I like the programme considerably, but find little bits and pieces quite distracting, unfortunately. It brings together characters from many different pieces of literature, in particular gothic novels, written around (I use the term loosely) the Victorian era.
We have Victor Frankenstein and his monster(s), Count Dracula and Van Helsing, with other vampires too, Dorian Gray, Dr Jekyll, and Witches, some of which could be said to be from Macbeth, due to the lines they utter.
Historical inaccuracies can be annoying to some degree. I don't wish to pull apart what is already fiction, but some features are difficult to ignore, eg, women didn't have short hair, ie above their shoulders in the 19th century. In the Victorian era, smoking wasn't thought of as bad or something you needed to "quit", as it is now, and the use of morphine & other opiates were acceptable.
Changes in the literature that Penny Dreadful is based on I find unforgiveable. Dr Jekyll wasn't from India - in the Victorian era that would have been unheard-of. Even if what took place then is now thought to be politically incorrect, we can't change history. Robert Louis Stevenson(the author) was Scottish. Dorian Gray viewed a portrait of himself which aged, as he remained young, unlike like the painting shown, which he referred to as his secret. Victor Frankenstein wouldn't have appeared like a modern day junkie through his use of morphine in the 1890's.
A period piece is that, whether factual or fictional. Throwing modern day nuances may make it feel more relevant to those who are viewing it now, but they remove the historical essence from the story.
Changes in the literature that Penny Dreadful is based on I find unforgiveable. Dr Jekyll wasn't from India - in the Victorian era that would have been unheard-of. Even if what took place then is now thought to be politically incorrect, we can't change history. Robert Louis Stevenson(the author) was Scottish. Dorian Gray viewed a portrait of himself which aged, as he remained young, unlike like the painting shown, which he referred to as his secret. Victor Frankenstein wouldn't have appeared like a modern day junkie through his use of morphine in the 1890's.
A period piece is that, whether factual or fictional. Throwing modern day nuances may make it feel more relevant to those who are viewing it now, but they remove the historical essence from the story.