Young Dracula

Young Dracula
Young Dracula title card
Genre	Children's Television
Created by	Danny Robins Dan Tetsell
Starring	Keith-Lee Castle Gerran Howell Clare Thomas
Composer(s)	John Rea (series 1) Nick Lloyd (series 2 & 3)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	40 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Josephine Ward
Producer(s)	Mia Jupp
Editor(s)	Pedr James Bleddyn Rhys William Oswald
Camera setup	Benjamin Coles Clive Baldwin Joseph Marsden Lewis Bolwell
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBBC
Picture format	HD: 1080i/720p SDTV
Original run	21 September 2006 (2006-09-21) – Present

Young Dracula is a British children's fantasy television series airing on CBBC, loosely based on Young Dracula AND Young Monsters, a children's book by Michael Lawrence. Directed by Joss Agnew, the first series was broadcast in 2006, and the second series, which started in late 2007, concluded in early 2008. A third series was commissioned three years later and began airing on 31 October 2011.

The first two series follow the Dracula family, a family of vampires: Vladimir (Vlad), his father Count Dracula, and older sister Ingrid. Having lived in Transylvania, they move to Stokely, a small town in Wales after various incidents involving angry peasant mobs. It was filmed in various locations around Wales, including Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, Caerphilly Castle, Tretower Court and parts of Llantrisant. The third series, commissioned three years after the second, sees Vlad and the Count on the run from slayers and vampires alike, while the Count is determined that Vlad should fulfil his destiny to become "the Chosen One". This series was filmed in Liverpool during 2011.^[1][2]

Young Dracula was nominated for Best Children's Drama in the 2008 BAFTA Awards.

Episodes

Main article: List of Young Dracula episodes

Characters

The Draculas

Character	Actor	Description
Count Dracula	Keith-Lee Castle	Count Dracula is a 600-year-old vampire who has emigrated to Britain from Transylvania with his two children, Vlad and Ingrid, to escape a torch-wielding "angry peasant mob". Dracula is able to transform into a bat at will, command fire, open and shut doors with a snap of his fingers, move at great speed and transfer his soul between bodies among many other supernatural abilities. Although Dracula constantly craves the blood of "breathers" - the vampiric term for mortal humans - he often resorts to drinking the blood of sheep to keep a low profile in British suburbia. Despite his claims to be "The Prince of Darkness", Dracula displays occasional compassion. He is deeply in love - as much as he denies it - with Magda, the estranged mother of Vlad and Ingrid. He also begrudgingly allows his son to have "breather" friends. Dracula also adheres to traditional vampiric values, such as favouring his male child Vlad while ignoring Ingrid's obvious vampiric talents.
Vladimir "Vlad" Dracula	Gerran Howell	Vlad is the Count's "son and heir". Unlike his sister Ingrid, Vlad would much prefer to be a normal child than a vampire, although he does occasionally show elements of his father's wit and ability to manipulate people. He finds friendship with an outcast boy named Robin Branagh and also becomes friends with Robin's sister, Chloe. Vlad also has a friendship with his loyal stuffed, talking wolf named Zoltan. Vlad often wants to please his father, but also to be a "normal" boy, and much of the series focuses on the conflict of these two ideals. Vlad continues to "discover" his abilities throughout the series. He accidentally hypnotised his father before learning to control his hypnotic ability; shot fire from his hands at will; and entered the "Dreamworld" to discover more about his powers, an ability not usually gained before a vampire's sixteenth birthday. It is in the Dreamworld that Vlad discovers he is the "Chosen One" - the vampire that will become the leader of all vampires, and guide the vampire race to a new destiny. Though he refuses to believe he is the Chosen One, he accepts his destiny in the final episode when he wears the Grand High Vampire's crown, which destroys anyone unworthy who tries to wear it. This grants him his full powers, which he uses to erase the memories of all breathers present, so that they forget about vampires. Vlad then falls to the floor, weak and unconscious, and the second series ends. In the third series, it is revealed that somehow, Stokeley Castle has burnt to the ground, possibly by slayers searching for Vlad. It is also revealed that fortunately after Vlad fell unconscious, the battery for the "UV cage", that was holding the Count prisoner, deactivated, and the Count and Vlad escaped. Four years have passed since Vlad accepted his destiny and put on the crown of power. He and his father fled Stokely to escape Ingrid's reign of terror and have bought a school to live in. As the new Grand High Vampire, his fellow vampires expect him to step up and lead them to a better future. Vlad, son of Count Dracula, accepts the useful things amongst his vampire powers, (fast speed, lighting candles, etc.) but would rather not be a fully-fledged, bloodthirsty, mayhem causing, breather hating evil kind of vampire. He just wants to be "normal". Unfortunately for him though, he is the "Chosen One" and if he doesn't want his family and others to get hurt, he has to learn how to open the Praedictum Impaver and lead the vampire race into the future. However, this is becoming increasingly difficut as there is something big destracting him. His tutor, Bertrand, wants to remove this distraction but it's not that simple, particually when he does not know the whole truth.
Ingrid Dracula	Clare Thomas	Ingrid is the eldest child of Count Dracula. Unlike her brother, she embraces the vampiric lifestyle and dresses in feminine, black or red Gothic clothes. Ingrid is an attractive but cruel character, spending most of her time taunting people or arguing with her father, whom she wishes to impress, but to no avail. Initially furious at having to move to Great Britain, she enjoys the popularity at her new school, particularly taunting Ian and Paul Branagh, who follow her around persistently. Her ultimate goal is to become an "all-powerful vampire goddess". She is not entirely heartless, however; when given a gift by Mrs Branagh, she becomes quite emotional and ultimately helps to save the Branagh family from being harmed by vampires. Ingrid also falls in love with a breather named Will, initially much to her own disgust; when she comes dangerously close to biting him, she wavers at the idea of transforming into a Princess of Darkness for the first time. She ultimately bites Will when he panics after she reveals she is a vampire, which in turn transforms him into a half fang vampire. It is Will's death at the hands of a vampire slayer that cause her to declare all breathers to be her enemy at the end of the second series. At the beginning of the third series, Ingrid has left Stokely in pursuit of Vlad and the Count. During her pursuit, Ingrid bit a human teenager and consequently became seriously ill. After Erin saved her from the slayers, Vlad told his sister to stay in hiding with him and the Count. Renfield then concocted various formulas to revive Ingrid but none seemed to work until he gave her a dose of Transylvanian Bat Vomit which completely restored her health and her vampiric powers. Vlad's older sister, Ingrid turned really bad, back in Stokely, she wanted revenge for her dusted boyfriend and tired of being passed over by her Dad, she also wanted power. The Count and Vlad managed to escape from her - she would have left them to rot - but now it seems she's bitten off more than she can chew and has got really sick. Vlad and Erin get her back to the school but there's no happy father-daughter reunion for her.
Renfield	Simon Ludders	Renfield is the Draculas' servant and dogsbody, a dim-witted, unclean breather who has been in service to the Draculas for his entire life after the death of his servant father, Renfield senior. He does all that he can to help the Count, but tends to get things wrong. Despite appearing to be unintelligent, he is seen to be skilled at alchemy and dentistry. He also appears to have a penchant for cross-dressing. He is not, however, particularly "mad" like the original Renfield from the story of Dracula, but is perhaps comparable with Igor from various Frankenstein films. At the end of the second series, Vlad causes him, along with the slayers and the Branaghs, to forget that there are any such things as vampires, but Renfield will be reappearing in the third series. The mind wipe that Vlad used to eradicate all knowledge of vampires from Renfield's mind was so strong, that he completely denies the existence of vampires, despite witnessing Vlad transform into a bat. When told that the Count sleeps in a coffin, he just dismissed this as being an eccentric fabrication. Renfield new personality is the exact opposite to his old one he is well groomed courteous and a cook of wholesome food much to the bloodthirsty count's disgust. Vlad preferes the "new" Renfield. However when Vlad believes Renfield former skill's in alchemy can save a dying Ingrid's life he restores Renfields memory and former personality with ease telling the horrified Count that he lied when he said he couldn't do it. The Count somewhat out of character is more amiable than usual towards Renfied on his return, pleased to have him back.
Zoltan	Andy Bradshaw, animatronics by Colin Newman and puppeteer (series two) Garry Rutter	Zoltan is Vlad's stuffed wolf who speaks in a Russian accent, frequently giving advice to both Robin and Vlad, though his advice is not always heeded. Despite his status as a taxidermy victim, Zoltan gets around the castle very well on his wheels. Zoltan and a group other hellhounds he associated with, killed Renfield's father when they thought he was an intruder skulking around the castle. Zoltan is often mistreated by vampires other than Vlad; Zoltan remarks that he was often thrown off the battlement every Saturday when the Count's brother, Ivan, came to visit. Zoltan shares the same name as the vampiric dog in the 1978 film Zoltan, Hound of Dracula.
Magda Westenra	Donna Grant	Magda is Dracula's ex-wife (though by her own admission, she and the count never actually married) who "ran off with a werewolf" named Patrick, much to the disgust of the Count. She is considerably vain and selfish, often manipulating the Count's feelings towards her, and claiming to love him, when she has ulterior motives. The Count seems to love her precisely because she is so heartless. Later, Magda has a part-werewolf son with Patrick, though once again she manipulates the Count by trying to pretend that he is the father. She leaves to return to Patrick after her ruse is discovered.
Krone and Atilla Westenra	Howell Evans and Rosamund Shelly	Krone and Atilla are Vlad and Ingrid's maternal grandparents, described as being "wicked, spiteful and evil". They are incredibly strict about vampire laws, believing that the traditional vampiric ways should be upheld at all times. Neither Krone nor Atilla think much of the Count, and claim he brought further shame upon the family when he moved them to Stokely. They show favouritism towards Ingrid, but in accordance with vampire tradition share the view with the rest of the family that Vlad should be the one to inherit the title, despite his lack of natural aptitude.
Ivan Dracula	Phillip Brodie	Ivan is the Count's younger brother, who lives in America but briefly stays at the Castle with his two children Boris and Olga. Despite being introduced in a flashback as evil and blood thirsty, Ivan has taken up a new way of life, drinking "soya blood" ("blood-free since '93" after meeting a group of new age werewolves), using fake tan, and making his living from real estate using the name "Harvey". However, after he smells a slayer's blood, he returns to his bloodthirsty ways, much to Vlad's dismay, before moving back to America with his children.
Boris Dracula	Ciaran Joyce	Boris is Vlad's cousin who, like Vlad, does not wish to be a vampire. A physically weak asthmatic, he develops a friendship with Vlad, and both attempt to find a way out of transformation before Boris' upcoming sixteenth birthday, the arrival of which is portended by some of his powers manifesting early. Unable to find a way out of transformation, Boris becomes a handsome vampire who manipulates Vlad into believing he has transformed into a "good" vampire. However, he soon reveals his true nature, and attempts to drain power from his father and the Count, and telling Vlad that he too will become evil when his transformation occurs. After Ivan moves his family back to America, Boris returns by disguising himself as the vampiric community's "judge, jury and executioner", slaying the Grand High Vampire and attempting to wear the Grand High Vampire's crown, but as only one who is worth of wearing the crown may do so, he is instantly turned to dust.
Olga Dracula	Maddie Rakic-Platt	Olga is Ivan's daughter and Boris's sister. She acts like a nice little girl in front of her father and uncle, but is fiercely and competitively evil when not in the company of adults, and is obviously spoilt. She is often engaged in verbal warfare with Ingrid, and as well as always being very confident, tends to win.

The Branaghs

Character	Actor	Description
Graham and Elizabeth Branagh	Aneirin Hughes and Beth Roberts	Graham and Elizabeth are the cheery, typically suburbanite neighbours of the Draculas, and a constant annoyance to the Count. Where Dracula does his best to make Vlad a "normal vampire", they constantly do their best to make Robin a "normal boy", finding his fixation with vampires somewhat unhealthy. Though they eventually discover the true nature of the Dracula family, Vlad erases their memories of vampires, and the family leave the castle to return to normal life.
Robin Branagh	Craig Roberts	Robin is Vlad's best friend, and self-confessed "vampire geek", even to the extent of wearing a black cape to school and even owning a sort of contraption that enables him to hang upside down.[3] Robin is the first person outside of the Dracula household to discover that his new friend is in fact a vampire after spotting a hearse from his bedroom and following it up to the castle then climbing inside Vlad's bedroom window. Despite being considered strange, Robin is shown to be a respectable (if morbid) artist and an excellent chess player, as well as a brilliant football player, much to his shock. Robin's love of vampire culture is frequently used as a counter to Vlad's desire to be a normal human, often not caring for the "danger" or "significance" of a given situation but preferring the "coolness" of vampirism. Though a loyal friend to Vlad, he often tries to encourage Vlad's vampiric destiny, at times only begrudgingly helping Vlad in his attempts to avoid becoming a vampire; Robin fears that if Vlad does achieve his wish in becoming normal he will no longer speak to Robin leaving him feeling alone once again. Along with the rest of his family, Vlad makes him forget vampires ever existed, but whether he will forget about being his best friend is unclear.
Chloe Branagh	Lucy Borja-Edwards	Chloe is Robin's ten-year-old sister, the voice of reason in the friendship between Vlad, Robin and herself, and is often seen as the rival of Ingrid. She describes herself as a "child prodigy", and has a depth of knowledge ranging from Egyptian hieroglyphs to psychology. A caring person, she attempts to help Renfield stand up for his rights against the Count, with limited success. She later shies away from her friendship with Vlad after the incident at the castle that nearly saw her family attacked by vampires, but does help Vlad and Robin look for an artifact that would cure the curse of vampirism.
Ian and Paul Branagh	Ben McGregor and Luke Bridgeman	Ian and Paul are the not overly bright twin sons of Graham and Elizabeth. Both have huge crushes on Ingrid, and alternately rival and assist one another in getting near her. Though originally annoyed by their presence, Ingrid eventually learns to manipulate them to her advantage. They do not seem to have a good brotherly relationship with Robin, whom they frequently refer to as the "freak" or the "weirdo goth child".

The Van Helsings

Character	Actor	Description
Eric Van Helsing	Terence Maynard	is a vampire slayer who originally believed Robin to be a vampire due to his dress and appearance, but turned his attention to Vlad after discovering he lived in a castle and had arrived from Transylvania. His daytime, or "cover", identity is as a woodwork teacher at Stokely Grammar School, which the Branagh and the Dracula children attend. Whilst not a real threat to the much stronger, smarter Count Dracula, he is a constant annoyance to the family, who under no circumstances can afford to have their secret revealed to the world, while his obsession annoys his son Jonathan who initially does not believe in vampires and would rather live a normal life. Despite entering the castle multiple times in many disguises, he has only once come close to slaying Dracula, when he fired a wooden crossbow-bolt into the Count's heart; unfortunately for Van Helsing, it hit a flask of poisoned blood in the Count's waistcoat pocket, which he had given him earlier when disguised (poorly) as a female vampire. He finally manages to slay a vampire when rescuing his ex-wife from the clutches of the Count, but as Vlad erases the memory of the mortals in the castle, he soon after forgets the existence of vampires along with the Branaghs.
Jonathan 'Jonno' Van Helsing	Terry Haywood	Jonno is the son of Eric and reluctant heir to the traditional vampire-slaying vocation of the Van Helsings. Throughout series one, Jonathan is often exasperated by his father's tendency to see vampires everywhere. Despite plenty of opportunities, Jonathan fails to recognise that Vlad, Ingrid (on whom he has a crush, but by whom he is completely ignored) and the Count are vampires until the final episode of the first series. His father continuously ignores his needs because of his obsession with vampire-slaying. Jonathan occasionally tries to tell his father that his vampire-hunter obsession is the reason Jonathan's mother left him for an estate agent. However, after discovering that the Draculas are vampires, he develops a hatred for Vlad and all the members of the Dracula family, and decides to follow in his father's footsteps. Along with the Branaghs, his memory is erased by Vlad at the end of the second series. His voice is heard as the two slayers contact SHQ in Series 3 Episode 1, showing that he may have regained his memory in the four years between Series 2 and 3.
Mina Van Helsing	Jo-Anne Knowles	Mina is the wife of Eric, who left him and Jonathan before the series began, having become sick of her husband's obsession with vampires. She returns in series two to discovers that Jonathan now shares his father's obsession with vampires and decides to temporarily remain with the pair, in the hope of knocking some sense into them. After the Count is taunted by Ingrid for not biting any "breathers" the Count captures Mina and keeps her in the castle dungeons. She is saved by Eric and Jonathan, and apologises for not believing them, but thanks to Vlad, forgets about vampires and that she was ever a prisoner.

Others

Will Clarke (Harry Ferrier) is Ingrid's boyfriend in the second series. Will attends Stokely Grammar and appears to be one of the most popular boys there; he proves himself to be different from the other boys at Stokely Grammar as he does not fawn over Ingrid. At first, Ingrid views him as an annoyance, but quickly finds herself in love with him and, after dancing at the Valentine's Ball, the two become a couple, despite the disgust Ingrid had shown in series one at the idea of dating a breather. Will and Ingrid continue to date for the rest of the series. Will is also shown to be a gifted artist in the series 2 episode "Sweet Sixteen" where he does a drawing of Ingrid for her sixteenth birthday.

Later, after Ingrid's transformation, Will and Ingrid arrange to go out on a date to see a film; when Will remarks that he would enjoy dating a vampire, Ingrid reveals her true nature, which terrifies him. She bites him, and he becomes a "Half-Fang" - a vampire that was not born, but bitten as a mortal - a term that Will despises. Whether or not it is known by the school, or his family, who are never seen or mentioned on screen, is unknown. Will seems to enjoy his life as a vampire living in the Dracula castle, providing Ingrid with the attention and love she had needed and wanted throughout her life. Upon becoming a vampire Will becomes more confrontational, and it is this new reckless impulse that costs Will his new life; when slayers attack the castle, he jumps out from behind the safety of the barrier, and is slain using a type of sunlight launcher. His death drives Ingrid's anger at the end of the series, when she claims the Count's throne for her own, intending to avenge Will's death.

2011 cast

Erin the Vampire Slayer (Sydney Rae White) – Erin arrives in the Dracula household having saved a sick Ingrid from the threatening slayers, saying that she has been bitten and is a vampire (but she is not a vampire). Vlad and Erin hit it off instantly, but at the end of the first episode of the third series, it is shown that Erin has a reflection, revealing she lied about being a vampire. In the second episode of Series 3, she is revealed as a slayer who wishes to kill Ingrid and the Draculas to save her brother. Ingrid bit him and her death would make him human again. However despite numerous opportunities she cannot stake her as she cannot morally distinguish Ingrid as not human. However in the episode "Fangs for the Memories" Vlad tells her that this is just an old legend which doesn't work, despite people trying. It is also implied that Vlad might have feelings for her as he once had a dream about kissing her. Her actress revealed via twitter that the character's last name is "Noble"

Bertrand (Cesare Taurasi) – Bertrand suddenly appears in the school. He is the guardian of the Praedictum Impaver, the strange looking book that is said to contain the future of the vampire race and which only the "Chosen One" can open. Bertrand's mission is to tutor Vlad to harness his powers to open the book, before he and his family get hurt.

Miss Alexandra McCauley (Letty Butler) – Miss McCauley is the Head Teacher of Garside Grange, which the Draculas own and live in. She is smart, sassy and caring and takes an interest in the welfare of both Vlad and Ingrid. Miss McCauley is oblivious to the fact that they are all vampires but does think the Count is rather "eccentric and peculiar".When the count tries to hypnotize Miss McCauley to take Vlad out of lessons, she can't be hypnotized as the count tries again it still doesnt work, implying either that Vlad had hynotized her not to obey her father, or that she may not be fully human or the count being in love with her, since the Count's failure to hypnotise Miss McCauley is comparable to the series 2 episode 'Love Bites' in which Ingrid meets Will and discovers that she cannot hypnotise him because she is in love with him. In episode 3 it is known that the Count has feelings for her, though it is made more obvious is episode 4: Fangs for the Memories, particularly when Miss McCauley comments on the Count's "good heart" and he replies by remarking upon her heartbeat: "sixty-five strong, healthy beats per minute...Sixty-eight".

Wolfie – (Lorenzo Rodriguez) Wolfie is the half brother of Vlad and Ingrid – the child of their mother Magda and her love interest, Patrick the werewolf. Wolfie must be careful around the full moon, when his werewolf genes come to life.

Incorporated themes

The series encompasses a lot of things that many school children find difficult. On the series' own webpage there is information on moving house, which can be stressful for young people. One of Vlad's early concerns is having to adjust to living away from his native country and speaking a new language in order to pass as a "normal" human, which of course is all he wants to be. There is divorce and adultery in both the Dracula and Van Helsing households and in each, the children despair at how out of touch their respective fathers are on realistic, modern-day life - a complaint of many young teenagers. Vlad, Jonathan and Robin feel isolated not only from outsiders but from the rest of their families, where by contrast Ingrid, who really wants to be a vampire, rages at the preferential treatment her brother receives from their father despite her greater skills and better grades at "vampirism", so that she feels even less at home within the culture she should be flourishing in. Above all, difficult, irregular and complicated family relationships (a trait that Vlad, Ingrid, Robin, Chloe and Jonathan all share, despite being otherwise quite different characters) is an ongoing theme that makes it in yet another way more familiar to viewers, whilst at the same time being unafraid, in the second series, to have an element of darkness in it and so make it different from quite a lot of other children's series of the time. The third series takes place four years later as Vlad tries to make both his father and his sister forgive each other and try to be a family, deal with the responsibility of being the Chosen One and develop a friendship with a female slayer who is bent on slaying the Draculas to cure her half fang brother.

Awards

• In 2007 Young Dracula won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Children's Drama, and the Welsh BAFTA for Best Children's Drama.
• In 2008 Young Dracula was nominated for the BAFTA Children's Drama Award.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Waterloo Road heads to Scotland". How-Do. 2011-08-23. http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-broadcasting/waterloo-road-heads-to-scotland-20110823100955217. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
2. ^ "CBBC Programmes - Young Dracula, Series 3, Hide and Seek". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016vvt0. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
3. ^ Published Sunday, Jan 30 2011, 17:05 GMT (2011-01-30). "Q&A: Craig Roberts talks 'Being Human' ep 2! - Being Human Interview - TV". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s116/being-human/tubetalk/a300591/qa-craig-roberts-talks-being-human-ep-2.html. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
4. ^ "2008 Children's Awards - Children's - Awards - The BAFTA site". Bafta.org. http://www.bafta.org/awards/childrens/nominations-childrens-awards-in-2008,593,BA.html. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 

External links

• Young Dracula at the Internet Movie Database
• Young Dracula at TV.com