Customer Reviews
Great production, but... 
2008-08-29
I REALLY REALLY felt that the using of Interview with a vampire soundtrack in the pilot was tacky and brought down the production value enormously. It reminded me of being a student film maker. If it weren't for this mistake I would have given it 5 stars. For one Kindred and IVWV both have 2 differant moods and not every one likes "Interview with a vampire" I don't personaly I see vampires in a differant mood, and mixing the 2 diffrent vampire sub genres was very anoying. Aside from this I really did enjoy the collection and have watched it a few times.
Summary, kindred series 
2008-06-08
DVD arrived promptly and in perfect condition. The series itself is the first real attempt to base a vampire chronicle around vampire politics and intrigue. The Blade series is the next series to use this theme extensively.
Actually, I'd say 3 1/2 stars 
2008-05-31
I have never played the RPG game, video game and I haven't read any of the books. I know absolutely nothing of white wolf, but I know what I like in the vampire genre.
What I liked about this series:
I love just about all things gangster and I love just about all things vampire and when the two come together, there isn't a better match made.
Now, having said that... I think this series did a good job mixing the mafia genre with the vampire supernatural one. It kind of reminded me of "Blade" with the different clans trying to one up the other while trying to keep the facade of peace going.
I did like that this series featured a lot of feeding/bite scenes. Being a vampire junkie, I like when there are a lot of scenes in books, movies and tv shows depicting vampires drinking blood.
I liked that Julian's character took out the trash himself, killing vampires who threatened their secrecy.
Some of the romance was nice, but not all of it.
I loved the female vampire's character. The jealous sometime-girlfriend of Julian Luna. I liked her femme-fatale persona.
Okay, what I didn't like:
I would have liked to have seen less of C.Thomas Howell's character. He seemed to bit useless to me. All he did was run around getting on people's nerves. I personally think Julian should have just killed the bastard and went on with his life. No sooner after the vampires trust him with a secret, he's running off trying to expose them to whomever would listen. Someone that troublesome, you just kill, really, you do if you're a kick butt, no nonsense vampire master/prince.
I could have done without the spoiled rich girl who wishes she was a rebel with the red hair. Sasha, I think her name was. She really was a bland character and seemed to serve only one purpose (to be the love interest of Cash) and their romance was a little more than annoying.
Some of the acting was really bad. especially from C.Thoman Howell, which really surprised me, cause anyone who's seen "The Hitcher" or "Soul Man" knows what he's capable of in he acting department. I think the actor who played Julian and the woman who played the jealous female vampire sometimey girlfriend were probably the best actors. I think the worst actor was the 17 year old mother from the episode "Bad Moon Rising" . She was atrocious.
Some of the dialog was bad. So bad that even the best actor couldn't pull those lines off without them sounding corny.
Also, in the pilot, BIG mistake using the "Interview with the vampire" soundtrack. So not cool. Kind of killed some of the scenes for me. I had to keep reminded myself that Claudia was not going to cut her hair in that scene and storm off. Yeah, I've watched that movie a lot.
All in all, not as bad as some say, but it wasn't fantastic either. The good thing is, it was entertaining and I'm sad that it got cancelled because I would have like to have seen more.
There's nothing like it. It brought the A game. 2008-04-22
When I first watched the Tv show it was shocking,Mysterious,and Erotic in it's own way. I heard it was based on the Role Play "The Masquarade", but I loved it on tele. I was even more excited to see it on DVD. Gosh, it was a shame the lead died when he did. This show would have became very popular. I loved all the charators in this show including my favorite, Cash and Sasha. I wish there could have at least been a proper ending, but we will forever wonder if the film industy will ever do a remake of this one. I can only hope.
Wonderful, but short-lived series that needs a re-issue on DVD! 2007-12-17
Sure, this is a television series based on a role-playing game. And alot of folks would turn their noses up at that...and they'd miss out on a fantastic show. These shows hold up years after they were first shown on tv; the production values are high, the special effects are well done without being overblown, and the acting is excellent. The death of the lead in this show brought this promising series to a halt, and that's a horrible shame.
The idea that there are different types of vampires that all live together in a rival-clan type of society is very interesting. Their feuds are similar to the type of feuds played out in mob-family dramas, and the characters are very compelling. C. Thomas Howell, who plays a cop who had fallen in love with a Kindred who gave her life to save his, digs to find information on the Kindred, and that is just one of the continuing stories in this series.
This show has a huge fan base -- I'm a big fan myself! -- and one small issue of these DVD's isn't enough. Another issue is definitely needed! And if you haven't seen these shows, if you've got the cash to shell out to one of the outside Amazon sellers? Pick up the set pronto. You'll be hooked.
Please Bring this back!! 2007-10-17
Enter the dangerous and sexy world of the undead when vampires clash with mortals and each other in modern-day San Francisco. Five clans of vampires are known as the KINDRED, and in their terrifying embrace, one becomes forever young…forever beautiful...forever doomed. From the savagery in the premiere to the climactic finale, the KINDRED draws you into a mysterious realm of Mafia wars, forbidden liaisons and inhuman hunger in a spellbinding saga of erotic danger and unworldly suspense!
love this series 2007-07-22
this series has a much better plot line than most "Vampire" stories on tv today. This one should have been made into a full-blown series!! Forget "Forever Knight", "Angel", "Buffy", and all the others, this one blows them all away. Well worth having!!!!!
Short but sweet 2007-06-26
This is a great set but I'm not sure why the price is so high. I just bought mine for ten bucks in a DVD bargain bin. My only problem with this series is Howell as a tough hard nosed cop (say what?). What's next Rambo 4? At least he's not in every scene and everyone else is great. If you're a big fan then you already own it, otherwise the price is a bit much for two discs.
A must have for fans of the vampire genre. 2007-04-26
This is a must buy and well worth the money.
It is, by far, the best vampire series I have ever seen.
Others just don't measure up.
Mark Frankel's acting was surpurb in his portrail of Julian Luna.
The viewer can empathize with his charactor; The constant struggle between surpressing his human desires while ruthlessly fulling his duties as Prince of the City.
Offset by the other main charactors in the series and their scenerios, this makes for one of the most entertaining and spell binding soap operas /series yet!
Watching the entire vampire collection [which consist of 8 shows]left me 'thirsty' for more with a sadness that there will never again be another charactor like Julian Luna!
Any producer would be hard-pressed to find another actor who could so sucessfully portray the charactor of Julian Luna as Mark Frankel did,
may he rest in peace.
Kindred:The Embraced,Gone From Us Much Too Soon! 2007-04-08
Kindred:The Embraced was the finest series ever, with vampire mythology as its core content. Based on the White Wolf role playing game, The Masquerade, this series presented a new take on a genre that had become,at best, tiresome and frankly, just plain boring. The characterizations in Kindred were superb. Mark Frankel, as the The Prince, Julian Luna was remarkable. No one else could have done a better job in the role. Frankel played Julian with a deep sense of mystery and forbidden longing. His soulful eyes departed all the emotional angst that Julian suffered in his role as Prince of San Fransisco and the torment he usually faced in his personal life. In wake of Frankel's untimely death, shortly after the series ended, it is hard to conceive of anyone taking his place as Julian Luna. Jeff Kober, in the character of Daedalus, the Nosferatu Primogen, was simply heartbreaking. Daedalus was the most ancient of all the Kindred, it was never revealed just how ancient, but it was hinted that Daedalus was several thousand years old. Daedalus was a solitary soul, keeping to the caverns under Julian's mansion, usually only emerging when called on by Julian to tend to Kindred business. Cultured, educated, artistic, Daedalus was the most complex, in nature,of all the Kindred. Longing for love and yet ,killing with a fierce veracity, Daedalus was a creature to be reckoned with on many levels. These two and other primary characters(Cash,Sasha,Lillie,Caitlin,ect.)were the reason Kindred was such an enjoyable series. That and the presentation of the vampire culture in"The Masquerade". It was so refreshing to see these individuals live in a semblence of actual society,where they obeyed laws and didn't spend all their time in black capes,running around blood dripping on their collars. They were portrayed with the same emotions as their human counterparts and this allowed for such good drama. View this series if you have half the chance, it is well worth your time. It is best to try and watch the entire series, at once, to get the full impact of how well-done it was.
