Why didn't I ever see this??

Put yourself back in 2006 for a minute. 

What were you watching? Where were you watching it?

If you didn't have access to any of the BBC channels (like me), odds are you missed a show on CBBC called Young Dracula (but if you had access to Saturday night TV on PBS... we're talking a totally different Brit comedy ballgame.. but in the same realm of odd laughs). 

Although the show is listed as a "comedy drama [that] follows the adventures of Vlad, the irrepressible son of Count Dracula, as he contends with life in English suburbia, his meddlesome family and the small matter of his destiny to lead the entire vampire race", imagine what Buffy could do if she traveled to Europe and went to high school with this kid... I keep expecting Giles to show up or something that didn't include Van Helsing as a woodshop teacher (creative, no?). 

I've been catching up on this show via the FilmRise Classic TV app on my Roku, but it seems like it's available for purchase and free with other streaming options on Amazon. 

I have to say, as of this writing, I'm "only on" the first season (and early on in it), it's definitely dated and I thought it was more from the early1990s rather than early 2000s. I'm not hating on it, as I don't know if they've done any type of upscaling to this (I can't tell). If they haven't, the film quality has kept up pretty good. I know there's been a lot of conversation about early shows trying to get on the 4K bus to appeal to new users, but sometimes, you just can't mess with old content. 

Yes, certain analog (color) shows haven't aged well for the digital sets (black and white is still classic but I don't understand the need to try to "hi-res" those things.. they're fine because they lack the digital color as it is), but I've read that sometimes it depends on what types of cameras and film were used to record the original episode with. Depending on generation, all it takes is a very minimal sweep in an edit bay these days, and you can't tell the thing you are watching was filmed 30 years ago. Then again, there are some things filmed 35 years ago that need a slight touch up. But who's complaining... I'll still watch it. 

Anyway, back to Vlad. 

From the episodes I've seen, the appeal is for the young kids, for sure. Like adults watching Disney movies, there's situational humor in the show that the children might not understand but their parents are literally giggling like the toddler in the next room. Don't get me wrong, it's not "laugh out loud" hysterical by any means. It's got it's canned moments and you can tell. It's thirty minutes of mindless entertainment and I'm enjoying it. It's a different take on the story of Dracula, that's for sure (and bonus points for Easter Eggs for finding Stoker related gems in the show!). 

I guess I should continue on watching the show... there are 5 seasons of this, after all... 

Cheers;