Gothic Vancouver: Blood Ties and Vampire Television

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Vancouver is not necessarily the first topic that springs to mind when discussing
vampire television. In an attempt to remedy this, the vampire television
series Blood Ties (2007) is considered here in relation to its Canadian production
context. Written from the perspective of a British academic viewing the
programme on a UK channel, I explore the series’ political economy within an
international framework (its production and distribution in Canada and its scheduling/
exhibition and reception in the UK), suggesting that the Canadian qualities
of the series are often willfully ignored in distribution and reception in order to
locate the series in a disparaging relationship to existing vampire television such
as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and Angel (1999–2004). It is argued that
this tension is also explicit within the text itself as Blood Ties negotiates a precarious
balance between its specifically Canadian identity and its concurrent attempt
to locate itself within a broader international cult television canon. The ultimate
failure of the series (running for only one season) is then located in relationship
to the recent explosion of vampire fiction on domestic screens, where the limited
budget and Canadian context of Blood Ties inspires a form of Gothic television
distinct from the American vampire series True Blood (2008–).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)89-105
Number of pages17
JournalGothic Studies
Volume14
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2012

Keywords

  • Blood Ties
  • Canada
  • Vancouver
  • Media Industries
  • Television
  • Horror
  • Vampire

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