I Watch TV: What We Do In The Shadows
This is a sitcom about vampires. It’s sexually explicit, in that they frankly discuss their sexual histories (of several hundred years), and there are also faux-historical woodcuts and paintings. Also a couple of times people have sex on screen. It’s also violent, though only occasionally, it’s rare enough to actually be quite surprising and shocking. And there’s blood.
Anyway, three regular vampires and an energy vampire live in a house in Staten Island with their familiars, though only one familiar is in most episodes. They are visited by the Baron who wants to know how they have got on with conquering the new world. This drives the plot of several episodes in classic sitcom style; the boss wants the subordinates to do something unfeasible and they have to figure out how not to be fired (or torture-murdered by an immortal monster in this case). Other episodes examine different ideas with a vampire spin.
One thing that I noticed was that they have plenty of money for the show. Shot in a faux-documentary style the occasional transformation into a bat, flying, wall-crawling and invisibility effects look very convincing. And they have a whole bunch of famous guest stars in one episode when they’re being tried by the vampire council.
Plotwise it is incoherent, in that they are found guilty by the vampire council and sentenced to death in one episode, only to be hosts of the biannual vampire orgy two episodes later. This is fine, I don’t expect vampires living outside of all rational bounds, society and natural law to be consistent in this. We sentenced someone to death, they turn out not to be dead, I guess it’s their turn to host the orgy. Another day in vampire land.
Also it’s pretty funny.
Watch This: For raucous vampire fun
Don’t Watch This: if blood and sex aren’t funny
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