Jekyll — or, “I guess there is a reason for Britain.”
Watched a couple of episodes of Jekyll recently on a whim, and I am extremely impressed. This is not always the case with British television, which often seems to have an air of naval-gazing and insularity that I dislike — same problem I have with ??Seinfeld??, although in a rather different manifestation. And British science fiction seems to me mostly very Dr. Who-ified — not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a pretty tight niche.
??Jekyll?? is a modern extension of the classic Jekyll/Hyde story. It is not, as is customary, a retelling, but rather takes place in a universe in which the Stevenson story reported semi-true events; the protagonist of the series is supposed to be a “descendent” of Jekyll, although there are indications that this doesn’t mean standard sexual reproduction in this case. Our Jekyll Jr. and his other have achieved a truce ruled by means of a voice recorder and mutual surveillance, and their ability to punish each other in absentia. Add to this a shared psych nurse/personal assistant, a couple layers of conspiracy, a very pissed-off wife, a couple of lesbian detectives, and a dead-lion-gram, and you’ve got the setup.
This is all reasonably interesting, in a sort of ??Nowhere Man?? meets ??Dark Shadows?? way. But what makes the show really engaging is the performance of James Nesbitt, who is perfect as both Jekyll and Hyde — demanding total audience attention at all times, and managing somehow not to seem to be reenacting a string of ancient cliches. (The supporting cast is good, too, although they don’t generally get to hit the same fever pitch. )
If you get a chance, take a look — this is easily not only the most entertaining British show I’ve seen in a long time, it raises my expectations for science fiction, especially superheroes and super-antiheroes; I feel like I can’t look at a show like ??Heroes?? witout feeling it’s diminished just a bit by comparison. (Not that I ever felt ??Heroes?? was the cream of the crop — but even something like ??Lost??, which has built its own little industry around intense morally ambiguous or unknown hero/villain performances.)