“Penny Dreadful”: Everything AND The Sink
Showtime’s new horror series, which debuted last night, is a gleeful, gory celebration of all that the genre entails. An everything-but-the-kitchen-sink series that blends supernatural surprises, operatic violence, gruesome imagery, Gothic legend, psychological creepiness, and classic jump-out-of-your-seat “Boo!†scares, “Penny Dreadful”’s premiere was often silly, very unsophisticated, and quite watchable. The show gives us American sharpshooter Ethan Chandler, played by Josh Hartnett, thus answering the question, “Whatever happened to Josh Hartnett?†His hair is now really long. And you get to see his butt. Showtime’s nudity is more gender-equal than HBO’s.