The Monsters Are Back

In this season of "Penny Dreadful," we have moved beyond the world of the penny dreadful and into the one of its American counterpart, the figuratively more expensive dime novel. As the protagonists have all gone their separate ways and formed new alliances - Lily and Dorian, Hecate and Ethan, Victor and Henry, Malcolm and Kaetenay - and spread to different corners of the world, it gives the show an HBO vibe with quick cutting to display the many characters. This tact also builds anticipation for when our 'heroes' once again meet and merge subplots.

As a fan of the original stories I was excited to see Caliban/John Clare, our Frankenstein monster, in the Arctic. I was yet equally excited to see him searching for his lost past in Chinatown. Might it be too much to wish for an appearance by another Victorian villain, Fu Manchu? Or might the legal rights be too difficult to navigate?

The concept of Victor Frankenstein and Henry Jekyll (a black man in this continuity) being old school chums and fellow outcasts is a charming and imaginative one. I like it quite a bit. Their clashing and contrasting philosophies of science and the evil of man make their partnership one of both madness and wonder, and I love that they are currently quartered in Bedlam, the prime place to conjure horror of that age. Think how they could anger God together.

I applaud the addition of Patti Lupone to the cast, though not in the part she had been playing (and should have gotten a Emmy for, the Cut-Wife), but as Dr. Seward, a gender-switched version of the character from Dracula. Notably she is a distant relative of her former role, and is not the only new addition from that book. We also have Renfield, complete with fly obsession, as her secretary and the titular monster himself in the guise of Alexander Sweet currently romancing Seward's patient Vanessa Ives.

Dracula is of course not the only big bad waiting in the wings, as Lily and Dorian Gray are still plotting a domination of the human race and are teaching a young girl, Justine, their evil ways. Reeve Carney and Billie Piper are deliciously evil and have certainly come a long way from Spider-Man and Rose Tyler, Defender of the Universe.

Patti Lupone is not the only new cast member this season, there's also award-winning Native American actor Wes Studi. Unfortunately he is filling the role of the magical Negro that Danny Sapani's Sembene thankfully avoided in the first two seasons. Hopefully there is more than meets the eye with his Kaetenay character in the dime novel sequences of this season.

I am unsure where the subplots in the American West are going, even though I am enjoying them the most, but I do hope the London stories end with that old kaiju eiga trick of turning the monsters against each other. That would be awesome. Either way, I'll be watching this season.

For a different point of view on "Penny Dreadful," please check out friend and author Marie Gilbert's reviews of the series here at Biff Bam Pop!.

Showtime's Spoiler Problem

Showtime isn't HBO, not by a long shot, but they really want to be. There's one thing they could be doing that would bring them closer to their goal, and that's not spoiling their shows before they air.

Showtime has fantastic programming, shows like "House of Lies," "Penny Dreadful," "Ray Donovan," "HAPPYish," "Nurse Jackie," "Shameless," and my favorite, "Episodes," just to name a few. The problem is that seconds before the airing of a new episode, Showtime gives you about ten seconds of highlights of the episode you are about to see, usually revealing major plot points and twists of said episode.

WTF Showtime? I'll speak to you directly now.

You do understand, Showtime, we are already tuned in, or recording via DVR, we intend to watch - there's no need to entice us to watch. We're already there. All this plot revealing preview does is ruin the show for us. Sometimes there's no point in watching after these spoiler previews. See, this is hurting you, and ruining your hard-paid-for programming for you.

Is the point that you don't want us to watch? If so, you're starting to succeed. Stop it, just stop it.

The Return of Penny Dreadful

The Showtime series "Penny Dreadful" by John Logan returns to the air on May 3, 2015, even though the first episode of the second season is currently available OnDemand and on YouTube.

The series, taking on its titular genre much the same way as the films Pulp Fiction and True Romance, and the HBO series "True Detective," is a mad cross between The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Monster Squad with a strong steampunk sensibility. Taking its cues from classic Victorian monsters and turn of the century pulps, we get to see the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and others at odds with other forces of evil and shades between.

John Logan has an awesome pedigree over and beyond this series, including providing scripts for Hugo, Gladiator, one of my favorites RKO 281, The Last Samurai, Any Given Sunday, Skyfall and the upcoming Spectre. He also pens the season two opener, which picks up the story seamlessly from the year before.

The stellar cast returns as well, all amazing and compelling. Demons and witches are stalking about, Billie Piper from "Doctor Who" presumably will be adjusting to her new role as the monster's bride, and a wax museum of horrors has been added to the mix for atmosphere. This should be an intriguing second season.

For another view of the series, check out the recaps of "Penny Dreadful" by my friend Marie Gilbert over at Biff Bam Pop! right here.

Penny Dreadful

Taking its name from the early pulps of Victorian times that chronicled the serial adventures of such monsters and horrors as Sweeney Todd, Spring-Heeled Jack, Black Bess, Varney the Vampire and countless fictional accounts of Jack the Ripper, Showtime's "Penny Dreadful" is amazing television.

Literally, the penny dreadfuls were internet rumors like the Slender Man gone mad, but in cheap paper form. If Snopes were around then, charging per click, they'd be rich. The penny dreadfuls were the soaps, the internet, and the bedtime boogieman cautionary tales of the Victorian age, and the precursors of the American dime novels and pulps.

The spirit of the original penny dreadfuls is alive and well in the Showtime series as it tries to blend various Gothic tales of horror into one web of continuity a la Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Among those in for weaving are Shelley's "Frankenstein," Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and the one that ties them together, Stoker's "Dracula." All are public domain, and easily manipulated into a new tapestry. I was a bit surprised that Stevenson's "Hyde" was not pulled into the mix, but perhaps that's a tidbit for the second season coming in 2015.

"Penny Dreadful" is the creation of screenwriter John Logan, who has penned as many of my favorite recent films as well as some I'm not so fond of. A select few include The Last Samurai, Gladiator, Skyfall (as well as the next two James Bond films), the ill-conceived Tim Burton nightmare version of Sweeney Todd, and the absolutely wonderful RKO 281. He is definitely a get for Showtime, as is executive producer Sam Mendes, who Logan met on Skyfall.

The story focuses on Sir Malcolm Murray (played by Timothy Dalton, speaking of Bond, but he's a much better heavy than hero in my opinion), a Victorian adventurer and explorer very much in the vein of Allan Quatermain, who is searching for his lost daughter Mina. We know from the start, simply from her name, where she's gone, and what Sir Malcolm will be up against, but sadly he does not. Dalton plays Murray as determined, obsessed, and someone who will "burn the world" to get his daughter back.

His servant and confidant is sadly the stereotypical 'magical Negro,' but I like him. Sembene, played by Danny Sapani of UK's "Misfits," possesses a certain second sight and reminds me of a cross between Mandrake's Lothar and Nonso Anozie's Renfield from NBC's failed TV steampunk version of "Dracula."

Along for the ride is also friend of the family (just barely, more like scarred outsider as we learn from flashbacks) Vanessa Ives. A free spirit of the time, she's played by Eva Green, never one of my favorite actresses, as I felt she was not right for her roles in Casino Royale of Starz' "Camelot," she is well cast here. A medium, a vessel for possession, possibly friend and foe, Miss Ives is the crux of the show. Through her the others characters are connected.

Ives brings in American gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett, one of my favorite actors, especially in Bunraku) as firepower in Malcolm quest. Fleeing the US and riding with a Wild West show, he seems to have his share of secrets as well, the least of which are his drunken blackouts, and viewers' suspicion that he may be the Ripper menacing London behind the scenes of the show's main monsters.

Speaking of monsters, there is no shortage here. From singer/songwriter Harry Treadaway's creepy nerdpunk Victor Frankenstein to his two creations Proteus and Caliban to the sexy Reeve Carney, throwing off his Broadway Spider-Man typecasting to play the egomaniacal danger junkie Dorian Gray. He's still in the adrenaline business, but we get to see his face, and much much more of his body as well as his real accent.

Gray is after any new experience he can find, including bedding half the cast, including Brona Croft, the prostitute dying of consumption who has hooked up with Ethan. It seems as though she may also be the target for the Frankenstein monster's mate sooner or later. Just as Carney is trying to break genre typecasting, Brona is played by Billie Piper, everyone's favorite "Doctor Who" companion, Rose Tyler. I find her forced accent here annoying, but I guess she's still trying to shake off that whole Defender of the Universe thing.

The whole bunch of them are headed toward a confrontation with Dracula sooner or later, who himself seems to be more in the Nosferatu visual department, which when you go by the book is actually on mark. There are some wonderful homages and nods to the Stoker book, like the plague ship, and the way the flashback episode was done in an epistle, but by no means think this goes strictly by the book. The sudden and surprising death of David Warner's Van Helsing should cure you of that right quick.

There are two more episodes of the first season on Showtime, and you can read my good friend Marie Gilbert's weekly impressions of the show over at Biff Bam Pop! for another view. You should check it out, "Penny Dreadful" is not for the squeamish or the prudish (lots of sex, violence, and gore), but it is some of the best television going on right now.

Halloween Leftovers

Penny Dreadful ~ Okay, I had another one of those nights completely without sleep. And, rather than do something constructive like do some writing, editing, reading or maybe taking a walk just for the health of it – I turned to my old friend, Comcast OnDemand. One of the newer services, or channels (for lack of a better word), is Fearnet. This is where I found Penny Dreadful. This was a surprise, a very small and simple film that gets right to the point and right to the very real horror. Excellent performances by Rachel Miner and Mimi Rogers, this is a must see for horror fanatics. I would advise however you see it on DVD rather than on Fearnet. Halfway through the flick OnDemand, Miss Horrorfest interviewed writer/director Richard Brandes, and while it was a good interview and Miss Horrorfest is so easy on the eyes, they give away the film, making the second half not such a surprise. I was very disappointed by the way this was presented.

The Host ~ Also known as Gwoemul, this 2006 Korean horror was the talk of the genre a year or so ago. I have to admit it gets to the action almost immediately and the giant (well, semi-giant) monster stuff is merciless and frenetic. The first ten to fifteen minutes of The Host are relentless and unlike anything I’ve seen before. Props to director Joon-ho Bong for dazzling us with something new. It’s a pity that it soon becomes standard fair after that, a little bit Mimic and a little bit Virus. I also think it suffers from what appears to be faulty translation from Korean to English. The best part of the DVD is when director Bong apologies to the citizens of Seoul for tying up traffic while filming. See the first fifteen minutes if you’re a kaiju fan – it will open your eyes.

The Last Broadcast ~ A lot of folks dismissed this as a rip-off of The Blair Witch Project when it came out but the reality is this came first. As one of the first digital films it’s innovative and original. It also gets points for talking about the Jersey Devil without getting silly. My only question is - who’s holding the camera in the last sequence?