#anti bbc dracula

[headcanonsandmore]

No more television shows written by Steven M*ffat. The world has progressed past any presumed need for television shows written by Steven M*ffat.

[twistedtummies2]

ReCount: Top 15 Portrayals of Van Helsing

Opinions change over time. I've been doing lists for a while, and the more I see and the more I learn, the more frequently my feelings about characters and portrayals of them can shift. SO, I've decided to start doing "ReCounts." These are second attempts at old countdowns: for my more long-winded countdowns, such as month-long countdown events, I will do shortened single-post versions of them, with updated rankings, short descriptions, and collages that separate different "sections" to help tighten things up. For my shorter lists, where I give almost no descriptions and/or the choices are fewer in number, I will provide said descriptions (albeit relatively brief ones), and the lists themselves, once again, may be adjusted. With that said...later this month, I’ll be doing a countdown of the Worst Dracula Portrayals, in my opinion. I’ll also be doing a ReCount of my personal favorites. Before then, however, I felt it would be fun to talk about the notable side characters of Bram Stoker’s novel. So, we’ll begin with a ReCount of arguably the most famous character from the story (aside from Dracula himself), Abraham Van Helsing. Professor Van Helsing ISN’T the main character of the original book. I would say he’s more describable as the Gothic Horror equivalent to Merlin. He is the de-facto leader of the vampire hunters who set out to destroy Dracula, true, but he’s not the main protagonist: he is their teacher, their guide, the one who has all the knowledge and wisdom the other, younger warriors require in order to combat the threat that the undead Count provides. Van Helsing is not depicted as a professional vampire slayer, either; he’s simply a scientist, but one who has a vast knowledge of and strange belief in the supernatural. In the novel, the Professor at first appears to be a somewhat comical character; slightly clumsy and with an unusual way of speaking, as well as several eccentricities. As the story goes on, however, his own inner steel and darkness begins to show more and more. As a result, he becomes just as fascinating and mysterious as Dracula himself: there are a lot of unanswered questions about Van Helsing that make him intriguing, and he is one of the most proactive characters in the story. Both of these facts are a major part of why the character has become so noteworthy over the years since.

Over the years, Van Helsing’s reputation has intensified; most versions of the character don’t actually follow the book at all, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (nor an uncommon thing, as later lists for other characters in the novel shall indicate). Choosing my favorite versions of the guy was really difficult, and in making this ReCount - expanding the list to a Top 15, and providing some brief descriptions - it was interesting to see what made some interpretations work or not work. With that said, here are My Top 15 Favorite Portrayals of Dracula’s Nemesis, Professor Van Helsing!

15. David Suchet, from 2006 BBC TV Film.

The same year this TV film came out, the BBC also produced a radio version of Dracula (not connected to the movie at all), and which also featured Suchet. In the radio adaptation, Suchet played Dracula, but - perhaps because the film wanted to go for a younger, more “sexy” Dracula (played by Marc Warren) - in the film, he plays Van Helsing. The film seems to conflate Van Helsing with Renfield, of all characters, depicting him as a shabby character driven half-insane by a past encounter with Dracula. Suchet does a good job with what he’s given, but I rather wish Van Helsing (and the film, in general) had followed the novel more closely.

14. Rikiya Koyama, from Phantom in the Twilight.

In this anime, Koyama voices Van Helsing XIII - a descendant of the original Van Helsing, who is the head of a monster-hunting organization called “Midnight Sun.” He is depicted as an anti-heroic antagonist: a religious zealot who believes all humans are inherently good, and all of the Umbra (monsters) are inherently evil - a Javert-like, black-and-white perspective that often causes trouble. While I liked the character on the whole, and the mysteries about him are intriguing, I was ultimately disappointed by his “battle” with Vlad (the Dracula character) and the conclusion of his story in the show. An interesting concept, but not the most glamorous execution.

13. Nigel Davenport, from the 1973 TV Film.

Davenport plays a more stiff-upper-lipped Van Helsing in this Dan-Curtis-created TV production of the story. The film depicts Van Helsing at first as a sort of dandy, very typically “British” and slightly foppish. However, as the film goes on he shows more and more of his strength and wisdom as the battle to stop Dracula gets more and more intense. I can’t say Davenport is my ideal Van Helsing, but he is an interesting rendition that pays some slight homage to the original in that respect.

12. Martin Gabel, from the Mercury Theatre Radio Version.

Not pictured here in costume, because...well...radio. :P Honestly, I don’t really have a lot to say about Gabel in this radio version, created by and starring Orson Welles. I just think he’s really freaking good: he feels a bit like how Edward Van Sloan’s Van Helsing might have acted (more on him later) if he were in a slightly more book-accurate adaptation.

11. David Moroni, from Dracula: Pages From a Virgin’s Diary.

This extremely bizarre, silent-film-styled, surrealist/Expressionistic TV film was produced by the utterly bonkers Guy Maddin, and loosely based on the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s dance version of the story. In the film, all of the male characters - and I DO mean ALL of them - are depicted as figures of toxic masculinity. Each of them has flaws and unsavory traits, but Van Helsing is arguably the worst of them all. As a result, the film - I think intentionally - plays with the duality between him and Dracula in some interesting ways, visually, as Van Helsing really is just as awful as the vampire he’s hunting in this version.

10. Christopher Plummer, from Dracula 2000.

While I personally feel this film is a total mess, I will say that arguably the best part of the entire experience is Plummer as Van Helsing. In the movie, Van Helsing is revealed to have become as immortal as Dracula, by using the vampire’s blood to keep himself going, so that he can forever protect the world from the Count’s darkness. However, the methods Van Helsing uses provide some flaws in his character, and at the same time, Dracula himself is depicted as a more sympathetic villain (which is not uncommon). Once again, the duality this creates is interesting.

9. Goofy, from Disney’s Dracula, Starring Mickey Mouse.

Disney has done TWO different “Dracula Starring Mickey Mouse” adaptations in print: the first was a graphic novel, the second was a children’s storybook. While both have obvious similarities, they also have some differences: most notably, the storybook is much, MUCH shorter and “thinner” (both literally and metaphorically), and the casting for many of the characters is different. In the graphic novel, Goofy, of all characters, plays the role of Van Helsing; in the storybook, it’s Horace Horsecollar. (Incidentally, in the storybook Goofy is Quincey Morris, while in the comic version Horace is Arthur Holmwood.) The weird thing is that by making Goofy - clumsy, bumbling, silly Goofy - the Professor, the graphic novel actually creates one of the most weirdly accurate interpretations of the character out there.

8. Laurence Olivier, from the 1979 Film.

In this film version, Olivier’s Van Helsing is given a tragic, personal reason to fight Dracula, as its revealed his daughter is the Lucy character (and you’ll note I say “the Lucy character,” not just “Lucy;” more on that another time). When she is made into a vampire by the undead Count, Van Helsing swears vengeance, and thus his crusade to avenge his child begins. The quest to defeat the vampire ultimately seems to destroy both hero and villain in the end…but I mustn’t say more, or I shall spoil the whole story.

7. Hugh Jackman, from Van Helsing.

While Jackman’s action-hero spin on Van Helsing has almost NOTHING to do with the original book…I’ll give both him and the movie this: anytime I think of the name “Van Helsing,” this movie and this take on the character DO come pretty immediately to mind. Other than that, there’s not a whole lot to say: the movie may not be that great, but it’s a guilty pleasure, and I think Jackman’s performance is part of the reason why. He’s just always a delight to watch, in my experience.

6. Anthony Hopkins, from the 1992 Film.

In the 1992 film, Dracula is given a strongly sympathetic streak. To contrast this, Van Helsing, in turn, is given a darker edge to his character. While what he’s doing IS ultimately heroic, his methods and manners aren’t always the most saintly or kind. At times he even seems to lean towards the verge of madness, which again, makes the struggle between himself and Dracula all the more interesting.

5. The Version from the 2006 BBC Radio Version.

To this day, I have not figured out who plays Van Helsing in the radio adaptation the BBC made, written by Liz Lochhead. The actor is not credited, and I can’t tell if he’s played by someone else in the cast, doing double roles, or if it’s just that the performer chose to be anonymous. Whoever does the job, however, they do it very well: playing a serious, intelligent, but still interesting version of the Professor that courageously leads the other characters.

4. Herbert Lom, from the 1970 Film.

This was the movie made by Jess Franco, entitled "Count Dracula." While I personally feel the conclusion to Van Helsing’s story in the film is somewhat anti-climactic - neither he nor Mina ever travel to Transylvania in this version, leaving them COMPLETELY out of the final battle against Dracula and his servants - Lom portrays the Professor excellently. In this version, Van Helsing is the head of the asylum where Renfield stays, with Dr. Seward as his closest associate; it’s eventually revealed that, in secret, Van Helsing has long been a student of the occult, and it’s implied the asylum is a cover for his true work facing the “creatures of the night.” The battle between himself and Dracula is made interesting, as the film puts emphasis on their competition. Though they only come face-to-face briefly in the movie (and, apparently, behind the scenes, neither Lom nor Christopher Lee actually EVER shared screentime together), I think Van Helsing says it best: “I have never met the Count, yet I feel I know him better than my own soul.”

3. Frank Finlay, from the 1977 BBC TV Film.

Finlay plays probably the single most Stoker-accurate version of Van Helsing ever put to the screen in this 1970s television production. Many consider this one of the most faithful adaptations of the story, even though it - like all renditions - does still take a few liberties. Finlay’s Van Helsing ranges from slightly zany and comical to stone-cold serious and courageously capable, and his performance is probably one of my favorites in the man’s whole career.

2. Edward Van Sloan, from the 1931 Film & Dracula’s Daughter.

Van Sloan first played Van Helsing in the Broadway production of Hamilton Dean’s “Dracula” stage show, opposite Bela Lugosi as Dracula. When Lugosi was cast as the Count for Universal’s famous film version, Lugosi personally suggested Van Sloan be cast as his nemesis, as well. Perhaps because of this, as well as because of the expansions the film made to the twin source materials (the movie is based mostly on the play, but also includes elements from the book and a few new additions all its own), the chemistry between Van Helsing and Dracula in the film is one of the most interesting parts of the whole movie. They feel like the Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty of Gothic Horror in this version, more than anywhere else. Van Sloan reprised the role in the sequel, “Dracula’s Daughter,” and would also go on to play Van-Helsing-esque characters in both “Frankenstein” and “The Mummy.”

1. Peter Cushing, from the Hammer Horror Franchise.

Cushing is arguably where the modern Van Helsing - the idea of him as a professional monster hunter - really began. In the first Hammer film, Van Helsing is a doctor of medicine, but it’s made clear this is a cover for his true profession as a monster hunter, who has been tracking Dracula for years. Later films would continue to expand on the seemingly eternal conflict between the Count and the Professor. Cushing’s Van Helsing is a strict and strong vampire slayer, willing to go to some extreme lengths to take down Dracula and his progeny, but what I like is that - despite these hard edges - there’s also a warmth and a kindness to his character. He can be just as fierce as his enemy, but what separates him from the Count is ultimately his humanity.

[vintage1981]

Celebrating Ingrid Pitt

Ingrid Pitt (born Ingoushka Petrov; 21 November 1937 – 23 November 2010) was a Polish-British actress and writer best known for her work in horror films of the 1970s.

Ingoushka Petrov was born in Warsaw, Poland, one of two daughters of a father of German Jewish descent and a Polish Jewish mother. During World War II, she and her mother were imprisoned in Stutthof concentration camp in Sztutowo, Free City of Danzig (present-day Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) but escaped. In Berlin, in the 1950s, Ingoushka married an American soldier, Laud Roland Pitt Jr., and moved to California. After her marriage failed she returned to Europe, but after a small role in a film, she took the shortened stage name "Ingrid Pitt", keeping her former husband's surname, and headed to Hollywood, where she worked as a waitress while trying to make a career in films.

In the early 1960s, Pitt was a member of the prestigious Berliner Ensemble, under the guidance of Bertolt Brecht's widow Helene Weigel. In 1965, she made her film debut in Doctor Zhivago, playing a minor role. In 1968, she co-starred in the low-budget science-fiction film The Omegans, and in the same year, played British spy Heidi Schmidt in Where Eagles Dare opposite Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood.

Her work with Hammer Film Productions elevated her to cult figure status. She starred as Carmilla/Mircalla in The Vampire Lovers (1970), based on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's novella Carmilla, and played the title role in Countess Dracula (1971), based on the legends about Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Pitt also appeared in the Amicus horror anthology film The House That Dripped Blood (1971) and had a small part in The Wicker Man (1973).

During the 1980s, Pitt returned to mainstream films and television. Her role as Fraulein Baum in the 1981 BBC Playhouse Unity, who is denounced as a Jew by Unity Mitford (Lesley-Anne Down), was uncomfortably close to her real-life experiences. Her popularity with horror film buffs had her in demand for guest appearances at horror conventions and film festivals. Other films in which Pitt has appeared outside the horror genre are: Who Dares Wins (1982) (or The Final Option), Wild Geese II (1985) and Hanna's War (1988). Generally cast as a villainess, her characters often died horribly at the end of the final reel. "Being the anti-hero is great – they are always roles you can get your teeth into."

In the 1980s she also reinvented herself as a writer. Her first book, after a number of ill-fated tracts on the plight of Native Americans, was the 1980 novel, Cuckoo Run, a spy story about mistaken identity. "I took it to Cubby Broccoli. It was about a woman called Nina Dalton who is pursued across South America in the mistaken belief that she is a spy. Cubby said it was a female Bond. He was being very kind."

In 1999, her autobiography, Life's a Scream (Heinemann) was published, and she was short-listed for the for her own reading of extracts from the audio book.

The autobiography detailed the harrowing experiences of her early life—in a Nazi concentration camp, her search through Europe in Red Cross refugee camps for her father, and her escape from East Berlin, one step ahead of the Volkspolizei. "I always had a big mouth and used to go on about the political schooling interrupting my quest for thespian glory. I used to think like that. Not good in a police state."

Pitt died in a south London hospital on 23 November 2010, a few days after collapsing, and two days after her 73rd birthday, from congestive heart failure.

Seven months before she died, Pitt finished narration for Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest (2011), an animated short film on her experience in the Holocaust, a project that had been in the works for five years. Character design and storyboards were created by two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bill Plympton. The film is directed by Kevin Sean Michaels; co-produced and co-written by Jud Newborn, Holocaust expert and author, "Sophie Scholl and the White Rose"; and drawn by 10-year-old animator, Perry Chen.

[snappysprinkledog]

I've never watched dracula media of the adaptation variety really outside of the BBC one which erased a bunch of characters and barsly followed the storyline but like, you mean to tell me, that making mina and dracula has become more common convention, then sticking to the actual source material which has one of the most intense and beautiful unintentional marriage I've fucking read??? You give us count bitchface and mina rather than the clearly optimal mina and jonathan 'literally plans to become a vampire and damn himself to hell because he loves mina so much and if that's what it takes to stay with her when there's a chance she will become a vampire despite till this new occurrence being 100% anti vampire because its mina' harker??? The gentle and caring man who fucking chased dracula out of England and stabbed him with a kukri knife before chasing him through a window cause he was that mad that dracula had come back and hurt mina??? But they instead went with dracula and mina because dracula forces a mental connection to her after threatening to kill Jonathan if she struggles as a punishment for her being too bloody smart and outsmarting him??? THEY GO WITH DRACULA???

[victorianpining]

A Snippet from the Obsessed with Dracula BBC Radio Interview Series (x):

Hayley Campbell: "So I want to talk about the role of religion here, because this episode, to me, I thought it was about questioning pre-existing beliefs... Did you have a problem with the sort of antichristian-" Steven Moffat: "You couldn't call this an anti-Christian show. We're both atheists but you couldn't call this show antichristian, because- he does all that speech [it's a mark of horror and oppression] and it sounds very credible and our main source of truth in this show says "no, that's not the reason" and you know she's right." Mark Gatiss: "He thinks it is." SM: "He likes that story, because it makes him for a moment superior and she just cuts it dead and says "no that's not the reason, I haven't figured it out but it's not that one…" One of the things we had to struggle with as a couple of aging atheists is you can't ignore the fact that Dracula fears the cross, and we were not going to write a nun struggling with her faith and in the end regaining her faith without taking that seriously, and trying to work out what that means to her and how she deals with that. We did a whole sermon before that poor lady gets her head cut off. So we were determined to treat that seriously… Nuns in a convent would have been the smartest people in that time and the most educated... And I bet it is true that some of them struggled with faith. Because every Christian I know struggles with their faith, and I know very, very clever Christians, so it's not right to slag that stuff off." MG: "Not at all. And I think it's powerfully religious, the first episode, but I think it's also that lovely thing of examining what it means to different people and the struggle. And I remember the conversation in the office and I said "Dracula is like the dark compass" and you said "that's a good title." But that's what it is, the darkness points you to the light. And then that became the whole thread of where we got to actually. That's what Agatha is- she doesn't believe anymore and she goes "this is the ultimate evil, there must be a devil, therefore..." I find that very moving...

[strangestcase]

I wish people didn't insist their LGBT reimagining of a work meant that work was super progressive and get pissy when reminded that Dracula is quite sexist actually or their canon gay story about 19th century bisexual influencer is hella anti-semitic.

And then we have fuckers insist that BBC Sherlock or Fantastic Beasts movies are peak representation for... checks notes... light queer-baiting....

FANTASTIC BEASTS????,?,??

[iforimaginary]

Hello there!

☆ I go by Imaginary on most social media platforms- so I guess that’s what you’re stuck calling me… ☆

↓↓↓

Basics:

• I’m something roughly dude adjacent and use he/they pronouns. I wouldn’t be too opposed to any neo-pronouns you may choose to use.

• I was born in Russia however I have a hefty mix of Russian, Ukrainian and Mongolian blood. Essentially it all boils down to me being white + asian.

• I’ve moved since and am now based in the UK. However, I do tend to travel a-lot so there is no telling where on the globe I might be at any given moment.

• I fluently speak Russian, English and French (though I am terribly out of practice and might be rusty). I know a good bit of Latin and am currently learning Japanese!

DNI:

• I’ve been active online for the better part of my tween and teenage years so I am well aware that not everyone will be everybody’s cup of tea. If the type of content I put out doesn’t particularly resonate with you, please be reasonable and simply scroll by :)

• I am part of the LGBTQ+ community and it goes without saying that anyone residing with homophobic or transphobic views will not be tolerated on this blog.

• The same sentiment is also applied to any kind of anti-asian or anti-black dispositions.

Content:

• I like to keep myself busy so I engage in everything from writing fan-fiction to drawing fan-art and even cosplaying!

• As far as writing goes; I will mainly post drabbles and short one-shots on this blog. Any of my longer works that may be advertised here will be posted on my Ao3 profile (can be found in ‘Links’).

• As far as art goes; Anything from rough sketches to fully rendered pieces will be posted on this blog. Feel free to repost or repurpose my art but please be sure to give credit to this specific blog regardless of the social media you choose to repost or repurpose it on!

• As far as cosplay goes; I will not be posting any of my cosplays on here as Tumblr tends to associate cosplaying with NSFW content and SW (which there is absolutely nothing wrong with, I simply don’t engage with producing such content). However, if you wish to see my work it’s predominantly posted on my TikTok page (can be found in ‘Links’).

Fandoms:

• Getting some self promotion out of the way: If you’re feeling so inclined, consider joining a new fandom… check out my concept for a WIP Will Wood Jukebox Musical titled Welcome To Suburbia

• Where do I even start… I’ve been a massive part of fandom culture since I was in my early tweens and there is absolutely no way of encompassing every single fandom I have ever been in, but I can surely try:

Film & TV:

Sherlock BBC; Hannibal NBC; The Umbrella Academy; IT; Marvel; DC; Harry Potter; Fight Club; Back To The Future; American Horror Story; Dr Who; Good Omens; The Sandman.

Anime & Animation:

Gravity Falls; Inside Job; South Park; TAWoG; Adventure Time; MLP; Sailor Moon; WINX Club; Monster High; Kakegurui; Moriarty The Patriot; Neon-Genesis Evangelion; Black Butler.

Games:

FNaF; Cup Head; Cult Of The Lamb; Sally Face; DDLC; Animal Crossing; Splatoon; Legend Of Zelda; Mario Brothers; Project Sekai (Colourful Stage); The Last Of Us; Detroit Become Human.

Books & Literature:

Frankenstein; Jekyll & Hyde; Dracula; Steven King’s Collection; Neil Gaiman’s Collection; Лето В Пионерском Галстуке (Summer In A Scout’s Tie).

Links:

• Role Play Blog

• Ao3

• Pinterest

• Spotify

• TikTok

• Instagram

Afterword…

Any and all engagement with this blog is appreciated. I love receiving comments and questions- anything that let’s me meaningfully interact with other users is always welcome.

☆ Stay safe and have a great day!! ☆

[mirandamckenni1]

Why We Can’t Build Better Cities (ft.Not Just Bikes) See Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend here when it comes out! https://ift.tt/ergxQqK Support the show on Patreon - https://ift.tt/UoIVS2u Subscribe! https://ift.tt/n9vTryk Twitter: @PhilosophyTube Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr, BlueSky: @theabigailthorn Facebook: https://ift.tt/ceOBXRm MUSIC: ‘Cold in amarillo’ by Luke Levenson https://ift.tt/gClvPbd BIBLIOGRAPHY Esther Addley, “‘This is political expediency’: how the Tories turned on 15-minute cities,” in The Guardian Sara Ahmed, The Cultural Politics of Emotion Bernadette Atuahene, “Predatory Cities,” in California Law Review Bernadette Atuahene, “The Scandal of the Predatory City,” in The Washington Post David Banks, The City Authentic Adam Barnett, Michaele Herrmann, and Christopher Deane, “Revealed: the Science Denial Network Behind Oxford’s ‘Climate Lockdown’ Backlash,” in DeSmog BBC News, ‘How 15 Minutes Cities Became a Lockdown Conspiracy’ Judith Butler, Who’s Afraid of Gender? Alice Capelle, “The Anti 15 Minute City Conspiracy is Ridiculous” Alice Capelle, “The manosphere meets the climate movement” Lisa Chamberlain, “The Surprising Stickiness of the “15 Minute City”,” in World Economic Forum Steven Conn, The Lies of the Land: Seeing Rural America for What It Is (And Isn’t) Samuel R. Delaney, Times Square Red, Times Square Blue Gareth Fearn et al., “Planning For the Public: Why Labour Should Support A Public Planning System” Hannah Fry, “A ‘failure to launch’: Why young people are having less sex,” in Los Angeles Times Edward Glaeser, “The 15-minute city is a dead end - cities must be places of opportunity for everyone” David Harvey, “The Art of Rent” David Harvey, “The Political Economy of Public Spaces” David Harvey, “The Right to the City” Tiffany Hsu, “He Wanted to Unclog Cities. Now He’s ‘Public Enemy No. 1.’,” in The New York Times Frank Laundry, “The USA Will Never Build Walkable Cities” David Lawler, “A World of Boomtowns,” in Axios Eisha Maharasingham-Shah and Pierre Vaux, “‘Climate Lockdown’ and the Culture Wars: How COVID-19 Sparked A New Narrative Against Climate Action,” in Institute for Strategic Dialogue Michael Naas, “Comme si, comme ca” in Derrida From Now On NotJustBikes, Designing Urban Places that Don’t Suck (A Sense of Place) NotJustBikes, How Suburban Development Makes American Cities Poorer NotJustBikes, Suburbia is Subsidized: Here’s the Math NotJustBikes, The Great Places Erased by Suburbia (the Third Place) Oh the Urbanity! “15-Minute City Conspiracies Have It Backwards” Feargus O’Sullivan, “Where the ‘15-Minute City’ Falls Short,” in Bloomberg Feargus O’Sullivan and Daniel Zuidijk, “The 15 Minute City Freakout is A Case Study in Conspiracy Paranoia,” in Bloomberg QAnon Anonymous, “Attending the 15 Minute Cities Oxford Protest with Annie Kelly” Elliot Sang, “Nowhere To Go: the Loss of the Third Place” Chris Stanford, “The 15-Minute City: Where Urban Planning Meets Conspiracy Theories,” in The New York Times Darin Tenev, “La Déconstruction en enfant: the Concept of Phantasm in the Work of Derrida” Trashfuture, “Cell Block IPA” Trashfuture, Honk if You’re Honu ft. Dr Gareth Fearn Joy White, Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City Kim Willsher, “Paris Mayor Unveils ‘15-minute city’ plan in re-election campaign,” in The Guardian #philosophy #education via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lHNkUjR9nM

[brookston]

Holidays 10.18

Holidays

Alaska Day

Anti-Slavery Day (UK)

Anti-Trafficking Day (EU)

BBC Day

Boost Your Brain Day

Chili Pepper Day (French Republic)

Clean Water Act Day

Day Without the Delaware

Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day

Dia de la Raza Day (Colombia)

Doctor’s Day (Brazil)

European Paper Bag Day

Festival of Poetic Terrorism

Flag Day (Chile)

Flora Duffy Olympic Commemoration Day (Bermuda)

Hard Boiled Guy and B-Girl Day

Healthcare Aide Day (Canada)

Heroes’ and Forefathers Day (British Virgin Islands)

Information Overload Awareness Day

International Legging Day

International Necktie Day

Kati Bihu (Assam, India)

King Look Under Your Mattress’s Unique Hiding Display

Mason/Dixon Line Day

Medical Assistants Recognition Day

Moby Dick Day

National Bioenergy Day

National Comic Strip Appreciation Day

National Day of Prayer (Zambia)

National Exascale Day

National Ken Day

National Louie Day

National Mark Day

National Put a Shoe on Your Head Day

National Speak Up for Victims of Sexual Abuse Day

National Statistics Day (Japan)

National Sunday Day

National Unity Day

National Zane Day

Necktie Day (Croatia)

Newspaper Comic Strip Appreciation Day

No Beard Day

Old Farmers Day

Operation Safe Stop Day

Persons Day (Canada)

Procession of the Lord of Miracles (Peru)

Rocky Horror Picture Show Day (L.A., California)

Timber Innovation Day

Watch a Squirrel Day

World Cravat Day (Croatia)

World Menopause Day

World Nature Protection Day

World Okapi Day

World Vasectomy Day

World Youth Day for Democracy

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Cupcake Day

Meatloaf Appreciation Day

World Mashed Potato Day

World Seitan Day

3rd Wednesday in October

Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day (a.k.a. BRA Day USA) [3rd Wednesday]

Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence [3rd Wednesday]

E-Waste Wednesday (Canada) [3rd Wednesday]

Global Ethics Day [3rd Wednesday]

Global Dignity Day [3rd Wednesday]

Hagfish Day [3rd Wednesday]

International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating Day [3rd Wednesday]

International Narcissism Day [3rd Wednesday]

International Pronouns Day (a.k.a. Pronouns Day) [3rd Wednesday]

Lamh Day (Ireland) [3rd Wednesday]

Love Your Body Day [3rd Wednesday]

Medical Assistants Recognition Day [3rd Wednesday]

Missouri Day (Missouri) [3rd Wednesday]

National Disability Monitoring Day [3rd Wednesday]

National Financial Aid Day [3rd Wednesday]

National Teach Business Day [3rd Wednesday]

Ride to Work Day (Australia) [3rd Wednesday]

SUDEP Action Day [3rd Wednesday]

Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day [3rd Wednesday]

Take Your Parents to Lunch Day [3rd Wednesday]

Thank Your Cleaner Day [3rd Wednesday]

Unity Day [Wednesday closest to 10.22]

Independence Days

Azerbaijan (from the USSR, 1991)

Tinakula (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Doburoku Matsuri (Sake Festival; Shirahigetawara Shrine, Japan) [Day 2]

Feralia: Day of Purification (Pagan)

Irony Day (Pastafarian)

Julian Sabas (Christian; Saint)

Justus (a.k.a. Justin) of Beauvais (Christian; Saint)

Luca Giordano (Artology)

Luke the Evangelist (Christian; Saint) [brewers] *

Monan (Christian; Saint)

Pandrosos (Greek all-refreshing Goddess)

Peter of Alcantara (Christian; Saint)

Richelieu Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Simhat Torah (begins at sundown; Judaism) [23 Tishrei]

Shemini Atzeret (Day 2; Judaism)

Swiss Cheese (Muppetism)

Vauvenargues (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (WB Animated Film; 2022)

The Batman vs. Dracula (WB Animated Film; 2005)

Batman: Year One (WB Animated Film; 2011)

Battlestar Galactica (TV Series; 2004)

BBC (UK Public Service Broadcaster; 1922)

Ben & Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos, by Robert Lawson (Children’s Biography; 1923)

Chet Baker Big Band, by Chet Baker (Album; 1956)

Cowboy Bebop (Japanese Anime Series; 1998)

Howard’s End, by E.M. Forster (Novel; 1910)

How I Won the War (Film; 1967)

The Human Condition, by Hannah Arendt (Science Book; 1958)

I’m Getting Sentimental Over You, by Tommy Dorsey (Song; 1935)

Jojo Rabbit (Film; 2019)

The Jungle Book (Animated Disney Film; 1967)

La Bamba, by Ritchie Valens (Song; 1958)

The Lighthouse (Film; 2019)

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Film; 2019)

Moby-Dick (Novel; 1851)

Other People’s Money (Film; 1991)

The Ring (Film; 2002)

Roseanne (TV Series; 1988)

The Saint in Action (a.k.a. The Ace of Knaves), by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1937) [Saint #18]

Swingers (Film; 1996)

Symphony No. 3, by Aaron Copland (Symphony; 1946)

Tennis for Two (Video Game; 1958)

Tree for Two (WB MM Cartoon; 1952)

12 Years a Slave (Film; 2013)

West Side Story (Film; 1961)

What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong (Song; 1967)

The Yellow Kid (Comic Strip; 1896)

Zombieland: Double Tap (Film; 2019)

Zen and Japanese Culture, by D.T. Suzuki (Spiritual Book; 1938)

Today’s Name Days

Gwenn, Justus, Lukas (Austria)

Zlata, Zlatan, Zlatka, Zlatko, Zlatomir (Bulgaria)

Flavijan, Justus, Luka, Lukša (Croatia)

Lukáš (Czech Republic)

Lucas (Denmark)

Ludvig, Lui, Luukas (Estonia)

Luka, Luukas, Säde, Satu (Finland)

Luc (France)

Gwenn, Justus, Lukas, Viviana (Germany)

Loukas, Luke, Marinos (Greece)

Lukács (Hungary)

Luca (Italy)

Lūkass, Rolands, Ronalds (Latvia)

Kęsmina, Liubartas, Lukas (Lithuania)

Kjersti, Kjerstin (Norway)

Julian, Łukasz, René (Poland)

Luca (Romania)

Lukáš (Slovakia)

Lucas (Spain)

Lukas (Sweden)

Luke (Ukraine)

Blaine, Blair, Blane, Luca, Lucas, Lukas, Luke, Wynn, Wynton (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 291 of 2024; 74 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 42 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 16 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Ten-Xu), Day 4 (Ji-You)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 3 Heshvan 5784

Islamic: 3 Rabi II 1445

J Cal: 21 Shù; Sevenday [21 of 30]

Julian: 5 October 2023

Moon: 15%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 11 Descartes (11th Month) [Vauvenargues]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 25 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 25 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 10.18

Holidays

Alaska Day

Anti-Slavery Day (UK)

Anti-Trafficking Day (EU)

BBC Day

Boost Your Brain Day

Chili Pepper Day (French Republic)

Clean Water Act Day

Day Without the Delaware

Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day

Dia de la Raza Day (Colombia)

Doctor’s Day (Brazil)

European Paper Bag Day

Festival of Poetic Terrorism

Flag Day (Chile)

Flora Duffy Olympic Commemoration Day (Bermuda)

Hard Boiled Guy and B-Girl Day

Healthcare Aide Day (Canada)

Heroes’ and Forefathers Day (British Virgin Islands)

Information Overload Awareness Day

International Legging Day

International Necktie Day

Kati Bihu (Assam, India)

King Look Under Your Mattress’s Unique Hiding Display

Mason/Dixon Line Day

Medical Assistants Recognition Day

Moby Dick Day

National Bioenergy Day

National Comic Strip Appreciation Day

National Day of Prayer (Zambia)

National Exascale Day

National Ken Day

National Louie Day

National Mark Day

National Put a Shoe on Your Head Day

National Speak Up for Victims of Sexual Abuse Day

National Statistics Day (Japan)

National Sunday Day

National Unity Day

National Zane Day

Necktie Day (Croatia)

Newspaper Comic Strip Appreciation Day

No Beard Day

Old Farmers Day

Operation Safe Stop Day

Persons Day (Canada)

Procession of the Lord of Miracles (Peru)

Rocky Horror Picture Show Day (L.A., California)

Timber Innovation Day

Watch a Squirrel Day

World Cravat Day (Croatia)

World Menopause Day

World Nature Protection Day

World Okapi Day

World Vasectomy Day

World Youth Day for Democracy

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Cupcake Day

Meatloaf Appreciation Day

World Mashed Potato Day

World Seitan Day

3rd Wednesday in October

Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day (a.k.a. BRA Day USA) [3rd Wednesday]

Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence [3rd Wednesday]

E-Waste Wednesday (Canada) [3rd Wednesday]

Global Ethics Day [3rd Wednesday]

Global Dignity Day [3rd Wednesday]

Hagfish Day [3rd Wednesday]

International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating Day [3rd Wednesday]

International Narcissism Day [3rd Wednesday]

International Pronouns Day (a.k.a. Pronouns Day) [3rd Wednesday]

Lamh Day (Ireland) [3rd Wednesday]

Love Your Body Day [3rd Wednesday]

Medical Assistants Recognition Day [3rd Wednesday]

Missouri Day (Missouri) [3rd Wednesday]

National Disability Monitoring Day [3rd Wednesday]

National Financial Aid Day [3rd Wednesday]

National Teach Business Day [3rd Wednesday]

Ride to Work Day (Australia) [3rd Wednesday]

SUDEP Action Day [3rd Wednesday]

Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day [3rd Wednesday]

Take Your Parents to Lunch Day [3rd Wednesday]

Thank Your Cleaner Day [3rd Wednesday]

Unity Day [Wednesday closest to 10.22]

Independence Days

Azerbaijan (from the USSR, 1991)

Tinakula (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Doburoku Matsuri (Sake Festival; Shirahigetawara Shrine, Japan) [Day 2]

Feralia: Day of Purification (Pagan)

Irony Day (Pastafarian)

Julian Sabas (Christian; Saint)

Justus (a.k.a. Justin) of Beauvais (Christian; Saint)

Luca Giordano (Artology)

Luke the Evangelist (Christian; Saint) [brewers] *

Monan (Christian; Saint)

Pandrosos (Greek all-refreshing Goddess)

Peter of Alcantara (Christian; Saint)

Richelieu Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Simhat Torah (begins at sundown; Judaism) [23 Tishrei]

Shemini Atzeret (Day 2; Judaism)

Swiss Cheese (Muppetism)

Vauvenargues (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (WB Animated Film; 2022)

The Batman vs. Dracula (WB Animated Film; 2005)

Batman: Year One (WB Animated Film; 2011)

Battlestar Galactica (TV Series; 2004)

BBC (UK Public Service Broadcaster; 1922)

Ben & Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos, by Robert Lawson (Children’s Biography; 1923)

Chet Baker Big Band, by Chet Baker (Album; 1956)

Cowboy Bebop (Japanese Anime Series; 1998)

Howard’s End, by E.M. Forster (Novel; 1910)

How I Won the War (Film; 1967)

The Human Condition, by Hannah Arendt (Science Book; 1958)

I’m Getting Sentimental Over You, by Tommy Dorsey (Song; 1935)

Jojo Rabbit (Film; 2019)

The Jungle Book (Animated Disney Film; 1967)

La Bamba, by Ritchie Valens (Song; 1958)

The Lighthouse (Film; 2019)

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Film; 2019)

Moby-Dick (Novel; 1851)

Other People’s Money (Film; 1991)

The Ring (Film; 2002)

Roseanne (TV Series; 1988)

The Saint in Action (a.k.a. The Ace of Knaves), by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1937) [Saint #18]

Swingers (Film; 1996)

Symphony No. 3, by Aaron Copland (Symphony; 1946)

Tennis for Two (Video Game; 1958)

Tree for Two (WB MM Cartoon; 1952)

12 Years a Slave (Film; 2013)

West Side Story (Film; 1961)

What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong (Song; 1967)

The Yellow Kid (Comic Strip; 1896)

Zombieland: Double Tap (Film; 2019)

Zen and Japanese Culture, by D.T. Suzuki (Spiritual Book; 1938)

Today’s Name Days

Gwenn, Justus, Lukas (Austria)

Zlata, Zlatan, Zlatka, Zlatko, Zlatomir (Bulgaria)

Flavijan, Justus, Luka, Lukša (Croatia)

Lukáš (Czech Republic)

Lucas (Denmark)

Ludvig, Lui, Luukas (Estonia)

Luka, Luukas, Säde, Satu (Finland)

Luc (France)

Gwenn, Justus, Lukas, Viviana (Germany)

Loukas, Luke, Marinos (Greece)

Lukács (Hungary)

Luca (Italy)

Lūkass, Rolands, Ronalds (Latvia)

Kęsmina, Liubartas, Lukas (Lithuania)

Kjersti, Kjerstin (Norway)

Julian, Łukasz, René (Poland)

Luca (Romania)

Lukáš (Slovakia)

Lucas (Spain)

Lukas (Sweden)

Luke (Ukraine)

Blaine, Blair, Blane, Luca, Lucas, Lukas, Luke, Wynn, Wynton (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 291 of 2024; 74 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 42 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 16 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Ten-Xu), Day 4 (Ji-You)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 3 Heshvan 5784

Islamic: 3 Rabi II 1445

J Cal: 21 Shù; Sevenday [21 of 30]

Julian: 5 October 2023

Moon: 15%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 11 Descartes (11th Month) [Vauvenargues]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 25 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 25 of 30)

[dracula-1897]

[a-random-fandom-friend]

So, Netflix/BBC Dracula review : Part1, from an adaptation standpoint.

It’s a bad adaptation.  I’m just gonna warn you right ahead. I would even say as far as saying it’s not an adaptation.

First of all, the serie only follow the story of about HALF the book. The story ends at the Lucy’s deal. And it’s over, like, big end of the story, it’s not like they are waiting for season 2. At little more than HALF the book. but hey, if it’s well paced, good characters...

Secondly : the episode decision. It makes no sens.

Episode 1 follow Jonathan’s adventure at the castle of Dracula (which is now a maze contructed by a mythical architect which may have had a vampire wife, for whatever reason) and then his recruitement in the Sister’s covenant. In my edition that is 546 pages long, the first takes 77 pages and the latter is only metionned through two letters of 1 page, after it happened.

Episode 2 follows the Demeter, a boat that, in the book, arrived in Lucy’s town with no crew except for a dead captain tied to the wheen by crucifix; a black dog, implied to be Dracula, jumps out of it as soon as it touches land (and all the town search for it becasue they wanna adopt the doggo). A journal is found, that narrates its voyage, with crew memebers dissappearing one after the other with no visible reason or body. That whole story is 15 pages long. again, out of the 546 pages of that book. (fun fact: in the book he spent all the trip in a crate with soil in it, only going out to kill the crew of the boat. Here, Dracula is a passenger, because somehow now there are passengers, and when someone is like “what, you didn’t even hide yourself?” he answered “what, you really think i would spent all this trip in a crate? come on, that’s ridiculous!”. The adaptation calls the book it’s based on... ridiculous? it spends 1h30 on something that specifically didn’t happen?  that’s just... bad from an adaptation standpoint.

Episode 3 is... a mess. the first part is pure improvisation, then there’s a “three month later” elipsis and for the second part there’s element of Lucy’s story? which is about 250 pages in the book, so, about half of it ? and they crammed it all into the second half of the third episode.

Thirdly, and most important for me : the characters are not respected. 

Character they changed : I get that there is room for interpretation, and more room for adaptation.  But Mina is useless and naive, Lucy is a narcissic hedonistic party girl, (btw Mina lives in the 18-something century while Lucy lives in 2019, so they don’t even met) Sister Agatha (yeah, from the covenant) becomes Sister Agatha Van Helsing, Quincey is a fuckboy and Jack is an Nice Guy(TM), Arthur Homswood diseappeared so now she agrees to marry Quincey...

Character they made up : they a modern time relative of Sister Agatha van Helsing called Zoe Van Helsing, and also litterally ALL OF EPISODE 2: On the previously desert demeter, there’s now a captain with ptsd, a cook missing a hand, a south asian doctor and his deaf daughter, a pretty young lady, his dashing fiancé and said fiancé secret boyfriend, a young sailot, an old sailor, an adventourous guy, an old duchess... it’s actually a pretty interesting crew of characters, but NONE OF THEM COME FROM THE BOOK. There’s also Lucy’s gay best friend (who dresses kinda like Bobby from queer eye). Still not in the book.

 Dracula has powers he had not in the book (he can read people’s thoughts, and he can absorbes people memory through their blood (including their knowledge of an eintier language), and it becomes such a big plot device), and inversly, some things that worked against him in the book now don’t work at all (garlic isn’t even mentionned, he can see his reflection in mirror) or new things can hurt him (he can’t touch the sunlight, and dead or dying people’s blood is deadly to him...) and all the explanation given is “that’s how vampires work, actually.”

The thing that bother me is that... yes, nowaday if you create a vampire you can decide what power you give them, what you want for your story. The problem is,  this story was already written : this particular vampire already had a set of rules. No, Dracula cannot gain the memory of his victim by drinking their blood!  No he cannot... walk in the floor of the ocean ! that just doesn’t happen ! I’m mad!

Oh, and also he had big Moffat’s Jekill vibes, is familiar, crack jokes à la nbc Hannibal, uses emojis... not saying those are good of bad, just that they are not Dracula. (He misses the moustache and the hairs in the hand but those are super hand to adapt so i let it slide). And also, i guess he was supposed to be presented in a sympathetic light, cracking joke, missing the sun, kind of a loner bur wisecrack smug dude, but he’s doing horrible things ! he helds a woman at gun point just because he wants her to smile to him ! that’s nightmare scenario ! And it’s the guy that i’m supposed to feel SORRY for ? fuck this guy !  

That an adaptation asked me to be sorry for dracula is bad enough, but that i’m supposed to like him... And not even ONCE get a found family group... not even a scooby gang trying to solve a mystery... I’m mad. Lucy and Mina live two centuries apart, Quincey and Stewart hate eachother and Arthur is absent, the first Van Helsing interracted with mina for a grand total of 2 lines and the second is friend with Steward even before the events of the story... No one gets together to be against Dracula. The power of love and friendship and solidarity isn’t even MENTIONNED in this serie. I’m mad.

BAD ADAPTATION. 2/10 FOR THE EFFORT.

Anyway, rant to follow about of it’s a bad original story.

[orcusmori]

what are your thoughts on BBC dracula

Oh boy have I got some fuckin opinions

Anyone who knows me or follows this blog knows that I LOVE gothic lit to death and I get so pissed when classic works are disgraced

So yeah I'm FURIOUS BEYOND BELIEF

I am so fucking angry about the way Dracula has been treated time and time again like,,, I had hope for BBC Dracula, I was hoping it would be a good show and then I saw who FUCKING WROTE IT AND I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE GARBAGE

like can we not have an adaptation of Dracula that is faithful to the book or AT LEAST doesn't deviate too much????? Can we not have them play fucking cat and mouse and be like "oh it's this part of the book SIKE YOURE FUCKING STUPID FOR EVEN THINKING THAT, THIS IS WHATS ACTUALLY HAPPENING"???? can we not get something that focuses on Dracula all the damn time???? Like I know he's the title character but what makes the book special is the team of characters that make it up,, can we, for once, focus on them instead OF THROWING HALF OF THEM IN THE TRASH AND MAKING UP SOME FUCKING RANDOS????? IS THIS TOO MUCH TO FUCKING ASK FOR????

ALSO FUCK YOU GATISS AND MOFFAT CONGRATULATIONS ON RUINING ANOTHER WONDERFUL PIECE OF GOTHIC LIT I HOPE YOU GET CURBSTOMPED TO DEATH

so yeah I didn't like it

[thenightling]

STOP ASSUMING IT’S BECAUSE OF THE BOOK AND LEARN TO RESPECT MY OPINION!

Yet again STOP ASSUMING THE REASON I DON’T LIKE MOFFAT’S DRACULA IS BECAUSE HE DOESN’T FOLLOW THE BOOK!  I already gave many legitimate reasons for disliking it and never once did I bring up the novel!

  How come it’s so convenient for people who liked that God-awful thing to suddenly forget I like Marvel Comics Dracula, Hammer Horror, Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books, Castlevania, Love at First Bite, Dracula: The Series (1990s version), Dracula The Musical / Dracula das Musical, Frank Langella’s Dracula, I like Dracula: The Company of Monsters, and several other versions that deviate from the book?

I’m not asking for literary accuracy.  It’s Steven Moffat.  I didn’t expect literary accuracy.  I like his Jekyll, for example.   But there are common aspects to Dracula personality depictions that Moffat didn’t even remotely touch on. 

There are no previous versions of Dracula that stored former victims in crates without real explanation (when they obviously could easily have been destroyed).  There are no versions of Dracula that sound vaguely like a nasily Tommy Wiseau when in old-man-form.  There are no versions of Dracula that call Jonathan Harker by “Johnny” or speak like a used car salesman.   Or crunch up inside pelts and skins while taking on the identity of another creature or person like a skinwalker.

I don’t mind “new” and “different” but this isn’t new and different so much as it’s stupid, random, and doesn’t fit established zeitgeist notions of the character.

 If you like the Moffat version that’s fine.   HOWEVER I am a long time fan of Dracula as a character, as a monster in pop culture, whether being romantic or predatory.  And that character was no Dracula to me.  

You can do new things with a character while still leaving them recognizable and respectful to established ideas of the caracter and if the only recognizable traits are “He lives in a castle and drinks blood” you’ve done something wrong.

Yet AGAIN I like Castlevania!  I LOVE the version in Castlevania.  So stop diminishing my opinion as “I know you probably wanted it to follow the book but...” No, you asshole!   I am VERY familiar with Steven Moffat and I liked Jekyll and I even liked Sherlock (for the first two seasons).  I wasn’t expecting literary accuracy but I expected something at least SLIGHTLY matching the common IDEA of Dracula’s personality.

I like a version where he runs a corporation to rule the world through Capitalism.  I like a version where he has a semi-mechanical moving castle and is trying to avenge his doctor-wife.   I like versions where he’s looking for a girlfriend in 1970s New York City.  I like versions where he’s stalking / protecting Mina’s descendants because someone made the mistake of calling to him for help forty-years-earlier.  I like many versions that don’t directly follow the novel.

There are only a handful of Draculas I don’t like:

Blade Trinity’s Dracula NBC’s Dracula Moffat’s Dracula Bonnie and Clyde Vs. Dracula 

Most versions I like on some level but not this.  

Even simply calling Harker by “Johnny” is very out of character to most versions of Dracula. When the 1990s kids show had more respect for the novel and Dracula’s usual mannerisms,  you know you’ve done something wrong.  (In the 90s show he called the youngest boy by Maximllion even though everyone else called him Max. And that felt right.  He was showing respect to a clever child.  He didn’t sound like a coked up knock-off of Edward Hyde.)      

End of rant.   

[catinfroghat]

Thinking about how often romance/the love of a woman is used as a shortcut to redeem evil male characters rather than writing a believable redemption arc where the character actually makes amends for what he has done

[hayleysayshay]

I remember when Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis made this awful Dracula adaptation in early 2020 and all I wanted was a stylish, close to the book ish adaptation (thallus for them to tone down the xenophobia and give the women characters more to do, fine by me!). Dracula can be sexy from the start idc.

But we got this over long boring mess of a series where an entire 90 minute episode takes place on a BOAT and it was three episodes long and the last episode was modern day and the Van Helsing character was a woman and she was kind of the best bit but as the episodes were 90 minutes long and absolutely shouldn’t have been so they just spend so much time just monologuing about absolutely fuck all for what feels like forever. It was nothing like the book which is fine even if it isn’t my preference but it had none of the pacing of dracula or build up it just dragggged.

I did not finish the last episode it was so fucking boring at this point

Also I swear there was something like ‘dracula is bi!!’ And then it was one line where Dracula asks Jonathan to be his bride in the castle after fucking with him for an hour or whatever and then it’s not brought up again.

Mofftis why not just make a three episode miniseries with a woman van helsing vs dracula OR a three episode miniseries where dracula ends up in modern day England these two ideas were horribly smashed together. And only have hour long episodes as sometimes less is more and Moffat and gattis CANNOT pace these ninety episodes without indulgent twaddle. It’s like the BBC let them do what they want with no oversight and they really need an editor.