I don’t watch all that much Television series programs, expect some more articles on TV series soon. One of the few programs that I watch is The Strain adapted on the book series by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro.

I know it’s not as highly rated as some of the series I watch nor that much liked and I completely understand that but there’s some strengths to it. Over the series so far (we’re nearing the end of Series 3) It has gradually improved and I genuinely enjoy the series.

There’s one character I can’t stand is the main character Eph’s son Zach for reasons I don’t want to explain due to spoilers and the original actor who played him Ben Hyland was so grating and awful, he was replaced in the second series with Max Charles who’s more tolerable.

Like the book it has a great build up to the Vampiric outbreak. Though people were disappointed by the Master’s appearance which was much more scarier in the book. What I really like about the series is the story in itself and the history of the vampires and some of the characters themselves.

Before that though I have to say the designs of the vampires is excellent and in very much Del Toro’s styling. The gore effects are fantastic as well even though some of it is clearly CG.

Corey Stoll as Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, Kevin Durand as the Ukrainian-American exterminator Vasiliy Fet , Ruta Gedmintas as Dutch Vanders, Miguel Gomez as Gus Elizalde, Joaquin Cosio as Angel, David Bradely as Abraham Setrakian,  Richard Sammel as Thomas Eichorst and Rupert Penry Jones as Mr. Quinlan.

They are all very good in their own way my favourite characters have to be Vasiliy Fet who’s a very efficient vampire hunter who refers to them as Munchers, also his friendship/ surrogate father and son relationship with Abraham is fantastic. He’s very brave, unwavering and very physically imposing.

I wasn’t very fond of Dutch Vanders in the first series but in the second and third series she’s grown on me as a character and is very resourceful and has really come into her own rather than be their just for a love interest.

I really like the Quinlan character as he is a human-vampire hybrid, he’s an outcast as he hates his ‘father’ The Master and doesn’t fit in with the Ancients and their legions. Fet and Abraham don’t completely trust him as he’s part vampire though they are beginning to warm to him. He is an absolute badass in the series wiping out the Master’s vampires with ease. His backstory is very good and really humanizes the character and makes you feel empathy for him.

The biggest draws for me though are Setrakian and Eichorst because of the connection between the two and the sheer quality of their acting surpasses all others in the series. Setrakian is a Jew and during the war he was a prisoner in a concentration camp and Eichorst was the Nazi commander at the camp. Eichorst made Setrakian build the wooden coffin for The Master while the Master fed on the prisoners in the camp Eichorst was rewarded for his efforts by becoming a vampire and The Masters second in command.

The tension between the two is palpable and their scenes together are amazing and are the real highlights of the series. I only knew Bradley from Harry Potter as Filch. He’s amazing in this as the intelligent, grouchy, hardened, ageing vampire hunter who has a personal vendetta against Eichorst. He equally hates the Master as well.

His relationship with Fet is great to watch as he chides and praises Fet like he was his own son. So Fet is like a surrogate son to him He always knows the right move to make even if the other characters don’t realise it. Even though he’s really old he still dispatches vampires with ease using his sword cane.

Richard Sammel steals the whole show as the Nazi turned vampire. He’s devious, cunning, slimy, disgusting, sarcastic, cold blooded, a sociopath and a absolute monster and the best character in the series. I hate him so much I hope they don’t kill him off as he’s such a joy to watch on screen. The WW2 flashbacks show his depravity and lack of humanity before he was turned. His putdowns towards Palmer show Eichorst has a comedic streak in his character.

What’s really horrifying about the character is that he’s building Nazi-like death factories to feed vampires and to exterminate the humans after which is absolutely chilling and a parallel to the Nazi empire.

The story overall is fantastic and the action set pieces are great and the acting for the most part is fantastic. There’s a lot of tense scenes which had me at the edge of my seat especially for this season and the last and I love it. The mythology of these vampires are very interesting as well. It’s no guilty pleasure at all in my opinion. In fact I think it’s rather underrated. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it.

.