Penny Dreadful is a British and American collaboration, which was developed by Showtime and Sky TV. The series is somewhat of a Gothic or horror, although it never gets really scary. It stars Eva Green, Josh Hartnett and Rory Kinnear. Reeve Carney, Timothy Dalton and Harry Treadaway also play vital roles in the series. So, whats it about?

Well, the series focuses on a number of different story lines. Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) is attempting to find his daughter, Mina Harker (Olivia Llewellyn), with the help of his other daughter, Vanessa Ives (Eva Green). They also enlist the help of Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) and Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway). They team up and fight vampires and demons, while attempting to track down Mina.

During this time, Ethan falls in love with an Irish immigrant, Brona Croft (Billie Piper), who is on the verge of death. Dr. Frankenstein creates an undead creature, who names itself Proteus (Alex Price). Unfortunately, his kind hearted creature is killed, by his previous creature, The Creature or Caliban (Rory Kinnear). Caliban undoubtedly becomes the most interested character of the entire series.

During the first season, the history between Sir Malcolm and Vanessa Ives is explored, while they overcome their animosity, in order to find Mina. Although they seem to be on a holy quest, nobody is holy and everyone has their own demonic history, so to speak. Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) throws another curveball into the storyline, as he enters and seduces Ethan and Miss Ives. This in turn causes Miss Ives to go into a demonic possession.

So, how is the Penny Dreadful TV Series? Well, there is a lot to like about the show. The acting is top notch. Alex Price, although he is only in a few episodes, is excellent. Eva Green is definitely the standout and excellent pulls off some awkward scenes. As mentioned already, Rory Kinnear is undoubtedly the most interesting of the bunch and he plays it perfectly.

 

The action of the series is also good. Unfortunately, the show has a lot of flaws, as well. The episodes do not seem to mesh together very well. I can only imagine the pain and suffering brought about watching the series weekly. The story, although good in spots, is like a rubber ball bouncing erratically. It also feels a little drug out in spots.

 

Overall, the series is good, but not great. I have a small inking of interest to watch the second season. And this is only the result of wanting to watch Rory Kinnear, as The Creature, a tad more. Otherwise, I am not sure I’ll bother. A 6.5 out of 10 is  realistic in my honest opinion.