Prak, what a pleasure to read such an informed, thoughtful and literate post on a site that is like this one, which is now, sadly, deleted, leaving me to sound like an idiot. Thank you. I imagine that Penny Dreadful’s creators knew that they were delimiting their audience right from the start by the very title that they chose. You and I know what a Penny Dreadful was. Few others do. Unless the show’s creators were complete dolts—always possible in the entertainment industry, but my guess, given the literacy of the series, is that they were not—they knew they would attract a narrow, but very focused audience; which, after all, is the lifeblood of premium cable. I think they succeed wonderfully with this series, which I found, warts and all, very satisfying. I could have done without their take on Dorien Gray, and the belabored love of the Frankenstein’s monster for poesey (which was nonetheless part of Mary W. Shelley’s novel, but not so hamfisted). It wasn’t perfect. Neither are people; but people can still be WONDERFUL. Eva Greene deserved an Emmy for her performance in this. Fantasy productions (film, literature, video) rarely receive the ne plus ultra awards from their respective award committees, leaving aside the fact that fantasy (including comic books, myth and legend) is THE most popular genre in history. It doesn’t matter. Penny Dreadful was never meant for Yedderman. It was meant for those who know what a Penny Dreadful, the precussor to an illustrated novel, is; and to be enjoyed by that small audience, who understand that we have recognized, and rewarded.
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