Penny Dreadful

I don't know if anybody's watching this but I've really liked the first three episodes. A gruesome, high-concept horror series like they did with Van Helsing but it doesn't suck. Timothy Dalton, Eva Green and Josh Hartnett are good but the Victor Frankenstein character is awesome. I like how they aren't revealing everything too fast and it's directed with brio.

 

I heart this show. I like a lot of the horror shows (Hemlock Grove is fucking legit), but this one is far and away better in scope. Each character is pretty fun to watch and their take on Frankenstein is novel. It's very worth watching, I think. The Girlfriend refuses to watch it alone or at night, if that gives you any indication of how creepy this show is. Billie Piper is sexy, despite the clothes and accent and some of the dialog is immaculate. "I've never fucked a dying creature before." Epic shit.

 

Watched all three episodes yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it, interested to see what sort of role Dorian Gray is going to play in the show.

 

Watched the first two episodes. So is this basically Once Upon a Time but for horror stories? Should we actually expect Wolfman and Mummy to make an appearance? This is like grown-up Monster Squad, isn't it?

 

I think it's obvious now that Harnett's character is an American werewolf (in London!) who swings both ways, the mystery vampire is Dracula and the primeval is The Mummy (judging by all the Egyptian undead shit)

This is centred around monsters that became famous in the Silver Screen era. Expect Jekyll & Hyde, The Wolf Man, The Bride, hell maybe the Hound Of The Baskervilles.

 

Yeah, agreed on all of these. I'm hoping the Dracula character has a bit more depth than the screaming bald guy who jumped out of the window in the last episode. At first I thought the Hartnett being a werewolf hints were a bit too obvious and intended as misdirection. But at this point it seems like there's not really another option. Hartnett is doing a really good job, he has completely outgrown the pretty boy/teen hearthrob image he was once know for.

I like the way this show lets everything unfold in its own time and is happy to suggest a lot of interesting ideas/references without throwing them in your face. The high point was definitely the Seance episode. Eva Green really blew me away in that scene.

Honestly, I'm a bit bummed about Proteus getting killed. I found his character a lot more compelling than Calaban. I'm also wondering if Billie Piper's character will die in the next episode or two and provide the body Frankenstein uses to provide Calaban with a wife. That could be interesting.

 

Despite the different style of narrative, that episode was completely awesome, I think the best one yet. Green completely owned every minute on camera, she either looked insanely radiant or completely deglamorized depending on the scene.

And no actor narrows their eyes better than Timothy Dalton.

 

I can't speak for the rest of you, but if Eva Green forced me to grab her boobs, I would not flee like a fumbling wuss. I would starve to death from never leaving that spot.

 

I really like this show, but the ending contained few surprises. The first season was gorgeous, well-acted and it didn't beat you over the head with tropes (even though they were there). I would describe it like "Hemlock Grove" but set 150 years ago with adults. It is also the definition of a "slow build".

With that said, the next season, assuming it happens, should be excellent.

 

Just finished the last episode. I had predicted who would be the bride of Frankenstein, but it was kind of a gimme. I didn't like the monster at all until the very end, when he was slightly less annoying. My favorite episode was the 7th. I just really loved how everyone was coming together to help Miss Ives. And agreed about Josh Hartnett - I sort of saw him as another beefcake, but this series he really has proved himself to be a stellar actor.

 

Okay, I'm confused. Y'all allude to Ethan being a werewolf here and someone else on another board corrected my assumption that he became a vampire and said that he is actually a werewolf. I do recall an incident in a prior episode with the wolves, but all we saw at the end there was him with some shanky teeth, and I assumed he was turned into a vampire by the white haired chicks that were overcoming him before they were melted away by the main vampire's death. So, he's really a werewolf and it just took that long for him to wolf out? Was there a full moon that hinted of this and I wasn't paying attention?

 

I know this thread didn't get much action for the first season, but for those that did watch it, you might not know that the new season starts this Sunday.

 

Sweet, thanks for the heads up.

 

Fucking right. It's the only good horror show on TV. Somebody gave me the"If you like this you, have to, like, TOTALLY check out Hemlock Grove!!!"
...that show is weak-ass teenager shit. Pussies. Give me rooms FILLED with hundreds of body parts in the first five minutes of the pilot. Women literally bathing in blood. Eva Green being fucked by the invisible Devil as her eyes milk over. This show is madness. Brilliantly acted, high-concept madness. And it works sooooooooo beautifully.

 

I'm binge rewatching to refresh my memory about plot points. It's fun to rewatch shows for many reasons, but my personal favorite reason for this show is that I can fast forward through that whiny asshole, Frankenstein's monster. He was a character that is probably more interesting on paper, but every time he was on screen I just wanted him to shut the fuck up.

 

I don't think he knows what he is. If he did, he would know how to prevent himself from doing more of the same (lock himself up at full moons, etc). My question is - was he bitten and became this way or is it hereditary and that was why his father was going to such great lengths to get him to go back home.

 

He knows. Remember when he submitted to the loose alpha wolf at the zoo last season? Plus his dialogue right before killing the two Pinkertons in the pub kind of hints he knew.

The Wolf Man had a hereditary curse
from his father. That might be what they're doing here too.