Customer Reviews

Blood Ties: Season Two

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The center of "Blood Ties" has always been the love triangle between PI Vicky Nelson, cop Mike Celucci, and vampire Henry Fitzroy.

But that love triangle starts constricting painfully in the second season of "Blood Ties," which finishes the all-too-short horror/mystery series. The plots are solid whodunnits and thrillers that center around strange supernatural beasties and items, and the trio of lead actors are excellent (particularly the striking Kyle Schmid). The one problem is the ending -- it's a big fat "to be continued" that leaves you craving a wrap-up TV movie.

When a wealthy man is brutally killed, Mike (Dylan Neal) knows he has the right suspect, a sneering woman who was at the crime scene. The problem is, the man died from being savaged by a giant cat -- and Mike saw her eyes glow when she was upset. So Vicki (Christina Cox) and Henry (Schmid) start investigating the woman's home and her family -- and uncover an ancient family secret and a tragic loss.

Among the other cases they handle: creepy art and men drowned with oil paint, a mysterious box that sticks Vicki in a time loop, a Goth club being threatened by a strange drug and insect attacks, a gang of truckjackers accidentally let loose an Incan mummy, and a murderer who suddenly changes his story (claiming psychic visions). And Henry unexpectedly seeks Mike's help when another vampire starts killing in his territory... leading to a reunion with the slinky Christina, his ex-lover/vampire-mother, who's got a nasty problem that is more than it seems.

Unfortunately, all this supernatural stuff is slowly crumbling away Mike's professional credibility, and the relationship between the three of them is getting increasingly tense. When an old demonic enemy returns to attack Coreen, Vicki must depend on both men to help -- but it may not be enough.

"Blood Ties Season Two" is in some ways darker and more desperate than the first season, now that Vicki has gotten totally immersed in the world of the supernatural (and Mike is starting to sink in too). But the core of the series is much the same -- it still sticks to the monster/artifact-of-the-week formula ("Talismans don't kill people; people kill people"), and maintains that distinctly dark, grimy feel, with lots of pale light, shadowy urban streets and a very unusual vampire.

And the murky mysteries are nicely speckled with gritty action sequences, monsters both typical (werethingies!) and unique (bug demons!), and some painfully bittersweet moments, such as the tragic fate of an out-of-control, self-loathing vampire. But the writers keep things tongue-in-cheek, and have some wonderfully quirky dialogue ("Don't you have a lucky shirt or socks?" "I have a bonnet that Anne Boleyn gave me right before she tried to poison me. I'm still here, so I guess you could call that lucky").

The biggest problem with "Blood Ties Season Two"? The ending. It's abundantly clear that there was a third season intended that would dealt with the myriad hanging plot threads -- namely the fractured love triangle and the whole Astaroth problem -- but it never happened. So the ending is depressing and unsatisfying. Come on, make us a TV movie!

Kyle Schmid actually steals the limelight in this season -- Henry becomes a more passionate, tragic figure as he deals with some of his past demons, while thankfully maintaining his sexy-trickster attitude (after admitting that he likes Celucci, he adds, "I'm gonna regret having to draw him being eaten by hellhounds"). And he pulls off even potentially-cheesy scenes, such as when Henry describes to the half-blind Vicki how luminous and vibrant the world looks to him.

But Christina Cox and Dylan Neal still hold their own -- Vicki seems more at peace with her new "night life" and the crimes she has to investigate, but her emotional life is even more snarled than it was before. She's getting pulled in two directions, and it now hurts. And Mike is slowly coming to terms with Henry's presence -- and evens seems buddyish once or twice. But the slow destruction of his career and his nice comfortable life is a painful thing to watch.

"Blood Ties Season Two" has an unsatisfactory finale, but it's still a solid fantasy/horror/mystery series that is one of the better vampire shows to make it to TV. Definitely give it a watch.

To clear up some of the confusion brought on by the reviews written before Season 2 of Blood Ties was actually released on DVD:

1) There were 22 episodes filmed according to the Internet Movie Database and the Lifetime Network website.

2) In the US and Canada (Region 1), the first twelve episodes are on the "Season One" DVDs and the last 10 episodes are on the "Season Two" DVDs.

3) In the UK (Region 2), all 22 episodes are in one DVD set which is labeled "The Complete First Season." It probably should have been called "The Complete Series."

Other than that, image quality is about the same on the R1 and R2 DVDs. Both R1 and R2 are widescreen even though the R1 DVD case says "4:3 Screen Format." They are also English only and have no subtitles.

The only bonus features on the US (R1) version are the Season One trailer and a photo gallery with 32 still photos. The UK (R2) version has no bonus features.

If you have a multiregion DVD player, the UK version from Amazon UK is a far better deal.

Without a doubt, this exceptional series deserves 6 stars and the studio deserves 0 stars for not selling the complete series in one set for a combined rating of 3 stars.

I can safely say I was addicted to this show! Kyle Schmid as vampire Henry Fitzroy is most definitely the hottest vampire ever....whether on the big screen or the small. This show was funny, it had action, great chemistry between its characters and it was never given a chance by LifetimeTV. It ended with such a cliffhanger I figured we'd at least get a TV movie to tie things up, but we never got a thing. The show was based on Tanya Huff's Blood Books, but the show was far superior to the books. In the UK the whole show was sold as one set of DVDs. They needed to wring a few more bucks out of us here in the US, but that's okay. My favorite "vampire" show ever!

I love this series. I wish it was still going. It is always a shame when a great series is canceled. I'm just glad I have it to watch over and over. Great actors and the writers had great imaginations. And I love it when the vampire is the good guy. The series reminds me of the series "Supernatural" except it is a vampire that is one of the hunters. I think anyone who likes "Supernatural" will like this series.

I gave this 5 stars because I've really enjoyed the first season and this second season has great episodes, but you can tell they got cut off at the knees when they were canceled. So I'd like to give the Lifetime network zero stars for canceling this really well done show.

The casting for this show was really great. Kyle Schmid is one of our heart throbs now. And I think the woman who played the medical examiner is my all-time favorite medical examiner on TV. Christina Cox was also well chosen. I've read all the books and I think she makes a great Vicki.

The show itself was suspenseful and usually had comedic overtones that I enjoyed. This DVD set is well worth the price, even though there are only 9 episodes and no special features. That was a disappointment. But its all worth it to watch Henry, especially when he goes all vampire. They did his vampire teeth (and overall look) right. His canines and second incisors extend and his forehead does not get bumpy and his veins do not pop all out. Henry's vamp look is very sexy.

Blood ties was a great show true to the books, which I recommend. The only down side to this set is that the last three episodes are missing. They are releasing those three I assume in October as season 2. Would have been better for us fans if they had issued a complete set.

The show needed allot of work but it was a precursor to all the vampire shows now airing. The acting was great and I really miss this not being on.

Kyle Schid, Dylan Neal, Chrisina Cox & Jaimie Alexander (Kyle XY) are the leading characters in both seasons of Blood Ties. Each episode is better than the last one. Sadly, this highly entertaining series was ended too soon, similiar to "Moonlighting".

This is a five star product-

This was a Christmas present for my daughter-in-law. The only tiny negative is that the producers chose to artificially split what was a single season on TV into two "seasons" for dvd sales. Thus my daughter-in-law got the first half for her birthday in June and the second for Christmas. She loves them, so mission accomplished.

I am in agreement with a lot of the reviews. This show suffered from being on the wrong channel. The actors knew what kind of show they were in and it felt like they were having fun as they played their roles. I adored Christina Cox as Vicki Nelson. She was was warm, down to earth, and very funny. Of course I loved Kyle Schmid as Henry Fitzroy. He's gorgeous and a good actor for someone so young playing someone so old. He carried himself with such confidence and elegance. He played his fangs well through his sexy cockiness, romantic sense, and comic timing. There was that little bit of sadness that played through him, too. It made me want to know more about his world. How did he come through the ages and survive so well? Nice touch his being a dark graphic novel writer. Dylan Deal, as Mike, brought a beautiful balance. He's so handsome and a bit of tortured white knight. Considering he wants Vicki as much as Henry does. I enjoyed how the show solved murder mysteries and balanced the love triangle. Very fun! We should have gotten to know the TV shows take on how those sigil symbols on Vicki's wrists worked. This show needed at least one more season.