By Taylor Rapalyea
Staff Writer
NBC’s newest supernatural series is completely contrived and is at times painful to watch—but it’s also the new best show on television.
Jonathon Rhys Meyers dons a weird black goatee, an American accent and, at times, red contact lenses to become the oldest vampire in folklore in “Dracula.” The special effects put the show off to an uneasy start within the first few minutes of the pilot, and a few minutes farther in it becomes clear that the plot is going to be unnecessarily convoluted.
And yet it’s impossible to look away. Meyers’ character is trying to bring down a secret order that’s fueled by entrepreneurialism and also kills vampires – is this a critique of capitalism? Or does it just not make sense?
Additionally, for something that’s supposed to be a period piece, there are an awful lot of historical discrepancies. While the use of “seerers” or magical beings in an opium den is a nice touch, it’s safe to say that making out on the streets of 18th-century England would have been frowned upon. As would have been the décolletage of the blonde vampire hunter Lady Jayne, played by Victoria Smurfit.
Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, noted that he wanted the series to be “faithful to the period,” which is supposed to be 1896, but the whole thing ends up looking a bit steampunk, complete with grinding gears complementing the intro.
The important thing is that Meyers is in it, playing an American industrialist-slash-vampire under the name Alexander Grayson, slipping in and out of his native accent and participating in strange sex scenes that were clearly inspired by his previous work in “The Tutors.”
While the disloyalty to the period makes you want to shield Maggie Smith’s eyes, the progressive bits, historically accurate or otherwise, are some of the best. For instance, in episode two, viewers are treated to a Victorian drag show at a secret club and a hidden gay love affair all in the same scene.
In the following episode, it becomes clear that Dracula’s love interest, who bears a striking resemblance to his wife from way back in the day, has a best friend with a little more than friendship on the mind. The love interest, Mina, played by Jessica DeGouw, is another reason to watch.
Mina is inexplicably studying to become a doctor under famed vampire hunter of lore, Van Helsing. It’s all very strange and makes no sense, but it’s fun to see a woman in a corset kicking butt and dissecting frogs.
If you’re looking for a television series that will make you think your own life follows a lot of logic in comparison, then look no further than “Dracula.” It’s also a good bad TV replacement for when “Keeping up with the Kardashians” finally goes off the air.
