Demons (UK) Discussion

[Madwelshboy]

ITV's new supernatural drama Demons made a decent start in the ratings on Saturday, drawing almost 5.8 million viewers.

The series, which has been subject of a major marketing campaign, is a modern day take on the mythology surrounding Dracula and the Van Helsing family and stars Phil Glenister, Mackenzie Crook and Christian Cooke. Episode one, shown at 7.20pm last night, drew a solid 5.75m (24.1%) over 60 minutes.

In September 2008, the launch of BBC One's new fantasy drama Merlin managed 6.65m (30%), while in January 2007, ITV's similarly-themed Primeval debuted to 6.7m (29%).

Demons successfully defeated the first episode of Your Country Needs You, the BBC's search for an act to represent the UK at this year's Eurovision contest. It pulled in 4.9m (21%) over an hour from 7.10pm.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a1400...vs-demons.html

The plot follows the adventures of London teenager Luke Rutherford who learns that he is the last descendant of the Van Helsing line by the sudden arrival of his American godfather Rupert Galvin. Luke is charged with the role of smiting the gathering dark forces of the world whilst trying to live an ordinary life of exams and parties. Rupert Galvin helps train Luke with the assistance of Mina Harker, a blind concert pianist and authority on half-lives (such as vampires, demons, zombies, and werewolves). Luke's best friend Ruby also joins in on the action.

[knowles2]

Do not see how they can call that a solid start given that is was up against utter rubbish and still barely did half of what Doctor Who does on a regular basis. They can try to twist the fact how ever they want they have yet again fail to produce a product which matches DW in the ratings game.

[The_Carpenter]

Do not see how they can call that a solid start given that is was up against utter rubbish and still barely did half of what Doctor Who does on a regular basis. They can try to twist the fact how ever they want they have yet again fail to produce a product which matches DW in the ratings game.

The Doctor Who Confidential which unveiled the 11th Doctor got 6.1 Million viewers despite being aired at half 5....

ITVs new rival to Doctor Who can't even beat a confidential generated by the hype of Doctor Who good on them for trying though...

[knowles2]

be nice to see what Sanctuary rating would be in that slot.

[AvatarIII]

be nice to see what Sanctuary rating would be in that slot.

i wouldn't be surprised if sanctuary pulled 2m as it is. it's on a freeview channel which pulls 9m viewers a week (scroll down to itv4). and it's got a pretty good timeslot imho.

[Flyboy]

Meh.

Lousy intro theme.

Lousy story.

Lousy demons.

Lousy US accent (from the marvellous Gene Hunt - he shoulda stayed AS Gene Hunt).

Overall - A piss poor attempt to be a British Buffy the Vampire slayer with a tone something in between Torchwood and Doctor Who.

[AvatarIII]

Meh.

Lousy intro theme.

Lousy story.

Lousy demons.

Lousy US accent (from the marvellous Gene Hunt - he shoulda stayed AS Gene Hunt).

Overall - A piss poor attempt to be a British Buffy the Vampire slayer with a tone something in between Torchwood and Doctor Who.

i agree on all counts. except i missed the beginning and didn't hear the opening theme. i will give it another chance this w/e since all the other shows i watch are of air atm. but i doubt i will get hooked. and why couldn't glenister's character have been english!! or at least have got an american actor! oh well.

[Madwelshboy]

Christian Cooke: The Demon Slayer

Christian Cooke is thrown right into the middle of the events of ITV's new fantasy drama Demons, playing Luke Rutherford, the last descendant of Abraham Van Helsing. The series reunites him with his Where The Heart Is co-star Holliday Grainger but in a very different role... Words: Paul Simpson

How did you get involved with Demons?

Just like any other job. My agent sent me the script, and I liked it. I had about four meetings with Tom Harper, the director of the first three episodes, Johnny Capps, and the casting director and found out I got the part.

What did they tell you about Luke?

It was all pretty self-explanatory in the first episode. Luke finds out that he is the last descendant of Van Helsing and has to take on his destiny. He's a normal 18 year old, at sixth form college, living a normal life, until Galvin, played by Phil Glenister, turns up and tells him the true history about his father, the mystery of his death, and who he really is.

What did you think of the concept?

It's very unique. It's set in contemporary London, which is a great place to set a story like that. And it's about slaying demons and vampires – it's Van Helsing, but in 2008.

Do you like working on sci-fi and horror?

Not specifically – not more than anything else. The scripts were well written, it was a good and fresh concept, and it was a chance to be a main character. I've never played a lead character in a drama like this, so it was just a unique opportunity as an actor, and as a person, to take it on.

Did you find that responsibility daunting?

Yes and no. I don't think it's something that you think about too much. You just take the script, concentrate on that and try to do your best. At the end of the day, you've been cast in that part. The producer and the director choose to live with your inherent virtues and vices. They think you're right for it; I believe I'm right for it. You just go at it day by day and get it done. You do it scene by scene, and try not to think about the bigger picture.

I relish that kind of thing, and it's not something that scares me. I worked 74 days out of 76, 15 hour days. Much as it takes its toll on you by the third month, I enjoyed working like that. It keeps you on your toes rather than doing two or three days a week.

What did you think you could bring to the part?

I don't know. I just thought it was a part I could play. I was a similar age to the character, I relished the thought of doing the action sequences and the stunts. I've always been quite sporty and quite physical. I'm a big fan of the Bourne films, and stuff like that – the chance to do fight sequences and stunts, and look cool basically, was obviously appealing. I thought I would be able to manage the physical stuff quite well.

For an actor my age to get that much screen time per episode is really good, and rare. I wanted that part. I went into the audition, and I knew I could do it, I knew I could pull it off. I don't know why, but I just knew that I was able to do it. And hopefully I did do it alright.

Sometimes you don't realise until after you see something that you're not right for it. I don't think that's the case this time, but there are very few actors who would not take a part because they may fail at it. That's why you're an actor. You want to challenge yourself, and you want to try to do things which may seem that they are out of your bounds. If you fail, at least you gave your best.

Was the training more rigorous than you expected?

I didn't know what to expect. I just assumed I'd be doing some form of training. It was certainly very hard. My trainer was a great guy who had worked on massive productions like Troy, and helped train Christian Bale for Batman. I had intense two hour sessions with him. It was really difficult, but a great excuse to get fit. For the part, you have to be able to throw punches, kicks and blocks, throw your weight around and look convincing. If there is a second series, I'll probably double the training and try and make the stunts and the fight sequences that much better.

Have you maintained the fitness since?

We finished shooting back in April. I've just finished another series called Trinity for ITV2 with a few naked scenes in it, so that was an incentive to hit the gym! I try and keep fit. If Demons goes again, it'll probably be in April, so I should have plenty of time to hit the gym and get fit again.

Was it odd playing a couple with Holly again, particularly as this time it's unrequited love on her part?

Not odd – really good actually! It was really nice to act and work with her again. She's an amazing actress. I think she's going to be massive, and she deserves to be. She's really special as an actress, and I think people over the next couple of years will start to see that.

We progressed at the same level. We worked together on Where The Heart Is a few years ago now, but we've both continued to work luckily, and been aware of what the other is doing.

What is Luke's relationship like with Zoe Tapper's character Mina?

Luke probably does have a soft spot for her, and does fancy her a bit, but the relationship is not really ever a main thing in the series or explored in detail. She's the appeaser and the one who gets in-between Luke and Galvin when their relationship gets strained.

She's the voice of reason to Luke. She's very much aware of Ruby's attraction to Luke and tells him about it, but he's having none of it. She's almost like a mother figure to him throughout the series. He can't turn to his own mother and tell her what's going on; he wants to protect her from the truth. I think Mina fills that role.

The relationship with Galvin has numerous levels; what's the overriding emotion? Luke admires him. He's like a father figure. Galvin likes and loves Luke, and wants to protect him, but a lot of what they feel for each other goes unsaid. They're not going to turn to each other and give each other compliments, or a hug – it's not that kind of relationship. I like the fact that these are two masculine guys who respect each other and like each other, but that's it. Later on, it gets very interesting – in the last two episodes, it gets really strained.

What's been the biggest challenge for you with the whole show?

The actual intensity of the shoot. Getting up every day at half five, getting home every day at half nine for 74 days straight, being in every scene, and most shots! Television drama isn't like film – you're shooting seven or eight pages a day. Psychologically it's a bit knackering. When you get home at the end of the day, you just want to sleep! Most long-term film jobs are hard, and if you're there every day, as I was pretty much, it's difficult!

http://www.dwscifi.com/interviews/29...e-demon-slayer

[doylefan22]

Thought this week's one was a big improvement on the first.

Galvin and Mina are the best two characters. Shame they haven't yet managed to make Luke and Ruby above 'bland'.

The plot was better though, Glenister's accent seems to have settled somewhat and the pace was improved. Also some nice hints at a more on going story (why shouldn't Galvin be trusted?).

Not perfect but no worse than Primeval at that stage and with more room for improvement.

[Madwelshboy]

1 million smite ITV's 'Demons'
Sunday, January 11 2009, 18:20 GMT

By Neil Wilkes, Editor


New fantasy drama Demons lost almost a million viewers last night (Saturday), early figures suggest.

The supernatural series, which stars Phil Glenister and Richard Wilson, made an encouraging start last week with 5.75m (24.1%). The second episode, shown yesterday at 7.45pm, averaged 4.83m (20.4%).

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a1416...vs-demons.html

[knowles2]

1 million smite ITV's 'Demons'
Sunday, January 11 2009, 18:20 GMT

By Neil Wilkes, Editor


New fantasy drama Demons lost almost a million viewers last night (Saturday), early figures suggest.

The supernatural series, which stars Phil Glenister and Richard Wilson, made an encouraging start last week with 5.75m (24.1%). The second episode, shown yesterday at 7.45pm, averaged 4.83m (20.4%).

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a1416...vs-demons.html

Still falling even through they remove it from going on air at the same time The Nation needs you (The twins on their are cute. ) and the ratings fall still further. Not looking good. Through having watch bother episodes again I think it got some potential, it just needs a longer run than six episodes, if it had more like twelve or thirteen episodes then I give it more of a chance. The fact it will be twelve months before any new episodes appear I doubt it will get a big fan base.

[Madwelshboy]

ITV's 'Demons' drops to 4.2m
Sunday, January 18 2009, 18:18 GMT

By Neil Wilkes, Editor


ITV1's fantasy drama Demons lost another 650,000 viewers last night (Saturday), according to early figures.

The third episode, guest-starring Kevin McNally, pulled in 4.18m (18.1%) for ITV1 from 7.45pm. The audience is down almost 1.6m on that for the first episode a fortnight ago.

Demons was beaten in the period by National Lottery quiz show In It To Win It, seen by 6.93m (30.1%) on BBC One, and Casualty, which had 6.53m (28%) from 8.30pm.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a1434...ps-to-42m.html

[Madwelshboy]

A surprise resurrection in 'Demons'
Monday, January 19 2009, 16:54 GMT

By Neil Wilkes, Editor

Mackenzie Crook is headed back to Demons.

Gladiolus Thrip returns in a few weeks for the series finale, despite apparently being snuffed out in the opener. The climactic storyline - airing February 7 - sees old parrot nose "haunting" young Luke.

Show hero Christian Cooke tells me: "There's a really interesting storyline in episode six where he tries to turn Luke against Galvin, and bring him over to the dark side. We find out that that is what happened to his father."

Demons isn't Crook's only gig inside the cult universe at the moment. He also shows up in Skins ep 2 as a tough gangster with a very seedy secret.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a1393...in-demons.html

[Madwelshboy]

'Demons' ends on a series low
Sunday, February 8 2009, 19:37 GMT

By Neil Wilkes, Editor


Demons ended with a series low of 3.42m (14.8%) for ITV1 last night (Saturday), according to early figures.

The supernatural drama, which stars Phil Glenister and Christian Cooke, began strongly with around 5.8 million but went on to lose viewers in every week of its six-episode run.

Demons was beaten on Saturday by Lottery show In It To Win It, seen by 7.75m (33.6%) from 8pm.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a1460...eries-low.html

[Madwelshboy]

Should 'Demons' be smited for good?
Sunday, February 8 2009, 08:00 GMT

By Ben Rawson-Jones, Cult Editor


Jumping onto the British cult bandwagon reinvigorated by a certain Time Lord, Demons launched on ITV1 in the New Year armed with a talented cast and propelled by a prominent promotional campaign. Almost six million viewers tuned in for the premiere, a decent figure, yet barely a month later the show is languishing just above the three million mark and weighed down under a barrage of vociferous criticism. But is Demons really that lousy and should it be saved from a slaying smiting?

The short answer is yes and no. The series was a major disappointment, utterly failed to provide compelling plots or characters and lacked the sense of fun and adventure that has made Doctor Who, Primeval and Merlin into successes. Brace yourselves, as here comes the longer answer...

A portion of the distinctly underwhelmed response towards the ailing show can be attributed to heightened expectations. The decision to change the name from 'The Last Van Helsing' to 'Demons' was a bad move, as it suggested that the battle against evil critters would be far more prominent than it turned out to be. Instead, the formulaic 'villain of the week' plots were threadbare until the predictable climactic confrontation, and the origins of Luke and his family were frequently foregrounded. In fact, Demons' inability to be engaging was all to do with poor Luke.


From the start, viewers were expected to be interested in the family history of a character they had barely met, let alone grown to like. Spending much of the opening episode with his top off might have led to some swooning, but the smooth torso wasn't matched by a suitably appealing personality. Throughout the season Luke's behaviour was often unbelievably idiotic in order to drive forward the plot, such as the unconvincingly quick yearning for the blonde shapeshifter or the speed with which he turns against Rupert Galvin in the season finale.

Nonetheless, Christian Cooke's ability as an actor shouldn't be questioned, as his portrayal of the ill-fated UNIT soldier Ross Jenkins in the last season of Doctor Who was sublime and highly sympathetic. In Demons, it didn't help that many of his scenes were dragged down by the pointless and frustrating presence of Ruby. Was her entire character simply created as an excuse to feature a certain Kaiser Chiefs song in the (admittedly impressive) soundtrack? An attempt to instil a 'will they-won't they' style romantic frisson between the pair fell totally flat, although the characters (like the audience) barely seemed to care.


The prospect of Philip Glenister, in any guise, roaming around London destroying evil demons was mouthwatering on paper. In execution though, it was dreadful. The American accent adopted to play Rupert Galvin was initially the focus of much derision, but as the series wore on the real issue became apparent - the quality of the words, not the way they're pronounced. Dreadfully corny Americanisms were regularly slipped in, with lines like "Ruby, nobody likes a smaaart aaaass" in the fourth episode.

As for Zoe Tapper, so good in Survivors, she really needs a chat with her agent. For Mina was excess luggage for much of the time, sometimes being used to conjure up a 'scary' flashback in a desperate bid to stop the viewers from nodding off. The character only really came to life towards the end of the series, when her vampirish nature was unleashed.

Arguably the biggest waste was London itself - a city full of creepy locations and sinister backstreets and crypts. Yet apart from some night time jaunts early on in the season, this potential facet was grossly untapped. This, along with dreadfully directed action sequences, contributed towards the lack of visual flair in the show. At least special effects house The Mill managed to give us the occasional bit of eye candy, with the transformation of the luscious Alice from blonde seducer to killer demon a particular highlight.


The villains faced by the lacklustre 'smiters' were pretty dreadful on the whole. Mackenzie Crook gave it his best shot as the amusingly attired and coiffured Gladiolas Thrip in the first and last episodes, but it was all style and no substance. What does anyone remember about the supposed Rat King apart from the fact he had whiskers and set bombs with a 40-minute countdown to allow the characters time to escape? The motivations of the bad guys were equally flimsy, usually boiling down to some past, unseen act committed by Galvin or Luke's father. Like we care.

It's somewhat amusing that a show revolving around the quashing of half-lifes has zero life of its own. With any sense, ITV will ensure Demons remains sealed in a crypt never to be unleashed on the unsuspecting public again.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a14...-for-good.html