The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the "Fever" episode of the CBS show, "Moonlight."

"What do you get when you put a vampire in the desert? Maybe no more vampire." In this week's episode of "Moonlight," Mick (Alex O'Loughlin) is burning up with a vampire's version of a "Fever" when he is trapped wandering in the desert sun for several hours.

This ordeal begins with Josh Lindsey (Jordan Belfi), Beth's (Sophia Myles) live-in boyfriend and district attorney asking Mick to do a job for him. Beth has been avoiding Mick since he revealed his vampire origin to her, but she accompanies Josh in his meeting with Mick.

Josh asks Mick to find a missing young woman who is a witness against a suspected arms dealer named Fayed and only her testimony can put him in jail for murder. Leni disappeared from police protection after the cops who were guarding her were killed.

It turns out that Leni is the nanny for the kids of the arms dealer, and she was also romantically involved with Jack Tolan, the man Fayed killed. Mick tracks down Leni, who is on the lam and hiding, and surmises that she is pregnant and she's trying to protect herself and her baby. Mick takes over the job of protecting her, but they get spotted by a crooked cop who is in collusion with Fayed. The two steal the cop car to get away, but Fayed's people go after them with a smart bomb!

They escape the bomb, and get away before the car is destroyed, leaving to two stranded in the desert. After several hours, Mick is dehydrated and in desperate need of blood. He and Lenny find a motel where Mick fills a tub with cold water and urges Lenny to get ice for it. He gets into the tub, fully clothed, and uses all his remaining energy to resist feeding on Leni.

Beth is distraught over the possibility that Mick might be dead. Josh, while trying to remain composed, suspects Beth's loyalties to him have weakened since she met Mick. He tries not to jump to conclusions, but it's clear hes not happy with her preoccupation with this other man.

Lenny calls Beth to ask her to help Mick. Beth goes to Mick, who is hallucinating from his need for blood. She lets him feed on her, saving his life.

What Worked

The sequence of events in the desert leading up to Mick feeding on Beth was done effectively. I found myself actually engrossed in Mick's predicament.

What Didn't Work

The rather mundane crime drama drags the potential of this show down. A show about vampires needs to be more imaginative. Why set up such a fantastical scenario only to have the usual arms dealers and thugs as the baddies? Get us some vampires with character to add color to the plots. Last week, The Cleaner gave us a glimmer of hope that the show could have more dimension to it. This week, we're back to a routine detective show whose main character has a sun allergy.

Then there's the dialogue.

"You're a delicate flower, Mick St. John." I've had pizza delivered better than this line. Sophia Myles is a good actress, but sometimes her take on lines is kind of cheesy, and makes me wish I wasn't in the room when she says them.

"Still. We make a good team," but horrible conversationalists. Another line uttered by Sophia Myles that rolls off the tongue like liver.

"What do you get when you put a vampire in the desert? Maybe no more vampire." Mick, let's go to the Mojave real soon so I never have to hear another line like this! Stop narrating! It cheapens both of us!

The voice-over narration has got to go. It's a lazy means of getting information across, and it detracts from an otherwise stylish show. The writers need to find ways to convey the same information with actions, or (good) dialogue instead of the clichéd narration.

Josh's glow-in-the-dark teeth are incredibly distracting. I don't usually think of an actor's physical features as a distraction from the story, but his are! They remind me of the episode of "Friends" where Ross got his teeth whitened. I know that's a superficial assessment, but it does detract from his already marginal acting.

My 18-year-old daughter walked in the room as I was watching "Moonlight." She had no idea that the show existed, but her reaction to it was "it's not very good." I made her watch it to the end because I had to see it to do this review. She looked at me as if she was plotting to throw holy water in my face. When it was over, she put on an "Angel" DVD. Within the first 10 seconds, she said "This is so much better!"

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Fever" was written by Jill R. Blotevogel and directed by Fred Toye.

"Moonlight" airs on CBS Fridays at 9 p.m.