Unless you count an emphasis on syphilis, inadmissible among proper Victorians, as the secret subtext to most of the bloodsucking in Bram Stoker’s fantasy world, Masterpiece Theatre plays things straight. Which is also to say, not even campy—except that it’s so very Masterpiece Theatre it doesn’t have to be campy. Marc Warren portrays the undead count as part punk rocker, part Percy Shelley. Sophia Myles is luckless Lucy, who never got to consummate her marriage. Stephanie Leonidas, as Lucy’s bosom buddy Mina, has a way with a wooden stake, plus a practically Continental pout. David Suchet enjoys himself perhaps too much as the vampire scholar Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, not so much bearded as he is mossy. While I can’t imagine why we’d want another Dracula, this one’s sturdy enough. Next time, though, how about a subtext that speaks to the feeding frenzies of HMOs, Microsoft Windows, and Donald Trump?

Dracula
Channel 13, Sunday, February 11, 9 p.m.

Related:

• Archive: “Television”
• Articles by John Leonard
• Table of Contents: Feb 12, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!