The Greatest Fictional Characters Ever All in One Show? Sign Me Up
Released on 05/08/2014
(train whistle)
Hey, you got Frankenstein in my Dorian Gray.
And there's Conan Doyle all over my Bram Stoker.
Hmm, maybe, just maybe these great tastes
might taste great together.
Imagine if all of the most famous characters
in fantastic literature met and mingled
under the gas lamps of Victorian London.
That's the premise for the new Showtime
series Penny Dreadful.
It's also the exact same set up
as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,
but I'm okay with that.
And seriously, read the comic
that movie was based on,
it's great.
I'm looking forward to Penny Dreadful
even though the premise has been done before.
I love this kind of metafictional mashup,
whether it's Warren Ellis' Planetary comics
or the classic universal horror movies
or the Anno Dracula book series.
Not only did they get to cherry pick
the coolest elements from different fictional universes,
they also dispensed with the backstory
and cut to the chase.
I mean, did you really need five movies
with the throat clearing and setup
to get to the team up of The Avengers?
I think
not.
Do you know how much space Action Comics number one
devoted to Superman's origin?
One panel.
And that was plenty.
It's better to strip mine familiar literature
for characters who are so well known
that you can rely on the audience
to already know what makes them tick
and skip to the good stuff.
So God Speed to you Penny Dreadful,
and please don't suck like
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie.
Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.
What classic characters would you like
to see on Penny Dreadful?
Professor Challenger?
Gunga Din?
Little Dorrit?
Let me know in the comments.
Starring: Chris Baker
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