Penny Dreadful. The Complete First Season. US/UK 2014.
Paramount UK Blu-ray. 1080p/1.78:1 – Dolby True HD 5.1 – approx. 430 mins.
Starring Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett, Harry Treadaway, Reeve Carney, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper, Danny Sapani.
A new TV series including the well-known and dearly beloved characters of Mina Harker, Dorian Gray, and Victor Frankenstein, mixed with lots of vampires and other doomed and possessed creatures? I was all ears when I first heard of
Penny Dreadful. When I found out that two of my pet actors were playing leading roles, I had even higher expectations.
The basic story is pretty straightforward. Africa expert Malcolm Murray (Dalton) is trying to find his daughter Mina who vanished without a trace. He is mainly helped by Vanessa Ives (Green), a close friend of Mina’s. Little by little, more and more characters join the hunt for Murray’s daughter, who is obviously held captive by some sort of vampire.
Apart from several minor roles (e.g. Simon Russell Beale as a hilarious Egyptologist, and legendary David Warner as Abraham Van Helsing), there are three more characters working together in order to defeat their common enemy as well as their own devils on the inside: Ethan Chandler (Hartnett), a trick-shot artist from the US, Victor Frankenstein (Treadaway), and Dorian Gray (Carney). Each single character is multifaceted. Whenever you think you know any of them, a new detail comes to light and gives the whole plot a new direction.
I will cut to the chase now: despite my high hopes, I was not disappointed. The main treat of the series is definitely the cast. Although I watched the eight episodes Argus-eyed, I could not make out one single weak actor or character. It is difficult to pick one specific actor, as they all more than just play their parts, but my personal favourites were the short appearance of Alex Price as Proteus (one of Frankenstein’s creatures), and Reeve Carney’s Dorian Gray. Whilst Proteus must be one of the most heart-warming creatures in cinematic history, this version of Dorian Gray is one of stunning beauty and charming arrogance. His encounter with Ethan Chandler at the end of episode 4 (“Demimonde”) is mesmerizing.
Another merit of
Penny Dreadful is its production. During all eight episodes, you never have the impression that you are watching a TV series. The settings, the costumes, the visual and sonic effects, the lighting – the whole series looks like a well-made film.
Although I personally had the feeling that – at times - the series contained a little bit too much violence and could do pretty well with less sex scenes, I recommend this without reservations. The UK Blu-ray has excellent picture and sound quality.
