I've been watching a new show on ShowTime called Penny Dreadful. It's kind of a faux League of Extraordinary Gentleman, in that there are alternate versions of famous literary characters from the Victorian era. The show just got over the halfway point in its season, and so far on the show we have: Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mina Harker (Dracula), Dorian Grey, and Professor Van Helsing. There's also a Jack the Ripper esq. character on the loose, maybe? And werewolves are almost definitely going to show up before the season finishes.
The main reason I started watching the show is the stars: Eva Green and Josh Harnett are crazy enjoyable to watch. Eva Green especially takes center stage for a lot of the show, and absolutely kills every scene she is in.
There are a lot of things that don't really work for the show, or that just haven't come into focus yet. The plot is a bit scattered, especially once the origin stories start up, abandoning the plot proper for extended flashbacks. That being said, the two origin episodes they have done so far have been my favorites, mainly because they center on two of my favorite characters (Eva Green's Vanessa and Dr. Frankenstein's monster)
So the show doesn't always hit the mark, it can be a bit unfocused and everything about it is oh so Victorian. So why watch it? Because when Penny Dreadful is good, it is fucking GOOD. The characters are well-rounded and intriguing, the visuals are just gorgeous, the dialogue can be a bit wordy and that can be a turnoff for some, but it's clear that the show's single writer can wax poetically and I love it.
Plus, this show is first and foremost a horrorshow, and it does horror so well. There are no jump scares, no sudden loud shrieking bloody face to give you a quick scream. Penny Dreadful loves to show you something menacing in the background, in a place the protagonist cannot see. PD thrives on the slow burn horror, intense scenes that you have to watch between fingers because it's too quiet and SOMETHING has to happen.
So yeah, give Penny Dreadful a try if you want some posh Victorian horror in your life.
