Monday, October 15, 2012

Cult-TV Theme Watch: Vampires


The vampire is no doubt the most famous and widely-seen of all cult-television monsters. 

For decades, this fanged, blood-sucking creature of the night has been featured on kid’s programming (The Monster Squad, Sesame Street, The Drak Pack), in comedy episodes of horror series (The X-Files: “Bad Blood,” Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: “A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank”), and even in soap operas (Kindred: The Embraced, Dark Shadows, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries).

When one thinks of the notorious vampire guises, bats, mist, and wolves leap to mind.  But the cult-television vampire has appeared in other, unique form toos, such as the tortured addict (Dark Shadows, Forever Knight), the Anne Rice-like Byronic hero (Angel, Moonlight), and even in the post-Twilight world as a kind of a person living an “alternate” (but not necessarily evil…) life-style (True Blood, Being Human, and The Vampire Diaries).

The cult-tv vampire has often played the a role of a detective (Moonlight, Angel) and politician (Kindred, True Blood) and has sometimes, in alien forms, revealed a taste not for blood, but other unusual sustenance (salt in Star Trek’s “The Man Trap” and souls in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’s Vorvon in “Space Vampire.”)

Although vampires are known to share a set of common weaknesses and characteristics, vampire lore on TV reveal variability in terms of their nature.  For instance, the vampires of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Vampire Diaries cast a reflection and spontaneously-combust when staked.  On The Vampire Diaries, staked vampires just dry up…like husks.

Almost all vampire programs, however, agree that vampires burn up when exposed to daylight, though the creatures of the night in The Vampire Diaries have found a way around that problem with magical rings. On Being Human, Mitchell gets by at nigh noon by wearing sun glasses and sun block.

Carl Kolchak (“The Night Stalker”), Clark Kent (Smallville: “Thirst”) and Mulder and Scully (The X-Files “Bad Blood”) are among the famous TV heroes who have grappled with the traditional vampire menace and proven victorious.

No cult-tv vampires sparkle.  F.Y.I.
  
The Cult-TV Vampire Matrix:

Name
A century
old +
Has a long-
lost human love
Has a love
in the present
Can go
out in
daylight
Is off the hooch
(blood)
Has minions
Wears
A cape
Barnabas
Collins
Yes
Josette
Victoria
No
No
Willie Loomis
Yes
Janos
Skorzeny
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes (see: "The Vampire")
Yes
Nick
Knight
Yes
No
No
No
Trying
No
No
Angelus
and Spike
Yes
No
Buffy
No
Trying
Yes - various
No
Bill Compton
Yes
Caroline
Sookie
No
Trying
No
No
Stefan and Damon
Salvatore
Yes
Katherine
Elena
Yes
Trying
Alaric
No
Mitchell (Being Human)
Yes
No
Nina
Yes (with sunglasses)
Trying
No
No

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