MINA MURRAY’S JOURNAL Blog For Dracula

released twice weekly until 3 November

Writer/director James Moran

“It’s as if they had the internet in Victorian times,” laughs would-be vlogger Mina Murray (Rosie Holt), when she notices the app she’s using is anachronistically named WebJournal. Really, what she’s doing is cluing us into the premise of Mina Murray’s Journal. This 15-part web series is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but instead of writing letters and recording their thoughts on wax cylinders, the characters turn to YouTube.

Doctor Who/Torchwood scribe James Moran makes several smart updates to the novel, shuffling characters around so that it’s office junior Mina who travels to Romania to meet the mysterious Count, while back home John (Liam Dryden) starts sleepwalking. But don’t worry – the vampires are still definitely vampires, with transmogrification powers very much intact. No blood gets spilled on camera, but even so, several episodes will raise goosebumps.

Creepy and clever, it has an irresistibly likeable cast and an admirable commitment to the webcam conceit. This season covers roughly the first 10 chapters of Stoker’s novel, and ends on a cliffhanger that’ll make you wanna dig out the book to pass the time until season two. Sarah Dobbs

Several characters from the series also tweet, blog, and use Instagram – see www.minasjournal.com for links.