Sky One's Dracula: Episode 1

Based on the age-old story of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', and promising a sparkling, elegant new take on the novel, Sky One's Dracula slinks onto screen in a crawl of poor casting, lazy setting and dull storylines.

The episode starts with the umpteenth resurrection of the long drained Count Dracula, throwing us straight in at the deep end, blood, guts and more; taking the gnarled, dry bones of the character, and of the novel, and fleshing them out into Johnathon Rhys Myers' cool and concise interpretation, the reinvented promise of things to come. Myers is predictably seductive in this, draping himself across luxurious ballrooms and bustiers, dragging his teeth from neck to neck, and showing us the extravagance of his acting, in all its rich depth and flavour. In the vampiric sense, think less Edward Cullen here; more Interview with the Vampire's Lestat; cool yet clumsy in his emotion. There are wobbles and jolts in Dracula's character; he is most definetly not the stone wall of a man we'd come to expect from a man of Myers portrayal, making him one of the more complex characters of the episode. 

Myers' supporting cast, however, don't quite have the sleek seduction as their leading man; Jonathon Harker is played sweetly and prudish enough to match his handwritten self, intelligent and innocent Mina is clear straight from the start, yet Katie McGrath's character of Lucy was a rather disappointing watch, in all honesty. Whilst I am a steadfast fan of McGrath's work, her portrayals of characters, whether they be ancient sorceress' hiding out in Camelot's dirtiest hovels, or high society wannabes; they appears to be no clear definition between these roles, and it's awkwardly easy to pick up on the same character traits, voices and motives in almost all of them, making it a slightly predictable and under-complicated watch. Even the character of Lucy seems to have been taken a little too far; without actually reading the book, you could assume Lucy was flirty, and impure in her actions regarding her suitors, and this seems to have been the line taken and run with by the writers, creating a completely fictional persona for the once apologetic and genuinely respectful original female character. It seems disloyal to Stoker's work to impose this characterisation upon the girl, as well as lazily cast, in giving McGrath such a typical role. 

Another fault found would've been the setting and geography of the episode; confusing in it's attempted English-isms. Dracula appears to be the only 'American' character within the show, walking amongst the smoky, cobbled streets of Victorian England, yet almost everything else feels strangely American as well. It appears to be an England trying too hard to be English, yet still retaining that Sky One USA feel to it. It's definetly lacking the polish and finesse of a BBC production.

Even the storyline lacked interest. Given that the book focuses so heavily on the storylines of Lucy, Mina and Jonathon, it was disappointing that they played such unimportant roles here; with Dracula's tedious fuel with a rival electricity company taking center stage in what should've been the ultimate vampire seduction. It could've been the plotline of an old age sitcom, and still would've made sense. 

Honestly, however, I was not expecting better. I may be hideously biased in my criticisms of the American production here, being brought up on the slick-shot BBC dramas of the time, but in my experience, Sky's Dracula could be lost in a blur of poorly shot, and failed horror dramas, to no great loss or devastation.