounds promising in print, but without Blood Ties' cleverly crafted story arcs and meaningful character interaction, it would amount to little more than a tired monster-movie-of-the-week retread. This is a show that wisely knows not to take itself too seriously, leading to fast and furious one-liners, visual gags and impeccable comedic timing. The entire Canadian cast and crew does a consistently amazing job of bringing Blood Ties to life, and it's great to see a Canadian production receive airtime in the States.

The show's setting is Toronto but is filmed in Vancouver (with exterior shots of identifying Toronto landmarks), but it's still Canadian through-and-through, a rarity in days where tired Toronto is expected to double as Everyamericancity. This may be the first show since Forever Knight - The Trilogy, Part 1 (1992 - 1993) and Due South: The Ultimate Collection - Three Complete Seasons that revels in its Canadianness.

Although Blood Ties is currently off the air, its fan base continues to spread through word of mouth, Blood Ties hidden object game featuring characters, locations, and audio from the show, and Internet groups, thereby bringing new viewers into the fold. It has been at least a decade since I felt so strongly about a TV show; I was so moved by Blood Ties' strong female role model and intriguing blend of romance, police procedural, and the supernatural that I downloaded several episodes via iTunes and recruited several friends to the show.

Blood Ties remains my favorite post-Forever Knight - The Trilogy, Part 1 (1992 - 1993) for its enchanting blend of humor, passion, action, moral dilemmas, and the mortal (and immortal) ties that bind. Tanya Huff's source material has been toned down enough to allow families to enjoy Blood Ties together. Blood Ties protagonist Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox) is a strong positive role model for women through her physicality, self-reliance despite disability, and intelligence.

It's instantly obvious (except to American/Canadian networks who were reluctant to pick up the show for a second season, grrr...) why Blood Ties was nominated for numerous awards such as Constellation and Leo Awards. The entire cast, headed by Christina Cox (Vicki), Kyle Schmid (Henry), Dylan Neal (Mike), and Gina Holden (Coreen), has an outstanding chemistry that shines on-screen, and I can't wait to finally own the complete Blood Ties on DVD!

So there is (was) this little show that could, called "Blood Ties". Some of you may have heard of or even seen it?

It is/was about this former homicide detective Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox), who, due to her failing eye sight, has to quit the force, and in turn she opens her own PI agency.

However, her world changes significantly one night, after she witnesses something supernatural and then her subsequent meeting of the almost 500 yr old [450 to be exact] vampire named Henry Fitzroy (Kyle Schmid), [...] son of King Henry the VIII.

Soon they develop not only a friendship , but also a partnership , as they work to confront the things that go bump in the night.

And with the way most good stories go, Vicki must deal, not only with her attraction towards Henry, but with her on again off again relationship with her former homicide detective partner Mike Celluci (Dylan Neal).

"Blood Ties" is (was) a smartly written, well acted TV show, that highlighted wonderful chemistry between its' actors characters with witty dialogue and great (sexual) tension.

It is a great pity that this show was staked before it's time, thus limiting its undead life to only one season, and with the current influx of vamp shows on the TV market, it would have been nice to have this Canadian gem in the rough!

My husband and myself loved the Canadian series Blood Ties when it was available on TV a couple of years ago. We were both sad when we learned that the series was not going to be renewed and that our favorite characters: Vickie, Henry and Mike Celluci were retired for good. I was tickled to purchase this complete Blood Ties series for my husband for our anniversary. We have both enjoyed it and the purchase was a great one. The DVD's were perfect and delivered in short order. We watched all the episodes with interest and some nostalgia. Friends of ours, who were not familiar with the series, have already put requests in to borrow it once we can let it go for awhile. If you like the supernatural, vampires and detective stories...you will love the Blood Ties Series!!! Check it out!!

Kat P.

Tanya Huff pioneered the urban fantasy genre in 1991 with the book "Blood Price". By populating metropolitan Toronto with vampires, werewolves, witches, and mummies, Huff sparked a trend in both literature (authors such as Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, etc.) and in television (Forever Knight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc.) that is still gaining popularity today. Sadly, even inferior efforts such as the "Twilight" series (slickly marketed as "paranormal romance" instead of "fantasy") are getting more attention than Huff, the originator of the entire genre. Is it perhaps because Huff is Canadian? Whatever the reason, it was satisfying to see the Blood books finally turned into a series, even though it only ran for 22 episodes.

Usually, I am disappointed in film adaptations of my favourite books, but Blood Ties surprised me by surpassing the books with a feat of perfect casting: Cox as Vicki Nelson is completely believable and entirely engaging; Neal as Mike Celucci is even more admirable and adorable than the book version; and Schmid as Henry Fitzroy is utterly mesmerizing as the seductive but still vulnerable and genuinely appealing vampire. The addition of Holden as Coreen is an inspired improvement over the book series, as it provides Nelson with a cheering section while giving the audience someone to relate to. Kudos as well to the marvellous soundtrack by James Jandrisch, the the gorgeous set and production design.

The arc episodes are exceptional (Blood Price Parts 1 & 2 & Norman & Deep Dark, Heart of Ice & Heart of Fire, Bugged & The Devil You Know). My personal favourite is the "groundhog day from Hell" episode 5:55, and the funniest scenes have to be the ones between Vicki and Mike in "Post Partum". Even though some of the 22 episodes are not as strong story-wise, the characters and relationships grow in an organic and engaging fashion, and the overall story arc of the demon using Nelson to enter the world is both clever and scary. By the end of the 22 episodes, Blood Ties had found its footing and showed great potential to carry on into the next season ... except it was cancelled.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the urban fantasy genre. And if you want to know how Vicki's story ends, at least you can still read the Blood books to find out!

This series was an underrated gem when it first appeared. Slightly campy with great characters, hero and villian alike. If you are a fan of the occult then you'll like this series.

There are enough episodes to entertain you. This series should have continued. BloodTies and Moonlight would have been huge hits after the Twilight Saga became popular.

This is a GREAT Series....Not to graphic, not to mushy!!!! It's a fun series for all to enjoy. Kyle, Christina and Dillon are AWESOME!!!!It's one of my favorite shows...

I loved this series when it was on television and was happy to see it available on DVD. I like how the series didn't just focus on vampires but explored all sorts of myths and legends.