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     *Executives at Spike TV are still grinning hard after last week’s record-setting debut of “Blade: The Series,” starring former Onyx rapper Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones in the title role.

      Wednesday’s two-hour premiere at 10 p.m. brought in 2.5 million total viewers, which makes it the highest-rated original series premiere in Spike TV history. It was clearly the No. 1 show on cable for the night, scoring triple-digit ratings increases over the same timeslot last year in Spike’s target demo, men 18-34 (680,000 viewers) and men 18-49 (1.2 million viewers).

      Co-written by the movie trilogy’s screenwriter David S. Goyer, the series picks up where the third film, “Blade: Trinity,” left off.  The Marvel Entertainment superhero – half vampire, half human – is on the hunt for the “doctor” (a vampire) who feasted upon and killed his mother as he was being born.

      In taking over the monosyllabic character perfected in all three films by Wesley Snipes, Jones says it was important that he put his own personal twist on the character.

       “I feel that Blade has to be communicative. He has to be able to communicate with other characters,” Sticky told us. “He’s kind of closed, but he’s half human as well, so he’s kind of open.  And from ‘Blade 1,’ ‘2’ and ‘3,’ what Wesley did is he kind of graduated it, and I guess we’re picking up where that left off.”      

         In the pilot episode, Blade teams with returning war veteran Krista Starr (Jill Wagner), who believes vampires are behind the death of her brother, Zach. But during her attempt to trap the vamps, she is bitten and turned into one herself.  Blade secretly contacts Krista and asks her to remain in their inner circle as a spy, reporting their activities to him on a regular basis. At the close of the episode, it is unclear as to which side of the fence Krista sinks her teeth.      

       “What the series is, in a weird way, is kind of like a wise guy [mafia story] with vampires,” explains Goyer. “Jill’s character is kind of a double agent working for Blade within the vampire community and treating the vampires sort of like the ultimate crime family.  And Blade realizes at the beginning of the pilot that he’s not making much headway just sort of hacking and slashing; he needs to know more about their inner workings and the hierarchy. And that’s kind of what the TV show is.”      

       Goyer also says the hour-long series allows viewers to learn more details about Blade’s past.       

       “Clearly the point of going into the TV show is that we can explore more of his background, more of his history from the time he was first on the streets, even before he met the Whistler character,” says Goyer.       

       As for the tone of the series, Goyer says he was free to make it as violent and out-of-pocket as one can get on cable television.      

       “We did a lot more than I thought we’d be able to do on the pilot,” he admits. “There’s quite a bit of mayhem in the pilot.  There’s sort of a mayhem quota I think we’re going to have to meet. There’ll be one or two things per episode that you wouldn’t normally see on television, but there’s also a lot of suspense and things like that.  I liken it unto my favorite shows, like ‘The Wire’ or ‘Sopranos,’ where there will be a slow burn for a couple of episodes and then something extreme will happen.”

       Fans will learn more about Blade’s paternal history as part of an overall arc to play out during the series’ 13-episode run this season. And Goyer says those who’ve seen nary a "Blade" movie will be able to catch on quickly by watching the two-hour pilot, which reruns tomorrow night at 10 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m.           

        Meanwhile, Sticky says he started out training six hours a day to prepare for his juicy role each week, a regiment that included the gym, martial arts and sword work.

       “The training is extensive, but it’s easy for me because I’m an athlete,” he says. “I love it.  The first time I got in a wire, I’m like four stories up. They’re like, ‘Are you okay?’ I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me? I live this thing. Let’s do it again.’ It’s fun and it’s a challenge as well.  But I’m strong, I’m tough and I’m ready for it.”      

       When asked if he had any previous fighting experience, he replied: “Yeah, I grew up in Brooklyn.”