The vampire craze has waxed and waned the past few years. Thanks to Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and True Blood, vampires are very popular. Sadly, one of the best vampire stories written has been pushed aside for the marketable type of vampire. Now, NBC is bringing back the original. Beginning October 25th, NBC will unveil its new version of Bram Stoker’s classic character. The show is simply named Dracula. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) will play the starring role as history’s most famous vampire. But will NBC’s take on this titular character be enough to bring new energy to the vampire trend?
NBC has created a new story with the cast of the original book. Dracula poses as an American trying to bring electricity and other scientific wonders to Victorian London. He is also carrying old scores to settle with those who cursed him to immortality. Following the book, there is also his love story with Mina Murray to tangle things up. I think the plot has promise. The trailer shows a good mix of action and intrigue. This Dracula appears to be a man of action, not of the shadows. He doesn’t seem to want to lay around in a coffin, angsting. Rhys Meyers has always been an actor I liked. He has always shown himself to be versatile. He even played Elvis! If the writing for show is good, he should be able to pull of Dracula phenomenally. The supernatural has been in for many years now. Not since Anne Rice have vampires been this big. But some fans are tired of them. The trend does seem geared towards the young and beautiful, but the original stories are far from pretty. This Dracula series looks like it will take it back to its bloody roots. It should help the vampire craze change direction… I hope.
I have hope for this series. It has much to recommend it. I would like to see the traditional vampire come back. You know, the kind that actually burns in sunlight and doesn’t mope around flower fields.
