TV Preview – Demons (ITV1)
The Light Channel’s New Drama that Sounds Strangely Familiar
Dec 28, 2008
In Demons Glenister plays Rupert Galvin, a larger-than-life American with a zero tolerance towards the apparent mythical entities that exist all around us called ‘half-lives’. But Galvin’s new role is to train his teenage godson Luke (Robin Hood’s Christian Cooke), whose father died in mysterious circumstances 15 years before and is the last descendent of the Van Helsing line.
“I was quite nervous about the American accent at first,” Genister admits. “I came straight off the back of Ashes to Ashes but thought from the off that Galvin would be a nice removal from playing Gene.
“When I was a kid I used to love the Hammer Horror films and Christopher Lee’s Dracula but you grow up and your influences change. So in that respect this is not a genre I have followed in recent times; which is one of the reasons I thought this would be such an interesting project to do.“
A Teenager that kills Demons
To sum up, Demons is about a teenager coming to terms with their destiny which is to save the world from the creatures of the night, mainly vampires, and try to live the complications of growing up. So far so Buffy, but chances are Demons will feature none of the Whedon style wit and dialogue that made his shows stand apart from every other supernatural monster fest. Well, except for that old favourite Doctor Who of course.
The problem with the name Van Helsing is that it’s really hard to see it without being reminded of that awful Hugh Jackman vehicle that almost ruined the genre for everyone with its gung ho antics and stupid plot. But not even ITV could stoop that low...right?
Also there’s little consolation that the team behind Demons is the same that brought us Sky One’s Hex which, like it or not, did not live up to expectations and when compared to its American counterparts was a little tame.
Richard Wilson, Mackenzie Crook and Kevin McNally as the Supporting Cast
The cast on Demons includes some new and old names ranging from Survivor’s Zoe Tapper as Mina Harker, a blind concert pianist with a name that Dracula fans should be aware of, and Richard Wilson, fresh of his stint of being almost out acted by a terrible wig in Merlin, as demon expert Father Simeon.
But there are also more famous faces as Demons features Pirates of the Caribbean stars Mackenzie Crook, who when not being in a Laurel and Hardy pirate double act has yet to be in any film of any worth, and Kevin McNally, who could turn out to be the most impressive performance of the series, as the main villains of the series Gladiolus Thrip and Mr Tibbs respectively.
Demons: The Online Experience
Taking the lead from the creative minds behind Lost there will be an online game on the ITV website to accompany the series which allows players to immerse themselves in Luke’s mission. But unlike the addictive Lost reality games, chances are ITV’s venture into the online experience will be as cheap and tacky as most of its TV shows.
The first episode of Demons will air on ITV1 at 7.20pm on Saturday, January 3.
Also at itv.com/demons fans will be able to watch video clips, read episode synopses, view photo galleries and catch up on previous episodes.
