I imagine those who enjoy a bit of Gothic horror have been tuning into the BBC's latest offering, Dracula starring Danish actor, Claes Bang as the infamous Count.
Written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, this latest adaptation has the usual BBC diversity traits - Dracula is bi-sexual and Van Helsing is now a woman.
To be honest I find most modern horror films a bit of a gore bore, but on this occasion I'm finding Dracula very enjoyable, with some genuinely scary elements. It has nods to classic Hammer, and other little Easter eggs tucked away in the narrative. There's a gory bit involving Zombies which takes its inspiration from John Carpenter's 'The Thing', and the Count's Transylvanian castle is very reminiscent of imaginary in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 version of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
A highlight for me (and other Space:1999 fans) last night was the brief appearance of Catherine Schell as Grand Duchess Valeria, who, in conversation with the Count talks about a mysterious author who wants to document her life - Doctor Watson perhaps? Dracula had already mentioned knowing a famous detective in London during his first encounter with Sister Agatha , A Dutch nun who has a fascination with the legend of Dracula...
The final instalment airs tonight on BBC 1 at 9.00 pm.
I agree. I'll be watching Dracula in a minute as well, Scoop. I'm really enjoying it. A quality piece of TV producion on a number of levels. Gotta fly :)
ReplyDeleteI felt the ending was a just a little flat,Tony, and there were times when it was too wordy. Still, it was streets ahead of the awful 'War of the Worlds' and the sweary and far too dark 'Christmas Carol'.
DeleteNot seen part 3 yet guys. First two were excellent especially part 1. The convent confrontation was exceptional I thought. Both lead actors are very charismatic and make the series for me. So far!
DeleteWith reference to the wealth of Easter Eggs Scoop mentioned, featured in both script and props, watch out for the wallpaper in Jack's flat. Wonder if you recognize the pattern, Woodsy?
ReplyDeleteI shall keep my eyes peeled Tone!
DeleteSoz Tone. Forgot to look!
DeleteEasy to Overlook, Woodsy. Jack's wallpaper shared the same iconic pattern as the corridor carpet in Kubrick's movie, The Shining. Only difference being the colour :)
DeleteSadly I was disappointed with Part 3. I felt it dragged and lost ground. The confidence of part 1 especially and part 2 had waned. It was like a meandering Doctor Who episode. Only when Sister Agatha re-emerged did the initial spark between her and Drac come back.Generally though I was chuffed with it as a BBC series and wish Mark Gatiss et al good luck with their next projects.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I agree with you on this. Everything seemed to fall apart for me storywise when Dracula arrives in contemporary times. Suddenly it was Sherlock meets Torchwood! I was also reminded of the rather dull Hammer horror 'Dracula AD 1972 (another Easter egg nod in the BBC version).I don't think poor old Christopher Lee has a line in it.
DeleteThat said, of course I still enjoy and appreciate the enthusiasm Mark Gatiss puts into his projects. If fact I'm currently watching and enjoying his look at the 'real' Dracula legend on catch up.
DeleteHe comes across as a really nice and decent guy and I don't have a problem with him as a person, but I just wish he's rein in his personal inclinations and fantasies. Bought a handsome looking book (detective novel) by him in the local pound shop a few years ago, but had to take it back for a refund (hey, I'm Scottish remember - a pound's a pound) when a few pages in there was a gay sex scene. No, I didn't get past the first couple of sentences once I realised where it was going. Bought a Shaun the Sheep book with the pound, so a happy ending.
DeleteMmm, I wouldn't like to be reading things like that either, Kid. I'm all for live and let live, and I'm certainly not homophobic, but I don't think it's wrong not wanting to know the details. I wonder if the novel's plot was good? I guess we'll never know.
DeleteLike you, Scoop, I can live without knowing. Oddly, it never occurred to me to wonder about the plot after I took the book back - I was just glad to get it off my hands. Actually, there's more to the story - I just gave you the Reader's Digest version. I'd bought 2 copies of the book, and gave one to a pal. It had such a handsome hardback cover, it would just look good sitting on his bookshelf even if he never read it. However, I 'phoned him immediately, told him not to read it, went round to his house and collected it off him, and returned it at the same time as mine. I explained to the staff why I was returning them, but they didn't seem interested and just put them back out on display. I can't recall what I replaced my pal's copy with, though maybe it was a Shaun the Sheep book, the same as myself. (So it was actually £2 at stake. That's serious dosh!)
DeleteHa,ha! Serious money indeed, Kid. Hopefully the Shaun the Sheep book was family friendly.;)
DeleteI wonder whatever possessed them to portray Drac as a cross (no pun intended) between David Walliams and James Mason? It had its good bits, but I found the bisexual suggestions that Mark Gatiss insists on infusing into just about everything he's involved with rather tedious.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I have to agree with you Kid. I put it down the apparent BBC agenda of heavy duty virtue signalling. The same preachiness appears to be having an adverse effect on Doctor Who viewers too, it spite of some fans saying the contrary.
DeleteSome people mock me for saying it, Scoop, but there's an agenda at work by a (probably small) group of militant LGBT activists in the media to 'reflect' (is the word they use) society as how they'd like it to be, rather than what it actually is. In other words, what they're really trying to do is 'reshape' society more to their tastes, and everyone else be damned.
DeleteTo be fair I think there might well be an element of truth in what you say, Kid. I think it's pretty obvious the general public feel constrained by so called political correctness, and I do think education and academia have a bias towards liberal views and the media are happy to fan the flames.
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