Jekyll with a dash of Hyde

There’s always more room for horror shows on television.

One of the few forays into the darkest corner of literature is the Jekyll series adding to the multi-personality, splitting image that has haunted readers for many generations.

However, it’s a bit more than just horror. A supernatural thriller some might call it. It deals with the mind. And the many tricks it can play on a lonesome soul.

The fang-filled, throat-gripping six part series made its debut on the BBC earlier this month. With some delightful twists. The more interesting aspect of the series that it does have a definite beginning, middle and ending.

But you need to stay tuned for the entire series to get a glimpse of the lurking horror that’s been hiding around the corner like a shroud of darkness.

Writing chores of the series has been left to Steven Moffat who created it. He’s best known for the few episodes he’s written for the Doctor Who series including “Blink” and “The Doctor Dances.” If this Jekyll series warrants his remarkable insight in writing good dialogue and plot devices, in the frame of a dramatic TV series, then we have nothing to worry about if Moffat would take over the reins of Doctor Who series from Russell T. Davies. But it’s in rumors so far.

Moffat writes sharply, has a hawk’s eye for twists and turns in a story. He knows his way around the literary debacle of a century-old idea: that of the man cursed with a split personality and is in a private war with his own soul. His own life hands on a few thin threads as he walks a fine line through life. Or two lives if you count Hyde.

Most interestingly are the series’ references to the original Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde written by the famed Robert Louis Stevenson. There is one chunk of a scene that was definitely borrowed from the book. Where Hyde is seen, in a glimpse, climbing the wall of a building like some sluggish animal, his beastly hands grappling the brick patchwork as he tumbles upward with a terrible hunger.

Even author Stevenson is portrayed here in flashbacks: author Mark Gatiss plays the part of the author rough around the edges. Gatiss is another Doctor Who connection. A former writer for the series.

But the Jekyll series isn’t just exploring the regions of horror and getting mixed up with the blood and guts spillage that paints some of the scenes. The series comes back to a single, unified idea: family.

It’s about family and the extent of what you would do to protect your own family. What you would do if you found out your family is threatened by an outside force. And what happens if you find out your family has inherited the craziness of the Jeckle legacy. The hated, tugging feeling that flows inside you as you realize you’re doing the things you’re not supposed to. And you feel like a ping-pong machine going back and forth.

Such is the character Tom Jackman played by James Nesbitt. Another rumor swimming around is the notion that, if David Tennant were to ever give up the reins of being the Time-Lord on Doctor Who, Nesbitt would be up for consideration for the leading role.

His manic delivery of the character and harping comic foray makes Nesbitt as easy candidate for Time-Lord vacancy. He acts with ease. And there is something of charisma about him. Even with the scenes that has a sea of calmness about them. He’s a good dramatic actor.

And the story goes back to family. You’ll find that his other self, Hyde, would threaten his own family. Jekyll makes all attempts to stop the creature from growing out of his shell. You’ll find his wife Claire Jackman grows stronger in confidence throughout the series. She has inner strength that matches with his own. And she’s there for him thick and thin. She is an important component of Jackman’s life. And she’ll go through any length to help him and her family survive.

It is Hyde who makes the ultimate sacrfice in saving family.

So everything does come full circle when the series reaches its fold.

I must admit that I wasn’t particularly enamored by the first couple of episodes in the series. However, when the series peels away the layers of conspiracy and side stories, it becomes more interesting. And the idea of government controlled projects, such as this one, would make even Fox Mulder mess his pants.

Another twist in the story is you find the Jekyll heritage is somehow an evolutionary stage, a beginning of supermen in the modern age. The whole feeling of the character is like a shadow who continues to thrive in the lower levels of your own soul. He’s your own demon. He is the make-up of some of your worst attributes: he represents the whole dark world that you are not a part of. He’s a part of something else. Something greater. And many people lose their lives to find out what he really is.

One of the future talents to look out for is Michelle Ryan who plays the very lovely, seductive assistance to Dr. Jackman. Her features are framed with a stream of dark, ravishing hair, easily noted. She’s a fine actress and you might see her playing the lead role in the upcoming pilot The Bionic Woman. (the original pilot with the deaf girl would be far more interesting than what will be shown on television).

The fully boxed-in series Jekyll is a definite scream. And it makes for more complex issues involving family and psychological disorders. The original sin is cast into the modern society bogged down by too many conveniences. And we find that the main character is a rebel against the usual conventions of the modern world.

And one more thing. Watch out for the billing of the title in the final episode when it switches to Hyde. It’s a clever bit of play. And the series makes for a very good offering to those looking for something more than just a horror flick. This is a horror series with a message.

Conventional Craziness

I still came unprepared.

Not knowing the threads of people who would roam, wander and sell at booths in one of the bigger convention settings. There were artists and writers abound. Television actors too.

Wizard World 2007.

It’s not just about comic books anymore. But it’s bigger than life: the thrust of thrill is getting to see first-hand the massive outset of people contributing to the great undertaking that fueled the weekend of Aug. 8 to Aug. 12. There’s so much involved that no amount of time could cover it all.

They have one of these in New York City and Los Angeles. But I believe we have plenty to be thankful for, being so close to Chicago. I managed to take a road trip down there with friends… Adam from De Pere, Dave from Kaukauna and Tim in Oshkosh.

Though we got special treatment. We had Premiere passes allowing for us to go to the convention for a sneak peak of what’s in store for us on Thursday night. The rest of the weekend is filled with special panels, artists such as Bill Seinkevich signing autographs at designated booths and people clearly avoiding the law somehow by selling their cheap bootleg copies for outrageous prices.

I wanted this to be an once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. It was good fun. There's no doubt that it’s an experience you won’t likely get in very many other places. The football field sized commodity set up in the gigantic room feels like a heaven for comic book fans.

I did managed to meet Lou Ferrango from the old 1970s series The Incredible Hulk. Nice guy. I shook his hand and said hello to him. He’s makes good a representative for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community as he has a total loss of hearing himself. There’s no reason why this guy shouldn’t be decent. He’s still recognized on the streets for his portrayal of the green giant who smashed his way through blockbuster ratings on television.

On the other hand, I’ve found not all my experiences were very good. I’ve been a follower of the John Constantine Hellblazer comic book series for the longest time since day number one. The series chronicles a street-smart, chain smoking mage who dabbles in the occult while wearing his trademark trench-coat. I found that Paul Jenkins, who had penned the series for several years, would be appearing there.

Jenkins came across as a bit of a jackass. He’s supposed to be British. They’re known for being good folks. But he passed me off as just another comic book junkie who wanted his autograph rather than an intellectual type writer who longed to borrow a couple minutes of his time simply to discuss the Hellblazer series with him. I enjoyed his work on the series. I wanted to relate that.

But he seemed interested in merely making a buck off me. It’s good that he’s making charity donations for the artists in the comic book industry. But I wanted to talk to him for only a couple of minutes. That was all. I did get his autograph. And little else.

Lesson? Don’t meet people who are supposed to be heroes in your life. They’ll never going to live up to your expectations. You’ll be disappointed.

But I did meet a slough of interesting people in the convention. And pictures I did take of different comic book characters come to life: Poison Ivys, Supergirls, Rogues, Storms and there’s even one remarkably lovely girl who dressed up as the slave Princess Leia from the Return of the Jedi film. Very nice. I asked if she had a boyfriend. She did. I’m disappointed again.

That was probably the best part of the convention. Meeting the different people who share the same interests. And you don’t have to get that awful put-down stare you get from folks who think you’re a geek for collecting Batman or Wonder Women comics. They all have the same passion of dressing up in their favorite characters and making the best of their talents.

They’re good people. Every one of them. They show the same decency and courtesy you might not expect from a football sports game or some drunkard corner bar. These people are good to be around with. And they’re lovely folks, just lovely.

One of the highlights of the weekend, to be sure, must be the greatest moment of movie history right here in the convention. If you received a wrist badge and a T-Shirt for the Batman: The Dark Knight trailer, you were allowed to go see the sneak preview of the Batman film still in the works at 6 p.m. Aug. 11. Only 1500 were allowed.

You weren’t allowed to bring in electronics. They were confiscated from you. You could only bring yourself and that was it. But the Batman movie trailer had a host of guest panelists that would knock your socks off. Christian Bale and Gary Oldeman appeared there, as well as director Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer. The bigwigs of Batman history.

This would be worth the money right there. But the pivotal focus of the panel discussion was the portrayal of the Joker: they would make it a departure from Jack Nicholson from the original film. He would be very different. More psychotic. I wish I had been there to witness the event. But I was running down with a cold at the time.

Someone wanted to pay a thousand bucks for the wrist just to get into the sneak preview. That guy was nuts. If I had the wrist badge, I would have sold it to him and said, "I can always see the movie next year."


That being said, the Wizard World convention was a worthwhile trip. They’ll have the convention up and running again for next year in 2008. This time they’re moving the weekend up ahead in late July for those who won’t run into conflicting Aug. schedules.

See you there again. Maybe.

Monster Mayhem

Once again, horror seems to be stepping up to the spotlight. This time in the form of a Korean monster flick that has proven popular in its native country. The Host remains steeped in the 1950s-ish type monster lore that has an appealing B-budget. It reminds you of staying up late nights watching old, spliced B&W flicks they used to show on T.J. and the Ant back in the day.

Coming to the United States on DVD for July 24, this film generates plenty interesting, if impressive, special effects to help carry the film. Some reviewers rank it on par with the inimitable classic such as Jaws, the shark of destruction that used to haunt the ocean waters, scaring away would-be swimmers.

The feeling comes back slightly in this film.

Though it isn’t in the same league as the 1975 Steven Spielberg film, lacking a few punches in the horror quotient, the Host is still pretty good stuff distributed by Magnolia pictures. It feels like a drive-in flick. And it’s weird as a two-head goat.

You wouldn’t know which one is scarier: the actual monster that runs amok or the dysfunctional family that goes after the creature.

My bets are on the family. They’re a scary lot.

But the oriental culture always has an interesting perception on things. They have a good sense of humor, often bizarre, which plays well in this film. They see something funny in a lot of things all around them and use humor as a weapon to deal with problems in life. Without humor, you might as well be living in a coffin.

The oldest son Park Gang-du in the family is a lazy, no-good for nothing. He runs a snack bar and eats much of it too. His sister is a famous archer Nam-joo and his drunken brother Nam-il: they don’t even speak to their brother at all unless it is to yell at him or tell him how useless he is.

Nice family, eh?

But if one of them is wounded or hurt in any wait, you might have to watch out. When it takes Gang-du’s only daughter Hyun-seo. The family make vengeance seem like an easy thing.

The creature in the film takes the youngest and pulls them into the lowest depths of the waters. And finally brings them to the sewers where the hostages remain as food fodder. So they eventually get fed to the beastly hunger of the attacking creature. Which started out probably from a mix of chemicals dumped into the sewers.

The whole dumping dangerous wastes into the water strikes an endearing image to another monster flick from the late 1970s called Alligator, which sees the four-legged reptile growing into ridiculous sizes.

The Host sees the same process going on.

The creature is an interesting design. It leaps and swings, bouncing from different walls, a slap-happy mix of strange movements. In some ways, the creature hangs from the protrusions similiar to Ridley Scott’s Alien, leering, patient, waiting for its next victim to grab. The thing acts on primal instinct. It’s a savage thing. It’s kind of a mutant thing, half squid, half iguana, god knows what else.

But the focus of the story is really on the interaction of the family and how well they work together or separately. They have to overcome their differences before finding the common enemy they have: the monster that rakes the youngest into the bottoms of city. The subterranean feeling of claustrophobia is often there. Children hiding themselves in pipelines to hide from the creature. The narrow and long tunnels run through with an enclosed atmosphere.

This South Korean film recently garnered four different awards for various aspects of its creation. Mostly importantly, it won the best film award at the inaugural Asian films awards in Hong Kong. Another is best actor given to Song Kang-ho. There’s definitely talent in the making of the movie. There’s plenty of homage and nostalgia in regards to the many great monster movies that has come before. In some ways, the Host pays its dearest respects to the once beloved genre that has long died out before.

Did you think it’s safe to go back in the waters again? The danciest little beast preys on the victims for his noon hour lunch break and makes mince-meat out of them. It’s a warm reception to the horror’s monster movie efforts and might actually jumpstart the forgotten genre again.

Nothing wrong with going to the nearest theatre to have a few good scares.

That’s the best part, getting scared. Isn’t it?