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I purposefully avoided reading anything about this show so I wouldnt have any preconceived notions. And I must say I loved episode 1. But dont take my word for it. "Night Work" is available on the Showtime website here: Click on "Watch The Series Premiere Now"
The name "Penny Dreadful" comes from the weekly "penny" stories that were popular among Victorian adolescents (and I'm sure many adults). Luckily for us there is no shortages of ghoulish material to choose from. The show open in 1891 right after the all too real Jack The Ripper murders.
"Penny Dreadful" opens with Vanessa Ives feverishly praying. I'm thinking her prayers were unanswered because she hears demonic voices and a spider perches on her hand. Vanessa visits a wild west show and later propositions Ethan Chandler to do some night work for her. He agrees (because he needs the money) and doesnt know exactly what has to be done. Vanessa and Ethan are joined by Sir Malcolm Murray (who is looking for his daughter Mina). Sir Malcolm is a famous African explorer.
They visit an opium den/ vampire nest. All hell breaks loose. There are lots of shooting and dead body parts lying around. Mina is nowhere to be seen. They take one particularly nasty looking creature to the "resurrection men" (who provide bodies to medical schools for dissection). A doctor is working over a body part and is definitely NOT interested in helping them, that is until he sees the body. The creature has fangs. He slices it down the middle to reveal what appears to be hieroglyphic tattoos under an exoskeleton. OK then.
Next Murray and Ives take the pictures of the tattoos to an Egyptologist named Ferdinand Lyle. He tells them the writing is from the "Egyptian Book Of The Dead" but wont reveal anything else until they agree to dinner with his wife. Yes he is a very strange and intriguing person. But what's up with that hair? I hope we see lots more of him.
Ethan is not sure what he got into. He asks for his money but Vanessa has him select a card before leaving. He stares into her eyes and draws "The Lovers". Hmm. Dont worry, he'll be back. Next Sir Malcolm invites the doctor who performed the autopsy to a gentleman's club. He asked him to come work with him. The doctor is not interested as he makes clear in a way too long speech (in my humble opinion).
Meanwhile elsewhere in London a woman and her daughter were brutally slaughtered. Was it Jack the Ripper (as the paper's are asserting) or the vampires or someone else? Malcolm is alone is his room when he seems Mina across the room. She comes closer but they shows her fangs and quickly disappears. Looks like its too late for her (but this is of course why Malcolm wants the doctor on his team).
Speaking of the doctor, after dinner he ran home to his secret laboratory. There he has a cadaver he is trying to resuscitate. Nothing is working until lightening strikes and the power goes out. Oops someone has moved. He finds the naked man in the corner (yes we see naked boy parts, this is Showtime ya know). I was worried he was going to try to kill him. The undead man who is named "Proteus" (after he points to that name in a book of Shakespeare) does not seem violent at all. In a very emotional scene he sees that the doctor (yes we all know he is Victor Frankenstein) is crying. Proteus may be a kinder, gentler Frankenstein monster than we are used to.
We see a little of Sembene (Murray's valet) and will hopefully see more in future episodes. Other characters will also be introduced but let's not spoil it now.
"Night Work" ends as it began. Vanessa is again prayed and the results were no better than the first time. In fact theyre worse. Instead of one spider she ends up with a swarm of bugs and an upside down crucifix. I dont know much about such things but maybe she should cut back on the praying for a while.
Favorite Quotes:
"There is some thing within us all"- Vanessa
"Do you believe there is a demimonde, a half world between what we know and what we fear?"- Vanessa to Ethan.
"Well, it would appear you have an Egyptian man of no particular age who at some point in his indeterminate lifespan, decided to sharpen his teeth, cover himself in hieroglyphics and grown an exoskeleton. Or you have something else altogether."- Dr Frankenstein
"You have made my visit truly memorable. I shall never forget you."- Ethan. "Perhaps you'd like to know my name, then."-woman he just had sex with.
Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). A great first episode. The only reason I didnt give it was a "5" was because some of the dialogue seemed a bit forced (see Frankenstein's speech to Murray). That is absolutely the only criticism I have of the show though. The rest was wonderful-- the sets, the actors, the cinematography and the costumes. Some has compared it to "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" but that was another horror mash-up so of course there would be similarities.There are only 8 episodes scheduled so dont miss it.
TV: Heavy On Sci Fi, Horror & Adventure; Light On Reality
Where else can we see this besides on ShowTime?
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