The House of Van Helsing

I certainly didn't resent the time spent watching the first two episodes but, this is obviously not the high-budget Helsing experience we're normally used to.

That said, production values are still great, ther show is atmospheric, the CGI works, (mostly), & overall, it's a decent, if unchallenging show that, refreshingly, have seem to have Helsing battling a new protagonist, rather than Dracula.

So, it looks good, it uses some great locations, and definitely has a 'rich' feel to it. However, as the title suggests, it lets itself down in a few, unfortunately key, points.

CASTING: The actor playing Caroline stands head & shoulders above the other main actors around her, yet feels strangely under-utliized so far. Helsing doesn't quite fit the remit of his role. I'm just not getting his lifelong weariness or the horror of all he's seen. Skip looks like he doesn't want to be there, & Cody came across as s little too ineffectual at the moment - With luck, that character will be fleshed out. In contrast to the male actors, and aside from Caroline, Izabella (Helsing's companion), radiates a nice, brooding, 'Romani' aura, that had me believing in her as a character, and Elena has the right mixture of old and new that her age would carry.

Don't get me wrong, the guys all do a passable job, but they need an extra 10% or so to achieve the levels of the female actors! Possibly, they're still getting used to their characters, & we'll see more depth to them as the show progresses, but right now, the women are carrying this show.

Will I watch the remainder of the series - absolutely. Look! It's not going to break any TV barriers here, but it's strong enough and fun enough to draw me back for the remaining episodes as they're released.