Not often domestic, and besides modern cinema spoils the audience with TV shows in the mystic genre. “The Moon”, created on the basis of an original Spanish project, was perhaps a vivid proof that our cinema is striding widely in different directions. How many episodes are there in the series Moon? Why did the creators adapt the foreign project? Who plays the main roles? Was the series successful? We will try to make out these and many other questions exciting the viewers in this article.
New - well forgotten old?
It is wrong to say unequivocally that “Moon” is an exclusively new word in the genre of mystical-psychological thriller . The STS channel, departing from the usual comedic role of created products, was already developing its previous project, the no less mystical “Closed School”. Her success was tremendous. Not wanting to stop there, they created the series “Moon”. A description of the future film in general terms was presented to the general producer Vyacheslav Murugov, who invariably puts his hand to everything that is released by STS. I liked the pilot draft of the script, and Murugov gave a green light.
Long birth in Russia
But before the nameless project hit the screens, a lot of time passed. Previously, coordination was required of all issues with authors who owned the rights to the original Spanish full moon series. Having received approval for the adaptation of the Russian-language version, Luna was put into production. At press conferences, the producer mentioned the upcoming new project, but the exact release date of the series “Moon” in the initial stages was unknown.
Viewers quickly learned that the project was based on a different series. The Spanish “Full Moon” could be found on satellite channels, but there was no point in talking openly about plagiarism. For domestic TV channels, this is nothing more than a common norm, when for the impossibility to present something original, a foreign product is taken for the idea.
Languid expectation: what will the audience see?
Information that got into the press and the Internet quickly took the first lines in the rating of recent news. Viewers expecting the release of the series wondered how much the domestic product would be similar to the original, realizing that the STS would not allow a clear similarity with the “Full Moon”. Will he take root on the Russian screen, will show a viewer review. The series “Moon” was filmed throughout the year. The scenario was developed only for the first season. It was too early to talk about extending the filming for the second year. Ratings only had to be analyzed, but for now the producers decided on a future premiere.
The release date of the series “Moon” has become one of the most discussed topics among fans of the channel. Trailers and small video clips could not show the fullness of the plot lines, but they definitely managed to arouse the interest of the audience.
Family Relations at the Center
The creators of the “Moon” invited an entire army of screenwriters who have already managed to establish themselves on the positive side in a number of well-known projects, such as the aforementioned “Closed School”, “Lavrova Method” and “Taxi Driver”. Still adhering to the idea of “Full Moon”, the authors wanted to supplement the adaptation with drama and a number of “ordinary” problems in order to get as close as possible to the Russian audience. The history of the Panins family became the starting point on which the series “Moon” was based. The content of the series included a detailed description of the events taking place on the screen, but now we will not begin to reveal the whole intrigue for those who have not yet watched the “Moon”. The pilot episode immediately captured the audience’s attention: a family on the verge of breaking up moved to a godforsaken place. The spouses cooled to each other hope to restore the balance of relations, but everything spoils the disappearance of Nikolai Panin. Catherine, who is the metropolitan prosecutor, takes up her own investigation.
“Dark” components of the series
In addition to the detective spirit, combined with the idea of saving the marriage, something should have been included in the project that would contrastly dilute the plot components being played up a million times. The theme of magic, ancient legends and ceremonies has become a distinctive aspect, which was saturated with the entire series “Moon”. The content of the series, which more and more keeps the viewer due to its dynamics and unpredictability, indicated that with each new episode new secrets and secrets are expected to be kept by the provincial Starokamensk. Werewolves, conspiracies, rituals and other manifestations of dark forces acquire a more pronounced color. Even Catherine Panina herself, accustomed to duty to look evidence in person, will eventually be forced to accept the fact that magic may exist.
The series “Moon”: a description of the series
So, since Catherine finds out about her husband’s disappearance and soon finds him dead, she personally takes up the investigation. A long-time friend Olga and her son come to her from the capital. It is Artem who is destined to discover ritual symbols: the wolf altar is openly standing in the forest, so that everyone can look at it. Residents of the town are in a panic. And Catherine is trying to connect new facts with personal motives: perhaps her husband had a secret romance, but why then did he want to establish a relationship? The woman is trying to find leads from the forester, but he is dead. Found archival documents give rise to new versions: no one doubts that ritual killings have been taking place in the town for more than a dozen years. Meanwhile, Artem decides to become a werewolf ...
How many episodes are there in the series Moon? The first season consists of thirty episodes. Artem and Catherine’s daughter Nastya turn into werewolves, their mothers will have to find a formula of medicine that can return the children to their previous appearance. The final series will finally reveal the truth about the causes of crimes in the town, take off the mask from the leader of the flock of werewolves and answer the question of why the Hunter conducts his own struggle against such evil spirits ... For those who are going to join the fans of the series, obviously one thing: the “Moon” should be watched continuously so as not to miss a single important event.
Actors of the series “Moon”
Performers of key images, according to a rich scenario, include a younger and more adult generation. The latter includes Lidia Velezheva. She deservedly fell into this category, since she began her acting career from the 80s, alternating television works with theatrical productions. Her first films are “Wolfhound”, “Under the Blue Sky ...”, “The Enchanted Wanderer”. She played in the films “Moscow Love” and “Risk Without a Contract”. I remembered the new century for the “school” series “Simple Truths”. In 2010, Lydia received the title of Honored Artist. In addition to her main occupation, she is interested in politics, being a member of the United Russia party.
The husband of Ekaterina Panina, the head of the police department , whose murder begins the main detective line of the series “Moon”, was played by Anatoly Kot. He needs no introduction. A native of Belarus, the artist moved to Moscow, where he got to the theater of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. He played many roles in military films. He embodied the image of Major Shkalin in “Soldiers” and Anton Zimovsky in “Margosh”. Viewers of STS are also familiar with the series “Youth”.
The role of their daughter Anastasia was played by the beginning Moscow actress Daria Novoseltseva. At 22, the girl managed to star in the mini-series “War and Myths”. It remains to wish her not to stop there.
The role of Igor Demidov, the most striking character in the series, was played by Makar Zaporizhsky. Unlike his colleagues, Makar managed to become famous for a number of film works. Despite a musical education, he chose the acting direction, for which he entered GITIS. Zaporizhzhya’s track record includes the series Daddy’s Daughters, My Fair Nanny, Kulagin and Partners, Molodezhka, as well as feature films 1612, The Dark World: Balance, 22 minutes.
Other actors of the series “Luna”, who played law enforcement officers investigating the case in the town, residents of Starokamensk and students of the lyceum, are Sergey Strelnikov, Alexander Khmelnitsky, Alexey Oshurkov, Anastasia Akatova, Anton Filipenko, Ksenia Lavrova-Glinka, Igor Filippov, Alexander Sham , Alexey Barabash and others.
First Spectator Strike: Low Ratings
The premiere of “The Moon” took place on February 2, 2015. Until the end of the show, including the last day of broadcast, which came on March 25, the broadcast was postponed several times. Such a rearrangement was coolly received by the audience. Accustomed to viewing at the same time, they were forced to be content with a new time, just not to miss the development of the plot. Not surprisingly, the channel’s management was expecting a corresponding complaint. The series “Moon”, unfortunately, did not gather the necessary audience, which also did not please its creators. They had to take reasonable measures to move the "Moon" on the air at a later, almost night time show.
Harmonious balance: ratings, feedback, comments
However, the series remained loyal fans who managed to accept him as he was. They devotedly did not miss a single episode to find out how the intriguing and truly magical story would end.
For any negative assessment of those who did not like the “Moon”, there is more than one positive review. The series “Luna” gathered mostly neutral feedback from the audience. The idea of vampire werewolves, which in our time did not lose their relevance, was called as pluses. The first episodes take to the atmosphere, where a bunch of genres are interwoven: intrigue, drama, mysticism, love. This allows you to find the very thing that is closer only to you. The Russian series “Luna” includes a good soundtrack, the main place in which is given to the little-known group Mangiare. Among the characters, one can distinguish bright, interesting personalities, such as, for example, Roman Sokolov - a sharp-witted, quick-witted guy in whom many viewers saw the standard of courage and heroism. Among the acting, the work of Lydia Velezheva and Daria Novoseltseva, who showed the required emotions on the screen and delved into the images of their characters, was especially notable.
The main disadvantages of the “Moon”
The television world is cruel. If the broadcast of the project does not gain the proper rating, it is simply taken off the air or moved to another time, as it became in our case. An unpleasant addition could be a negative audience review. The series “Moon” gathered an army of its opponents, whose personal opinion was that the adaptation of the original Spanish project was completely failed.
Among the factors that led to this, they name a few things. For example, the extension of each episode in which the development of the plot could go at a more accelerated pace. Like “Santa Barbara” and other “soap operas,” the series includes several events, but most of the time is spent on showing an empty house, a thicket or the character’s thoughts that are not related to the current scene. The TV series “Moon” is rich in a smooth, unhurried development of the narrative, without proper energy and movement. All this suggests that the project simply takes away spectator time.
The lack of thought of the key characters with many of their incomprehensible acts, the lack of background in most of them - this also became a factor that did not cause the audience to approve. It seemed that all of them, the heroes, were brought together, making them incredibly similar and stereotyped, hoping that if they were in the same "harness", then the audience would feel an interest in them better. The technical side deserves a neutral mention. Despite the screensavers of the forest, which should cause fear and tension, the operator’s work was mediocre; the camera unnecessarily jumped from one hero to another.
To top it off, “The Moon” is filled with family quarrels, which occupy the bulk of the on-screen narration and deprive viewers of the opportunity to enjoy the promised action and action-packed dynamics. As a result, the Russian series Luna, somewhat reminiscent of a parody, once again showed that Russian scriptwriters cannot offer quality content, despite the borrowed idea.
Each series has its own viewer
And yet, remembering the saying that there are no friends for the taste and color, one should not categorically take the series. Not for nothing that the first season gathered a large number of fans, which indicates the importance and success of the project. It remains to appeal to the creators with a request to take into account all the comments of the audience if they think about the continuation of the “Moon”.