Penny Dreadful – “Night Work” Review. A Place in the Shadows.

Season 1, Series Premiere

Digital Premiere: Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 8PM E/P on http://www.sho.com

Air Date: Sunday, May 11, 2014, 10PM E/P on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“Do you believe there is a demimonde, Mr. Chandler? A half-world between what we know and what we fear; a place in the shadows, rarely seen but deeply felt? Do you believe that?” – Vanessa

Penny Dreadful, a deliciously macabre series, comes at you with precision in its series premiere, “Night Work.” Be warned, it isn’t for the squeamish. There is blood, gore, and darkness galore! There is also a bit of brief nudity – including a full frontal scene! For those of you who like taking a walk on the dark side every once in a while, Sundays are your nights to roam the dank streets of London, and watch the mayhem unfold.

L-R: Ethan (Josh Hartnett) follows Vanessa (Eva Green) and Sir Malcom (Timothy Dalton) beneath the opium house where dark creatures lurk.

“Night Work” introduces us to a few key characters in Showtime’s new bold series Penny Dreadful. I’m reminded of the film The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (TLEG) with regard to these characters – Sir Malcom Murray (Timothy Dalton) is an African explorer much like Allan Quartermain but the name Murray should be ringing bells for you. Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) reminds me of the femme fatale Mina Harker (but Vanessa isn’t a vampire), although I can’t say for certain she’s all human either. Of course, we have our American sharp-shooter Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), who is far more dapper than the gunslinger Tom Sawyer. This, however, is where the similarities end.

Penny Dreadful skillfully weaves the re-imagining of some of the most colorful, supernatural characters we’ve come to know and love. Sir Malcom Murray is desperate to find his missing daughter, Mina (Olivia Llewellyn). With Vanessa’s help, he recruits Ethan to aid them in exploring a “demimonde” hidden beneath an opium smoke house. What Ethan encounters opens his eyes to things he’s never seen before. Or so we think. Per Vanessa’s intuitive nature, she discerns Ethan has a dark past, something he’s trying to run from.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein is a very intense young man

We also meet a young doctor fascinated with life and death. His experiments with human corpses may prove to be a scientific breakthrough but in 1891 London, free thinkers aren’t always held in the highest regard. Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) may have to prove them all wrong.

What intrigues me about Penny Dreadful is the potential of where the series can go. There is so much to explore with each character’s origins, back stories, and how their choices influence one another. “Night Work” also gives us a glimpse of Vanessa’s powers. When a creature of the night tries to harm Sir Malcom, she intervenes by merely stepping in front of it – it’s very telling that Vanessa is far more powerful than a mere fortune teller. Green does a fantastic job of playing the mysterious Vanessa. Although she prays to a cross on the wall, the darkness that follows her prayers alarms her. She is a complex woman with many layers. I’m looking forward to seeing how Green continues to transform herself into each facet of Vanessa Ives.

What are those strange Egyptian markings inside the chest of the creature? What do they mean?

I’ve been a fan of Hartnett’s for a long time. He still has those boyish good looks (yes, I still swoon over him in the parachute hangar scene in Pearl Harbor) but as Ethan Chandler, he’s more rugged and seasoned, and has a pain behind his eyes when Vanessa reads him like a book. Ethan is not sure about continuing to help Sir Malcom and Vanessa, but he’s also very curious about what else is out there. He’s had a glimpse of the evil lurking beneath the surface but you know what they say about curiosity…it killed the cat. Good thing Ethan is a sharp-shooter…and not a cat.

Treadaway frightens me as Frankenstein, but in a good way. He embodies this character so fully you actually believe he is Dr. Frankenstein. I’m impressed with Treadaway’s ease of delivering lines under the most gruesome circumstances. All the blood and guts he’s working around look so real. The way he slices open a creature without a second thought is more than convincing. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Treadaway as the impassioned Dr. Frankenstein.

Bravo to the make-up, set design, costume, and special effects departments. The stitch work on Victor’s (Alex Price) creation is remarkable. The spiders spilling out from the cross on the wall truly make my skin crawl. The wardrobe is fantastic, and the set designs are breathtaking – from Sir Malcolm’s glorious mansion to the dismal smoky opium house, everything transports you to another realm.

“Night Work” sets up what we can expect from Penny Dreadful in a wonderful way. We are given bits and pieces, we are introduced to a few other characters that will play vital roles in future episodes but we aren’t weighed down with so much information that we are overwhelmed by it all. I’m looking forward to seeing the mysteries unfold. Won’t you join me?

Let me know what you thought of “Night Work.” Leave me a comment below or tweet me at @judybopp. Looking forward to hearing from you!

If you don’t have Showtime, there is a free preview weekend starting Friday, May 9 – Sunday May 11. Perfect timing for you to tune in to the series premiere of Penny Dreadful and you can also watch it now – http://www.sho.com/sho/penny-dreadful/home. And for those of you who do have Showtime and can’t wait for the second episode, fret not, Showtime will debut “Séance” on SHOWTIME ANYTIME immediately following the series premiere on Sunday, May 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Tune in to Penny Dreadful, Sundays at 10PM E/P, only on Showtime.

For more on the show, go to the official site http://www.penny-dreadful.com/.

Visit the Production Blog http://blog.penny-dreadful.com/.

Like Penny Dreadful on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PennyDreadfulOnShowtime.

Follow Penny Dreadful on Twitter @SHO_Penny, as well as these cast members: @reevecarney and @billiepiper.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.