THE COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN: DAY 11

(BOOB TUBE VAMPIRES: PART 1)

Out of the goodie bag tonight, kiddies, comes a grab-bag of television vampires!  That’s right, they’re double-bagged!  You want to be extra-safe when it comes to those fangy bastards!

I’m sure this is one where I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg, but here are the top television vampires or episodes featuring said creatures of the night that stick out in this viewer’s memory.  

Originally scheduled to show for the first time in October of 1973 and directed by Dan Curtis and even scripted by Richard Matheson, this adaptation of the Dracula tale was delayed when then President Nixon (himself a suspected vampire) gave a prime-time speech about the resignation of Spiro Agnew.  It then aired in February of 1974.

Caught this film about 6 or so years back and I have to say Palance's portrayal of the Count was scary--hell, the man was usually scary by himself anyway!  This adaptation includes a bit of reincarnation theme that may have influenced Coppola's film.  BTW, Coppola's company purchased the rights to this version of DRACULA around the time of the production of his own adaptation.

One note--Jack Palance's Dracula always looks as though someone is stabbing him in the ass with a gigantic wooden stake!

My main man Carl Kolchak came face to face with vampiric evil in his very first television appearance, THE NIGHT STALKER!  Again, Richard Matheson comes into play as he wrote the script for this and the second Kolchak TV movie, THE NIGHT STRANGLER.

He would later go after a more sexy vamp in an episode of his short-lived regular series.

Though not a classic vampire, in the episode "The Man Trap"a salt-sucking vampire creature mesmerized the whole gang until it could get close enough... 

to suck the salt out of folks--so much so that they'd die!

She was a real looker...

Written by Vince Gilligan, lately of BREAKING BAD fame, the "Bad Blood" episode of THE X-FILES was a very entertaining and unusual one!  Told from first the point of view of Agent Scully and then from Mulder's perspective, it's really a tale of perception.  Fans of BREAKING BAD might take note that an RV park plays a big role in the story.

And, then there's the original SALEM'S LOT--'Nuff Said!

I saw this for the first time as a boy and I must say that the little kid in his PJs scratching at the window was the first thing that creeped the crap out of me.  Peter Pan, this kid ain't!

Toward the end of the mini-series, the beautiful Bonnie Bedelia was nearly enough to seduce our hero...

This undead hag was cause for the boys to get inventive in their methods!

And--lest we forget... THE MASTER!

Stay tuned for Part 2, tomorrow night!