They say that in Texas, “he needed killing” is a viable defense. If only detective Mick St. John believed this. Then I might have enjoyed episode 1.02, "Out of the Past," a lot more.

Twenty-five years ago, Mick tried to kill a man named Lee Jay Spalding. He botched the job and instead, Lee Jay went to jail for murdering one of Mick's clients. In the twenty-five years that he was in prison, Lee Jay spent his time hugging puppies and orphans and learning how to hunt vampires.

The creators of "Out of the Past" obviously wanted to set up Lee Jay as the dark to Mick's light. Both are monsters. Both wear their monstrosity under the skin. Both even have a thing for female journalists. But where Mick tries to keep his monster leashed, Lee Jay enjoys letting it out to tear up the neighbor's garden and eat their chihuahua.

Although the premise sounds exciting, the execution fell flat.  The problem is that I never once believe that Lee Jay is a credible threat to Mick. Primarily because Lee Jay's attempts to menace the vampire only work if Mick lets them work. As a result I found myself more annoyed by the  protagonist for letting the bad guy walk all over him, than concerned for his well being.

I understand that Mick has a moral code, and he doesn't believe in killing.  However he could easily outsmart Lee Jay without having to kill him.


For example, in the first confrontation between Mick and Lee Jay, the two of them are alone in a bathroom (I'll pause while you make your own joke). Lee Jay throws himself through a window and then screams for help. The idea is to make it look like Mick was the one who attacked him.

At any moment, Mick could have used that vampire speed to dash out of the bathroom so quickly that no one could see him, plant himself by the cash bar, and establish an alibi that would make Lee Jay look like a crazy guy who beat himself up and blamed it on a detective who was obviously out in the lobby enjoying a Bloody Mary.

The more that the villain postured, schemed and framed Mick, the more I kept hoping that Josef would just call the vampire mafia to deliver the cement-overshoe smack down on Lee Jay.

The good: Lee Jay Spalding's deluded love interest Julia. Her brand of crazy love based on hero worship is the best bit of acting in the whole episode. And Jason Dohring's is just wonderful as an unapologetically amoral Josef Konstantin.

The special effects seem to be getting a little bit better this episode. In one scene Mick wire-fus up the side of a building. Which looked a lot better than the flying of episode one. But the scenes in the car are still obviously shot before a green-screen.

The bad: I'm not yet buying into the idea of Mick and Beth as a couple. This could change as the series progresses. But right now I just don't see a spark between them.

The conclusion: In episode two, the show still hasn't seemed to hit its stride.