A creepy and interesting take on the gothic horror tale Count Dracula - it's odd because, instead of normal stories being adapted to fit into the standard Doctor Who formula, it's the other way around!

I got City of Death vibes as the Doctor and Romana are enjoying a nice little holiday in Budapest, and it's always nice when the Doctor just gets to have a bit of fun before all the madness starts. Unfortunately, I don't think there's enough of that Fourth Doctor charm in this story - he's often straight-faced and serious and there's not enough of that whimsicalness for it to qualify as a Fourth Doctor outing, and could've been acted out by any other Doctor and there wouldn't be much difference. Romana just ignoring Count Dracula's creepiness is fun, but it shows off the essence of this character - Every now and then I have to remind myself that this is Romana II, not Romana I because she's not a damsel in distress like Season 17 has repeatedly done - which I love!

Count Dracula is not Count Dracula but an alien called Zoltan Frid who has the exact same desires as Count Dracula... It's weird, but fun. I like his scheme, but he just felt a bit... rubbish? Mark Bonnar does a fantastic job at performing the alien vampire, though, and made him really intimidating and creepy! However, he's defeated really easily and in a cheap way - being hypnotised into walking into the Sun. And the Doctor just happily murders someone?

I like the idea of exploring other areas of the world rather than just modern-day London, which is what makes stories like City of Death and The Labyrinth of Buda Castle special. I think, if this was a TV story, the location filming for Budapest would look great, and the settings are explored well, with a bit of time just running about the city before converging on the castle, which sets the gothic and scary tone excellently, with a confusing atmosphere to the other characters but not for Zoltan, raising the stakes as the Doctor tries too cope with an unfamiliar environment.

The side characters help to build up the threat of Zoltan Frid, as each character has well developed ties to him, with a vampire hunter turned accomplice, a military force under threat from the vampire and a sociologist who bonds well with the Doctor and Romana, but suffers a horrific fate and becomes a vampire.

Another great score from Jamie Robertson, mimicking the Dudley motifs but creating something new and original with them.

A really strong story overall, but in terms of the main protagonist and antagonist, there could've been more to distinguish them as important characters - which is no fault of the actors, as everyone in the story does superbly!