I’ve only seen the first episode of Jekyll on BBC America, but I’m already enjoying it. Like many things BBC, the show is a little different than you might expect. I plan to watch the whole series and will update this review when I’ve seen’em all.
Basically, the series starts right in the middle of things. Hyde has already emerged from inside of Tom Jackman’s own personlity and now the two are trying to learn how to live in the same body. Hyde is like a supernatural force of evil (jerk stole my childhood fantasy!) who’s unnaturally strong, fast, smart. That kinda stuff. So there isn’t much you can do if he wants to hurt you, eat you, or steal your lunch money.
In the beginning, Jackman used to hang out at inconvenient locations or even lock himself up whenever he felt the change to punish Hyde for his misdeeds. Jackman has vowed to turn himself in if Hyde kills anyone, and Hyde has promised to shoot himself in the head if Jackman starts looking for a cure. But now that he’s stopped fighting Jekyll outright, Jackman has hired Katherine Reimer to help them get along.
Besides being super hot (she’s played by Michelle Ryan) Katherine is a doctor who thinks that Jackman is exaggerating his condition. The first scene starts with him telling her how to treat Hyde when he “arrives” so she won’t…um…be murdered on the spot or anything. He wouldn’t dare!!! Then he actually feels the change coming on and has to hurriedly strap himself into a big metal chair that comes complete with electonic locks, keypad, and all that. “Hyde doesn’t like to be surprised,” Jackman tells her as he locks the straps into place that will keep Mr. Hyde at bay.
Note that Michelle Ryan only appears for about 15 minutes out of an hour-and-a-half of TV, but these were glorious minutes and I won’t stand to have any one besmirch her name!
Or her face…lips…legs… What was I talking about again? I seem to have lost my place.
Anyway, since she’ll be starring in Bionic Woman in September right on NBC, we’ll all have a chance to get a stare at Michelle Ryan’s uber-hotness for nearly an hour at a time! (Yes! Score!) So I may yet die a happy man despite my evil, godless ways. Except that my wife hates it when I sing the “wow-chicky-wow-wow” noise every time Michelle enters a scene. I’m sure my wife’ll be all smiles when Bionic Woman hits the airwaves.
One problem with shows like this on the BBC is all those pesky rules they have to deal with on U.K. TV, which–believe it or not–can be an even greater drag than we have to put up with in the U.S. It does force them to try a little harder with the writing sometimes, which is actually a good thing. But the problem, and my only complaint with the show, is that Jekyll doesn’t feel quite creepy enough. Then again, I tend to like gritty, snarling realism when I’m watching evil unfold on my TV. Maybe it’s my black atheist heart, but what can I say? It’s still a good show.
I have to recommend Jekyll
UPDATE: Having seen the whole series, all I can is that I still think Jekyll rules. I mean the show, not so much the man (Jackman) himself. Don’t get me wrong. The chick from BBC’s Coupling is pretty hot. But seriously, who’d pick her over Michelle Ryan?? What a dip wad. He deserves to have Hyde on his back!
-the Atheist Geek-
