I am – Hercules!!
A contemporary six-part sequel of sorts to the novella “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, “Jekyll” is a British miniseries from writer-producer Steven Moffat, who created the sitcom “Coupling” and wrote some well-regarded episodes of the new “Doctor Who.” It stars James Nesbitt (rumored by Britain’s notoriously unreliable Sun newspaper to be the next Doctor in “Who”) and Michelle Ryan (who plays the title role in NBC’s coming “Bionic Woman” revival).
BBC America did not forward a screener, and I can’t find a lot of American reviews of the series, but it just finished airing on BBC One, so hopefully a few of our limey cousins will jump into talkback with their appraisals of the project.
The Telegraph says:
… in the attempt to modernise things, the script was all over the place, veering between Hammer horror and larky humour. … I ceased to believe a word of it when his Mr Hyde suddenly walked vertically up a building. Spider-Man could certainly do this, but there is no logical reason why a split personality should enable Nesbitt to defy gravity. A lot of the lines were cheesy and the psychiatrist who straps him in a restraining chair from time to time was unbelievable because she is plainly a model. …
The Times says:
… … Perked along by some wooshing, Guy Ritchie-style editing, this pilfered the themes of Stevenson’s tome and whisked them up into what is, I suppose, multi-narrative, 21st-century TV – a psychological horror, a conspiracy thriller, a love story and a dark comedy. If its protagonist has a split personality, Jekyll is a beast with several.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… The suspense is awful, the dilemma engaging, the corners filled with interesting characters, the whole thing strangely believable.
The Orlando Sentinel says:
… I watched the first two hours … I wasn't riveted. I wasn't terrified. (There are four more hours.) … Morose Jackman is weighed down by problems. His marriage is rocky. A black van follows him. People don't level with him. Could he be the victim of a conspiracy? Wait, aren't too many TV characters facing that problem these days? We need to load down the fictional greats with modern conspiracies? No wonder I resisted this convoluted show. …
Variety says:
… James Nesbitt portrays the original transformer with deft use of posture and evil expressions, while writer Steven Moffat has layered on intrigue worthy of "The X-Files" that should pull an appreciative audience through subsequent chapters of this creepy six-hour adventure. … once the wheels begin churning, it's clear Moffat has maintained the underlying integrity while establishing his own surrounding mythology -- a strange case of tinkering with a classic, wonder of wonders, without screwing it up.
8 p.m. Saturday. BBC America.
Serenity: CE!!
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