Dracula: The Series

Dracula: The Series is a syndicated series about Count Dracula, and was broadcast from September 29, 1990 to May 11, 1991.[1]

Dracula: The Series
Developed by
  • Glenn Davis
  • William Laurin
Starring
Country of origin
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes21
Production
Executive producers
Running time22 minutes per episode
Production companies
Distributor20th Television
Release
Original networkSyndicated
Original releaseSeptember 29, 1990 (1990-09-29) –
May 11, 1991 (1991-05-11)

Plot

Count Dracula is using the alias of "Alexander Lucard", and is a wealthy tycoon (the name 'A. Lucard' being 'Dracula' backwards). He is constantly on guard against attacks from Gustav Van Helsing, as well as Gustav's young nephews — Maximilian and Christopher Townsend.[2] They were also aided by a schoolgirl, Sophie Metternich. Romantic tensions developed between Chris and Sophie.

The series formula was relatively straightforward, with the four heroes learning of some plot by Lucard/Dracula and attempting to foil it, with at least some success. In keeping with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, but not most film and television lore, vampires could walk in sunlight but lacked their powers. Anyone bitten just once by a vampire transformed into a zombie-like servant. This process could be stopped by applying holy water to the bite.

Cast

Main cast
  • Bernard Behrens as Gustav Helsing
  • Geordie Johnson as Alexander Lucard
  • Mia Kirshner as Sophie Metternich
  • Joe Roncetti as Christopher Townsend
  • Jacob Tierney as Max Townsend

Guest cast

Guest stars for the show were a cross-section of Canadian television and theatre talent, including Geraint Wyn Davies, who played Gustav's son Klaus, who had been turned into a vampire. He went on to play the vampire Nick Knight in the series Forever Knight. Other notables included Stratford and Shaw festival veteran Jonathan Welsh, well known television and film actors Kim Coates (from Prison Break) and Barry Morse (from The Fugitive and Space: 1999), Chas Lawther, Kirsten Kieferle (from Degrassi: The Next Generation), and Marina Anderson-Carradine, best known for managing (and then marrying) actor David Carradine.

Production

The series was filmed in Luxembourg, and produced by Phil Bedard and Larry Lalonde, best known for their work on John Woo's Once a Thief and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Children of the Night"Allan EastmanGlenn Davis & William LaurinSeptember 29, 1990 (1990-09-29)
Two American brothers, Max and Chris, are left behind in Europe with their eccentric uncle Gustav while their mother travels on business. Max, an enthusiast of the supernatural, is positive that his uncle is a vampire and goes to see multimillionaire Alexander Lucard for help. Little does he know that the rich businessman is hiding a secret of his own...
2"Double Cross"Allan EastmanPhil Bedard & Larry LalondeOctober 6, 1990 (1990-10-06)
Gustav's old friends, Peter and Anna Dyson, visit for a short time while Max takes the Cross of the Magyars—an artifact which prevents vampires from entering—from the house to be blessed. When Lucard finds out the cross has been removed, it is a race to see whether the cross can be replaced before Lucard pays the household a visit; but how did he find out that it was gone?
3"The Vampire Solution"Allan EastmanPeter MeechOctober 13, 1990 (1990-10-13)
Gustav and one of his former students find a rare herb and develop a formula which they hope will reverse the effects of a vampire's bite. To test it, Gustav lets himself be captured and bitten by Lucard, unaware that the formula accidentally switched with a protein drink Max made for himself.
4"The Boffin"Allan EastmanGlenn Davis & William LaurinOctober 20, 1990 (1990-10-20)
Max brings home a bungling vampire-hunting scientist who insists that a new laser gun he's developed can destroy vampires. Unfortunately, his "anti-vampire gun" is being sponsored by Lucard.
5"Double Darkness"Randy BradshawStu WoolleyOctober 27, 1990 (1990-10-27)
An archeologist uncovers the resting place of Lucard's ancient and bitter rival, Nosferatu.
6"Black Sheep"Allan EastmanPhil Bedard & Larry LalondeNovember 3, 1990 (1990-11-03)
An aggrieved husband asks Gustav to kill Klaus, the vampire who has taken his wife. Gustav, however, is unwilling to do so, because he has a different plan in mind for Klaus...
7"What a Pleasant Surprise!"Allan EastmanGlenn Davis & William LaurinNovember 10, 1990 (1990-11-10)
Gustav becomes curious when Lucard buys an old worthless movie theatre.
8"Damsel in Distress"René BonnièrePhil Bedard & Larry LalondeNovember 17, 1990 (1990-11-17)
Eileen is doing business with Lucard; in fact, she's going to have dinner with him at the castle.
9"Mind Over Matter"Allan EastmanGlenn Davis & William LaurinNovember 24, 1990 (1990-11-24)
Gustav appears on a TV talk show to debunk a zany psychic. Also, Max is sure he's discovered the resting place of Dracula and that he can therefore destroy him.
10"A Little Nightmare Music"René BonnièreSean KellyDecember 1, 1990 (1990-12-01)
Encouraged by Uncle Gustav, Chris decides to take his rock music to a live audience. Meanwhile, Sophie becomes a guide to an influential Contessa who has business dealings with Lucard.
11"Get a Job"Allan KingGlenn Davis & William LaurinDecember 8, 1990 (1990-12-08)
Chris lands a job with a local art house, run by a lovely art dealer named Julia, who also happens to have dealings with Alexander Lucard.
12"The Great Tickler"Allan KingGlenn Davis & William LaurinDecember 15, 1990 (1990-12-15)
Lucard invites Mycroft Tickler, a lounge performer with delusions of grandeur, to give a recital at his castle.
13"Bad Blood"Randy BradshawPhil Bedard & Larry LalondeJanuary 19, 1991 (1991-01-19)
Lucard bites a young thief with a rare antigen in his blood which can kill the vampire who ingests it.
14"Sophie, Queen of the Night"Allan KingPeter MeechJanuary 26, 1991 (1991-01-26)
Following her romance with Vincent, Sophie herself has been turned into a vampire, and is serving an apprenticeship with Lucard.
15"My Girlfriend's Back and There's Gonna Be Trouble"Jeff WoolnoughJack Blum & Sharon CorderFebruary 2, 1991 (1991-02-02)
Having been rescued by Chris, Sophie is about to fall for him, but his old girlfriend Alexa turns up from Philadelphia.
16"My Fair Vampire"Michael SloanPhil Bedard & Larry LalondeFebruary 9, 1991 (1991-02-09)
Gustav's best friend claims that people at his old age home are being killed by a vampire.
17"The Decline of the Romanian Vampire"Jeff WoolnoughGlenn Davis & William LaurinFebruary 16, 1991 (1991-02-16)
Max inadvertently frees Klaus from the Helsing family crypt.
18"I Love Lucard"Allan KroekerStu WoolleyFebruary 23, 1991 (1991-02-23)
An old love from Lucard's past comes back into his life.
19"Bats in the Attic"René BonnièrePascal BonniereApril 27, 1991 (1991-04-27)
Max meets a rather Norman Bates-ish neurotic bookseller who has a peculiar interest in vampires.
20"My Dinner with Lucard"René BonnièrePhil Bedard & Larry LalondeMay 4, 1991 (1991-05-04)
Gustav and the kids go to dinner at Lucard's castle.
21"Klaus Encounters of the Interred Kind"Allan KroekerGlenn Davis & William LaurinMay 11, 1991 (1991-05-11)
Gustav has a new theory about vampires and wants to use his new discovery as a way to reclaim Klaus and make him human once more.

See also

References
  1. Browning, John Edgar; Picart, Caroline Joan (January 10, 2014). Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010. McFarland. p. 74. ISBN 978-0786462018.
  2. Muir, John Kenneth (February 25, 2013). Terror Television: American Series, 1970-1999. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476604169.
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