Good TV
-
Sadly Penny Dreadful is done. Apparently it was always designed as a 3 season show, basically a play in three acts. And I have to say it ended beautifully. I actually like that the creators aren't dragging it on and making the story up as they go along. Knowing that they had a concise narrative to tell from the beginning makes me appreciate it more. One of the best TV shows I've seen in a long time. And that last episode. Holy crap.
Catriona Hartigan is the New Cool.
That depends entirely on whether or not there's a Season 4, I think. Which seems...questionable. At best.
Why would it depend? She's still the New Cool. DON'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME.
I
her. She's great.in fact, most of the female characters of Penny Dreadful have been very compelling.
And man, Jekyll, Victor, and Dorian made a horrifying trio.
-
Sadly Penny Dreadful is done. Apparently it was always designed as a 3 season show, basically a play in three acts. And I have to say it ended beautifully. I actually like that the creators aren't dragging it on and making the story up as they go along. Knowing that they had a concise narrative to tell from the beginning makes me appreciate it more. One of the best TV shows I've seen in a long time. And that last episode. Holy crap.
I was actually quite disappointed with the last season because the storylines that they started did not end, IMO, satisfactorially. They felt like dangling plot threads that were, at best, anticlimactic.
I liked the show overall, and the last season did have some gems (Vanessa's closed room episode and Catriona among them) but in general... it was pretty meh, to me. It also does not feel like it was a three-season show; it feels like they decided to make it such when they got the call that they weren't getting renewed, so they basically wrapped up a bunch of stuff that they could have continued well.
So many dangling story beats, though. Eh.
I really liked the show overall, again--but.
-
Good points ... as for the cancelling though, its been confirmed that the creators of the show informed Showtime early during season 2 that the story was going to end with season 3. So the channel execs could plan for that. They decided not to release that information earlier because they felt that if people knew it was going to end, they might predict how.
I agree on the dangling plot threads ...
SPOILERS
Dorian Grey: I felt like his story, or at least his role in the bigger story, had a nice completion with that monologue on immortality and that beautiful last shot of him alone in his parlor. I mean his story could continue, but that one scene summed up the character of Dorian perfectly (both TV show and book Dorian).
Lily Frankenstein: Yeah ... that's a tougher one. They could have done more there. Also did you notice that Dorian nor Lily seemed phased or paying attention to the Fog in London at all? Surely they've noticed, but not even a comment? I mean ... the End of Days is certainly something new for Dorian. I think otherwise Dorian's final monologue applies to Lily. She's going to have to come to grips with that reality. I think her story had the most potential wasted.
The Creature/John Clare: Such a sad story. I'm happy with where it ended. Yes, it could go other places, but I felt his story had a nice ending ... and the poem he reads in the final scene at Vanessa's grave. Wow.
Dr. Frankenstein: Yeah, his story was done in regards to the show.
Dr. Jekyll: I LOVED how they turned the Jekyll/Hyde thing from a potion he drinks that turns him into a monster, to a social change (become upper class as he has craved) and so colder, like a monster. There is lots to explore there and I think he was just introduced too late in the show.
Vanessa: Her story ended. Perfectly. Could not have been more perfect. It was after all about her.
Ethan: Ditto. His story is entirely dependent on Vanessa's
... Same goes for Sir Malcolm.
I think they could have done much more, definitely another season's worth. I mean Dracula is still alive. Hyde could become a villain. Maybe Lyle who is now in Egypt (my favourite character of the show) summons our protagonists to Egypt to deal with a Mummy issue. Not sure ... lots of potential. But as a story about Vanessa Ives ... I think it ended well.
Sorry no /spoiler ability
-
You can quote it with > which will hide very long bits of text.
ETA: Or maybe not. Maybe it has to be VERY long. Hrm.
That said, I'm not saying it didn't END--it just didn't end satisfactorially for me. I thought Vanessa's ending was... I don't know. Lame. I mean, it was very well-acted, beautifully shot, the dialogue was wonderful, but the narrative was lacking in cosistency. I suppose she "got close" like Catriona suggested but it all seemed too... about-face-y. I don't know.
I was not satisfied with Frankenstine/Creature. They needed a last confrontation. Lily and Dorian were wasted, completely, by being entirely divorced from the rest of the cast (save Victor) when there was ample reason to have them be a part of the story, intertwine their goals with Dracula's (or against them), etc.
In general, the season left me with a huge sense of wasted potential, essentially, which is a horrible feeling, personally.
Jekyll could have not been there and it would have made absolutely shit-all of a difference. Like, seriously, nothing he did isn't something they couldn't have handwaived from Victor with some exposition. Jekyll needed his own story, not what is essentially a season-long third-bit cameo. Mr. Lyle had a far larger role. I did love Dr. Sawyer, and of course, the new Love of My Mediatic Life, Catriona Harteghan.
-
I will say I find it funny that most people I've talked to .... their favourite characters are Lyle,Dr. Seward (I think is who you mean by Dr. Sawyer) and Catriona.
I'd actually watch a show based on those three encountering Victorian Gothic horror
-
@Ataru This season was beautiful, though I personally spent a lot of time with it in frustration. My favorite episodes are the episodes in which the "family" is together, fighting the evils of the night while struggling to not become part of it. (That said, the stand-off in the finale was fantastic.)
As much as I enjoyed the execution on Jekyll/Hide, Victor's always been problematic for me, but then again I'm pretty sure he's meant to be problematic to just about everyone.
I would TOTALLY watch a spin off series with Lyle at the center, though.
"If you stand for nothing Burr, what will you fall for?"
-- Hamilton: An American Musical -
-
@Ataru This season was beautiful, though I personally spent a lot of time with it in frustration. My favorite episodes are the episodes in which the "family" is together, fighting the evils of the night while struggling to not become part of it. (That said, the stand-off in the finale was fantastic.)
As much as I enjoyed the execution on Jekyll/Hide, Victor's always been problematic for me, but then again I'm pretty sure he's meant to be problematic to just about everyone.
I would TOTALLY watch a spin off series with Lyle at the center, though.
SPOILERS BELOW
I was impossibly frustrated and disappointed that the Creature was not a part of the final battle. If there's one thing he would have gone balls-to-the-wall violent about, it would have been saving the one woman who showed him true, unconditional caring and respect. And if he remembered all the things they went through in the asylum?
Shit. I just--that was super frustrating for me. Why was he not there? Why did the writers not find a narrative way to bring him into the fold? it would have been ridiculously easy, especially if they hadn't divorced Lily/Brona and Dorian from the rest of the cast so harshly. They had a large cast but it wasn't unmanageable (like Game of Thrones). it's a disappointment that the stories didn't intersect in entirely organic ways (I mean for fuck's sake, Lily and Ethan having a conversation was a must, and yet nothing...)
-
For a medieval fight without CGI, my money goes to Branagh's Henry V. Doubly-so because he really made Shakespeare's history come alive.
Also, without CGI: Star Wars, Episode 6: the Battle of Endor. Still the best looking space battle ever.
-
I binge watched seasons 1 and 2 of Penny Dreadful, because everyone I know was all "WATCH IT NOW DAMNIT".
Gotta say, totally not living up to the hype. I'll watch the third, because I apparently like to torture myself, and I want to see what happens but...meh. I don't get it. >>
Think it's just too damn depressing for me these days, haha. Acting and costume design is pretty spot on though. Kudos there.
-
@thebird I loved the first season, total binge watch for me. The second one... I think it lacked a payoff, but although it didn't measure up as well to the first (I found the individual plotlines disjointed) it was still fun.
I've watched four episodes in the third season and I don't know if I'll continue to the end. The characters are all split up, but also whatever it is that made me like it is just not there this time.
- He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
-
Game of Thrones auditions. Some, especially the Stark girl actresses, were quite different!
-
@Arkandel I sometimes want to track down the original GoT pilot, where Jennifer Ehle played Catelyn Stark (I'm sure it exists on the Internet but I'm a lazy, lazy person).
-
Orange Is the New Black.
Did anyone else watch the entire thing the weekend of release, ignoring their loved ones, eating, and sleeping?
SUCH a good season, the best one yet I think, I don't even know how to describe how it all left me feeling but I am still feeling it a week later. Man.
-
Not sure if I said this yet, but Nickelodeon's TMNT seriously kicks ass. From the tiny nods to nerd-dom to the genuine darkness, it's really worth giving a watch if you have Hulu.
The repeated shout-outs to the 80s series and the original Eastman/Laird G-novels help.
-
Game of Thrones season finale!!! Omg! Omg!
-
@ThugHeaven Revenge is a dish best served as pie.
-
@Tyche Dear Mr. Andronicus, thank you for the recipe booklet. I never considered myself the domestic type, but you never know what skills may some day come in handy.
-
@Tyche So many nods to the book in that episode!
-
Game of Thrones does not fuck around.
