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 25^th 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