The best thing to pop up on US TV for ages

RES55

The show goes from triumph to triumph (I write four days after Ep. 5). I am a lifelong (quite long!) Dracula enthusiast, and I dreaded the approach of this series, expecting it to be the embarrassment that most things bearing the Dracula label turn out to be (the last great Dracula interpreter being Louis Jourdan for the BBC in 1977). But after forcing myself to watch a web rerun of the first episode, I realized that it's a brilliantly original take on the subject. The writers have done their homework before creating this new Dracula universe; all the details about the original source and period were clearly well-known and well-understood, so every alteration is well-considered. The direction, cinematography, pacing, amazing acting, and overwhelming production values are good enough for the BBC and PBS. This is not unlike 'Downton Abbey'--and indeed, has some of the same people working on it. The grumblers surprise me, given the usual moronic rubbish that generally passes for US commercial TV. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, people.

score 10/10

RES55 4 December 2013

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2916742/