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Penny Dreadful Season Finale

Published July 29, 2014 | By RottenOne

So, which one of these characters is Penny Dreadful? Well, there’s the rub. If you recall, a penny Dreadful was the name given to the 19th horror stories that were serialized in different publications. With that in mind, this series brings to life serial interesting literary characters. First, we have the hunt for what we assume is Dracula since Mina Harker has disappeared. Vanessa and Mina were childhood friends until Vanessa did a bad thing and seduced Mina’s fiance on the taxidermy table. Not a good way to keep friendships I’m afraid. She is aided by Sir Malcolm, who just happens to be Mina’s father and the mad who seduced Vanessa mother. Oh dear, what a tangled web we weave.

Next we have Dorian Gray, who lives a life of excess and decadence knowing his image will bear the brunt of his abuses. He has a fancy for Vanessa and a few other characters.

Helping to hunt down Dracula is Victor Frankenstein who has his own demons to wrestle with. Victor has a habit of dabbing with the undead and cobbling people together. It appears he just wants a friend and strangely enough he makes one. But the bromance doesn’t last as his previous creation comes back seeking vengeance for being abandoned by his creator. Now this new, unamed, creature wants a bride and has set a deadline for Frankenstein. This monster has no problem in ruining everything Victor has worked for.

And finally we have Ethan from the Bill Cody Wild West Show. He provides the muscle for this rag tag band and he happens to have a thing for his tuberculosis ridden love interest Brona. It’s a fairy tale romance of boy meets girl, it just happens this girl coughs up blood on a regular basis. She does have a tendency to put a damper on the evening but Ethan is willing to look past that.

So the search for Mina continues. The gang has run into several creatures that seem to stalk the night, but they haven’t found their king yet. Reinfield may hold the key, but he’s a little punch drunk at the moment to really offer anything solid.

Overall this is a slow moving show that is still introducing characters and building the plotline. It’s been a very short season with only 8 episodes, but that’s not a bad thing. That is just enough to get the main points across and set the wheels in motion. This isn’t a high action drama and there won’t be big explosions or car chases or ridiculous fight scenes. This is the 1800’s, things happen a little more slowly. You have to be patient. You can’t search through documents on a computer and you can’t just zip down to the lab to get something analyzed. That’s actually why I like these sorts of shows, you actually have to think a little bit.

In many ways this feels like Dracula or at least where I think Dracula was headed. That show had a slow build as well. It was trying to build layers and give the characters a solid background. I think they should have extended that show for a second season.

But anyway, an interesting show that should yield an interesting story for next year. I wonder which characters they’ll introduce next time around?

Da Vinici’s Demons – Season 2 Finale

Published June 1, 2014 | By RottenOne

We catch back up with Da Vinci in a most unusual predicament. It seems he’s been captured by the Mayan’s or a culture that seems very similar to the Mayan’s and it’s believed they have the Book of Leaves. Oh my goodness, oh my damn, Da Vinci has to put his life in the hands of Riario for them to work together to snag the book and make their daring getaway, get back to Florence and find Da Vinci’s mother. And they have to do it before Florence collapses because Lorenzo Medici has been cut off by the Pope and the city now faces turmoil and bankrupcty. But here comes the bastard son, Carlo de’ Medici to help out his long last family and to help himself to, Clarice, the long lost wife or Lorenzo. Quite a bit of bed hopping we’ve got going on here.

But don’t feel back for Lorenzo, he’s seems to have found comfort in the arms of his own lost love, Ippolita, who just happens to be the wife of the crazed Alfonso, the guy who wants to kill Lorenzo at the dinner table. They’re a bit of a mad family that’s for sure. Their idea of entertainment leaves a little something to be desired. The game of the smack the horse in the ass and shoot the rope before it breaks your neck doesn’t seem all that fun.

The thing that’s interesting is the character of Riario. We learn he killed his own mother in the name of the Pope. He had no qualms with slaying her in the street, but yet he is utterly in love with Zita, the woman that offers herself to him while they’re at sea. Up to this point, Riario has been utterly heartless with a stern conviction to his cause and his beliefs. He has no room in life for anything else. But then we see his seemingly total commitment to Zita. When her life is put in danger, Riario stops at nothing to get her back. And when he’s faced with yet another challenge that puts her life in jeopardy, it appears to crush him both physically and emotionally. I wasn’t expecting that!

And we see that he and Da Vinci work very well together. They are strong will, smart and determined. Together it seems they will overcome the trials put before them. But, nothing last forever and once they find themselves back in Florence they realize they must once again be at odds with each other. But Riario finds himself in a desperate place. He has lost his love, his faith and his will to continue on with a quest he doesn’t believe in. But in the midst of his desperate act he is saved by a strange group that bring him into the fold and around to their way of thinking. Curse the bad luck, it’s the same group that Carlo is apart of and their goal is to bring down the Medici’s. Oh dear, back where we started from.

And it would be a season finale unless there was a cliffhanger so we present Lucrezia being sent as the messenger as the Turks line up to invade Alfonso, Lorenzo and of course Da Vinci himself. But Da Vinci has devised a plan and some cannons and he’s ready to light this candle when he makes the startling discover of who the mysterious prophet on the boat happens to be. Oh dear, he has a gun pointed a mom. This does not bode well.

I quite like Da Vinci’s Demons, it’s an interesting look, albeit quite fictionalized, at Da Vinci and the world in which his inventions and ideas took place. They’ve added some nice drama and made some interesting plot twists. Not all of them make sense I’ll admit, but they’re still fun to watch. I’m curious to see how Da Vinci deals with the impending attack and how he’s going to handle this strange new visitor. The person he’s been looking for in his grasp, but he might have just blown them up. Talk about bad timing.

Penny Dreadful a new series from Showtime

Published May 31, 2014 | By RottenOne

I just caught the first couple episodes of the new series from Showtime – Penny Dreadful. It tells the story of "Explorer Sir Malcolm Murray, American gunslinger Ethan Chandler, and others unite to combat supernatural threats in Victorian London."

Ironically, this show comes across as nearly identical to Dracula from NBC that was recently cancelled. We have a secret society in search of paranormal elements and what appears to be the rescue attempt of Sir Malcolm’s daughter, Mina Harker. Yes indeed, we have connections to the infamous Johnathan Harker and while not specifically mentioned, we know they’re talking about Dracula. In conjunction with Dracula, we have the equally notorious Victor Frankenstein, his experiments in galvanism and at least one of his monsters wandering the streets of London.

Since this is Showtime I fully expect this will become more graphics, violent and sexual as we move forward. I forgot to mention we have Dorian Gray, who indulged in all the wild pleasures of life because he wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences. So far, this feels quite similar to Dracula, but that’s not a bad thing since I like Dracula and hoped it would make it to a second season. Looks like I get another chance at a similar story. One thing to note, IMDB already has 8 episodes listed so the season is already done, so we’ll get the complete story regardless of how the ratings turn out.

With the blend of characters they’ve brought together, this should make for an interesting story.

Penny Dreadful on IMDB
What’s a Penny Dreadful

Hannibal Season 2 Finale

Published May 28, 2014 | By RottenOne

Well, if you haven’t watched the final episode of Hannibal then look away!!

Oh my goodness, what a season! We end where we started with Hannibal in an epic using anything and everything available in the kitchen. Jack was getting far too close to discovering the truth and Hannibal had to protect himself. However, this comes at the expense of both Will and Alana. Hannibal and Alana may have spent intimate nights together, but that’s not going to stop him from throwing her out the window!

And in the midst of all the chaos we see a surprise visitor. Where the devil has Abigail been hiding all this time? But before we can even ask the question, Hannibal follows through on what we all thought he did several episodes earlier and uses her as an instrument of his getaway. As Hannibal heads out the door into the rain, the potential body count is at least 4.

Now it’s time to put some distance between him and the FBI, so on a plane he goes bound for what we assume to be France. But who’s this sitting alongside him? Wherever did Dr. Du Maurier come from and how did Hannibal convince her to take a plane ride with him? Sure, we can she is the victim here and is on the plane against her will, but she doesn’t seem all that traumatized to be there. Perhaps she’s not enjoying the champagne as much as Hannibal, but she doesn’t have the look and dress of the average prisoner. And whatever will the two of them do when they get to their cozy destination?

Lots of very exciting things to think about for Season 3. And thank goodness we get a Season 3. If that was then end it would be horrible let down. I think this series is so much more complex and intriguing than the movies and that Mads is a far superior Hannibal Hopkins ever hoped to be. Sure, the show is a bit graphic at times and the whole scene of Mason causing great harm to himself and feeds bits to the dogs was a little over the top, but Hannibal is portrayed as the super villain of all the serial killers so this sort of behavior and imagery makes sense. This is the sort of Hannibal you should fear not that movie tripe.

I think I will now go back and watch the entire series over again just to get all the sublety in both action and dialog. I have no doubt clues were left all over the place just waiting for me to discover them on the second viewing.

And let’s not forget the plot twists with that wiley Freddie Lounds!

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Penny Dreadful Season Finale

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Da Vinici’s Demons – Season 2 Finale

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Penny Dreadful a new series from Showtime

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Hannibal Season 2 Finale

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