Penny Dreadful (SHO)
Premiered May 11 at 10pm
I’ll admit that I almost stopped watching this show after the first scene. I was torn between my commitment to watching every pilot and the fact that I just can’t do horror. I remember when, at the very beginning of my TV obsession back in 2005, I was terrified by the pilot of “Supernatural,” and I don’t think I’ve watched a full episode of a true horror series since then. Fortunately, it was really only the first scene that had that seriously freaky startling quality, and the rest of the hour was just full of gloomy gothic occurrences. There was plenty of blood and brutality, and this is the definition of religious-oriented horror. It’s simply not something I can stomach or have any interest in watching or thinking about, but I will admit that there was some intriguing dialogue. “The place where superstition and science walk in hand” is an interesting concept to be sure, and it’s hard to argue with the effectiveness of the line “The moment you realize you are no longer the hunter and you are the prey,” especially as uttered by one Timothy Dalton. This whole show could function solely based on scathing looks from Dalton and Eva Green, who could just stare people down for an entire hour every week. Josh Hartnett’s performance, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired, as he seems like the dumb, lazy American putting in little effort amongst a far more talented European ensemble. This could well be a sort of “Once Upon a Time” done right in a far more chilling, dramatic fashion, but that’s not a show I particularly want to watch.
How will it work as a series? I see the appeal of the final scene, reimagining the birth of Frankenstein’s monster in a starker fashion that’s not all that dissimilar from the conventional idea of the story. That actually makes this into a freak-of-the-week procedural in a sense, though one that thrives on gore and pitting its many characters against each other in as freakish a setup as possible. I think there’s definitely an audience for that.
How long will it last? This show is definitely searching for a niche viewership, and fortunately, it seems to have found it. After having been available to watch online early, the premiere’s ratings were higher than those of the “Homeland” pilot, but lower than the “Ray Donovan” pilot. I think Showtime will endorse this genre show with a second season renewal soon.
Pilot grade: C+
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