Penny Dreadful is a British-American horror drama television series that aired on television on between 2014 and 2016. I just watched the first two seasons of this show and that is pretty much all that I could take of it. It just got so boring and pointless by Season 3 that I stopped after watching the first couple of episodes. Still, except for a few episodes of the third season, I watched most of this show; but if you asked me now what it was all about, I would have absolutely no answer. That is how confusing and pointless it was. In fact, If there was an award for a show that ran three seasons without a story, then Penny Dreadful will win hands down.
Penny Dreadful
Let me first talk a little about the name because it was in fact the name of this series that invoked my interest in it. The word “Penny Dreadful” was used for were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing one penny. The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. First published in the 1830s, penny dreadfuls featured characters such as Sweeney Todd, Dick Turpin and Varney the Vampire. The Guardian described penny dreadfuls as “Britain’s first taste of mass-produced popular culture for the young.” (Source – Wiki)
Penny Dreadful Review
So as you can probably tell by the name, the makers decided to call this show such because it has an angle of supernatural, urban legends, myths and folklore to it. History will stand witness to the fact that all the elements are in fact ingredients for blockbuster movies and binge watch worthy shows. Such however is not really the case with Penny Dreadful.
What you get in the end is a mishmash of Frankenstein, vampires, ghosts and werewolves, vampire hunters, Dorian grey, Frankenstein, zombies, witches and what not. The only saving grace here is that it has some good actors like Josh Hartnett and Rory Kinnear; and and the cinematographer knew which way to point the camera. Rest all is just horrible and utterly dreadful. The story absolutely goes nowhere and you will have no clue about what is in fact going on. Season 1 and 2 will end with no conclusion and the next season will start in an entirely different direction. The writing was even worse, cliche ridden and utterly banal.
In the end, it turns out to be a gory show that is very disappointing, corny and predictable. The homo sexual sex scenes are shown in such detail that you will feel like throwing up and will have to look away. The gore element was overrated and everywhere on this show. There was one scene about an infant’s heart getting ripped out and they decided to make it as detailed as they can. I really wished they spent all that focus on some good story writing instead.
Final Verdict
My final word on this show is that you give it a pass. It gets tedious, boring and mediocre the longer it goes on. The story line is an empty husk that just keeps throwing in more and more characters in the hope that it will end up somewhere. You will just end up wasting your time on it; and will be bored to death by the time it ends. I hope the review above was of help. I hope the review above was of help. If you too have seen this show, then please do share your thoughts on it.
