S01.E01: Night World

[ApathyMonger]

 

Vanessa Ives recruits Wild West showman Ethan Chandler and big game hunter Sir Malcolm to track down a killer that turns out to be more than human. Meanwhile, Victor takes an interest in the creature as well.

 

On demand right now...here is the episode (unedited).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GMZBirzYAY

[David T. Cole]

I liked it. I have also seen the second episode and there's some great stuff there. Eva Green isn't doing it for me in her role but I'm enjoying Sir Malcolm. Victor Frankenstein is great and Proteus is really endearing. I talked a bit about the first two episodes in Extra Hot Great 29 if you are interested.

Sort of like a monster mash Carnivale

[joelene]

I was very "Meh" about it. It didn't hold my attention. It kind of made me question my whole interest in the genre. "Do I just don't like this kind of stuff?" But I do! When it's well done, I really do.

I just zoned out. I started when, was it Timothy Dalton, told Josh Hartnett not to be amazed by anything he'd see, a guy they -just- hired (for reasons I didn't understand), and I just thought: So if they're presenting him with a unicorn giving birth to a werewolf they expect him to just don't give a damn? I knew it would be something fantastical and, well. He did stay relatively cool, I'll give him that. It's not that I'm looking for realism, it just bothered me. Couldn't they have given him a lesson about the underworld first? It just happened so fast.

After this it just couldn't hold my attention, unfortunately. Why didn't the vampires attack Eva Green? I suppose there was a reason, it just bothered me that no one brought it up?

I usually think Eva Green is pretty fantastic herself but here she just felt wasted. I did like Dr. Frankenstein and the cliffhanger was good... I just for the life of me can't remember anything that happened in the middle part.

Edited April 29, 2014 by joelene

[atomationage]

I thought it was well done, but how many of these horror genre shows can anyone watch?  I liked the guy at the British Museum, and that scene best. 

 

Also, I don't understand this trend of filming television programs in the dark with very little lighting.  That works in movies.  On TV, it just makes you strain to see what the heck is going on. 

 

I might watch one more to see if there's anything more interesting happening.

Edited April 30, 2014 by atomationage

[Arynm]

It was ok. Josh Hartnett was hot (as usual) Eva Green was fine, I would like to know what she is that repels vampires. I got bored and cleaned out my pantry, with one eye on the TV. I guess I will watch a few more.

[Veruca Assault]

I felt like there was a lot of different pieces and tropes and was having a hard time following along. I'll give it another few episodes, based on Dave's comments about episode 2.

[Ariah]

I tend to go for anything gothic (and if it has the old League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel feel to it, I'll bite even faster), so I liked it. Not with zealous love, but still.

Kind of treated it as a game of "where did they take this element from".

 

Surprisingly, I liked Josh Hartnett. I used to have a big crush on him when I was younger - oh, good times. Then it went away. It may be coming back...

 

Eva Green looks like a woman on the verge of going down with the last stage of tuberculosis. The vampires seem to be scared of her... and her psychic powers, probably. Or maybe she used to be a vampire and now she has the mystical powers - the possibility of de-vamping a person would explain why the gang is searching for Mina (who must have been turned already). Unless they just want to kill her and save her soul.

 

I'm waiting for Rose Tyler... Erm, Billie Piper to appear. I never liked the actress but she way be an interesting character here. As could be Dorian Gray. Anyhow, the series has potential... and I have a soft spot for Victorian.

[bilgistic]

I feel the same way about Josh Hartnett as I do about Leonardo DiCaprio. They both look pubescent and grow patchy facial hair. They leave me cold. Oh, for Anson Mount in this in his time off from Hell on Wheels!

I felt the undercurrent of HoYay! between Malcolm and the young Dr. Frankenstein when they met at the club or whatever it was, then there was more HoYay! between Dr. Frank and his monster.

And speaking of the monster, how come the only time we get to see dick, it's cold, gray-green monster dick?

[Tara Ariano]

Dave and I discussed the episode!

[Pippin]

Also, I don't understand this trend of filming television programs in the dark with very little lighting.  That works in movies.  On TV, it just makes you strain to see what the heck is going on.

That was one of my big complaints as well, atomationage.  I was peering at the television trying to figure out whatinhell was happening.

 

I've been looking for something to replace "True Detective" and also marking time until "American Horror Story" returns (with a better season this time around, it is devoutly to be wished.)  So I decided to give this a go, and my reactions are ... mixed.  When you can actually see what's on screen, it's quite nicely photographed and the art direction is good; it does feel like Victorian England (with a touch of Steampunk, IMO).

 

I understand that they don't want to do the whole linear A → B → C thing, and I give them props for going with the whole "let's-just-drop-the-viewer-right-in-the-middle-of-the-story".  But hopefully there will be just a touch more exposition and backstory, because I felt like Josh Hartnett's character --  WTF is going on here?

 

On a shallow note, I loves me some Timothy Dalton.  I am probably one of the 5 people on planet Earth that liked him as James Bond; he has that feral, unpredictable quality that I felt was so much a part of Bond's personality.  (Liked Pierce Brosnan too, but another topic for another day and thread).  He brings some of that menace to this role, and I wonder if the loss of his daughter is some sort of karmic retribution for shennanigans pulled in Africa?

 

Also:  Mina.  Mina Harkness née Murray?

 

And I wonder if The Creature will follow the novel's vision of The Creature

(who was literate, could read and debate with Frankie but went on a rampage because of his creator's refusal to take responsibility for it/him).

?  (Erring on the side of caution and spoilering this because others may not have read the novel.)

 

In terms of my interest, it could go either way.  I'll certainly watch it next week and perhaps there will be more meat on the bone (and fewer hieroglphics (sp?)

[LoLo]

I liked it. I have also seen the second episode and there's some great stuff there. Eva Green isn't doing it for me in her role but I'm enjoying Sir Malcolm. Victor Frankenstein is great and Proteus is really endearing. I talked a bit about the first two episodes in Extra Hot Great 29 if you are interested.

Sort of like a monster mash Carnivale

I too love this genre & was annoyed by Josh's character not freaking out. I paused it & said to my husband, why isn't he yelling "WTF"? I would have been asking how much am I getting paid for this too?

[Happytobehere]

I agree that more background needed to be provided, even if only a VoiceOver explaining what is happening.

I also agree that the production needs more light, when I can't see shows clearly, I eventually tune them out and then turn them off.

I like TD and JH, so I have reserved hope. Too bad diversity will likely be non-existent with the exception of the man servant (slave?).

I hope the show is good, coming on when most shows are winding down puts PD in an excellent position to be a breakout hit. Evidently the ratings were pretty strong according to Entertainment Weekly, so if it just maintains momentum, it should get renewed. If it builds momentum, it could be Showtime's Sleepy Hollow.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Happytobehere

[Joystickenvy]

I wouldn't call myself a horror enthusiast and my interest in vampire & monster stories is generally pretty low but I thought I'd give it a shot.

It's not must see TV, but I thought it was interesting and plan to keep watching for now. My favorite part was Frankenstein & his monster. I liked that they didn't explain everything (like why our lady of paleness could stop the Egyptian vampire thing) right away.

I guess I must have a bright TV, because I never have issues seeing shows people complain about being too dark or maybe it's just years of playing poorly lit video games lol

Downloading the second ep from On Demand.

[SanLynn]

I enjoyed it enough to give it some more time to find it's footing. Timothy Dalton and the guy who plays Victor Frankenstein (sorry I'm horrible with names) were standouts for me so the more of them the better.

[mad_typist]

I was pleasantly surprised by the episode and will definitely be tuning in for a second.

 

I'm not 100% convinced by Josh Harnett - he doesn't quite fit the period to me. Some actors' looks just seem too contemporary I suppose. But maybe he'll grow on me.

[ganesh]

I liked that I didn't really figure out what was going on until almost half-way through. It's a B horror adventure. I can roll with a show like this. Who doesn't like London in the 1890s? Now with monsters!

 

I like that everyone is freaking out that Jack the ripper is back. I can totally buy how probably every murder for who knows how long, and they'd be running stories on him. 

[dr pepper]

Well that's what the show Ripper Street was based on.

[ganesh]

I know, but only S1. I watched that show too. That was influencing my comment. 

[BollywoodLover]

I keep expecting the Doctor or Capt. Harkness to pop up. I know I know, wrong show. So is Captain Nemo or some variation of the character gonna pop up?

[Meredith Quill]

Probably. In S2?

[ganesh]

If Harkness showed up this could be The Best Show Ever.

[Bec]

I didn't even expect Dr. Frankenstein. But then I went into this show knowing nothing about it. I only saw the name: "Ooh, a show named Penny Dreadful? Is each episode is a different penny dreadful story? I'm in." Okay, about half-way through this episode it became obvious that it's not that kind of show, and then they showed the lab: "Hey, is this a character based on Dr. Frankenstein?" Then he said "My name is Victor Frankenstein." I was like "Whaaat?"

 

Oh, one thing I noticed on rewatch (maybe everyone knew this already and I'm just slow): there was one short scene with Victor walking home in the rain. It was like he felt someone watching him so he turned around and looked behind him. You can actually see a blurry figure in the background moving to hide in the shadows right before he turned around. Duuuude, he totally felt that "gravitational pull" and/or "inexorableness"!

[Jordan27]

Late to the show.  I enjoyed the first episode.