Penny Dreadful - General Discussion

[Guest]

This topic replaces the old Penny Dreadful forum which has been vaulted at the location below:

http://forums.previously.tv/forum/683-penny-dreadful/

[krankydoodle]

I just finished the three volume graphic novel series that continues the story after the last season. They're written by Chris King, one of the show's producers, and it was fun to revisit the characters. Having said that, there's way too much going on and the final volume especially is kind of a mess. And it's been a while since I last rewatched it, but some of the mythology and characters don't seem to jibe with what I remember from the show. It's also too bad that the ending leaves some threads hanging since it doesn't look like there will be any more.

I was fortunate that my library had them available through Hoopla because while I think they're worth reading if you miss this world, I probably would've regretting spending the money if I had bought them.

[Norma Desmond]

My favorite character and an unforgettable moment

[paramitch]

I loved the show so much, and am still so sad about the visibly hasty wrap-up when the originally planned four seasons would have been so amazing.

I feel bad for Logan, especially, because the rumor mill is that he got the news nearing the season 3 halfway mark in production, then had to hastily abandon the original main season 3 plots (Ethan in America, Vanessa in the UK -- parallel explorations of their pasts and fates) and instead hastily wrap up the whole damn show.

Supposedly the most untouched plot was Frankenstein/Hyde/Lily, which was rushed but remained the same (and which worked the best for me). I also thought John Clare's was beautifully done.

I thought he did a pretty good job considering, even though the end was so damn rushed and made no sense (as far as Vanessa and Ethan and the prophecy, etc.). But the acting was incredible as always, and the show remains one of my absolute favorites to this day.

I also feel like it never quite got the respect it deserved for the acting -- Eva Green was incredible, and Josh Hartnett was a total revelation for me (I had no idea he was capable of the complexity he brought to Ethan). I thought Rory Kinnear was (as always) superb as Clare, and the always underrated Billie Piper was AMAZING as Lily (yes, even given season 1's Irish accent). The choices she made for that character and her evolution were just wonderful to me (and her big monologue to John Clare in season 2 remains one of my all-time favorite TV moments).

I still miss the show. What enraged me was the terrible spinoff that came after -- I was like, WHY NOT JUST GIVE THE SHOW THE FINAL SEASON IT DESERVED? Sigh.