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Alexander Lucard, (Geordie Johnson) is a business man with
an international empire, based in Luxembourg. We know him better
as Count Dracula. An interesting idea to explore; wouldn't a
highly intelligent six hundred year old man amass a few dollars
over the years?
His nemesis is Professor Gustav Helsing (Bernard Behrens),
an eccentric vampire hunter and descendant of the original Van
Helsing. He'd be very much at home with today's conspiracy theorists!
Helsing is assisted by his two young nephews from Philadelphia,
10-year-old Max (Jacob Tierney) and teenage Chris (Joe Roncetti).
Gustav's ward, Sophie Metternich (Mia Kirshner) is an essenrial
team member.
The boys were placed in Gustav's care by their mother, Eileen
Townsend (Lynn Cormack), an international bank executive with
a roaming brief.
Lucard's sidekick is Klaus Helsing (Geraint Wyn Davies), the
son of Gustav Helsing, the vampire hunter. Lucard turned Klaus
into a vampire 13 years earlier and has taunted Gustav ever
since. Klaus is a little deranged, with a constant cackling
laugh. A very hammy performance, but there is depth to the character,
too.
Over 21 episodes, these characters grew nicely, with consistent
(mostly) scripts, intelligently written and creating a unique
vampire setup with a constant battle of good versus evil. Plenty
of plot twists, and a fair bit of character development over
the period.
Lucard gets all the best one-liners, but there's plenty of
humour - and for a half-hour episode, plenty of plot.
The main weakness (for me) was the excursions into teen love;
quite undersatnadable, but distinctly cheesy, especially Max's
interventions - compare how Buffy dealt with growing up; though,
granted, that was probably aimed at a slightly older audience.
All in all, the production team - Larry Lalonde, Phil Bedard,
Glen Davis and William Laurin - did a great job, with a fine
ensemble of actors. A fun series, and shame it was cut off so
short.
The cast
Geordie Johnson as Alexander Lucard
Jacob Tierney as Max Townsend
Joe Roncetti as Christopher Townsend
Mia Kirshner as Sophie Metternich
Bernard Behrens as Gustav Helsing
Lynne Cormack as Eileen Townsend
Geraint Wyn Davies as Klaus Helsing
The Episodes
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01
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Children of the Night |
Saturday 29 September 90 |
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When Eileen Townsend gets transfered to Europe, she takes
her sons (teen-age Chris and 10-year-old Max) to stay
with her uncle, Gustav Helsing - descendant of the famous
vampire hunter
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02
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Double Cross |
Saturday 6 October 90 |
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Gustav's old friend and former girlfriend, come to stay
- is there still rivalry, or is there worse going on?
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03
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The Vampire Solution |
Saturday 13 October 90 |
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Gustav and a former students find a rare herb and develop
a formula which may reverse the effects of a vampire's
bite.
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04
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The Boffin |
Saturday 20 October 90 |
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Max finds a bungling scientist who is convinced that
a new laser gun he's developed can destroy vampires.
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05
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Double Darkness |
Saturday 27 October 90 |
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An archeologist uncovers the resting place of Lucard's
ancient and bitter rival, Nosferatu.
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06
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Black Sheep |
Saturday 3 November 90 |
| An aggrieved husband asks Gustav to kill the
vampire who has taken his wife ... but Gustav cannot help
... |
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07
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What A Pleasant Surprise! |
Saturday 10 November 90 |
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Gustav becomes curious when Lucard buys a worthless old
movie theatre.
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08
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Damsel in Distress |
Saturday 17 November 90 |
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Eileen is doing business with Lucard; in fact, she's
going to have dinner with him at the castle. Possibly
a mistake ...
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09
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Mind Over Matter |
Saturday 24 November 90 |
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Gustav is invited on a TV talk show to debunk a psychic.
He fails.
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10
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A Little Nightmare Music |
Saturday 1 December 90 |
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Max thinks he's discovered the resting place of Dracula.
Does this mean he can destroy him?
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11
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Get a Job |
Saturday 8 December 90 |
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Chris gets a job at an art house run by a gorgeous art
dealer. Whose client is Lucard ...
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12
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The Great Tickler |
Saturday 15 December 90 |
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Lucard invites Mycroft Tickler, a really bad lounge performer
with delusions of grandeur, to give a recital at his castle.
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13
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Bad Blood |
Saturday 19 January 91 |
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Lucard bites a young thief with a rare antigen in his
blood ... and gets a nasty case of food poisoning.
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14
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Sophie, Queen of the Night |
Saturday 26 January 91 |
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Following her romance with Vincent, Sophie is turned
into a vampire, and is seeks an apprenticeship with Lucard.
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15
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My Girlfriend's Back and
There's Gonna Be Trouble |
Saturday 2 February 91 |
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Having been rescued by Chris, Sophie is about to fall
for him, but his old girlfriend Alexa turns up from Philadelphia.
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16
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My Fair Vampire |
Saturday 9 February 91 |
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Gustav's best friend claims that people at his old age
home are being killed by a vampire.
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17
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The Decline of the
Romanian Vampire |
Saturday 16 February 91 |
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Max inadvertently frees Klaus from the Helsing family
crypt.
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18
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I Love Lucard |
Saturday 23 February 91 |
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An old love from Lucard's past comes back into his life.
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19
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Bats in the Attic |
Saturday 27 April 91 |
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Max meets a rather Norman Bates-ish neurotic bookseller
who has a peculiar interest in vampires.
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20
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My Dinner With Lucard |
Saturday 4 May 91 |
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Gustav and the kids go for dinner with Lucard. A clips
episode.
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21
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Klaus Encounters of the
Interred Kind |
Saturday 11 May 91 |
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Gustav discovers a way to reclaim Klaus. Cliffhanger
...
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The DVD
The series comes as two cds - one with 10, one with 11 episodes.
they are available separately or a s box set.
No extras; no chapters, no time elapsed, nothing. Shame!
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