Story: Hey, it’s a party! Hosted by a guy nobody knows! Wait – here he is, and he’s got groovy Tesla-meets-Edison technology! Why is he staring at Mina like that? Oh well, I’m sure that’s nothing. Wonder if he wants some wine?

Scares: Hey, what do you expect from a TV series? Though the scariest part Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ American accent (easily explained by the fact that Drac’d put on a hyper version of the State’s blandness to keep his nouveau riche facade believable to the Brits), there are a few gotcha moments.

Splat factor: Some blood, but nothing too too. Let’s just say NBC ain’t gonna try to blow The Walking Dead out of the water. Still, blood does indeed run.

Sequel, Remake or OG (Original Ghoul): One of the many, many, MANY remakes of Bram Stoker’s original masterpiece. And as with all the others, it’s not a faithful adaptation.

Trick or Treat?: What the hell? Why a TV show? I know. But I’ve been curious about this show ever since I’d heard about it. I figured I wasn’t the only one. And I’m surprised that I like the strange twists this show puts on the usual Dracula mythology. Alan Grayson (aka Big D) has come to England to destroy the group that killed his beloved wife years ago. What’s new? Grayson has magnetic energy at his disposal, and this time it’s literal as well as figurative. His idea is to bankrupt the Order of the Dragon by usurping their monopoly on energy. Nicely done.

Plus, Renfield is less the crazy, slavish toady and more a voice of reason. And you’ll never guess what Van Helsing is up to….

Is this quality television? Um, Ima say no, at least at this point. But damn if it’s not a fun ride. Any Dracula reboot that keeps me invested for more than ten minutes is a win in my book. And this Dracula is winning. I’ll be queuing up my Hulu for this bad, bad boy.

Score: 4 out of 5 pumpkins.