Tag Archives: Lost Girl

‘The Fades’ has left me wanting more

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Nine years after its departure, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” has left a big, hellmouth-sized void in TV fantasy. But a couple of shows are filling that void.

As much as “Lost Girl,” the Canadian series airing on SyFy, fulfills our minimum daily requirement for “Buffy”-style wit and fantastic action, the BBC series “The Fades” — which has finished airing on BBC America, but can still be found On Demand and on DVD — features other “Buffy” touchstones.

The show is about a teenager, Paul (Iain de Castecker), who comes to find out he is the chosen one, destined to lead the forces of good (Angelics) in their battle with the Fades, a murderous group of walking dead who feast on the living.

But the Fades aren’t just mindless zombies. As led by John (Ian Hanamore in one incarnation, Joe Dempsie in another), the Fades have apocalyptic plans for the world in general and Paul’s town in particular.

It’s up to Paul to protect not only his nerdy, pop culture-obsessed friend Mac (Daniel Kaluuya, whose Brit speak can be hard to figure out but whose constant nerdy references and opening story recaps are a highlight of the series), but his mom (Claire Rushbrook), his obnoxious sister Anna (Lily Loveless) and Jay (Sophie Wu), Anna’s friend and object of Paul’s affection.

Like Buffy, Paul must balance his duties as an unwilling and initially unwitting Angelic with guidance from Neil (Johnny Harris), an Angelic who becomes Paul’s mentor.

But Neil is no Rupert Giles, whose loving but sometimes exasperated guidance of Buffy was one of the cornerstones of that show. Neil is a bastard obsessed with egging Paul into facing off with John and the rest of the Fades.

The show is given texture by other characters, including Sarah (Natalie Dormer), an Angelic who is killed and returns as a Fade.

And hanging over everything, literally, is the end of the world. “The  Fades” shares with “Buffy” the central character’s ability to see the future. Paul’s visions of the end of the world — ash-filled skies and even more dead bodies than are popping up during the normal course of the day — cast a pall even over the daily horrors.

You might find that “The Fades” starts off with a slightly ragged tone. Hang in there. This is a series that starts uneven but very quickly finds its pace.

“The Fades” is punctuated by humor but is as grim as “Lost Girl” is light-hearted. Before the six-episode first season is complete, some very dire things happen to the characters.

The show premiered in Britain last fall and I’m not sure if a second season is underway or planned. I hope it is. Although the threat of John and the Fades is, to a great extent, resolved by the end of the first six episodes, the fate of the world is not. Things look pretty grim as the final scene fades to black.

For “The Fades,” it’s the perfect ending.

‘Lost Girl’ has a ‘Buffy” feel to it

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There’s never really been an heir apparent to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as TV’s most clever supernatural drama. I’ve never gotten into the “Vampire Diaries” or “Supernatural” habit. “Buffy” and spin-off “Angel” were hard acts to follow.

So there’s something very enjoyable about discovering “Lost Girl,” a Canadian TV series that’s airing on SyFy, the former Sci-Fi Channel.

With the exception of “Alphas,” the “X-Men” style series about a group of super-powered government agents, I can’t abide much of what SyFy airs. Aside from a grab-bag of awful and intentionally awful movies, ghost-hunting shows and wrestling — the hell, SyFy? — there hasn’t been much there for me since “Battlestar Galactica.”

So after hearing TV experts like Maureen Ryan praising “Lost Girl,” I decided to check out the show.

“Lost Girl” is about a woman named Bo who works as a bartender and occasionally feeds, somewhat like a vampire, on assorted passersby. Bo, played by the striking Anna Silk, befriends Kenzi (Ksenia Solo), a young human grifter who is saved by Bo from a date rapist.

Bo saves Kenzi by feeding on the jerk, kissing him and sucking his life force out.

Bo and Kenzi are captured by agents of the Fae, supernatural creatures who have been living below the radar among human society for thousands of years.

The Fae tell Bo she’s a succubus, a super tough, super sexy predator. For Bo, abandoned by her parents as a baby, that explains a lot.

They also tell Bo that she must choose to join either the Light or the Dark Fae clans.

Bo proves herself in battle and wins the leverage to decline to join either group.

During the course of the early episodes, Bo and Kenzi move through a tough urban landscape, trying to avoid the Fae for the most part but being drawn into their battles.

The series has a straightforward, even flat look that reminds me more of “Law and Order” or some other police procedural than a supernatural series. The cast, led by the seductive Silk and the pert, spunky Solo, is totally unknown to me — hello from north of the border, eh? — but appealing.

The biggest surprise of the series is the tart, clever writing. Bo and particularly Kenzi are given more than a few sharp, funny lines. “Boy, you don’t know how to read women,” Bo tells one potential love interest. In another episode, a Will o’ the Wisp who seeks Bo’s help is a paunchy, slovenly type. “I struggle with my weight,” he acknowledges.

“Lost Girl” has been running for a couple of seasons on Canadian TV but has only just started on SyFy. It’s pretty cool to discover a sexy, funny series with more than a few episodes to air. If the show works out, it could be a longterm relationship.