POC as Origin Story

An ubiquitous element of the superhero genre is the origin story. How did this extraordinary individual get these amazing powers? Is he an alien from a dead planet powered up by our sun? Was he bitten by a radioactive spider? Was she forged from clay and empowered by the Greek gods? Did he have a ridiculous budget and some deeply unhealthy coping mechanism after the death of his parents?

In Urban Fantasy we see a trend of another origin story to explain the special magic a protagonist has. Being a POC - or having a POC ancestor at very least.

To be clear here, we’re not talking about having a magical POC protagonist. This is Urban Fantasy, your characters will have magic or other woo-woo, it’s kind of what this genre is about and we’re definitely in favour of several of those characters being POC.  Awoke, The Shadowmancer, The Keys Trilogy, Rayne Whitmore Series, World of the Lupi and many others are not problematic because they have POC who happens to have magical abilities - far from it. They have magic and are POC but at no point did the books try to suggest that their woo-woo exists BECAUSE they are Black or Asian.

Equally we’d expect many of these POC, their lives and their magic to be affected by their ethnicity and culture. We love and celebrate books like The Black Dog’s Drums, which excellently incorporates Yoruba derived religions into the setting, the world building and the characterisation. The same applies to the Habitat Series and the Egyptian elements of the Shadowchasers Series. The Jane Yellowrock Series links a lot of Jane’s woo-woo to her being Native American - but being Native American also informs her characterisation and her history. It’s not just a convenient label to justify her accessing exotic woo-woo. The Changeling Sisters has a lot of the magic related to Korean, Latinx and Hawai’ian culture - but that’s because it has Korean, Latinx and Hawai’ian characters whose ethnicity is an integral part of who they are, the world building and the story. Ultimately they work because there is considerable research and respect for the source material - something we can see with depictions of western mythologies like Irish and Norse in, for example, the Iron Druid Series.

We want more of this, so much more; with both white and western dominated media there are so many stories this genre could be telling by integrating POC and the mythologies and magic of other cultures and I’m still mourning that some of these series have come to an end.

But that isn’t achieved by having books treat Voodoun beliefs, Rroma heritage, or Native American ancestry as the same as a Freak Lab Accident, super-soldier serum or a Green Lantern Ring.

A glaring example of this, as well as why it’s so problematic, comes from Midnight Texas. This has the special prize of having Manfred have his psychic powers in the books because of a Native American ancestry. And in the TV series because of his Romani ancestry. It says a lot about how a minority culture has been represented that you can easily exchange one for another and not really change the story, magic or anything else.

Ancestry is a common trick in these origin stories - after all, if Superman can get his powers from being an alien, why can’t Jeremy in the Otherworld series get his hands on some quasi Japanese Ofuda from his absent Japanese mother? Hemlock Grove threw in some basic Romani stereotypes to go with their using being Romani as why characters were psychic and… werewolves somehow. Twilight is also notorious for creating an entirely fake Native American mythology to justify the presence of a pack of werewolves. The appalling on several levels Houseof Night series also went with that Native American woo-woo - deciding to have the protagonist, Zoey, be Cherokee - but only so they could introduce lots of woo-woo and turquoise and smudge sticks and a whole fake mythology while the Mercy Thompson Series is pretty notorious for treating all the Native Americans in the book as walking avatars of woo-woo. Literally all of them.

In all of these cases the actual ethnicity, culture or characterisation that should stem from having a POC character is absent. The writers weren’t interested in creating fleshed out, well researched and developed POC characters or in respectfully portraying and representing non-western cultures in a way that showed research and regard. They want the woo-woo. They want the different, the exotic, the alien.

In many ways it’s similar to how many book and TV series will introduce a monster from a non-western culture for a more “exotic” episode-of-the-week that we’ve spoken about tbefore… why have a werewolf when you can have a wendigo? And it shares the same flaws -  deciding one of your main characters is POC or has POC ancestry purely so you have some backstory for their woo-woo isn’t representation or respectful. It’s appropriative and it’s belittling - it clearly sends the message that the writers are pretty indifferent about these actual cultures and just wants something suitably dehumanised and “exotic”, something that is sufficiently “other” to most of their readers to justify why they would have such different powers. For DC that meant an alien from Krypton. For Urban Fantasy a Romani or Cherokee are considered alien enough.

Midnight Texas, Season 2, Episode 4: I Put a Spell on You

We also have some highly dubious Romani tropes

Romance: Persistence is not a Virtue

Midnight Texas, Season 2, Episode 3: To Witch Hell and Back

Midnight Texas: Season 2, Episode 2: The Monster of the Week is the Patriarchy

Hail the Cheese!

The Friday Discussion: Midnight Texas - TV series & Book Series

There are a lot of book to TV show adaptations - they’re popular in the same way reboots are: they give you a built in fanbase to carry over and a quick and easy plot. Naturally these vary a lot in terms of quality and faithfulness to the source material (Vampire Diaries barely resembles LJ Smith’s books, while the Dresden Files was moderately faith but poorly executed), sometimes those adaptations and changes deserve some more scrutiny

When Midnight Texas was announced as being adapted I was intrigued: I consider it to be one of Charlaine Harris’s better book series with better rounded characters and certainly better (if flawed) treatment of minorities and slightly less of a single, slightly Mary Sueish, focus. (If this sounds like damned with faint praise… it kind of is. We experienced the horror that was the Aurora Teagarden series).

When the show started I was happy to see it was pretty faithful to the book series - the first season parallels the original trilogy of books (so I have no idea where the story progresses from here) but there are some noteworthy changes that really need analysing

Firstly several characters have have their race changed for the adaptation Lemuel and Fiji were both white in the books. This is not uncommon in book to TV adaptations - look at Tara on True Blood and Bonnie in The Vampire Diaries both of whom were white in their original book series. There are several possible reasons for this but, cynically, I tend to think that in the visual medium of television it becomes much more glaringly obvious when your cast is whiter than a Republican camping trip in Maine. That, coupled with the wider consumption (and a desire to be consumed by POC as a marketable demographic which seems to be less of a concern in publishing), means I think we tend to be MARGINALLY less tolerant of a completely racially erased cast - though usually one or two tokens is enough to placate this minimal objection. In the third book, Fiji does remark on how rainbow and progressive her little town is… and it’s slightly embarrassing since it includes Madonna and Teacher who are vanishingly minor characters, an Asian woman who used to live there but hasn’t for a while and a Native American character who just moved into the area who was, probably wisely, not included in the TV series (she also forgets several latino characters)

In the books this character arrives to explain that Manfred has his powers because of distant Native American ancestry and demons. Which is just an AWFUL trope. In the TV series instead they went for Romany con-man/psychic heritage instead. Which is another awful trope. Honestly this is just pick your poison.

I, naturally, do not object to these characters becoming POC but it is interesting how this has caused the characters to change elsewhere. Like Lemuel - he’s an absolutely excellent character in both the books and on television but the most dramatic change is that in the books he was a cowboy when he was alive. On TV that has changed to him being a slave. Neither storyline is particularly bad, but I can’t help but think that too much of our media is incapable of seeing Black people in historic roles that don’t involve slavery. Especially since the mythos of the cowboy in the US has missed just how many of them were Black - and how many more were Latino for that matter. The TV storyline isn’t bad, but it speaks volumes of how historic Black characters are too often limited to this single narrative.

I have more issues with Fiji - and how she and Manfred’s roles have changed. In the books I would say it’s difficult to point to one character as protagonist - Manfred starts prominently in the first book, but by the final confrontation with Kolkonar Manfred is definitely a much more minor character - not insignificant but certainly not the protagonist or the main fighter against the demon. If anyone is central to this conflict, it’s Fiji. This is Fiji’s fight, not just as someone who needs rescuing. It is Fiji’s… ritual that defeats Kolkonar, not Manfred’s epic confrontation with dark spirits.

Midnight Texas, Season 2, Episode 1: Head Games

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Eight: Last Temptation of Midnight

Things with the veil are getting serious and we know this because Joe and Chuy have left town because Chuy is having a difficult time resisting the veil. I'm just going to say this up front, first they had Chuy in the plotbox for episodes and now the writers have written Joe away. I don't care what the reasoning is, shoving the only two LGBT characters into the plotbox is erasure and wrong. 

A horrible big bad is headed to Midnight. This monster has no face and he's standing in a graveyard pledging fealty to whom I assume is the demon who has set his sights on Fiji.  When the demon is approached by a reverend eager to help, the demon rips off his face and assumes his identity. The demon steals the reverend's truck and starts to make his way toward Midnight.  The demon's approach causes the residents of Midnight to change their behaviour.

Janet comes to see Fiji because she hasn't been feeling like herself recently and has been subject to really dark thoughts.  Fiji is quick to help Janet and while doing so, clearly starts to feel better about her present situation.  When Fiji leaves Janet alone in the shop to gather some herbs, Janet steals an athame and runs outside.  Hearing her door close Fiji searches for Janet, only to find Janet about to stab herself with the athame because she's been told that she doesn't deserve to live. Using her magic, Fiji rips the athame out of Janet's hands and Bobo quickly wraps his arms around Janet. Apparently, the demon which is terrorizing Fiji has no problem picking on vulnerable members of the community.

It's not just humans who are having trouble, the supernaturals are as well. Lem and Olivia are canoodling in bed and he becomes fixated on the the throbbing vein in her neck.  Lem is even slow to stop leeching when Olivia orders him to.

Olivia heads to the dinner and learns that the Rev, who is a vegetarian is eating meat. Clearly his beast side is taking control.  A worried Olivia then heads to see Bobo to talk about the behaviourial changes she's seen in both the Rev and Lemuel. Let's face it, a vampire and a weretiger could do a lot of damage if they lose control.  Olivia gives Bobo some silver bullets just in case.

Manfred is driving steadily away from Midnight, as Xylda tries to talk him into returning because she believes that Midnight is his destiny.  When Xylda admits that she didn't send Manfred to Midnight to be safe but because she had a vision of him there just before she died, Manfred loses his temper.  As far as Manfred is concerned, getting away from Midnight is a good thing because it means he won't constantly have headaches from seeing ghosts. Manfred promptly swallows the last of his pills.

Xylda believes that Manfred has to be a better man than she raised him to be. In a flashback, we learn that Manfred's mother simply abandoned him on Xylda's doorstep because she didn't know how to raise someone who could see and interact with the dead.  For his part, Manfred doesn't quite fit in with his peers because instead of playing with them, he plays with the ghosts of dead children. When Xylda breaks the news to Manfred that it's just the two of them now, she instructs him to stop interacting with the dead in public because people will think that he's weird. Xylda also tries to soften the blow of Manfred's abandonment by pointing out that because their home is on wheels, when the going gets tough, they can just move onto the next location.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Seven: Angel Heart

The first season has essentially been about the residents of Midnight dealing with their secrets, past or whatever is haunting them. So far, Olivia, Manfred, Bobo and Creek have all had issues that the community in some form or other have helped them  deal with. This week, it's Joe's turn.

From pretty much the first episode, I've been complaining about the limited role that Chuy has been given.  In order to save Creek in Blinded by the Light, Joe revealed to the community that he is an angel.  This revelation as it turns out is not without consequences.  Joe is a fallen angel and it turns out that his mentor Bowie, isn't pleased with Joe's relationship. 

Bowie swaggers into town with a red leather trench coat (gotta say I love this look) and begins her search for Joe. The first person she meets is the reverend and when he won't answer her questions, she is quick to knock him unconscious. Joe is at loss as to what to do because Bowie is far older than he is and consequently much stronger.  It's Chuy who suggests that they need to turn to the friends that they've made in Midnight and ask for help.

Manfred is on his way to the meet up when he sees Bowie walking towards him and so he quickly turns around and heads into the van to get help from Xylda. It turns out that not only is Bowie a kick ass angel, she can read minds. In order to stop Bowie from being able to read where Joe is hiding from his brain, Manfred has Xylda enter his body. It's creepy and funny at the same time. Does anyone really want to share their body with a relative?

Manfred finally makes it to Olivia's and meets up with the gang.  It's now time for Joe to finally tell everyone the whole truth about who he is and his past. Joe reveals that he is an angel and that Bowie was his mentor.  Joe says that Bowie wasn't pleased that he fell in love with Chuy. It's Creek who wonders whether the is issue is that both Joe and Chuy are men.  It turns out that the issue is that Chuy is half a demon. It seems that Chuy's demon father raped his mother and his mother taught him to suppress his demon side.  Joe and Chuy met when Chuy was given a beat down by a group of men who stole everything from him. Joe was impressed that Chuy didn't fight back because he believed that if they stole from it was probably based in need.  Chuy and Joe have actually been a couple for quite some time. The crew is shocked to learn about Chuy and not impressed that though Joe and Chuy have lived in Midnight for quite some time, this is the first time they are finding out who Joe and Chuy actually are.  Creek in particular is not impressed and wonders if everyone is keeping dark secrets. 

Bowie is getting frustrated in her search for Joe and so she heads to the diner where of course Creek is working.  Bowie fixates on Creek when she recognises Creek from what she was able to pick up in Manfred's mind.  The people in the diner are naturally defensive of Creek, given what she has gone through recently but Bowie has absolutely zero empathy.  It seems that just like Joe, Bowie is now fallen.  Bowie uses what she has learned about Creek's family to hurt her terribly. Bowie uses Creek's phone to call Manfred and demand that Joe turn himself in.

The truth coming out about Joe and Chuy gives rise to a conversation between Lemuel and Olivia.  Lemuel and Olivia see themselves as a mixed couple, not because of race but because he is a vampire and she is human. It's clear that Lemuel always assumed that when the time came, he would just turn Olivia but she has other plans. Olivia knows that their relationship has an expiration date because she will continue to age while Lemuel stays the same and she will only be able to work for so long.  When the time comes, Olivia plans on leaving Midnight and Lemuel behind her because she doesn't want to be turned. Olivia wants them to enjoy what they have now for as long as they can.  Lemuel nods his head in agreement but is clearly not pleased with Olivia's assertion.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Six: Blinded by the Light

From the moment Creek's father and brother started to police her sexuality, it really pissed me off. Some of it was even played for laughs. It didn't help that rather than drawing a line in the sand, Creek snuck around town with Manfred. Along with the policing of Creek, Midnight also seems to have a problem with women disappearing.  Yes, the writers have taken care to imbue the female characters with some strength but it's clear that quite a bit of misogyny has managed to seep into the show. 

Blinded by the Light starts with a group of youth running around Midnight and basically causing all the trouble that they can until they are scared away by Lemuel. I think a vampire confronting me would be enough for me to flee.  At any rate, Aaron is ditched by her so-called friends and so begins the long walk out of Midnight. Unfortunately, Aaron she is run off the road by a truck and attacked. 

The next morning, the Rev cleans up the mess created by the kids. At home, Fiji awakes to a demon sexually assaulting her. At first, Fiji believes that it was all a bad dream but when she checks her thighs, she sees scaring.  Creek and Manfred are in bed together when he sees a ghost in his window.  Manfred reaches for some medication claiming to have a headache, as he explains to Creek that seeing ghosts and spirits can make him feel sick. Later, at the diner, Manfred takes even more pills.  The reverend joins Manfred to talk about the fact that his wereself is hungry. Manfred admits to seeing more and more spirits. 

Creek meets with Connor, who claims to be tired because their father has put more work on him now that Creek has been fired for daring to hook up with Manfred.  Connor is not pleased by the new burden.  Creek notices a huge bruise on Connor's arm and is suspicious that this is their father's doing but Connor refuses to get into it. 

Manfred and the Reverend's day gets a whole lot worse when one of the vandals from the night before shows up with a photo of Aaron. When the kid leaves, the Reverend says that it's a problem that there's another missing girl.  Aaron's disappearance is enough for the Midnighters to get together to search for her. Fiji wonders if the missing young women are the result of something supernatural. Manfred admits that he's been seeing ghosts everywhere. The reverend adds that he's been seeing dead animals and bugs everywhere. Joe is desperate to keep the Midnighters from talking about what's really going on and so suggests that they fixate on finding the missing girl.  They decide to split up and search the town.

Fiji is with the Reverend and she tells him about having difficulty sleeping because she hears a voice calling her and something touching her. Fiji is worried that it won't stop until whatever it is takes her. Fiji says that either a demon is after her, or she's going "crazy". The Reverend assures Fiji that she's not going crazy but doesn't tell her the truth about the veil. 

Creek tells Manfred about seeing the bruise on Connor's arm and suggests that her father might just be taking out his anger at her on Connor.  Connor and Creek then come across Tiffany, who you might remember is the young woman who traveled with the vampires to allow them to easy access to blood. Creek and Manfred are joined by Olivia and Bobo. Bobo is certain that Tiffany is another Aubrey because he didn't kill Aubrey and neither did Lowry. They debate calling the cops but come to the conclusion that Tiffany had dropped out of society some time ago and so no one will be looking for her.  Manfred tries to reach out to Tiffany but her spirit has already crossed over to the other side. Bobo is determined to find whoever did this and for the Midnighters deal with the murderers themselves.

The Reverend is washing the graffiti from the tombstones when he is confronted by the cops.  The cops bring up the fact that they still don't know who killed Aubrey, even though they suspect Lowry. The cops then reveal that Aaron's mother is a judge and that there will be a full investigation within 24 hours if she doesn't turn up. This raises the stakes quite a bit. When the cops leave, Joe approaches the Reverend to say that thus far, he has not seen any sign of the girl. The Reverend however has bigger things on his mind and so he tells Joe that Fiji thinks that she's losing her sanity and that Manfred is self medicating. The Reverend is adamant that the citizens of Midnight deserve to know that they are not going crazy. Joe believes that the others are going to know eventually and that nothing he says is going to stop it.  Joe is adamant that he is protecting his family and that this is an impossible choice. Joe is certain that if it gets out that there's a fallen angel in Midnight, the demons will come looking for him. Joe believes that all he can do for now is to help look for the missing girl.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Five: Unearthed

I'm just going to admit it, Midnight Texas has really started to grow on me, despite my reservations due to the fact that it's based on a series by Charlaine Harris.  Midnight Texas knows that it's cheese but still tries to infuse each episode with some drama.  It alternates between the serious and the camp quite well. So far, each episode has been about delving into backstories as a form of characterisation. In Unearthed, Bobo and Manfred are forced to deal with their pasts.

It begins for Manfred when a rock is thrown at his door. Manfred steps on his front porch to find a Manfred in box, containing a note to be at a certain location at a specific time. That's right, after all of his running, Hightower has finally found him. Xylda's advice is that Manfred simply skip the meeting. Running is what Manfred has always done but that was before he entered into a relationship with Creek. Manfred suggests to Creek that the two of them run and hide but Creek isn't about to leave her father and her brother.  Unwilling to leave Creek behind, Manfred decides that it's time to face Hightower at last.  Creek encourages Manfred to seek out the help of his neighbours but Manfred is determined to go it alone.  Creek heads to the pawnshop and sells a bunch of antiques to Bobo for 15K to pay off his debt.  Bobo picks up on the fact that Manfred is in trouble and suggests that Manfred take a gun with him. 

Bobo doesn't offer to help Manfred because he has his own problems to deal with. Earlier in the day, the biker gang drove through town and set his pawn shop on fire.  Fortunately, the town acted quickly to save the building, in the process saving Olivia and Lem's life.  It turns out however that the fire was simply a distraction so that the biker gang could kidnap Fiji.  It's Mr. Snuggles who delivers the bad news.  Fiji is taken to a building site, drugged and hidden underground. Bobo quickly gets together the ransom to free Fiji but before he can deliver it, Lem arrives at the pawnshop wanting to know what the hell is going on.  Bobo is a little resistant but when Lem points out that whatever the problem is almost got he and Olivia killed, Bobo decides to reveal his past. 

It turns out that Bobo is the son of well to do white supremacists.  When he was 17, his father took him along for a ride and he sat in the car while his father set a church on fire.  From that night on, Bobo decided that he wanted nothing to do with his family and so he stole their cache of guns, gold, and cash and left.  He's been hiding in Midnight ever since and has become something of an urban legend. Bobo figures out that the leaders of the Sons of Satan must have figured out who he really is.  Given the danger, Lemuel decides to tag along, despite Bobo being told that he has to go alone.

Manfred arrives at the location Hightower picked at the appointed time and runs into Olivia.  While Manfred was busy selling his family treasures to Bobo, Creek enlisted Olivia's help. Manfred's so incompetent that he still has the safety on his gun.  Manfred tries to send Olivia away but Olivia feels that she owes him for saving Lem from vampires. When Manfred and Olivia meet up with Hightower, he uses telekinesis to take Olivia and Manfred's guns away, forcing them to take cover. Once the guns are empty, Manfred tries to confront Hightower but it seems that Hightower is in no mood to make peace because he figures that Manfred owes him a lot more than money. It turns out that Manfred agreed to marry Hightower's daughter Violent in return for 100K but and Xyla stole the money and left Violet alone at the alter. A few days later, Violet committed suicide. Hightower wants vengeance  for the loss of his daughter which he blames on Manfred and he uses his powers to toss broken glass at Olivia and Manfred, forcing them both to flea.

Bobo drives to the meet with the Sons of Satan and Lemuel is hiding under the vehicle. Bobo hands over the cache of weapons and cash and is beaten for his trouble. Now that Lowry finally has his hands on Bobo, he's not about to let Bobo go. What's interesting is that Lowry repeatedly accuses Bobo of killing his wife, even though Bobo denies having anything to do with it.  Bobo is taken to see Fiji and Lowry delights in talking about Bobo's white supremacist past and his part in the church bombing, before leaving Bobo and Fiji locked together.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Four: Sexy Beast

This week's monster is a man eating succubus. We've been warned that the end might be nigh by the resident angel Joe and proof of that is the fact that more than ever, supernatural creatures are being drawn to the area. So, there the succubus is sitting by the side of the road when she's picked up by Ted, a dudebro who might as well have asshole tattoos on his forehead.  We're conditioned not to have any sympathy for dudebro because it seems that he's stolen and sold his father's Rolex. Predictably, when the dudbro is coerced into pulling over, he becomes snack food for the succubus. 

Creek and Manfred are getting all domestic though Creek is still very much adamant that their relationship needs to stay on the downlow because her father is certain that Manfred will break her heart. I'm getting kind of tired of the policing of Creek's sexuality at this point and it seems that it won't end anytime soon.  Manfred says that he's not a bad guy and that he might be entitled to catch a break after saving them all from vampires.  Yeah, I'm team Manfred on this one. When Creek leaves, Manfred checks his phone only to find some ominous messages from Hightower. Yes, Manfred is on the run but only because he's being held responsible for his grandmother's debt. At any rate, Hightower reaching out to Manfred is enough for Manfred to decide that he needs to make some cash.

Ted's sister Patsy shows up to hire Manfred, to see if she can find out where Ted is and if Ted has the Rolex.  Manfred starts to turn Patsy down but when she offers 5K, Manfred takes the job. Manfred does his thing and he sees Ted's spirit, who talks about being snacked on "like a taco" by a hot blonde woman.   Manfred decides to investigate and when he finds the succubus, she is cleaning up in a truckstop bathroom after killing yet another man. When the succubus makes her play for Manfred, he's quick to take his leave, declaring that he's just not into her.

Back in Midnight, Fiji is getting ready for a dinner date that she's planned with Bobo.  Fiji asks Olivia to join her but Olivia declines because she has a job to do. Olivia points out that this is the perfect opportunity for Fiji to get with Bobo and recommends that Fiji step away from the peasant gear for the night. Later, as Fiji is setting the stage for her romantic dinner, she gets a call from Bobo saying that he'll be over as soon as he changes out of work gear. Of course, Bobo isn't getting ready for a hot date but trying to meet up with bikers now that he knows that they've killed the sheriff. 

Olivia's job is to kill a man who has robbed people of their 401Ks. The mark tries to plead that it was only money but he doesn't get any sympathy from Olivia on this. Olivia points out that families can be ruined by having their life savings stolen.  Olivia does the deed and leaves the building but pauses when she notices a man who was watching her when she was in the building is now sitting outside in his car.  For Olivia, this is too much of a coincidence and so she drugs him and carts him back to Midnight for a little casual waterboarding. It doesn't take long for the man to admit that he was hired by her father who supposedly just wants to keep track of Olivia and ensure that she's okay. Olivia becomes emotional and asks Lemuel to feed from her.  Lemuel is happy to oblige but he's concerned that Olivia is so upset.  After Lemuel feeds, Olivia is back to her normal self and doesn't want to discuss it.

Mr. Snuggly (oh how I love that talking cat) is facing reality faster than Fiji.  Mr.Snuggly makes his bid to have Fiji feed him some Sheppard's pie because it's become clear that Bobo isn't going to show up. Fiji holds onto hope until Joe calls and finally cancels. 

It's time for a meeting of the Midnight supernatural club.  Manfred describes what the succubus looks like to Joe, who does a sketch.  They're able to identify the succubus and Joe claims that succubi are attracted to men who've harmed women. So you know damn well that this gets Creek's attention because all the men in her family are suspicious of Manfred. At any rate, this is when Creek's little brother Connor shows up. It seems that Connor has been following Manfred all over town to see what he's up to.  Yeah, that's creepy as all get out and I don't care that Connor is only 17.  Creek is quick to send Connor on his way. 

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Three: Lemuel, Unchained

In a clear act of rebellion against her father, Creek and Manfred finally get it on. Creek makes it clear to Manfred that they don't have a real relationship and that her father cannot find out about the two of them. We've seen that while Midnight might be a safe place for supernaturals that it's not necessarily a safe space for humans but despite that Manfred has no problem letting Creek walk home alone. Quite unsurprisingly, Creek is accosted on her way home by a group of vampires who've just arrived in town.

It's Lemuel to the rescue.  It turns out that the new vampires are lead by Lemuel's creator Zachariah. Lemuel is quick to vouch for Zachariah and his crew, especially when Zachariah declares himself to be a much changed vampire. Midnight Texas has a fairly large cast and we're still getting to know who these characters are and what their supernatural abilities are. Lemuel Unchained is a chance to explore Lemuel's backstory.

It turns out that Lemuel was a slave.  In the flashback, we are treated to Lemuel being tied to the whipping post and scourged.  I'm not going to argue that the whipping of slaves wasn't commonplace but this feels gratuitous, particularly because Lemuel doesn't seem to suffer any ill effect and begins to plot his escape. I've really had enough of black torture porn in the media, especially when there's no context other than entertainment value. Lemuel manages to escape to the desert and meets up with Zachariah. At this point, all Lemuel wants is freedom and he's willing to pay any cost to have it.  Zachariah turns Lemuel into a vampire and together they return to the site of Lemuel's captivity and feast on the slave owners. Lemuel slakes his hate with the blood of those who owned him. 

In the present, the residents of Midnight don't necessarily feel secure, even though Lemuel has vouched for Zachariah.  It's time to gather at the church, a place it seems that the residents don't really utilise much. In a bit more info dumping, we learn that nothing we know about vampires applies. This means that vampires don't need an invitation to enter a home, and that garlic and holy water are useless.  Vampires however can be killed with a stake through the heart, or being exposed to daylight and that silver bullets hurt. Okay, now we know the ground rules. 

At the bar, Lemuel is in full blown reunion mode with Zachariah.  What could vampires possibly reminisce about beyond blood and violence? Olivia, is not pleased with the goings on, particularly when a female vampire gets a little to close for comfort to Lemuel.  Determined to lay her claim on Lemuel, Olivia lays a kiss on him. Maybe Olivia and Lemuel are closer than they appear. Olivia may not want to be turned, but she's not above jealousy. 

After getting a lesson in Vampire 101, Manfred tries to get a hold of Creek. Unfortunately, when Creek's father sees whose calling, he declines the call. Manfred decides to leave the sanctuary of the church to ensure Creek's safety. 

Creek is at home sharpening stakes when her brother walks in.  Creek immediately tries to hide them but is forced to reveal that vampires are in town and that the stakes are just a precaution.  On his way to see Creek, Manfred stops off at a hardware store only to find the proprietor dead. Unsurprisingly, the vampire who fed on the store owner is still hungry and decides that Manfred is his next snack. Manfred is able to kill the vampire with a pencil and a sharp kick. Okay, I call bullshit on the idea that a pencil could be used to penetrate a human body so deeply without breaking and falling to pieces.  

Joe goes into confession mode with Emilio regarding his true identity. We learn that Joe is a fallen angel and is now content to live his life with the man that he loves.  Is anyone else dying to know exactly why it is that Joe has fallen? It better not be because he's gay. Joe tells Emilio about the danger facing Midnight because he plans on leaving town with Chuy and feels that someone should know about the true threat the town is facing.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Two: Bad Moon Rising

As far as I am concerned, the jury is still very much out on Midnight Texas. It's fun trying to figure out what kind of supernatural the residents of Midnight are and how it all fits together to form a community but given that this inspired from the work of Charlaine Harris, my skepticism is going to continue until I see good reason to let it go. 

Okay, Bobo has been arrested for the murder of his ex girlfriend Aubrey.  As an audience we know that Bobo is innocent but the cops don't.  There's a healthy fear among the supernatuals that the cops investigating the goings on in Midnight is not a good thing because for their community to be safe what they need is anonymity. At the end of the pilot, Manfred agreed to help the residents to free BoBo but to do that, he's going to have to confront whatever is glowing under the floorboards of his new home and get rid of the ghosts who have taken up residence. 

Deputy Gomez decides to throw Bobo into a cell with members of the Sons of Lucifer.  It seems that this was planned by the leader of the motorcycle gang. Bobo tries to explain that he didn't kill Aubrey but the bikers don't want to hear it and instead go on the attack.  It seems that Bobo has had some training somewhere because he is able to fight off all of the bikers, leaving all of them in need of some kind of medical care. I cannot help but wonder if some of Bobo's ability to defend himself is the result of the supernatural?

The supernatural residents of Midnight gather and Manfred admits that he needs help to deal with whatever is going on in his new home.  Joe and Fiji agree to help out. Joe volunteers when Manfred mentions that he is concerned that at least some of the infestation could be demonic. Once inside the apartment, Manfred allows Aubrey to take over his body so that he can see what happened on the night she died.  We learn that Aubrey was hit from behind and therefore didn't see much beyond the fact that her attacker was wearing a jacket from the local white supremacist biker gang and that it took her three days to die.  With this new information, it's decided that Joe and Manfred will go and see the sheriff while Fiji gets to work on an exorcism to free Manfred's home of ghosts and whatever evil is underneath the floorboards. 

Deputy Gomez returns after taking the Sons of Lucifer for medical treatment to find that Sheriff Livingstone is not pleased with her.  Gomez is suspended from active duty immediately which pisses her off. Gomez tries to justify her actions by bringing up what happened to their patrol car but Livingstone simply doesn't want to hear it. 

Joe and Manfred arrive at the station and Manfred tells Sheriff Livingstone what he knows about Aubrey's death.  Because Aubrey didn't see much, Manfred doesn't have a lot of details that Livingstone can verify.  When Livingstone expresses doubt, Manfred points out that it was him who told the cops where to find the gun.  Despite his doubts, Livingstone orders the lake where the gun was found dredged for further evidence. 

It's a full moon which means that the Reverend has to be locked up to avoid him hurting anyone. It's Olivia who does the duty, promising to see him the next morning, even as the Reverend reveals that he has a bad feeling that something just isn't right. It turns out that the Reverend's hunch was right because Gomez, determined to get to the bottom of exactly what is so weird about Midnight, ends up freeing the Reverend, who is now a tiger. Gomez ends up paying for her action by being killed by the now weretiger Reverend. 

A weretiger roaming around Midnight is absolutely not a good thing.  When Manfred realises what is going on, he rushes to find Creek to warn her and is scratched by the tiger for his trouble. The two manage to make it to Manfred's trailer but the weretiger isn't about to give up on his meal.  Fortunately for Creek and Manfred, this is when Olivia and Lemuel arrive, causing the weretiger to give up on his meal for now.  Free of the threat, Manfred returns home to find out how Fiji is dealing with the exorcism. 

Fiji has managed to send all of the ghosts packing but the evil spirit under the floorboards is still there.  The demon under the floorboards has taken a liking to Fiji and not only refuses to let her go, it gets all rapey. It even goes as far to call Fiji by name which of course is ultra creepy. The situation has escalated beyond Manfred's ability to deal with. Manfred heads out to his trailer and grabs the skull of one of his ancestors.  Manfred then rushes back to his place and banishes the spirit of whatever demon had taken up residence under his floorboard. This results in the skull being reduced to ashes.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode One: Pilot

This series is based on the Charlaine Harris novels by the same name.  Given that this story originates with Harris, I'm going to admit that I went into it with a certain set of doubts, despite her success with True Blood. Let's be honest, Charlaine Harris is no lover of women and doesn't write marginalised characters very well at all. 

The first person we meet is Manfred, who is a psychic.  One of his sessions goes a little bit further than he planned and a ghost ends up taking over his body. Fortunately, Manfred is able to fight off the ghost but it still leaves his client freaked the hell out.  Proving that a bad day can get even worse, Manfred gets a call from a man who is threatening him. Fortunately for Manfred, because he sees ghosts, he is able to take the advise of his dead grandmother which is to move to Midnight Texas because he will be safe there. 

On the outside, Midnight Texas looks to be a sleepy small town where nothing ever happens, except that it is filled with supernatural beings. This means that Manfred blends in quite well. Midnight Texas has angels, werewolves, witches, an ill tempered talking cat and vampires; together these creatures have formed a community of sorts.  The supernatural beings are actually a lot more welcoming than the local motorcycle gang the Sons of Lucifer. 

Manfred moved to Midnight with the hope of leading an unremarkable life and not attracting any notice but that all changes when Aubrey's body washes up dead, ruining a local fall gathering. While the town is filled with supernatural creatures, Manfred is the only one who can see an interact with Aubrey and so she reaches out to him, bloated body and all.  Having recently had a bad interaction with a ghost, Manfred decides to take some precautions before agreeing to help Aubrey and this includes making a circle and gathering up some holy water.  Using a ouija board, Manfred communicates with Aubrey and she gives him a location. The conversation however is cut short when Manfred realises that by opening the door to Aubrey, he also allowed several other spirits to make themselves known, including something red and ominous underneath his floor.  

Manfred's weird behaviour brings him to the attention of the police and so to stop them from looking into him, Manfred reveals the location that Aubrey gave him. The cops are suspect of Manfred's tip but when they drag the lake and pull up the gun which killed Aubrey, they decide that he is now necessary to the investigation and cannot leave town.  Unfortunately, the retrieval of the gun leads to BoBo, Manfred's landlord, owner of the local antique/pawnshop, and Aubrey's ex boyfriend.