You will all appreciate this miniseries starring an A-list of Latin American actors led by Chayanne as the title character. Gabriel Marquez, a three hundred-year-old vampire, has a LaCroix, a Josette, and a Reverend Trask all at once in a stylish tale set in present-day Miami with historical flashbacks in Venice and Cartagena de Indias. He seeks redemption for his past sins, beginning with not having killed in a century and consuming only animal blood (which causes other vampires to call him a "vegetarian") while attempting to protect Eva, who is the reincarnation of Viviana, the woman stolen from him when he became a vampire three centuries ago.
The new elements to the story include two local priests in conflict over how to handle the "invasion of demons", a stalker who has been following Gabriel for reasons of his own, and the goth scene in Miami when it is infiltrated by genuine vampires. All this works well to provide a riveting story with excellent cliffhangers at the end of each episode. Special effects are kept only to the necessary ones and the photography is excellent. My only problems with this series are that the humor doesn't always work and the inclusion of pop music in some scenes that doesn't suit the mood of the series.
The cast all gave excellent performances, but someone should have thought about creating a slightly different look for Jose Luis Rodriguez, whose latter-day Pizarro looks like a twin for Paulie Walnuts in THE SOPRANOS. It's a look that would draw more attention than a vampire probably wants. It compounded the humor that didn't work because it made Rodriguez a parody of himself in some scenes.
The series was probably rated TV-14 for violence and some sexual content. There is also one nightmare sequence that is absolutely guaranteed to shock.
The new elements to the story include two local priests in conflict over how to handle the "invasion of demons", a stalker who has been following Gabriel for reasons of his own, and the goth scene in Miami when it is infiltrated by genuine vampires. All this works well to provide a riveting story with excellent cliffhangers at the end of each episode. Special effects are kept only to the necessary ones and the photography is excellent. My only problems with this series are that the humor doesn't always work and the inclusion of pop music in some scenes that doesn't suit the mood of the series.
The cast all gave excellent performances, but someone should have thought about creating a slightly different look for Jose Luis Rodriguez, whose latter-day Pizarro looks like a twin for Paulie Walnuts in THE SOPRANOS. It's a look that would draw more attention than a vampire probably wants. It compounded the humor that didn't work because it made Rodriguez a parody of himself in some scenes.
The series was probably rated TV-14 for violence and some sexual content. There is also one nightmare sequence that is absolutely guaranteed to shock.
