Penny Dreadful oozes nearly as much class as it does gore. Set in a late 19th century London it is the story of Sir Malcolm Murray ( the excellent Timothy Dalton ) and his hunt for his daughter Mina (Harker ) who has been kidnapped by none other than Dracula. But this isn't the laughable, hammy Dracula that Jonathan Rhys Meyers served us up earlier in the year, no this is a proper creature of the night, red in tooth and claw. Sir Malcolm is ably assisted by the uber creepy Vanessa Ives ( Eva Green at her most unnerving ), a woman prone to such demonic contortions and gutteral voices that she makes Regan MacNeil look like one of the Telletubbies. Also along for the ride is American gunslinger Ethan Chandler ( the stoic and brooding Josh Hartnett). The main fun of Penny Dreadful is all the public domain favourites it throws at us. A driven Victor Frankenstein (Henry Treadaway ) and his very frightening creation ( very frighteningly played by Rory Kinnear). There's also a slimy, gauche Dorian Gray ( Reeve Carney ) who seems to haunt the edges of the show. OK, this is not new it was done extraordinarily badly in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen a fair old while back. But Penny Dreadful is in the Premier extraordinary League. The production values are first rate, it is lit brilliantly, just look at the scene where Vanessa views the portraits in Dorian Gray's house it's like Barry Lyndon. The show is well written under the care of creator John Logan. And it has an excellent cast that can go toe to toe with anything be it television or cinema. Penny Dreadful could be one of the jewels in Sky Atlantic's crown, if they give it the same kind of push as Game of Thrones, it's Gothic gore at its best.
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