Dante's Inferno

Kindred

After nearly breaking my ankle little over few weeks ago, I have spent a lot of time on my sofa, watching TV. Mostly I've been watching movies and old shows on DVDs, but I've come across a few new gems as well. I figured I'd mention them in passing, but after I started writing, I realised I would have to make separate posts for them all. Sorry, I are geek.

Kindred - The Embraced, was a shortlived show which aired originally in 1996, and only had 7 episodes + an long hour pilot. Despite it's short lifespan, I will always rate it as one of the best shows of the nineties.

The show followed the lives of vampires, mostly focusing on Julian Luna, the Prince of San Francisco. As Prince, Julian's duties were mostly to keep the peace between various vampire clans, and uphold the laws of the Masquerade, the ancient set of laws which had protected the existence of vampires since the middle ages. While keeping the peace and the Kindred hidden was always Julian's greatest concern, he was also shown to be able to dispense immense brutality when need be.

In the world of Kindred, vampires had been divided in to five clans, all different not only by their philosophies, but also by their physical characteristics. The Brujah are a warlike clan, closely resembling the mafia, seeking power via physical brutality and breaking the rules.
The Gangrel are a nomadic tribe, descendant of gypsy blood, often appearing as free spirited and rebellious, but extremely honourable.
The Toreador are artists. They are hedonistic, taking full advantage of immortality, embracing all life has to offer. Physically, they are the most beautiful of the Kindred.
A strict contrast to the Toreador clan are the Nosferatu, monstrous beasts combining all images people have of vampires. Their appearance makes them mostly unable to live among humans, some seeking refuge literally underground. But, despite their appearance, the Nosferatu are revered and feared, both for their great wisdom and their physical strength.
The Ventrue are in many ways the lords of all Kindred. They are aristocratic, noble and intelligent. Almost all Kindred Camarillas are governed by a Ventrue, and their power usually extends far beyond the Kindred world. As in the case of Julian Luna who, aside from being the Prince, was one of San Francisco's wealthiest men, and considered by many to be a Godfather like character, with ties to the mafia and a finger in every pie.

"You exist... only because I allow it." - Julian Luna

One of the key themes in the series was the effects of immortality, the difficulty of watching the world change and human relatives pass on, while you remain unchanged. This was especially true in the case of Luna falling in love with a mortal, and wrestling with the knowledge that someday she would either grow old and die, or he would have to embrace her, and curse her with immortality.
The strongest source of action was the everlasting powerstruggle between Brujah leader Eddie Fiori and Luna. Fiori's continuous attempts to supplant Luna once almost started a full blown clan war.
An ongoing storyline was also the tension between Luna and SFPD detective Frank Kohanek who, through his obsession with taking down Luna, learnt of the existence of the Kindred in the series pilot. Normally the laws of the Masquerade would have called for Frank's immediate death, but his life was spared due to events in the pilot, leaving Luna honourbound to protect Frank's life.

Showtime had just renewed the series for a second season, when lead actor Mark Frankel died in a motorcycle accident, while visiting his home in England. And despite having an ensemble cast and storylines designed for each character, the show really revolved almost entirely around the enigmatic and ruthless Julian Luna. With Frankel's death, Showtime permanently cancelled Kindred, and the show was lost to oblivion.

Apart from a great story and intriguing characters, the show had one of the most haunting themes I have ever heard.

09:09 - 2008-Jul-23 - post comment

Ooh! I had no idea this existed!!! Why is it that they so often cancel the most original, interesting shows? :(
The theme doesn't do it for me, but that's most likely because my laptop speakers are from the ass.
(By the way, your dog's nearly done, if you still want it!)

annmi - 09:28 - 2008-Jul-23

I never heard of this either, but your description has me intrigued, I'll have to look it up.

sarai - 09:48 - 2008-Jul-23

i think they showed that here on fox. i think. i remeber watching this show.

birdsnest - 10:11 - 2008-Jul-23

I vaguely remember the show coming on, but I had never watched it. In high school, I got into the White Wolf games, and became very familiar with the World of Darkness, the setting of Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, and Vampire: The Masquerade, the very tabletop RPG Kindred: The Embraced was based on.

I didn't know about the WoD/Kindred connection until years after I was playing the White Wolf games. I think it may have been about the time the DVD came out (if I came out) where I found out about it. I also seem to remember that the general attitude from the White Wolf fans was disappointment for the TV series.

I should check it out and see for myself.

Oh, and the game had thirteenish clans, which I can guess probably upset the nerds.

OgreJehosephatt - 11:02 - 2008-Jul-23

theres books based on the masquerade. i read those.

birdsnest - 11:38 - 2008-Jul-23

I remember when this came out but never got the chance to watch it. I always worked nights back then. They've been showing it on Sci-Fi or Sleuth (can't remember which channel), lately, but I keep catching it somewhere in the middle. I want to see it from the beginning. I'll have to keep a closer watch on the tv listings.

texican - 12:53 - 2008-Jul-24

*Plonks on couch next to Dante to watch it. Steals chips and swigs coke.*

pd - 03:03 - 2008-Jul-24

I read the Vampire: Masquerade books, too, and very briefly played the computer game a few years back. If you liked the series, you really should give the books a try. There are more clans, more intrigue, and a heavily involved plot to boot.

Twist - 11:16 - 2008-Jul-24

I've not read the books, but I had a friend who was passionate about the roleplaying game.
I only tried the computer games and loved the universe for that.

annmi - 02:03 - 2008-Jul-24

"I had a friend who was passionate about the roleplaying game."

Heh heh heh. Yeah, most people tend to be all-or-nothing when it comes to playing the World of Darkness games. There's a vast population of LARPers playing the game... Heh, actually, I had a friend that was briefly the Prince of Rockville (city a little north of DC)

OgreJehosephatt - 03:11 - 2008-Jul-24

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09:09 - 2008-Jul-23 - post comment

annmi - 09:28 - 2008-Jul-23

sarai - 09:48 - 2008-Jul-23

birdsnest - 10:11 - 2008-Jul-23

OgreJehosephatt - 11:02 - 2008-Jul-23

birdsnest - 11:38 - 2008-Jul-23

texican - 12:53 - 2008-Jul-24

pd - 03:03 - 2008-Jul-24

Twist - 11:16 - 2008-Jul-24

annmi - 02:03 - 2008-Jul-24

OgreJehosephatt - 03:11 - 2008-Jul-24

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