For this post I will focus mainly on the TV show Young Dracula. The show started in 2006
and is currently in its 5th season. Its premise is that Dracula
has two children and that they cannot live in Transylvania because of all of the mobs.
They still live in a castle and still talk about being in Transylvania. This
show is set in England, but the characters believe that Transylvania is better. This is heard a
lot in the 4th episode of the 1st season.
In the 3rd episode they
bring up the topic of Dracula’s wife. As the myths in Transylvania go, Dracula
and his wife had the love that everyone wishes for. They change this story in the
show, however. In this show, Dracula's wife, Magda, leaves Dracula for a werewolf.
This is how the show explains the rivalry between Dracula and werewolves. In
this episode, the show sees Dracula take his wife back when
it appears that she wants him back. This episode shows that Dracula truly does
love his wife, but was betrayed by her, which is why they are not together.
This show has a downside to it, though. Dracula is especially cruel and nasty to his daughter. He does plays favourites with his children. He is very old fashioned in that he believes that
his son is more important than his daughter. In the show when Dracula’s
daughter mentions inheriting the family title, she is laughed at because she is
a girl. It is used as a form of comic relief for the show, with the daughter
trying to do everything that Dracula wants, but failing at every turn.
This show also brings up the topic
of Van Helsing. The show does have a Van Helsing present — well actually two Van
Helsings present. Van Helsing is the family name used by another set characters. They
are vampire hunters — at least the father believes so. The son takes time to get used to the idea and does not fully believe it at first. It is funny the way the senior Van
Helsing always coming so close to proving that the Draculas are vampires, but
never quite proves for the first few episodes. I do like that the writers kept
Van Helsing as an enemy of Dracula, unlike the 2013 show Dracula. It keeps better with the myths.
One of the reasons that I enjoyed this show is because it is different. This is finally a Dracula show that is not in the horror genre. This show definitely falls more into the comedy genre. About 90% of the books, movies and shows involving Dracula that I have seen have been horrors. If anyone else knows more non-horror Dracula references please let me know. I do love a good horror, but every now and then I like to change things up and try something new.
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