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With The Twilight Saga: New Moon coming out in just two weeks, I thought I’d declare November “Vampire Month” for Watch Out!, as we take a look at some really great underappreciated movies involving vampires. For this first week, however, we’ll take a look at a TV show instead. It’s called Ultraviolet, and while it only lasted 6 episodes (or one season of British television), you can say that it’s quite ahead of its time.

Ultraviolet came out in 1998, roughly around the same time Buffy the Vampire Slayer took off, starring a few guys who would later earn much bigger popularity from other TV shows: Jack Davenport (Coupling), Idris Elba (The Wire) and Stephen Moyer (True Blood). I don’t remember how I first discovered this gem—it’s been years—but it might have something to do with hearing it mentioned many times by horror fans who named it as the complete antithesis of Buffy. Ultraviolet is a clinical, cynical and stubbornly realistic take on the genre, as evidenced by its refusal to use the word “vampire” even once. Instead, they’re referred to as either Code Five or the derogatory term “leech.” It also maintains a medical and scientific angle, but thoroughly exciting nonetheless, depicting the use of modern technology to investigate and combat the vampire phenomenon.

The pilot sets up a who-do-you-trust question that resembles class warfare more than a battle of good versus evil. The main character, a conflicted cop played by Davenport, is told by the vampires that the government team hunting them is a modern-day Inquisition backed by Vatican money (“Did they tell you I was evil? That’s what the church always say. Women, black, disabled, gay… and now us. Do you like living in the middle ages?”). Instead of providing the easy answer that the vampires are lying, the heroes confirm that the goal of the vampire conspiracy is to save mankind from our capacity for self-destruction (war, AIDS, global warming). That doesn’t sound too bad, does it? The problem is that their plan involves enslaving mankind, so they must be stopped.

"We're not the cops."

The cynical tone of the show is established immediately by this no-win conflict, while also making a commentary on the security-over-liberty intrusion of authority figures—something we didn’t really see making much appearance in American shows until after 9/11. Ultraviolet resembles that of a street-level, gritty procedural like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; not so much the format but the perpetually somber mood. It wrestles with how the existence of vampires interacts with everyday topics like pedophilia, adolescent violence, immigration and religious prosecution.

While it’s the pragmatic approach that interested me, it’s this consciousness that elevates it above camp. The third episode, for example, concerns a rape victim who may be carrying a vampire baby, bringing up topics like artificial insemination and, of course, abortion. The show doesn’t deal with it lightly, making sure to emphasize the horror of choosing between losing a child and an irresponsible birth.

A skinny US DVD set was released in 2001, containing all six episodes. It’s still available to purchase from Amazon or rent from Netflix and Blockbuster Online.

Watch Out! is a feature on JustPressPlay where Arya Ponto showcases lesser-known, lesser-appreciated and often bizarre small films that are cool and deserve to get some attention. Venture here to see all previous entries.