Show: Blood Ties (Lifetime)
Episode: “D.O.A.” – Season Premiere (Season 2)
Premiere Date: Friday, October 12th, 2007
Rating: 1½ out of 4 stars
Quick Synopsis: A killer out of body experience.
Long Synopsis: An undercover cop and old acquaintance comes to the detective agency for help. He wants to find out what happened to his body and why he is now a ghost. A little later it is found that he is not as dead as he thinks he is, as his body is still up walking around. The search for what is happening continues and it is found that some other being inhabits him. Can they get it out of him before more people die?
Review: Blood Ties is back for 10 more episodes. The show is based on the characters of Tanya Huff’s Blood Books series
The two-hour pilot, “Blood Price,” for the series was one of the worst things to hit the small screen last season. The acting was bad, especially from those not in the main cast. The dialogue wasn’t much better. But, after a couple of episodes, it got a little better. Surprisingly enough, the first episode of the new season wasn’t that bad. Having done twelve episodes, the cast seems more at home in these characters now.
The best of the bunch is Coreen, played by Gina Holden (Flash Gordon). She is the goth-like chick that has a fascination with all things supernatural and from the looks of things, a little crush on Fitzroy.
But, the best thing about this episode was that Det. Graham, played by Keith Dallas (Snakes on a Plane), was nowhere to be seen or heard. His character’s only purpose in the first season was attempts at comic relief. The only relief was when his character left a scene.
Blood Ties falls on the quality supernatural show spectrum with the likes of this year’s Moonlight on CBS and the old “Crime Time after Primetime” CBS show, Forever Knight. Although, it may resemble the latter do to both being set in Toronto. The basic plot and stories are interesting; they just aren’t executed very well.
This show doesn’t live up to the new high standard that Lifetime has set with their summer offerings like Army Wives and the terrific Side Order of Life.
But, if you are looking for something to watch late night Friday, then you may want to check Blood Ties out, or right now you can download this episode at iTunes at no charge.
What did you think of the season two premiere of Blood Ties?
Sorry to disagree with you…, But I LOVE the show. I love the chemistry between the characters AND the fact that, humor abounds through out. They can take it from serious to HOT, to humorous all in one shot. Those are the shows I like to watch. A nice flawless blending of those 3 ingrediants.
Just my taste …, although considering the high ratings the show recieved , MUST be a taste that some others share as well.
OMG YOU COULDN’T BE MORE WRONG. THOSE OTHER SHOWS AREN’T EVEN IN THE SAME CLASS AS BLOOD TIES. SORRY, BUT YOU HAVE SERIOUSLY MADEA MISTAKE WITH THIS ONE. CHECK YOUR RECORDS AGAIN.
I’ve watched Blood Ties since the beginning and I don’t agree with your opinion. You can’t and shouldn’t compare Blood Ties to other vamp shows as it isn’t like other vamp shows. Contrary to what you may say I believe it is well acted, well written, love the music and the general look of the show, it’s campy, funny, and serious when it has to be. No show hits every episode out of the ballpark every time. You need to go back and watch more episodes. Its a great show. Sorry you didn’t like it.
Dana, Don’t be sorry, as you mentioned, our tastes are different. As I mentioned, the cast chemistry has improved over the course of the show, but “flawless,” is a bit much. As for humor, it tends to have more of the unintentional variety, in my opinion. Also, I am not sure what you consider to be high ratings, but I don’t remember them being all that great. At least not in comparison to what Lifetime’s other shows like Army Wives did over the summer. I am not too sure how much Lifetime believes in the show either, since they have basically decided to hide it late on Friday nights.
Nicole, No need to YELL, but I went ahead and checked, still don’t think it’s that good.
Margaret, I too have watched the show since the beginning, all 13 episodes so far, and in regards to hitting one “out of the ballpark,” the show has yet to even hit a double. As for comparing it to other vampire shows, to what kind of shows would you compare it then? Or, are you saying it is so good that it has no comparison?
Well Jason as you can see Blood Ties has developed a sort of cult like following, for whatever the reason may be . ( We see a great show, you see a .., well a show ) But I wanted to add onto something you mentioned. Unintentional humor. I prefer the unintentional humor VS the much too tried for variety. That’s just me.., and trust me I am not ” Normal ” or so my kids continually tell me.
I think what I like about the show is the lightheartedness of it. When I chose to have have ” Down Time ” I want something that I can unwind too. For me Blood Ties is it. I like the chemistry between the cast and YES…, the unexpected, uninterntional humor.
Thank you for taking the time to respond though. Have a great remaining few hours left of this weekend.
Dana
Dear Jason, As a Critic and Reviewer one leaves oneself open to a great many disagreeing opinions. You are, of course entitled to your opinions as we are ours, and you are very graceful and diplomatic of your responses, especially to those of us who are very protective of Blood Ties. Yes, the show has flaws, quiet a few of them in all the eppies, but it is not the flaws that attract us. Certainly, and I will readily admit, both Kyle Schmid and his character Henry Fitzroy, have drawn a large fan base. On the surface, one might think it only because the young actor is “sex on two legs” as Dylan Neal once called him, but there is more to this attraction even for the Schmid/Fitzroy die hards than just sex appeal. On one end, we have a young man who can act. In the space of a minute he can go from boyish innocent charm to world weary 500 year old vampire to sex god to deeply concerned friend to tortured soul. He breathes life into the character that Peter Mohan took from Tanya Huff’s books. And he breathes it well for the audience he was intended to draw. Henry Fitzroy, his looks and vampiric qualities aside, is a man of emotional strength, wisdom, and creativity. He loves women, is open minded, and he does not want to change the one particular woman he is drawn to. That very fact is a clincher for a great many women out in the world today. We don’t need someone to change us as Dylan Neals character is trying to do, we simply want someone to accept us as we are and perhaps encourage us to continue to explore and grow. That is where the appeal begins for Blood Ties, but it doesn’t end there. Those same women are drawn to C. Cox’s character as well. Here is a woman whose chosen life path has been altered by the unexpected future of blindness forcing her to make a choice of either wallowing in self pity or finding away to still be who she is. This reflects millions of women today who are faced with life’s big bumps. It is not easy to accept that your life is not going to be like you dreamed it was going to be and you are going to have to make some choices that never ocurred to you in your long range plans. Vicki Nelson made a choice to cut the ties to all those who would saw her when she was strong, but who would have pitied her if she had taken a position with them that was less than who she was. In order to maintain who she was, she struck out on her own, started her own business, took great risks, both emotionally and financially, and without the help of others. That takes guts, creativity and confidence, but she has done this without losing her feminity. She is still very much a woman, very much afraid of the pain of committing herself to a loving relationship, just like we all are. She is a role model to be looked up to and to hope for and that is what draws us to this show. Coreen, no matter how flakey she is, is also a woman who is not afraid of being who she is, someone who is not on the normal road to an average life, someone who stands proudly out in the crowd of so many who just want to blend in. She’s smart, wicked smart, beautful, generous, fiercesome, and she has been a victim of assault, death threats, kidnapping, drugging, stalking, and she still bounces back and doesn’t let that get her down. Sure some of her lines are bad, and sometimes they are badly delivered, but that’s okay with us, because bottom line…she too can be a hero and we watch because we want great things for her and from her as well. Micahel Celluci is the guy you love and ate and want to smack upside the head. He is the guy who is the epitome of a cop who is so very closed minded it is scary. He tries, and he is trying. He is good looking in that perfect gene kind of way, opposite of Henry Fitzroy. He is the alpha dog who has lost his position to another alpha without ever realizing he should have been fighting. He is a man we also hold out hope for because he has just as much strength of heart, passion for truth and justice, and undying love for Vicki Nelson. We get very frustrated with him, but we do not truly wish him ill. He is the character who shows us what we are like when we remain closed off from new ideas. The supernatural flotsam, is just that, vehicles for the characters. It isn’t a perfect show, but it is perfect for the millions of us who are so tired of being beaten upside the emotional and intelegent head with a never-ending retinue of crime dramas, sit-coms that are supposed to be funny and aren’t, reality shows that have people on it who you sit and listen to with eyes wide and mouth to the knees while you think….are they for real? Who in their right mind wants to punish their bodies and their psyche for the chance….the chance to win a million dollars. Has anybody ever taken a poll on the intelegence level of those who watch stuff like that? What is the redeeming quality? Where is the role model, the hope and inspiration? You ever wonder why Romance books sell so well? Because deep in our hearts, women want that happy ending and they still hope and dream that it just might be possible, because to give up that would be like dying for what would be the point of living. Blood Ties is like that, episodic romance, that allows us to step away from our troubled lives for an hour and to remember what it was like to have a passionate, unrequited crush on a hunk of a guy who is flawed and yet in his flaws perfect. It is not perfect writing, out of this world special effects, or intellegent plots that keep us wanting and demanding more. It is the package of what Blood Ties represents to us all; that there is still hope, that it is okay to be who you are, and that fighting the good fight is often a very lonely thing to do, but if just one person sees that in you, then the world will be okay.
I hope this makes sense to you. I know it seems a bit emotionally sentimental, but I thought you might like to see what we see when we watch Blood Ties. Thank you for letting me post.
Diane/ Passionintruth
I second what Diane said.
Diane, I don’t think we are that far off in our opinion of Blood Ties. It seems that you like what is represented by the characters and the ongoing story. I wouldn’t really disagree with your points, just that if the show had better writing, acting, etc. that it would be much better. I mean, how great would it be to have a show that represents all the things you mentioned and the acting, writing, etc. was all top-notch?
Actually, Blood Ties is filmed in Vancouver.
Sandra, You are correct. It should have read they are both “set” in Toronto, not “filmed” there. Thanks for pointing it out. I will make the correction.
I love the drama of blood ties. I have been a fan since the start. I love the suspense between henry and vicki! I really wish they would hook up already. I agree that the scripts are not that well written, but everybody has their own writing style. If it attracts fans like me, then I think that is what matters the most. I will definetly be a fan until the end!
I really love blood ties its like the more I watch it the more I want to know what’s going to happen between the Character and I love Christina Cox and Kyle Schmid and their bond together to make the role in their characters come alive and I’m sure all the viewers who watch this show would agree that it’s not only the characters but the Chemistry between Vicki and Henry and their relationship but everyone else I’m guessing is starting to wonder will the charcters ever hook up? will there be a little something now that the characters are going through a bit of a change? who knows but I absolutly love this show since the beginning and I hope they make a season 3 so we can find out what’s going to happen between Henry and Vicki
I really love Blood ties! I wonder if more episodes will air soon. I really want to see more of Henry and Viki kicking butt!!
hieijunkie, Have yet to find any official info on a third season for Blood Ties, but Lifetime still has show info on at their website and the last two episodes of season two, which never aired, are available to watch their as well.
Hi guys, just to say, i don’t think they will be making a season 3 of blood ties :( ! Apparently no one has picked the show up for another season. Its weird because i stumbled across it a few weeks ago and now i’m just hooked. By the way, did you lot see episode 3, season 2 ‘5:55’, the very last scene when the cup fell and smashed in the end, no matter how many times vicki had tried to prevent it from falling throughout the episode. I just thought that last scene was genius! The connotations of ‘if fate wants to do it, then fate will do it’ sorta thing.