SFX: Glad Alex O’Loughlin Didn’t Beat Christopher Lee

Remember SFX Magazine’s Greatest Vampire Poll earlier this year? Well, Moonlight fans voted and this resulted in getting the fabulous Mick St. John, a.k.a. Alex O’Loughlin, to # 4 on the list of 50 Greatest Vampires of All Time and a very cool spread in the SFX Vampire Special Edition!

Here’s what the people at SFX had to say about Mick St. John:

There was some serious block voting going on when it came to this guy, but, to be fair, fans of all shows were equally entitled to block vote. Who are we to censure votes just because Moonlight fans got their act together and Blood Ties fans didn’t? Besides, think through the logic: if fans are avid enough to want to mobilize a voting campaign, what does that say about the guy they’re voting for? That he’s popular, basically. Ipso facto, he’s earned his place in the top 10, fair and square (though we’re glad he didn’t beat Christopher Lee).

Mick St. John is private investigator in modern-day Los Angeles who also just happens to be a vampire. (Hey, maybe he should form some kind of union with Angel; the Vampire Private Investigators Regulatory Executive – or VamPIRE.) He was sired around 60 years ago by his wife, Coraline, on his wedding day, which is one Hell of a way of consummating a marriage. But he’s not really confortable with the traditional vampire lifestyle and refuses to hunt women, children or innocents, and rejects the idea of treating humanity as just a quick snack.

After his disastrous nuptials, he’s understandably not keen on pursuing any romantic avenues for a while, but things change when he “bumps into” internet reporter Beth Turner. Bumps into in inverted commas, because he’s actually been stalking her since she was five, when he rescued her from his ex-wife… but let’s not go there. It’s all a bit creepy.

Why’s he so popular? The looks, the charm, the conflicted nature. He’s Edward Cullen for the mature woman, though a lot more eloquent (then again, there are sea sponges more eloquent than Edward Cullen). It’s like all the things that make vampires sexy have been distilled into one character. Which reminds us of another character… called Angel. Is it any coincidence that Angel co-creator David Greenwalt (in that he both co-created the show Angel and indeed the character Angel back in the early days of Buffy) was also one of the original showrunners on Moonlight? Short answer – no.

Mick St. John’s Moonlight cohort, Josef Kostan, is number 17 on SFX’s list. Jason Dohring, who immortalized the suave and amusing Josef, was a guest at the Breakout Before Moonlight Convention in London this past weekend, where he and fellow guest and Moonlight co-star, Jordan Belfi, won many female hearts. From SFX’s write-up on Josef:

The result was a louche, witty, energetic supporting character who often threatened to outshine the show’s star, Mick, whom he readily “re-turns’ into a vampire at one point after Mick has a brief relapse into humanity. Shame the show was cancelled as a Josef spin-off series could have been great.

The Vampire Special also includes a 9-page spread in which Alex O’Loughlin shares his thoughts on each individual episode of Moonlight!

To place an order for the magazine, call the publisher in the UK on+44 1858 438797 (if you’re calling from the US, the number to dial is 011 44 1858 438 794). The Vampire Special is the SFX Collection #39. The issue costs £9.99 for the US (approx. $16.40) and £8.99 for Europe; prices include shipping and delivery will take 10-14 days. All credit cards are accepted, with the exception of American Express.

For hi-res scans of the Moonlight pages in the magazine, click on any of the images below:

[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, moonlight, mick st. john[/tags]