DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements Archive => Calendar Events / Announcements '24 I => Calendar Events / Announcements '14 I => Topic started by: Mysterious Benefactor on February 15, 2014, 05:43:19 AM
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'Penny Dreadful': First full trailer does not skimp on the terror (http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2014/02/penny-dreadful-first-full-trailer-does-not-skimp-on-the-terror.html)
Oh my!!
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Very stylish and cool. It looks as if inspired by THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN but with a much darker, more explicitly Gothic edge.
G.
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Wait a minute here... A show with elements of Frankenstein, Dorian Gray AND Dracula??
That sounds vaguely familiar! [snow_huh]
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Alt TV: Offbeat Shows You Should Be Watching - Penny Dreadful (Showtime) (http://www.tvguide.com/special/winter-preview/PhotoGallery/Offbeat-Shows-Watching-1079100/1079125)
Considering the show doesn't even start until May, I don't know why TV Guide has it in a list of shows we should already be watching. But no matter, it's nice to see it getting the recommendation. [snow_wink]
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wow...
I'm general not into the genre but i'll definitely give this a look. and eva green has got charisma is spades. she has the potential to have quite an interesting career.
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'Penny Dreadful': Watch Showtime's freaky new drama online before the premiere (http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/penny_dreadful_watch_showtimes_freaky_new_drama_online_before_the_premiere-2014-04)
I will definitely check this out once I find the time.
Also, in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly there's a two full page ad (in the prestigious right after the cover position) that features all the characters. They certainly look like an eclectic group - as well as one whose appeal looks to have something for everybody. Hopefully the show will turn out to be great.
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I guess no one has seen this yet? I caught it about a week or so ago. I saw it via On Demand. We have Verizon cable. Not my cup of tea, but anything I didn't care for stems from that perspective -- except for what to me felt like gratuitous full frontal male nudity.
I think fans of the genre will enjoy it very much. And even though I don't particularly enjoy the genre, I am intrigued enough to catch the second episode because of the cliffhanger. I'm no expert, but all the categories one might judge a production on, were above average or higher, in my opinion.
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dom honey, I really appreciate your astutely written review of this bagatelle, especially your red flag regarding
gratuitous full frontal male nudity.
As the Cyber Leader on Dr. Who used to say... EXXX-CELLENT.
This is definitely on my must-view list now...
G.
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I am especially looking forward to your thoughts on it, G.
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just caught the first episode...
it's still too early for me to formulate an opinion. it's not really my "genre" so I'm not sure what to think about it. but it was engaging enough that i'll continue to check it out.
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Gee... you thought the nudity was unnecessary? I thought it made perfect sense given what was happening... and was pretty unexceptional...
My favorite thing is Eva Green as Vanessa Ivy. Wow. I'm wondering though if Alan Moore has grounds for a lawsuit. It is VERY reminiscent of the original comic books, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN... Green's character in particular is reminiscent of Mina Murray (who, somewhat confusingly, is also a character in this). A to-me-unrecognizable Timothy Dalton plays Sir Malcolm Murray who seems very much based on Allan Quatermain in the LEAGUE comics (borrowed from the Rider Haggard novels, of course). Simon Russell Beale plays a possibly mad Egyptologist at the British Museum (and reminded me of the late Victor Buono in the role... hope he comes back). A young actor, Harry Treadaway, appears as a believably neurotic and obsessed Victor Frankenstein. Rory Kinnear has a surprise role...
The first episode includes vampires, Jack the Ripper, Frankenstein (obviously), tarot cards, Egyptology, mummies, carnivorous beetles, spiders, ghosts, and no doubt more I'm forgetting...
The Victoriana here is a little more believable than was the case in Jonathan Rhys Meyers' eye-poppingly lush DRACULA. If I had Showtime, I'd definitely be watching.
G.
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Gee... you thought the nudity was unnecessary? I thought it made perfect sense given what was happening... and was pretty unexceptional...
When it's unexceptional, who needs to see it more than once?
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I was impressed by how "overstuffed" it was...
obviously I knew vampires were part of the story and then at the end when the doctor introduced himself as "Frankenstein". but it was so cacophonous. the busy Victorian setting certainly heightened the effect.
in that it sort of reminded me of AHS. season 2 threw in everything but the kitchen sink from alien abduction to demonic possession to Nazi war criminals. do we just suffer from collective attention deficit disorder today and can no longer follow a single thread story? [easter_embarassed]
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Entertainment Weekly reviews this in next week's issue. They say Eva Green is "great," and overall they give it a B rating. And they sum things up by saying:
Writer-showrunner John Logan robs many graves and comes this close to ripping off Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Yet I dig Penny Dreadful as a twisted romance about our twisted romance with dark fantasy. It's a Frankenstory made with borrowed bits and recycled parts that could evolve into its own vibrant creation.
Hmmm - sounds like another show we may all know - especially the "borrow-bits and recycled parts" description. [easter_wink]
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'Penny Dreadful' New York City premiere photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-new-york-city-premiere-photos-20140508)
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'Penny Dreadful' New York City premiere photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-new-york-city-premiere-photos-20140508)
Thanks, MB. I haven't been reading reviews or cast lists, so I don't know for sure who Reeve Carney will be playing but can't wait til he joins the series.
Anyway, I saw PD today and it made me change my mind about getting rid of Showtime. In fact, I want to watch the first ep over again. The entire cast was fantastic. I can't say I felt a lot of dread during in this one but there was certainly plenty of gore. And the final scene was amazing; how cool was it to see a fresh take on something we've seen umpteen times in movies and even on DS?
Hmm, was Eva Green after Jonny Lee Miller's current job when she "read" Hartnett's character (without using her Tarot)?
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Midnite, I definitely thought of Sherlock (but for me, Benedict Cumberbatch came to mind, not JLM) in that scene with Josh and Eva. Eva is so incredibly good in this.
The NY Times review mentioned who that actor is playing, but if you want it to be a surprise, I'll keep mum about the role.
G.
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G, good morning! I get Quentin-ish vibes looking at Carney but I can wait.
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I loved the scene where eva was reading josh's tarot cards.
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 1: 'Night Work' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-1-night-work-photos-20140509)
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'Penny Dreadful': 5 reasons you should watch Showtime's new horror (http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/penny_dreadful_5_reasons_you_should_watch_showtimes_new_horror-2014-05)
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Penny Dreadful Puts a New Spin on Supernatural Legends of Victorian England (http://www.tvguide.com/News/Penny-Dreadful-Preview-1081557.aspx)
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'Penny Dreadful' monsters scare creator, 'but mostly they break my heart' (http://zap2it.com/blogs/penny_dreadful_monsters_scare_creator_but_mostly_they_break_my_heart-2014-05)
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Josh Hartnett: 'Penny Dreadful' is 'not clear about whether things are good or evil' (http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/josh_hartnett_penny_dreadful_is_not_clear_about_whether_things_are_good_or_evil-2014-05)
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I forgot to mention that I noticed a major gaffe in the script for Penny Dreadful, episode 1 (no spoiler involved)--a character refers in conversation to something like "a secret world, a demi-monde"--using the French expression demi-monde or half-world to refer to the supernatural and the occult. In fact, in popular parlance of the period, "demi-monde" simply referred to the life of wealthy courtesans and "adventuresses," flamboyant women who flouted convention with multiple lovers and a highly visible, famous or infamous way of life (in some ways, the Victorian version of today's Kardashian women, except that demi-mondaines typically lacked their own independent income--though some had great amounts of wealth settled upon them through fully legal means by their male admirers).
There's a Wikipedia entry on the demi-monde which is interesting to read. I think it said that the term became popular after Dumas wrote a play with this title in the 1850s.
I noticed another, sartorial gaffe that I find inexplicable in the photos from episode 2, but I'll wait until that has been aired to note it.
G.
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I eagerly await my royalty checks from Showtime. ;)
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Oh Penny darling, if only! I think Alan Moore may be looking for some checks as well...
Hope all is going well! I often think of yourself and darling Garou, and pray that he is well & truly on the mend.
sincerely,
GothEEEEEK
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Get your own Penny Dreadful Tarot Cards (http://store.sho.com/detail.php?p=523695&v=showtime&ecid=SMM-SHO-01042&pa=SMM-SHO-01042), lol.
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Well, that didn't take long.
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No, it didn't. But Showtime just may have a hit on their hands, so what better way to cash in than by selling related props?! [easter_wink]
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Showtime just may have a hit on their hands
Well, it's certainly looking like the show is a hit because the ratings came out and Penny Dreadful outdelivered the premieres of both Homeland and Master Of Sex. Plus, 62 percent of the audience was aged 18-49, which is the demo networks love.
Check out: 'Penny Dreadful' Premiere Delivers 1.44 Million Viewers on Showtime (http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/05/12/penny-dreadful-premiere-delivers-1-44-million-viewers-on-showtime/263233/)
And that's not counting the 900,000 people who sampled the show before the premiere - or the Live + 7 DVR numbers, which quite obviously aren't out yet.
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'Penny Dreadful' video: Watch Frankenstein's monster choose a name (http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/penny_dreadful_video_watch_frankensteins_monster_choose_a_name-2014-05)
Shouldn't that really be Frankenstein's creation rather than monster since there have yet to be any signs that he's monstrous?
And apparently he found some clothes. I guess they didn't want to go with the subtext that would have been unavoidable had he stayed naked. [wink2]
Also, can't wait to see what's really happening at the seance with Vanessa(Eva)...
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I thought he brought his brother back to life, which I found very moving. I had no intention of watching this (damn it - I think I am hooked) so I missed or forgot any Frankenstein references. The sneak peeks were awesome and I now know everything I never wanted to know about 'Proteus' the Greek/the gentleman/the condition.
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 2: 'Seance' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-2-seance-photos-20140516)
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I caught episode two last night...
this thing is so weird I don't even know what to think about it.
the séance scene was beyond. Eva was almost demonic and it actually recalled to me her final scene in DS. she's definitely in her element here.
and the final few seconds... gross! [easter_shocked]
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I also just watched episode 2 and it is all quite the bizarre concoction. Art direction seems to wind up trumping performances and storyline; though set in the 1890s, it is very much an artifact of our times.
Simon Russell Beale is too delicious, though. The scenes with Dr. F and friend were poignantly played but I found the denouement to be gratuitious and garish. Still, this is what audiences expect.
I do hope to keep watching...
G.
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For those who enjoy technical stuff (and who have seen the episode), this featurette reveals how some of the special effects and stunts in episode 2 were accomplished. Eva Green is not only an extraordinary actress, she's physically also got great stamina and flexibility:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg5XaxTy1qs
G.
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 3: 'Resurrection' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-3-resurrection-photos-20140522)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg5XaxTy1qs
I finally got to watch this today. Very interesting how things were shot! Though it comes as no surprise to us that Eva Green is a "very capable and agile actress." [easter_wink]
Thanks so much for posting the link, Gothick. [easter_smiley]
Who knows what they have in store for us this week...
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Ask Matt: ..., Penny Dreadful, ... (http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ask-Matt-Finales-1082279.aspx)
(Scroll down to Question #5. (Can't say I agree with Matt's assessment of NBC's Dracula, though. But hey, no one agrees about everything all the time. And, of course, this isn't the topic to discuss that show.))
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Awesome second episode, but the ending went over my head, until viewing ep three. My first instinct was to pan ep three but I ended up totally engrossed in the Frankenstein stuff -- That s--t was off the f------g hook, IMO. I made myself laugh thinking of the older stage actor who rescues firstborn from the streets as a W.C. Fields portrays Professor Stokes (Stokes rescuing and cultivating Adam) thang. All but one of my TV shows are on hiatus so I am happy I have the time to watch this, I may not have otherwise. I don't look forward to seeing it but when I remember too, I totally enjoy it. And sometimes it's downright awe inspiring.
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I continue to find this a very compelling series. Eva Green's character reminds me so much of Mina as depicted in the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN comic books (by Alan Moore). [spoiler]The scene with Ethan Chandler and the wolves in the park was really weird. I would have liked it better with less hyped-up sound FX though... I think wolves can be very silent... in real life, of course. [/spoiler]
I just have to comment that Josh Hartnett looks really pretty with his clothes off...
G.
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speaking of Hartnett's oft-seen derriere G...
if you look at how those scenes are shot you get a closeup of Josh's face followed by a full back view where his face is not at all visible. makes me wonder if there is not perhaps a bit of "stunt butting" going on. is there a "stand in" or double for the actual nudity?
that said I'm sort of having an attitude of attraction/repulsion to this whole sh*tshow. I'm sort of engaged (perhaps it's Green that's drawn me in?) but I can't make heads nor tails of it and cannot imagine where it's possibly going it's so all-over-the-place.
like dom said it's fine summer viewing while most things are on hiatus.
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I don't get Showtime and don't want to get involved in something else, anyway. They have the first episode on their free trial, and I couldn't decide whether to bother. So, a few days ago I finally watched it from the OnDemand. I had never heard of Eva before DS and so it was very interesting to see her in something different.
I had mixed feelings. It seems to have potential; there were a lot of interesting things, but overall, I don't know that I was particularly wild about it.
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Thanks, michael, for those thoughts. Interesting speculation. Body doubles have been used for a very long time in films and television so it may well be that you're right.
G.
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Coincidentally, I've happened upon two movies featuring Harry Treadaway (VF) since the start of Penny Dreadful and one happens to be Depp's The Lone Ranger, and he was awesome in it as loony outlaw who likes pretty things.
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 4: 'Demimonde' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-4-demimonde-photos-20140530)
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the continued and flagrant misuse of the phrase demimonde on this series, now taken to the extreme of titling the episode, is baffling. do they just think most viewers are so stupid they won't notice it???
sort of reminds of when Depp Shadows was being filmed and everyone kept calling everything "Victorian". like it was just some generic catchall for a period piece where women wore long dresses. [easter_rolleyes]
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michael, I think it's all part and parcel of the erosion of what I would consider basic literacy. If this show becomes big enough, I'm sure come Halloween we're going to see "demimonde" themed parties that involve mortals dressing up as various supernatural characters.
Your comment about Victorian reminds me of how surprised I always am in the DS Original Series when Barnabas finds Maggie at haunted, deserted Collinwood wearing one of Rachel's old dresses and he identifies the clothing as "Victorian"... apparently some of what he did those long nights at the Old House was paging through books of changing fashions through the ages since his imprisonment!
G.
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interesting point about Barnabas' ability to identify "Victorian" fashion. you'd think any style of dress between 1795 (or 6? of was it 7???) and 1967 would be unrecognizable to him under the circumstances. [easter_wink]
I have to assume the writers of PD just though "demimonde" sounded like a "cool" word and figured it was obscure enough that most viewers would not know it was being grossly misused.
and granted she's just a teenager but I recall Chloe Moretz describing Barnabas as both an "Elizabethan" and a "Victorian" gentleman during the prerelease press for the film. needless to say of which he was neither. [easter_rolleyes]
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similarly on the DS I recall any character being involved in anything weird (séances. tarot card. crystal ball) was always a "devoted student of the occult".
"occult" being something of a catchall on the series.
that and having "second sight". [easter_rolleyes]
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Well, even today "the occult" is a pretty common catch-phrase that's used among people who move in certain circles. It's kind of a stand-in for a more precise word that English doesn't have to denote a very broad spectrum of paranormal phenomena and the cultural expressions and traditions that have crystallized around said phenomena. In recent years the word "occulture" has become popular for the social and cultural dynamics of communities that people form in the pursuit of certain inquiries.
Getting back to Penny Dreadful I thought Rory Kinnear's performance as "Caliban" was really amazing... even though the events represent a new departure for how we've seen this story played out in other narratives, the interaction and dialogue for the good Doctor and his progeny comes closest to Mary Shelley than I've ever seen on film...
G.
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was "caliban" the first or second "creation"?
I must say they really "faked out" the audience with the first one. giving him a personality and almost a "backstory" that they appeared to be developing. he seemed to being "fleshed out" as a character before...
well, you know.
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certainly did not see that coming at the end of episode four...
presently clutching pearls and fanning vapours.
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michael darling, I have just the thing to calm you down... it's this enchanting new drink called absinthe... otherwise known as the Green Faery (I am so, so disappointed the writers did not invoke "the Green Faery" phrase--I mean, you're writing for Dorian Gray... do your research!)
Needless to say, I loved every moment of the ULTIMATE scene.
Apparently Oscar Wilde fascinated some really butch men back in the day... I almost thought this was a tribute to all of that...
And can I just say how much I LOVE how character-focused this show is? THIS is how a new DS should be done...
OK, done ranting for now...
G.
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oh life in the demimonde...
never a dull moment. [ghost_wink]
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if you look at how those scenes are shot you get a closeup of Josh's face followed by a full back view where his face is not at all visible. makes me wonder if there is not perhaps a bit of "stunt butting" going on. is there a "stand in" or double for the actual nudity?
I finally got to watch Ep #3 last night and I took note of what you said about how the scene was filmed. Interestingly, though, I've read in several different articles that all the actors involved in the show have a clause in their contracts that requires them to appear nude if a scene should feature it. Can they get around that by using a double? I wouldn't think so - but who knows? Though any question of whether or not Josh Hartnett is doing his own nudity is moot now given how a scene in Ep #4 (which I also watched last night) was shot. [ghost_wink]
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 5 video: Will Mina contact Vanessa? (http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/penny_dreadful_season_1_episode_5_video_mina_vanessa-2014-06)
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needless to say over on the show's FB page the homophobes are in full-fledged meltdown mode over this development. I thought people in "goth" culture were supposed to be permissive about this "sort" of thing.
and really. in a show with unrelenting murder and gore this is what gets panties in a bunch??? whatever.
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I actually thought the violence against animals, especially the scene in the underground club, was quite disturbing. Presumably the people you mention didn't bat an eyelash. For some reason, it's OK to bludgeon another human being (or animal) in close-up slo-mo, but have one man kiss another onscreen and we're scolded for "damaging my kids with your sick garbage." Puh-leaze, mary.
One of the subtexts that's building in this story is that the "normal" humans behave in ways more monstrous than the actual supernatural "monsters."
Only four more episodes of this brilliant show left to air.
G.
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My friend just messaged me that this series has been renewed for a second, 10 episode season.
I haven't seen a link to confirm... apparently they are planning a big presence at the San Diego Comics Convention.
I guess Showtime actually gets the concept of niche marketing unlike the brass at the "regular" networks.
G.
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Here's confirmation:
'Penny Dreadful' renewed for bigger Season 2 on Showtime (http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/penny_dreadful_renewed_for_bigger_season_2_on_showtime-2014-06)
No mention of ComicCon in the article - but no doubt reports about that will be all over the Internet before too long...
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that's good news. although a lot of the haters are vowing "never to watch it again" after the gay kiss...
the tempo of this conversation reminds me of the hysterics that often come up when it's suggested that a *certain* DS actor 'might' have been gay. I have to say there is a disturbing and virulent undercurrent of homophobia that runs through the "comic con" crowd. you'd think that perhaps being something of a group of "outsiders" themselves they might have a greater openness to difference in this area but they largely do not. there's almost an "adolescent" repulsion and defensiveness around "the subject".
I was offended by a lot of the remarks at first but then I rethought this whole thing. a lot of these deluded weirdos are in need of a bit of a reality check.
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back on topic...
I wonder if season two will be a "continuation" of season one or if the series will be more like 'American Horror Story'. a loosely connected "anthology" type of show using the same actors but with different plots and characters each season?
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 5: 'Closer Than Sisters' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-5-closer-than-sisters-photos-20140604)
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Still quite impressed overall.
I was hoping the kiss would be between Victor and the old man - I was sorely disappointed. I giggled immaturely during the kissing scene - surprising myself - and as per usual, the weekly cliffhanger went over my head.
Based on the strength of this season so far, I find the news of a second season very exciting.
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Victor is really starved for love and affection. At least Caliban has the theatre and his work there. Victor is truly alone.
G.
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Maybe the 'immortal mate' will fall for Victor, or vice versa... If she gets created at all.
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any reports on last night's episode?
I haven't seen it yet.
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Here's a recap:
'Penny Dreadful' season 1, episode 5 recap: 'Closer Than Sisters' examines Vanessa's twisted past (http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/penny_dreadful_season_1_episode_5_recap_closer_than_sisters_vanessas_ives-2014-06)
I also haven't seen it yet (or read that recap), but from the previews it looks like it's a very interesting ep for Eva Green's Vanessa.
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I'm ready to watch -- hoping the giant TV is available, lol.
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 6: 'What Death Can Join Together' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-8-what-death-can-join-together-photos-20140610)
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no thoughts on last week's Eva-intensive installation???
unlike the previous week's grousing many fans are calling it a "masterwork" and the high point of the series thus far.
I thought it was well done and beautifully shot. Green was excellent as always. it did provide some much needed background for the character's connection to the Murray family.
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Kind of sad that this show (despite the reaction of homophobes) is actually just like any other--where gay sex scenes are given five second flashes, while straight sex scenes are more like five minutes of richly detailed action. I hope that will improve and Dorian will either end up with Ethan again (fabulous couple!) or perhaps even Victor.
Anyway, while I tuned out of the first episode after it looked like it was just another vampire-hunting story, I'm glad I came back to it because this show is so much better then I thought it would be. On that note, while the creatures murder's are senseless and cruel (in Mary Shelley's book Victor had a childhood sweetheart and a family for the creature to use as blackmail--but here he's close to no one, so basically if he says hi to someone in the street, Caliban might kill that person), it nevertheless was nice that they got rid of Van Helsing, since that character has been so overdone and IMO, extremely boring. Could the actress that Caliban is falling in love with be Sybil Vane from The Picture of Dorian Gray, I wonder? I'm glad there will be a season 2, though Malcolm can die at any time now and I'd be satisfied.
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Bat, those are excellent points. I thought the same about the Ethan/Dorian scene but I did appreciate the subtlety and beauty of the seduction involved.
I see what you mean about the character of Sir Malcolm, but I doubt whether he's going anywhere.
I think Ethan is in some ways the biggest mystery of all. There are a lot of theories, which some fans are practically treating as canon now, but in reality, we know very little about him.
The behavior of the Caliban character reminds me a lot of Adam, but the dialogue and the way Caliban's stuff is mounted and presented is soooo much better. And the scenes are well paced. The Adam scenes tended to drag on and on. I actually think Robert Rodan did some fabulous work in the role but, sadly, few fans seem willing to acknowledge that.
G.
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I keep hearing chatter that the ethan character is...
a.) a werewolf or...
b.) jack the ripper.
I'm viewing it somewhat casually and know little about the "lore" of either option so I'm not sure what "clues" people are picking up on on this point. was there an early episode where he "lost time" or something to that effect?
after originally thinking this was just something of a style-over-substance pastiche of Victorian horror melodrama the overall "narrative" is starting to become somewhat clarified for me.
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For those who may have missed the Critics' Choice Television Awards last night, the members of the Broadcast Journalists Television Association announced Penny Dreadful as one of their six Most Exciting New Series for 2014.
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I've suspected since the second ep that the Ripper style murders are the work of a werewolf. And as for Ethan, there have been clues that he could be the werewolf. For one, there's possibly something right in the opening credits sequence. And, yes, he was shown waking up one day and having had no idea where he was or how he got there. However, there are also conflicting facts like, if he is a werewolf, apparently, as I mentioned to dom and Midnite, he belongs to the DS school of werewolf clothing because, mostly like Chris, Ethan's clothes were barely mussed when he woke up that morning. He wasn't naked, which is the way things are mostly played these days when it comes to showing werewolves waking the morning after. Hell, Ethan still even had his hat. And when he and Brona went to the theater, he didn't blink an eye at the werewolf skit. In fact, he got a good laugh out of it, which seemed like an odd reaction from him if he is a werewolf himself. But then there's also the way the wolves reacted to him. So, I suppose we shall see...
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A friend of mine has a theory that Ethan may be an avatar of Anubis, the jackal-god of ancient Egypt, who was a Psychopomp--a guide of the Dead from this realm to the Fields of the Just--the Opener of the Way, and the God who magically reunited the dismembered limbs of the dead Osiris and returned Him to life. But Ethan may not be aware that he is an avatar...
Another friend thinks that Ethan received some form of Initiation rite from one of the tribes in his travels in America and that initiation is the source of his ability to commune with the wolves.
I like this second view the best... but it's really all pure speculation at this point.
G.
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I haven't really thought that Ethan has to be another supernatural character. But I don't see Jack The Ripper, since Ethan has such a kind heart and is desperately trying to keep a London prostitute alive, while the ripper murdered them. I wouldn't want such a likeable character to go that way. He could be a werewolf, and using the alcohol to numb the pain and his own awareness of transformations. Or perhaps an Avatar and linked to Vanessa in that way. But we'll see.
Gothick, I agree with you, Caliban is much more complex and well-acted then Adam ever was, and the way he's is written is much more in line with romanticist literature. I do wish the other creature had lived longer though; he seemed to have some awareness of a past life which Calban has made no mention of yet. I also really loved that scene between Ethan and Dorian, even though it was cut short.
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 7: 'Possession' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-7-possession-photos-20140620)
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linked to Vanessa in that way
Ethan's attraction toward and seeming devotion to Vanessa are other interesting aspects to his character. I have no theories as to what they mean. And they would certainly seem to have no connection to any of the werewolf theories. But they have been stressed several times, so they certainly mean something.
If the photos from tomorrow's ep are any indication, we may get some clues soon...
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looks like Green is positively going to chew the scenery to shreds. [ghost_shocked]
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There's an advance clip scene between Green and Treadaway (from tonight's show) on YT that is stunning... and it really exemplifies how this story is completely about character emotions and interactions... which is why I love it. THIS is what I would call a Dark Shadows flavor...
G.
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Last week's ep took my breath away. Eager for tonight's ep.
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Here's what tvguide.com's Matt Roush has to say about tonight's ep:
For a truly terrifying hour of TV, consider Showtime's better-by-the-week Victorian Grand Guignol Penny Dreadful (Sunday, 10/9c), which devotes the entire episode to one of the most harrowing exorcisms since Linda Blair went to hell and back. And Eva Green, as the demonically possessed Vanessa Ives, is a much better actress. She hisses, she shrieks, she convulses, she attacks literal and emotional jugulars, and by the end, everyone's exhausted. But all too ready for whatever freaky thing comes next.
Critic's Notebook: Summer TV Comings and Goings (http://www.tvguide.com/News/Roush-Critics-Notebook-Summer-TV-1083229.aspx)
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This was another great character-centered episode. Vanessa's comments to Ethan about feeling like there was an animal inside of her trying to scratch it's way out seems to hint more at his being a werewolf, but we'll see. I loved the bonding between Victor and Ethan, and choice comments to Malcolm like "I guess ths is what happens when you murder your way through an entire continent." I'm glad no one is really on his side.
I'm surprised next week is the season finale. It seems that Victor hasn't started working on Caliban's "immortal bride" at all (I guess he wouldn't settle for one of those vampire women they find sleeping in warehouses all the time.) If Victor just takes a complete corpse and modifies it a bit, I guess it could go by fast enough.
The preview for next episode kind of annoyed me. [spoiler]Malcolm has the nerve to say to Vanessa that if need be he will 'sacrifice her' for Mina....Why don't you sacrifice YOURSELF for Mina, Malcolm? How is what Vanessa did any worse then your crimes? [/spoiler]
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this installment just left me shell shocked...
I'm scared to go to bed. [8371]
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'Penny Dreadful' Season 1, episode 8: 'Grand Guignol' photos (http://www.zap2it.com/photos/zap-penny-dreadful-season-1-episode-8-grand-guignol-photos-20140625)
::Sob:: that the finale is already coming up. [ghost_sad] But at least we already know we have 10 more eps to look forward to next season. [ghost_smiley]
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this installment just left me shell shocked...
I'm scared to go to bed. [8371]
Wow - really? I haven't gotten the chance to watch it yet - but now you've got me really intrigued!! [ghost_wink]
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Well, MB, I promise that the closing minutes of last week's episode will leave you with even more questions about Ethan.
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I still haven't gotten the chance to watch - but now I really have to watch it today so that I can also watch tonight's finale!! [ghost_wink]
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I promise that the closing minutes of last week's episode will leave you with even more questions about Ethan.
Yes, very interesting. And who knows what's up with those two guys in the previews who are after him? But soon we shall see...
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I found the finale powerful and moving! I'll be very happy to revisit these characters next season. I love this show.
[spoiler]It was really heart-warming seeing Malcolm make the right decision to save Vanessa. Of course if his affair with Vanessa's mother went on for that long, she could be his biological daughter, but it's much more powerful that all of these characters choose to make their own family out of one another. I hope they did get to have a Christmas party...
I saw it coming from last week that Ethan's consumptive lover was going to become the immortal mate after she died. I love Victor's scenes, and how his actions in this episode were initially based on compassion (something the book Dr. never expressed for the creature) even though this won't really turn out well for anyone.
I'm glad that Ethan didn't turn during the battle against the vampires, as that would have been totally classless. [/spoiler]
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Great finale. I'm hoping for a new cast and story next season. Why muck this up with a sequel?