« Top 10 David Carradine Films
Vampire television series have been pretty rare throughout the history of the medium. Those that do exist, unfortunately, often suffer from poor scripts, bad acting, and cheesy effects. While a few decent vampire shows do exist, you almost need a guide to separate the good from the bad. Luckily, you’re reading just such a guide.
10. Demons – A teenager in London learns that he’s the last living descendant of the Van Helsing line. While trying to maintain his normal life, Luke Rutherford must also battle vampires, werewolves, zombies, and other dire creatures of the supernatural.
9. Blade: The Series – Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones took over the role of Blade in this TV series from the Spike network. Lots of hip hop music and martial arts. Lasted 12 episodes back in 2006.
8. Kindred: The Embraced – Based on the Vampire: The Masquerade RPG, this show lasted for eight episodes on Fox in 1996. A police detective (C. Thomas Howell) learns of the existence of vampires in San Francisco, and he must form an uneasy alliance with the leader of their clan. Also starred Mark Frankel and Kelly Rutherford.
7. Being Human – An ongoing series on BBC Three which debuted in 2008. Being Human is about a twenty-something vampire, ghost and werewolf who all share a house in Bristol and try to maintain normal social lives. A second season of the show is in the works.
6. Dark Shadows – A gothic soap opera which aired on ABC from 1966 until 1971. The show featured zombies, witches, werewolves, and vampires (with the star of the show being the vampiric Barnabas Collins). According to reports, director Tim Burton (a self-confessed fan of the show) will be filming a big screen adaptation of Dark Shadows in 2009.
5. Forever Knight – An 800-year-old vampire, Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies), works as a police detective in modern-day Toronto. Each week, Knight battled either mundane or supernatural menaces while trying to perform penance for past actions. The show was a hit in syndication and lasted for four years.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Created by Joss Wheadon, this show ran for seven seasons and had a huge cult following. Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was a teenage Slayer who fought the forces of darkness on a weekly basis. She was aided in her quest by a mentor named Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and a group of friends known as the “Scooby Gang.”
3. True Blood – Based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, this HBO series tells the story of a telepathic Louisiana waitress named Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). Throughout the series, she rubs elbows (and more) with vampire, werewolves, and an assortment of other bizarre creatures of the night.
2. Angel – This Buffy spin-off features an actual vampire as the lead, and he was played by David Boreanaz. Working as a private detective in Los Angeles, Angel and friends battled the plots of demons, vampires, and the evil law firm of Wolfram & Hart.
1. Hellsing – An animated series from Japan, Hellsing concerns a London-based organization led by the descendant of Abraham Van Helsing. This group battles the darker aspects of the supernatural, and their primary weapon is the ancient vampire known as Alucard, who is actually none other than the legendary Dracula. His sidekick is Seras Victoria, a young police offer who was saved from dying and “turned” by Alucard. Massive amounts of violence, gore, and off-the-wall action. Mr. Big also does the music for the closing credits.
This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Best Horror Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.