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Dreadful Media

Kromm

By Kromm
in Penny Dreadful [V]

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Kromm

Kromm

(edited)

Place to put your stuff that has to do with this show as referenced to, in and by the REAL monsters--the media.

Includes officially released materials from the show.  Use Spoiler tags for things the media outlet has discussed that seem overly spoilery, and continue discussion of those in the Spoilers thread.


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To start, a teaser which doesn't reveal much:

 

And a trailer that does reveal a few bits--at the very least some major creepage and major Victorian Sexytime:

 

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Oh, here's something.  A whole crapload of production "blogs" (more like mini-video featurettes): there's like 15 to 20 minutes of stuff so far there and it looks like they are still adding more.  

Penny Dreadful Production Blog

Edited by Kromm
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dohe

dohe

(edited)

The lack of media response to Penny Dreadful seems genre bias.  I am not bothered with the response to Fargo because I thought it was awesome.  I am bothered that Penny Dreadful, which was superb, does not get the same response for nailing it's story in the same way that Fargo did.  It is that double standard.  Plus Eva Green's phenomenal performance has being ridiculously overlooked. 

Edited by dohe
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paramitch

paramitch

I am bothered that Penny Dreadful, which was superb, does not get the same response for nailing it's story in the same way that Fargo did.  It is that double standard. 

 

 

I agree -- I still remember how surprised Matthew Zoller Seitz was (his review of the first two episodes literally called the show a "wonderful surprise" because he had almost assumed that it would be terrible.

 

It's like there's a strange thing with this show where I've noticed in several cases, there's this kind of weird assumption that "the show sucks," when it actually received fairly glowing reviews early on, and strong (if not ecstatic) reviews after the finale.

 

Yet I was watching Wil Wheaton's show a week or so after the finale, and he basically made a joke about how everyone knew how much "Penny Dreadful" sucked like it's common knowledge, and I was really surprised and bummed at his assumption that the show wasn't worth watching. (I normally like Wil, especially his championing the geeks and underdogs among us.)

 

And I definitely agree that Eva Green was completely overlooked for her performance here, but honestly, that's more the norm (as with the criminally underpraised Maslany) -- genre TV so rarely gets any respect. Still, as with Maslany for Season 1 of "Orphan Black," even if she was ignored by Emmy voters, I'm hoping Green may yet get a BAFTA nomination out of it. Either way, she was really a revelation here.

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sjohnson

sjohnson

There are people who think Josh Hartnett and Reeve Carney making out is sucky. 

There are people who think Josh Hartnett is sucky, period.

There are people who think Timothy Dalton is sucky too.

There are people who think Billie Piper is sucky. 

And there are people who don't think Reeve Carney is sexy.

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ganesh

ganesh

(edited)

Part of the reason is that no one just watches a show anymore. If it's not A+ in E1 then it totally sucks. The media is the same way. "Well,. after viewing three episodes, I think this show is a B so it sucks." No, it doesn't. It's different, unique and actually good.

 

Having more original content is awesome, but that doesn't mean more shows are going to be A+. It does mean more shows will be good though. I have no problem with good shows. 

 

Another reason with genre tv is that more often it has to be taken in holistically to appreciate it. Any one given episode of Orphan Black is basically Sarah running around going "wtf now?!" You look at the whole S2 and you get the narrative.

 

Same thing here. You watch one episode and you say, "holy shit, Eva Green is batshit. Now she's literally fucking the air." You need the full 8 to understand who these characters are and what's going on. 

Genre shows are also very different and challenging. Most people don't want that. They want the same thing over and over and over. 

Edited by ganesh
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sjohnson

sjohnson

Well, yes, there is a tendency for media hyperbole, both in praising and in damning. For those who care about this, the nerd quotient on genre is way high. There's no arguing with that kind of stats.

 

I'm not so sure that a greater complexity of plots and settings and so on affect genre series' reception very much. Many people appear to respond to complex plots by simply ignoring them, especially if they are absurd. See Lost or Homeland or The Americans. There is the fact that not everyone has willing suspension of disbelief. But there's also the fact that like every other feeling, belief is not just an act of will. Some will not and some cannot accept the outlandish premises. 

 

Also, Penny Dreadful is dreadully meta, starting with its title. Its lighter moments come from people like Sir Ferdinand Lyle or Vincent Brand. I find them delightfully droll but should everyone?

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LadyChaos

LadyChaos

(edited)

Has there been any word yet? I feel like if tomorrow nights ep were the series finale, they would have told us by now.  Then again, I've seen a few shows tell everyone on or after the show aired their last ep that it would not be renewed....

 

 

...this is the best I could find as far as news....just says renewal is still likely despite the ;average' ratings for a show on this kind of network...

http://www.parentherald.com/articles/49665/20160617/penny-dreadful-season-4-cancellation-news-will-showtime-renew-series.htm

A lot of sites are saying that the expectation is that the announcement will come sometime Sunday before the episode airs....another site speculated that the issue at hand is that Preacher and Penny Dreadful air at the same time, and since it was the debute season of Preacher which is similar to Penny Dreadful that it likely drew viewers to opt to watch that first, and watch Penny Dreadful later, since their 7+ ratings are much higher than their initial live viewing ratings.

Another thing that points to renewal is that they are planning a prequel comic series, I guess

Edited by LadyChaos
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snowblossom2

snowblossom2

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I'm not buying John Logan's story that it was "always" intended to be a three season show. Nobody plans for just 3 seasons. 

I'd buy that there was a first arc that was 3 seasons, and another beyond ala Carnivale and when he was told it was cancelled he changed season 3 midway. That's my take

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LadyChaos

LadyChaos

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm not buying John Logan's story that it was "always" intended to be a three season show. Nobody plans for just 3 seasons. 

Same.  It seems to me that it sounds like someone trying to save face, only it makes him look worse because if he really only meant a 3 season arc he planned it very poorly and didn't do justice to the talent he had.   Guess that's what fanfiction is for.  I wish they would make a book series or something out of it, that would be nice.  I know there is a comic book series coming but from my understanding its only a prequel series.

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teddysmom

teddysmom

I thought this too as I went back over the last few episodes and how they seemed so rushed.  He didn't have time to get those scripts done the way he probably would have liked. Geesh Showtime, you couldn't give him a couple more episodes to finish the season.
 

I'm seriously considering dropping Showtime. Penny D was the only reason I hung onto it, I hate watch Homeland for the most part. 

  • Love 2
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ChipBach

ChipBach

I agree, it smells like the noise put out after the death of Deadwood.  They were going to film companion movies, etc., which was all fibbery.  I still miss my Deadwood and giving it a conclusion.

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gik910

gik910

On 6/21/2016 at 11:54 AM, iMonrey said:

I'm not buying John Logan's story that it was "always" intended to be a three season show. Nobody plans for just 3 seasons. 

I am watching the NerdHQ Conversations for a Cause (as I do every ComicCon)- the actor who played Renfield is on one of the panels (Dirk Gently's) and said that one of the scenes cut from the finale was Hyde and Renfield at Bedlam with the perfected serum and that there were plans for those 2 to be connected in the next season...

Which just makes me sad. That probably would have been awesome.

The Penny Dreadful stuff starts at 19:59

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kryss

kryss

It's a little while since I watched, but I still recall the doctor recording her notes and commenting that there were three distinct, different personalities in Vanessa.  Presumably Vanessa, the demon and Amunet.  There is absolutely no reason to drop something like that in, that was a seed for the next season.  Disappointing, we got a rushed, incongruous (at least at this point) ending :( .

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Penny Dreadful received four Emmy nominations:

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE CONTEMPORARY OR FANTASY PROGRAM (ONE HOUR OR MORE)

OUTSTANDING HAIRSTYLING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES (NON-PROSTHETIC)

OUTSTANDING PROSTHETIC MAKEUP FOR A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL

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crimsongrl

crimsongrl

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

Quote

Showtime is bringing back “Penny Dreadful,” but not in a way many fans might have expected.

Announced this morning, the network has officially handed out a series order for “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” a new follow up story that is said to be a “spiritual descendant” of the original series. The news comes over two years after “Penny Dreadful” came to an abrupt end following its third season finale, a choice which was said to have been creator/showrunner John Logan’s plan all along.

Now, the show’s new “City of Angels” story will take viewers into an entirely new time period and location, set within the same “Penny Dreadful” world.

Opening in 1938 Los Angeles, the show will focus on “a time and place deeply infused with Mexican-American folklore and social tension. It will be rooted in the conflict between characters connected to the deity Santa Muerte and others allied with the Devil, and will explore an exciting mix of the supernatural and the combustible reality of that period, creating new occult myths and moral dilemmas within a genuine historical backdrop.”

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loki567

loki567

It's not though. Sounds basically like a brand new show with the Penny Dreadful name. I mean hell, isn't the 1930s past the penny dreadful period? I'll definitely check this out as John Logan's a very solid writer, but I'm just bummed that they didn't move forward with the original show and cast, even without Eva Green. I hope Josh Harnett could be hand-waved into this somehow.

And I guess this answers the question about why the original got cancelled in the first place and surprisingly, it's not because of Showtime. 

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