Sanctuary (Canada / 2008-2012)

Sanctuary follows the exploits of Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and her quest to protect what most people would consider monsters. "The Sanctuary" serves as a safe haven for these "Abnormals." She is aided in her quest by her reluctant protégé Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne); her intrepid, if somewhat reckless, daughter Ashley (Emilie Ullerup); the talkative geek Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins), a computer and security expert; and her taciturn Neanderthal-like unnamed assistant (a Bigfoot), sometimes called "Big Guy" (Christopher Heyerdahl).

Ultraviolet (UK/1998)

Today I take a brief look at Ultraviolet, a UK 6-episode series from 1998/99. It revolves around a government-funded paramilitary police unit, which may have connections to the Roman Catholic Church. They're fighting a secret war against a worldwide vampire conspiracy. The main character, Detective Sergeant Michael Colefield (Jack Davenport of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) is a police detective who encounters agents of this organization after his partner and best friend Jack (Stephen Moyer of True Blood fame) disappears.

Denn die Toten reiten schnell

As I've been looking into vampires on television, I've discovered a lot of great episodes; beyond our beloved, often short-lived series, there are a number of stand-alone episodes from non-vampire series that are pretty good. And, as expected, there are even more that are very, very bad.

It's my plan to explore the hidden gems that are globally available on sites such as Youtube, so we can all share in some really great television. Heck, I may even blog about the bad ones. There will also be a number of polls to vote on, as I'm really interested in what others prefer within the realm of television vampires.

So stop by often, I hope to take an interesting journey with all of you...

Childhood obsession: Planet of the Apes

According to the American Film Institute, the classic 1968 film Planet of the Apes contains the 66th best movie line:

Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!

Starring Charlton Heston as George Taylor, the pessimistic cigar-chomping and scenery-chewing ANSA astronaut, Planet of the Apes did very well at the box office, enough to spawn 4 sequels, a TV series in 1974, a remake in 2001, and a "re-imagining" in 2011. It was nominated for an Oscar in the categories of Best Costume Design and Best Music/Original Score, and an honourary award was later presented to John Chambers for his outstanding make-up achievement in the movie. 

Although I was only in my first year of life when this film was released, the series would soon have a profound affect on me as a child. It never matched that of Star Wars, mind you, but it still a profound affect nevertheless.