Penny Dreadful

jheilman

jheilman

Sr Member
Anyone who has Showtime watching this? Created and written by screenwriter John (Skyfall, Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) Logan, this combines many of the classic Universal horror characters with late 19th century London reality to deliver an original take on them all. Production value is very high on this. The sets and camera work are a delight. Writing and characters are wonderful. Bond alums Timothy Dalton, Eva Green and Rory Kinnear along with Josh Hartnett and a stellar cast bring this mashup to life. Frankenstein, Dracula and the wolf man are present. David Warner plays a consulting hematologist named Van Helsing. Dorian Gray is also lurking about. And the spirit of Jack the Ripper still hangs over London. Now, if I heard that description, I would probably think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing and run away screaming. :D But, this is not that. And, if you really love those two films, this may not be for you. The series treats all these characters seriously. There is violence, gore, shocks and sex. It's Showtime after all. Certainly worth a look. it's been renewed for season 2. Three more episodes of season 1 still to go. I'm loving it.
 
It's getting to the point that to get good tv these days you need a premium channel. This show would be right up my dad's alley.
 
It's a really good show. I'm not too keen on the acting. Eva Green sells it like crazy but there are some weaker points. It certainly doesn't suck, but I expected a little better out of some of the cast. Billie Piper for example. That girl is pretty good usually but in this she just seems 'eh' overall. But wow is it visually amazing. Even the opening credits are breathtaking. Definitely recommend people check it out!
 
Yeah, I keep trying to remember to DL the show. I love the cast they have on it and figure it was pretty good. I'll check it out tonight after the WC
 
Watched Episode 1 and searched to see if you guys were talking about this show :)

Looking forward to watching the other episodes based on the comments. I liked the first episode and was not disappointed - hope it continues to keep me watching I know the first episode did.
 
jheilman said:
Anyone else think Brona Croft will turn out to be the Lucy Westenra of this particular Dracula story?
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I haven't seen the latest episode, but to me, it seems like Ms. Ives is sort of the Lucy Westenra of the story (before anyone jumps the gun, it's safe to say that they're not following the stories they're borrowing from exactly. And since Lucy in the actual novel was 19 years old, and the way Mina acts towards her, it implies that they were long time friends in the novel, much like how Ms. Ives and Mina were in the backstory for Ms. Ives).
 
I agree with those aspects of Van's character. I was thinking about the demise of Lucy possibly also being Brona's. Before her death from TB, she encounters the vampire. She expires and there is a mysterious lack of blood in her body. She is laid to rest, but doesn't stay at rest. Victor takes up his friend Van Helsing's role and enlists Chandler to seek her out and put an end to her night-time feedings. Possibly? Maybe too much to have happen in the next 2 episodes. Possibly season 2? I have wondered which storylines (and characters) will conclude and which will continue.

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Borjis said:
meh.

watched the first 5 episodes and got bored with it.
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I always find it fascinating that opinions can be so divergent on entertainment. :D
 
jheilman said:
...I always find it fascinating that opinions can be so divergent on entertainment. :D
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It's the nature of the beast. As my username implies, I like a good zombie movie (or zombie stories in other media), but I gave up on The Walking Dead after two seasons because I found myself enduring rather than enjoying the episodes; as much as I wanted to like it, I just...didn't. *shrug* It is what it is. Penny Dreadful is moving at a deliberate (some might say slow) pace, so I can see why some people might become bored with it. So far it's still keeping my interest, so I'll continue to watch until that stops being the case.
 
One to go. Feeling more like The Exorcist right now. Hopefully the finale will get back to Dracula, Bride of Frank and Wolf Man a bit. Still, the look of this show is amazing! There are shots in each episode that I just gaze at in appreciation of the artistry.
 
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Watched up to the last episode...I hate the 1st son of Frankenstein. I don't care for how he acts with just killing people that are important to the Doc. Like that is really gonna want him to help you get a date. Have you tried E-harmony ha. But really I was hoping that Doc would have blow his brains out after he broke the old mans neck. MAybe say something to the gunslinger Ethan while the monster is hanging out side. He could shot him from a upstairs window and be back for tea in 1 min. Problem solved there.

Yes bring on the wolf man part, thought I was gonna see it when he went to the dog/rat fight. But none...we get more boring Dorian gray. You bore me to sleep gray. I'm changing your name to earl grey as in the tea since it makes me sleepy. What is up with the picture anyway...it has a reverse effect now??

Why doesn't anyone chop off the heads or stake the vampire chicks laying around? No, don't kill them while they sleep..wait until hell breaks lose cause we need to have some action to make up for Dorian grey boring moments.

I'm still gonna give it a shot until the end of the 2nd season. Just cause I feel that watching 2 seasons is a fair chance.
 
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Monkey67 said:
But really I was hoping that Doc would have blow his brains out after he broke the old mans neck. MAybe say something to the gunslinger Ethan while the monster is hanging out side. He could shot him from a upstairs window and be back for tea in 1 min. Problem solved there.
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I get the feeling that the target practice was headed that way. We'll see. But I think a bride is forthcoming.

Monkey67 said:
What is up with the picture anyway...it has a reverse effect now??
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Not sure what you mean? The picture absorbs all the evil and harshness of real life, leaving Dorian perpetually unscathed and youthful. Only when Dorian becomes wracked with guilt and stabs the portrait does all the evil transfer from the portrait to him. He is left a dead, withered old man and the portrait is restored to the youthful Dorian as it was painted.
 
I knew that he stabbed the painting to reverse his youth & beauty. I just didn't recall it healing him like he was wolverine. But once I thought about it, I understand that his body would just heal to it's normal state. I think I had gotten confused when he looked at it and the claw marks just healed up in a second. I do wonder how bad the painting looks now.

yeah I'm sure the show will try to make a bride. The gun practice was foreshadowing doc looking to fix his problem. It's a show, so they gotta entertain the masses and not solve things in a minute.
 
Episode 5 which I praised above was obviuosly very expensive so the last two episodes have been a bit talky and story hasn't really moved along. But as jheilman says the show is as beautiful as Eva Green.
 
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She's amazing. Her acting is just... wow. Blows me away. Anyone else would look like a moron doing what she does and she makes it seem real.
 
mistymills said:
She's amazing. Her acting is just... wow. Blows me away. Anyone else would look like a moron doing what she does and she makes it seem real.
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Yeah, Ms. Green does an excellent job in it. In fact, I don't think I can think of a role where she's done bad. She always seems to be on her A-Game and can also do creepy unintentionally (I swear, I could see her playing an alien and can play it convincingly).
 
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