It is late 19th century London. American gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), running from his past, encounters strange creatures in the night. He joins medium Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) and her troubled mentor Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton). He is taken with poverty-stricken Brona Croft (Billie Piper) who dies from consumption. Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) had revived the dead John Clare (Rory Kinnear) and later Brona renaming her Lily Frankenstein. The immortal Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) is taken with Lily. The series follows these various characters as they interact with various dark forces. There are witches, werewolves, vampires, and Dr. Henry Jekyll.
From the music to the visuals, this is a haunting somber Gothic creation. The pacing is measured. It does have a monotone delivery which can be slow for some. My main problem with the show is that there are too many lead characters and they are almost always going their separate ways. It leads to scattered story telling. Eva Green is perfect for this series but often her character is isolated. Josh Hartnett makes a comeback of sorts and shows that he has real acting skills. Billie Piper starts out as a minor character but her character explodes into something very compelling. Her third season story with Justine is the most fascinating. Dr. Frankenstein is central to many stories but the character is really only worthy of support level. The best way to heighten Frankenstein is to eliminate Dorian Gray and combine the two stories. This has great brooding moodiness and terrific actors with juicy roles. The show is slow and would be more compelling with a quicker pace.
From the music to the visuals, this is a haunting somber Gothic creation. The pacing is measured. It does have a monotone delivery which can be slow for some. My main problem with the show is that there are too many lead characters and they are almost always going their separate ways. It leads to scattered story telling. Eva Green is perfect for this series but often her character is isolated. Josh Hartnett makes a comeback of sorts and shows that he has real acting skills. Billie Piper starts out as a minor character but her character explodes into something very compelling. Her third season story with Justine is the most fascinating. Dr. Frankenstein is central to many stories but the character is really only worthy of support level. The best way to heighten Frankenstein is to eliminate Dorian Gray and combine the two stories. This has great brooding moodiness and terrific actors with juicy roles. The show is slow and would be more compelling with a quicker pace.