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Blade: The Series

(Rated TV-14, Science fiction , Starring Kirk Jones, Nelson Lee, Jill Wagner, Where to watch: Spike, Download)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 99; suggested age 15.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Creepy vampire show isn't for kids.

updated 07.04.08

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 15–18

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The series is based on the assumption that there is an underworld populated by vampires, who operate by their own rules and have no compunction about feeding on humans. Some corrupt police officers are wise to this, and cooperate with the blood-suckers. The hero operates as a rogue enforcer outside of both worlds; he's feared by the vampires he hunts down mercilessly and wanted by both the good cops, who see him as a murderous psychopath, and by the bad cops, who fear he will interfere with their self-serving schemes.
  • Violence:

    The title character's mission in life is killing vampires, preferably by decapitating them with some fancy swordplay, so there's no getting around the violence. Guns and knives are also used. That said, when a vampire is killed, it tends to suddenly disappear into a pile of smoking, glowing ash, so there's not actually a lot of blood (which is unusual for a vampire show). The vampires must feed, but most of that occurs offscreen. Some scenes involving needles and macabre medical experiments are rather graphic.
  • Sex:

    Vampires' need to feed on blood has long been considered one of the great sexual metaphors of horror movies, and that comes through clearly in Blade. There's no onscreen nudity, and little amorous action, but some blood-sucking scenes come off as rather suggestive love scenes.
  • Language:

    Some offensive language (including s--t), and plenty of lines that are stilted and overly dramatic.
  • Consumerism:

    Very little.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Blade must regularly endure a painful-looking drug regimen, and some of the human characters occasionally smoke cigarettes and drink, but there's little overindulgence.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Blade: The Series

Parents need to know that since this series (which is based on the movies starring Wesley Snipes) is all about hunting down vampires, it can get pretty violent. Even when the hero isn't swinging his sword, shooting his special garlic gun, flinging silver knives, or blasting away with silver bullets, there's an undercurrent of malice. The vampires are portrayed as elegant but amoral and cast a looming sense of malevolence over every scene. Even the hero approaches his work with a sense of grim fatalism and doesn't exactly inspire the same kind of buoyant optimism as other superheroes. It's sometimes gory, more than a little creepy, and just the right kind of show to give little kids very bad dreams.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about whether it's worthwhile to trade away your soul and your place among humanity in exchange for superhuman powers, eternal life, and a never-ending need to kill other people. Though the vampires are clearly monsters, they live among people, often as respected members of society, and there are aspects of this existence that might be considered appealing. But the series also makes it very clear that there are some major tradeoffs to the life of a bloodsucker, not the least of which is the complete loss of any sense of right and wrong. What else are the vampires giving up?
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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Louisiana
    I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it 4.0

    Wow

    Okay, so I've watched the DVD version and the TV version and I will say first that the DVD has full-frontal nudity and the use of f*ck all over it. That being said, the version shown on TV is no different than a TV-MA show, meaning that the nudity is cut around and not shown and f-bombs have been replaced with words such as "frick" but other words such as "shit" and "asshole" are said without being censored.

  2. Teen Reviewer
    Age 15
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 3.0

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