By ANDY GILCHRIST
The story of Dracula is one of the most famous in the world. Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic novel unleashed the most famous vampire of all time upon the world and the gentleman monster has had his teeth in the throat of the public conscious ever since. For nearly a century, adaptations of the novel have been produced at a steady rate, with such actors as Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman, and Leslie Nielson playing the title role.
Last Friday night, NBC debuted the newest version of the story. In addition to adding more blood and fight scenes than Stoker probably intended, the show takes several liberties with the source material in an attempt to appeal to a more modern audience. While the first episode is rather uneven in tone and makes some controversial changes to the novel, the new series has many promising elements that could lead it to become one of the better Dracula adaptations in recent years.
The series opens in 1881, where two men enter a cave in Romania and reinvigorate the shriveled corpse of Count Dracula (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). 15 years later, the count is living under the alias of an American businessman travelling in London. He arranges a lavish party, the true purpose of which is for the count and his right hand man, Renfield (Nonso Anozie), to get a good look at the London aristocracy. England’s rich make up the mysterious Order of the Dragon, who killed Dracula’s wife centuries ago and whom he now swears to destroy.
In attendance at Dracula’s party is Mina Murray (Jessica De Gouw), a medical student accompanied by her would-be love interest Jonathan Harker (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). When the vampire sees her from across the room, he is shocked to see that she is the spitting image of his dead wife. Indeed, the series suggests she could be her reincarnation. As Dracula prepares for an all-out war against the Order, the appearance of Mina threatens to derail his mission and lead to even further bloodshed.
NBC’s Dracula has several things going against it from the get go. First off, it’s another remake. Cue the legions of fans complaining that there are no more original ideas. As stated above, Dracula has been put on screen dozens of times, including many times as a supporting character in a different vampire story, such as The Monster Squad or Blade: Trinity. Why does there need to be another interpretation?
Secondly, it’s time to accept that the vampire craze has passed. Twilight brought about a new wave of vampire stories that dominated the past decade, but vampires have been old news for years now. Even interest in zombies, successor to the title of Most Popular Monster, seems to waning. Witches are in now, apparently. With interest in the vampire genre slipping dangerously towards total apathy, it’s a bit perplexing as to why a new version of Dracula was given a big-budget production.
Finally, the show is very different from the original novel. In addition to taking place throughout the city of London, instead of almost exclusively in Dracula’s castle, there have been many major changes to the characters. Dracula is still the powerful vampire the audience expects, but he’s younger, faster, and knows kung-fu, or some sort of martial arts. Towards the end of the episode, there is a slow-motion fight sequence that throws off the pacing and tone the first half hour had established. Hopefully, these scenes are better integrated in future episodes.
The other strikingly different character is Van Helsing (Thomas Kretschmann). Always portrayed as Dracula’s nemesis, often physically fighting him, Van Helsing is here shown to be Dracula’s greatest ally. It was Van Helsing who freed Dracula in Romania, helped the vampire amass a fortune, and now aids him in secret. This aspect of the show is sure to drive die-hard fans of the novel into a frenzy, but the two are shown to have a very volatile relationship. Perhaps this will serve as an origin story for their conflict. But then how can Dracula be meeting all the other characters now? Only time will tell.
Despite all of these glaring issues, the series is actually very entertaining. The actors are all giving fantastic performances, believably portraying Victorian London citizens. Rhys Meyers especially deserves praise for his portrayal of the title character. He goes from emotionally devastated while watching his wife die to calm and collected gentleman to bloodthirsty killer from scene to scene and is convincing in every one. The costumes and set design should also be recognized, for they are just as big a part of the first episode as the story. The show looks and feels like the late nineteenth century, giving it a degree of credibility such a period piece needs.
One final aspect of the series that must be mentioned is that it is a miniseries. It is not a show that will last for several years, with fans eagerly awaiting the season premiere every Halloween week. The show will run for 10 episodes on consecutive Fridays and then be finished. While this might seem like a bad thing, it actually couldn’t be better. Instead of planting seeds to be sowed in future seasons, the show must get right to the point. There’s no time to waste, so characterization and action must happen immediately. This will ensure that the series has no dead space and is exciting from beginning to end. Should this format prove successful, NBC may use it more often in the future.
NBC’s newest television series is the newest version of Dracula. While the first episode had some obvious problems, a few small adjustments and it would be well on its way to becoming one of the best versions of the classic vampire tale in a long time.
