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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Sunday, May 11, 2014 - 12:01 pm 
Penny dreadful (SHOWTIME) looks like fun! It starts tonight and it's also a Free Preview night for non-subscribers of SHOWTIME!
I've really been looking forward to this one.
Penny Dreadful
ABOUT THE SERIES
Some of literature's most terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula are lurking in the darkest corners of Victorian London. PENNY DREADFUL is a frightening psychological thriller that weaves together these classic horror origin stories into a new adult drama.
http://www.sho.com/sho/penny-dreadful/about
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Great cast, too....including Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, and Timothy Dalton!
Tonight at 10 PM on SHOWTIME - FREE preview for non-subscribers!
Oh yeah....you can also watch the premiere at sho.com right now:
http://www.sho.com/sho/video/full-episodes#
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Sunday, May 11, 2014 - 12:08 pm
Penny Dreadful Trailers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCb3p4z3mF8&list=PLZ8c54cxQG2FisJ98oL-IrS1XSPSw9-5B#t=13
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Kitt
Member
09-05-2000
| Sunday, May 11, 2014 - 12:09 pm
I'm going to give it a try. I hope it doesn't rely on viewers having too much knowledge of the literature because I have very little!
I wonder if it's eight episodes then over with the cast, a bit like True Detectives or American Horror Story. I can't imagine a cast with movie stars will want to tie themselves to a potentially long running series.
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Sunday, May 11, 2014 - 12:11 pm
And a review:
'Penny Dreadful' review: Those who fight monsters
In brief: "Penny Dreadful," a deep dive into Gothic horror with a literary bent, is deliciously cast, expensively designed, and splashed with enough blood to rattle even a jaded 21st century audience. Set in 1890s London in the aftermath of the Jack the Ripper killings, it follows an unlikely confederation of monster hunters (some of them literary characters of yore, and monsters of a kind themselves) on the search for a missing young woman and ... other things. Despite the barrage of Victorian tropes (mist-shrouded streets, prostitutes in peril), it never feels like overkill, though the victims may feel otherwise. "Penny Dreadful" premieres at tonight at 10 p.m. on Showtime, but you can watch the first episode for free on YouTube here. Warning: May not be suitable for Mother's Day.
First impressions: Tormented wailing. Feral hissing. Squishy, gelatinous sound. Bell tolls, blood drips, flies buzz mercilessly. Constable vomits. Even the closed-captioning in "Penny Dreadful" is riveting, although there apparently is no way to accurately capture the sound of a man uncurling himself from what I can best describe as a backwards fetal position.
<snip>
Continued at the LINK to nj.com
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Sunday, May 11, 2014 - 12:27 pm
"I can't imagine a cast with movie stars will want to tie themselves to a potentially long running series."
I recently saw something on TV(?) or maybe I read it online... Anyhow, it was talking about how the small screen is the new big screen!
A lot of stars are finding that a lot of the films being released today rely on cgi and over-the-top action scenes, whereas the really good character driven stories that actors love to sink their teeth into are showing up on cable TV where they have the luxury of really exploring who the characters are with a 8, 10, or 12 episode series as opposed to a single 100 minute movie.
Kyra Sedgewick did Closer and it lasted for 7 seasons and was a big hit. Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy are now doing The Following. (Kevin Bacon always resisted TV because of the long commitment but he made a deal with FOX to do shorter seasons than what broadcast networks typically produce.)
This summer comes a sci-fi themed series called Extant, starring Halle Berry, with executive producer Stephen Spielberg. (Extant didn't even bother with a pilot, it was greenlit for a fill 12 eps right off the bat based on the names attached to it.)
And don't forget American Horror Story with great oscar worthy film stars like Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, and Kathy Bates.
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Sunday, May 11, 2014 - 1:05 pm
It was really really good, and very gruesome. (the pilot has been in on-demand for a couple weeks)
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Monday, May 12, 2014 - 1:27 am
I liked this one a lot! Dark and moody and a great cast of characters!
Who knew vampires grew their own exoskeletons? LOL Super creepy and loads of fun all at the same time.
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Kellee
Member
07-07-2004
| Monday, May 12, 2014 - 7:18 am
I am going to give this a whirl as I love Billie Piper.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, May 12, 2014 - 9:31 am
Delicious, delicious, delicious! The creepier the better. I really hope "Penny Dreadful" (love the title) does well enough for Showtime to keep it on for additional seasons.
And SFJF, I would add "True Detective" to the list of exceptional series starring big name film stars (McConaughey and Harrelson, though the latter did get his start on "Cheers"). Talk about a creepy show - oy vey! -- loved every minute of it!
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Monday, May 12, 2014 - 1:28 pm
"And SFJF, I would add "True Detective" to the list of exceptional series starring big name film stars"
Of course! That was a major one, too! I knew I was forgetting a couple of series with big stars but I was just too lazy to research it! 
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - 9:01 am
It looks like showtime is doing the same with this show as they are doing with Californication and Nurse Jackie. All the eps will be in on-demand (including online) for the whole week before they air. So ep 2 is already available for viewing without having to wait until Sunday.
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Kitt
Member
09-05-2000
| Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - 9:20 am
I tried it. Stared at Josh Harnett for a bit, then thought, nah, not my thing and gave up. Hope you guys enjoy it!
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Marameko
Member
07-14-2002
| Thursday, May 15, 2014 - 9:28 am
I tried for about a 1/2 hour and gave up......and I am person not afraid of blood and gore
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Lycanthrope
Member
09-19-2002
| Friday, May 16, 2014 - 7:49 pm
I was loving it 20 minutes in with the gunplay and the vamps. Then it got slower as the characters revealed more of themselves, then the end was great. I love the cast, I love the setting, and so far I love the story. I'm in.
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - 1:41 am
My heart sank when the good Frankenstein creation got destroyed by his earlier evil creation. All the while the good guy creation was experiencing a new life, I was sitting here waiting for ax to fall, hoping it wouldn't 
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - 10:02 am
Poor Proteus! He was so sweet and gentle! I'm hoping Dr. Frankenstein can figure out a way to put Proteus back together! Probably won't be for a while - he's got his hands full with that evil critter.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, June 02, 2014 - 12:09 pm
Final scene of last night's eppy - didn't see THAT one coming (easily my favorite scene of the season!) To quote my old pal, George Takei, "Oh, my!!!"
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Tuesday, June 03, 2014 - 3:15 pm
I was kind of getting that vibe when the guys were in the bathroom messing with the colognes. And then when I saw the absinthe come out, I knew we were in for a good scene. The only problem was, they cut the scene too early....LOL
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, June 04, 2014 - 9:18 am
Totally agree, Naja -- much too early!
But this news makes up for that disappointment!
http://www.deadline.com/2014/06/penny-dreadful-renewed-for-second-season-showtime/
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Monday, June 09, 2014 - 10:50 pm
Of all the "back stories" ever told, Vanessa and Sir Malcolm's ranks at the very top. Wow.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - 12:09 am
I just finished watching it myself, Naja. Wow is right! Eva Green has been phenomenal all season, but this episode was her best work yet - remarkable!
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Monday, June 30, 2014 - 4:29 pm
Did anybody else notice the striking resemblance between the actress that plays the theatre actress Maude, and the original actress that played the bride in the 1935 "Bride of Frankenstein", Elsa Lanchester?
That's the main reason I was so surprised when Dr. F chose Brona to be the bride.
I know this is a monster show, but I still teared up when Sir Malcolm decided Vanessa is his daughter now.
I loved this finale. That's pretty wild that Ethan has been a werewolf this entire time and we didn't realize it.
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Monday, June 30, 2014 - 6:35 pm
"That's pretty wild that Ethan has been a werewolf this entire time and we didn't realize it."
There was plenty of foreshadowing of that werewolf revelation.
I found this:
LINK to reddit.com
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Monday, June 30, 2014 - 6:36 pm
Yes, I read all about it. Otherwise I would have thought he wasn't a werewolf until a recent battle.
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Daydreamer
Member
05-30-2008
| Wednesday, July 02, 2014 - 5:01 am
Big applause for Rory Kinnear (Dr. Frankenstein's Monster). He was so heart-rending in the finale that he convinced his maker to create a Bride for him after all, rather than to kill him.
(If anyone else noticed what a beautiful speaking voice Kinear edhibits as the Monster -- he's a LAMDA-trained Shakespearean actor who has won Olivier awards for his stage work.)
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