Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

I didn't doubt Nathan Lane was a good actor, and I can't say I remember seeing him in a dramatic role before this, however, he was EXCELLENT in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. A true standout performance, IMHO, made all the more noticeable by the generally uninspiring and muddled overall story. Too many characters that would be the primary or secondary focus of an episode then largely forgotten other than popping up periodically w/o further development. It's set at an interesting time and place in history, but character motivation(s) and clarity of the stakes at hand were generally fuzzy and underdeveloped. Not sure that I'd bother w/ a second season.

There is one huge error with this series, using the name Penny Dreadful in the title drags in fans of the original show, this is nothing like, or has no relevance to the original, there is a supernatural aspect to what is otherwise a cop show set in 1930's LA, with a background of racism Nazi influence and social unrest, the story itself is decent but feels like a vehicle for Natalie Dormer's talent, but using a title from a much loved UK series, sets itself up for disappointment, and if you loved the original this will feel like a betrayal and a cashing in on a title.

Forget the Penny Dreadful title. This has nothing to do with Gothic Horror, London, or the bleak literary melancholia associated with the Penny Dreadful original 19th century publications.

This shows primary flaw is the naming. Consider it as "City of Angels" as a stand alone show by the same producers as Penny Dreadful, and it holds up.

An extensive list of interconnected characters makes for intricate plot lines and a palpable build of tension.

The casting is solid. Strong performances by Dormer, Bishe, Kinnear, and Lane cover the plot holes and occasionally disingenuous writing.

Take it as a an American period thriller and it holds up. As a Penny Dreadful title; it fails

How could that even happen? Isn't that the same showrunner who created the original series? The first five minutes already look strangely cheap, CGI fire from 20 years ago, artificial acting. Then this constant bloom / glare filter in almost every shot. The intense horror show atmosphere with emotional trauma, this time it is just gone.

I had to rewatch the first few minutes of the original to make sure I'm not betrayed by my memory. I wasn't. This just feels cheap and artificial, truly strange it is written by the same guy.

This well-crafted series combines the Victorian penny dreadful storytelling tradition with Southern California's political, industrial, and culturally-rich history to create a unique horror-filled experience. The narratives spun here are decidedly American, and the connection to its British past may seem distant. But Magda's presence is a constant reminder of the relationship, and her presence becomes inextricably linked with Mexican-American traditions and folklore involving the spirit world.

As the murder investigation collides with the supernatural, it creates a clever forum that highlights the disturbing political attitudes and racial tensions of the time. But Magda's demonic exploitation of these social ills serves to magnify the weaknesses of a divided society. The fact that some of the dialogue sounds similar to contemporary rhetoric is equally as disturbing. It may not be as gothic as the original, but Penny Dreadful: City of Angels offers an entertaining and well-produced series that's worth tuning into.