The Vampiress Episode: "Penny Dreadful"

Season 1

Penny Dreadful is a television series which has aired on the Showtime premium television network since 2014.  The show takes place in the 19th century and bases it's stories around characters from 19nth century British Novels.  In other words its "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" the TV series at a much slower pace. 

Each season revolves around story arcs dealing with subjects from those novels.  The series opening storyline revolved around vampires.  Specifically Sir Malcom Murray (Timothy Dalton) and psychic Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) recruiting a group of people to help find Malcoms daughter and Vanessa's best friend Mina.   If you've put two and two together then that would make his daughter "Mina Murray" aka Jonathon Harkers fiance from Bram Stokers novel Dracula and of course it would be vampires who have taken her.  

The vampires on this show have a very distinct look.  The Master Vampires (the ones spreading the vampirism) are a cross between Nosferatu and the vampires from The Strain.  The human victims are very pale with silver hair, red eyes and "traditional" vampire fangs.

As mentioned the pace of the series is very slow with a lot of backstory given to every character.  The result in this storyline is a lot of filler consisting of flashbacks of Vanessa and Mina's friendship along with Mina herself appearing in visions to her loved ones in various episodes.   

By the end of the season they do find Mina (Olivia Llewellyn) but of course it's too late and she's already one of the undead. 

As you can see she has that "main character" gene that allows her to not transform into looking like the rest of the vampires on the show and just looks like herself with fangs and red eyes.  She is shot dead shortly after this by her father saving Vanessa's life in the process.  

The show itself is very intriguing.  It does play out like a soap opera with different character leading separate lives and since it's on a premium television network has it's fair share of nudity (though it's 19nth century "realistic" nudity which isn't that hot including a woman having sex while dying of the plague and spitting up blood).  If you're a fan of period shows this one is well worth taking a look at.