NEW Season 1 (DVD)

Blood Ties is a Canadian 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. Blood Ties fans have waited desperately for any news after Lifetime dropped the show like a hot potato despite intensive fan campaigns including blood drives and donations to charities. Their decision to split the show into two is unfortunate from a DVD standpoint; The British Blood Ties box set features all 22 episodes, but the US release features what is essentially half the (only) season. However, there are some excellent episodes here, such as the two-part Heart of Ice / Heart of Fire and the two-part pilot Blood Price. However, where the British set was devoid of extras, the US version will feature behind-the-scenes materials (and there was rumor of a gag/blooper reel mentioned in an interview). The release for Season Two is tentatively scheduled for September 2009; with the popularity of Moonlight - The Complete Series, True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series), and Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition), sales should be high.

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. 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-air, its fan base continues to spread through word of mouth, Big Fish's 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 Blood Ties on DVD!

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," a too-brief show based on Tanya Huff's urban fantasy series. The first season has a slightly slow start, but it's a solid action/fantasy series with plenty of sensual romance, gritty crime, and supernatural spookery.

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.

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, a murderous "imaginary friend," a heart-crushing Celtic ghost, a suburban incubi, a man-eating Wendigo, Egyptian gods, a Medusa, a fertility clinic that produces creepy results, the return of creepy demon-summoning dude, and an immortal priest with an unending vendetta against Henry.

"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!) to obscure (svartalfar!), 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 ("It's just a conversation, it's nothing to worry about." "That's what my father said to Anne Boleyn").

And Cox is excellent as Vicki -- tough, strong and capable of handling her own life, but with the vulnerability of a degenerative eye disease. And she's backed by Neal as a skeptical, straight-and-narrow cop who obviously has a thing for 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, 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.

"Blood Ties Season One" starts off a little slow, but the solid writing and excellent acting make this one of the better vampire shows to hit TV screens.

This is by far the best vampire show out there, ever. Based on the Blood books by the incredibly talented Tanya Huff, it stars Kyle Schimd as Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of Henry the VII that just happens to be a very hot vampire, Christina Cox as Vicki Nelson, one hot former cop turned PI and Dylan Neal as Det. Mike Celluci, Toronto detective and former partner/lover of Vicki. The show is well written, superbly acted and is terribly missed. This is a must buy and fall in love with!!!! You will not be disappointed, it's hot, intriguing and worth watching again and again.

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