NBC's Dracula

Photo: NBC

Tonight Dracula premieres on NBC as a ten episode limited series, starring Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Shot in Hungary, the bloodthirsty drama begins in London at the end of the Victorian era. I love a scary vampire story -- the colossal interplay of good versus evil -- so I hope this one, based on Bram Stoker's 1897 legendary tale, is well-made. 

I am looking forward to the lavish costumes, the period sets, the acting chops (or fangs, grrr) of an international cast, as well as, the blood, lust and gore that result when a character uses bad judgment and ends up keeping Dracula alive for another day.

A modern Dracula has to be smart, charming and drop dead handsome. Otherwise you would sense the danger and run away screaming. But to be tempted and lured into his orbit, you have to perceive evil as good (and perhaps good as evil).  Oh ... you may sense there's something off about the Count of Darkness, but your eyes see only what they want to see, and your ears hear only what they want to hear ... and so you trust! (Into his lair, you go, grrr.)

And what if you are the Bloodsucker Prince? How will you contain your evil nature? You wake up every day of your undead life thirsting for blood. For you to live another day, someone ... a human ... must die. You did not ask to be immortal ... or a monster, but so it is. A curse.

Now ... what happens if you fall hopelessly in love with a woman? A good woman. An innocent woman. How safe is that person in your arms ... considering your evil, predatory nature? Most likely, you have heightened senses. You remember what it was like to be a man. Can love ever trump evil? Or will the smell of her warm blood be too strong to resist? Will you ... in the end ... suck the life out of her???

Dracula is centuries old, so when he rises from a long slumber, he always has a few scores to settle. Festering wounds that require vengence. Surely, the past will mingle with the present. That should be fun to watch.

 I hope this mini series thrills and frightens viewers to death ... and would it be too much to ask for it to adhere to the spirit of the original ... and have a few kernals that ring true about the human condition?  

Ok, I'll settle for clever entertainment. Please writers and show creators ... just don't mess it up!

Photo: NBC: Cast of Dracula

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