Everything you need to know about Demons

What's the back story?
Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Merlin and you'll conjure up a relatively accurate idea of what Demons, ITV1's latest attempt at the Saturday night adventure-fantasy genre, looks like. The prime-time series stars Philip Glenister, better known to Life on Mars fans as DCI Gene Hunt, and Christian Cooke, recently of Echo Beach, as a godfather and godson duo.

Demons is intended to be a contemporary spin on the legacy of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but producer John Murphy says the main inspiration was London itself – "and, more importantly, the secret world that lies beneath those very clean and modern streets".

The programme's launch was preceded by a big marketing campaign. It also comes with ITV's first interactive online video game, intended to immerse viewers for longer than its weekly 60-minute transmission. In Demons the Game, gamers can take on the role of Luke to capture the ghouls and vampires taking over the capital.

The plot so far
The teenage Luke Rutherford – perfectly ordinary other than the fact that he appears to live in a rather swanky flat and takes a taxi to school – finds mystery godfather Rupert Galvin delving into his fridge one morning and his life is changed for ever. The American Galvin, Luke's deceased father's best friend, takes over Rutherford's plans for the evening and tells him he is the great-great-grandson of vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing – the Van Helsing of Stoker's Dracula, that is.

Rutherford realises he has little option but to accept his destiny as a warrior against the supernatural when he finds that he's being tailed by "half-lives" such as Gladiolus Thrip, a threatening monkey, and a gang of "hoodies" with disfigured faces. So, with godfather and godson pairing formed, they are joined by blind concert pianist Mina Harker and Ruby – a friend of Rutherford's who, like himself, would not look out of place on the set of Skins – to get "smiting" – the act of keeping these creatures in the half life.

The show's pedigree
The six-part series is the work of Shine, the production company founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, whose back catalogue includes the likes of Hex, Sugar Rush and Sinchronicity. And with Emmy Award-winning producers Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps on board, as well as the executive producer of Sony Pictures and a sizeable budget, it was a highly anticipated venture.

The cast is laden with big names. In addition to Glenister, Demons features Mackenzie Crook and Kevin McNally, both of Pirates of the Caribbean. Richard Wilson of One Foot in the Grave and Merlin makes an appearance.

So, is it a winner?
It'll do. In the absence of Doctor Who and Merlin, our appetite for adventure remains. This, despite not quite hitting their heights, pleasantly fills the gap.

Mary Evans of The Daily Telegraph had mixed feelings about it. She wrote: "It sounds like it really shouldn't work and sometimes it doesn't." But she warned viewers not to write it off just yet: "It's certainly worth sticking with while the storylines take shape." But Charlie Brooker gave it short shrift in The Guardian, making it clear that he would not be lingering to be won over by the series. "There's a fair bit of CGI involving a kind of half-mechanical gremlin, some overtly comic panto villainy from Mackenzie Crook as a monster with teddy boy dress-sense and a stuck-on beak for a nose, plenty of running about and shouting, and... that's about it. I was so underwhelmed, my mind kept wandering."

Kim Newman in The Times took a different line, writing that Demons was a show he would "really like to like", but adding that he felt it was constricting itself. He also questioned whether the "posh, pretty" protagonist Luke is strong enough to prop up the drama. He "can do a bewildered double-take when a monster jumps at him, but he's not the first man you'd turn to when you need someone to stand up against the forces of evil".

Doctor who – does it compare?
Saturday's viewing figures tell the story. While Demons pulled in a healthy enough 5.75 million viewers, it trailed behind Merlin's opening figures in September by nearly a million. The BBC's Doctor Who Confidential, which revealed that Matt Smith would be the next Doctor, following David Tennant – also aired on Saturday evening and achieved 6.11 million viewers.

However, as a new venture and with five episodes to go, there's still time for the nation to warm to Demons. And the tactical airing of Rutherford's torso in episode one will no doubt have piqued the attention of younger fans.

GHOULS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN: WHO'S WHO IN 'DEMONS'

* Luke Rutherford (Christian Cooke)
Unknown to him – until now – he is the great-great-grandson of the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, and he is forced to juggle day-to-day life with fighting vampires, demons and zombies. His father died in unexplained circumstances 15 years ago.

* Rupert Galvin (Philip Glenister)
Godfather to Rutherford, Galvin has an unhappy – and so far unexplained – past and an intolerance for what he calls "half-lives". The mysterious American was Rutherford's father's best friend, and has come back into Luke's life to teach him how to hunt monsters.

* Ruby (Holliday Grainger)
Rutherford's best friend, the only one of the gang with no special powers.

* Mina Harker (Zoe Tapper)
More than 80 years old, but looks more like 18. She uses dialysis to cleanse herself of the vampire curse set upon her.

* Father Simeon (Richard Wilson)
The zombie priest is a formidable-looking being, but he's a source of advice for Galvin and Rutherford in their quest.

* Gladiolus Thrip (Mackenzie Crook)
A menacing vampire with a bizarre-looking beak for a nose. Hates the Van Helsings.