Jekyll
By Cory Peynado, Blocbuster.co.uk

“I do have a good side… you’ve just missed him”

So let's talk about mood swings. To some people this merely signifies the difference between a Monday morning and a Friday afternoon, also the transition isn’t really noticed because everyone feels the same. So what would happen if the ying and yang of persons human decency could change at the flick of switch… and what would happen if that persons darker side had no qualms about tearing a man to shreds.

I make these disturbing suggestions only because I have just spent some quality time watching ‘Jekyll’ A brilliant new series that puts a spin on the legendary tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Steady on though, I know what your thinking and this does not involve any crazy scientists or big hairy monsters, oh no, we’ve moved on from fantasy. Placing itself unashamedly in the Horror genre this is a story about a mans fight for good… within himself.

Our man in the struggle is Dr Jackman (James Nesbitt), a sensible and responsible father who has now distanced himself from his wife to keep her safe and to keep her from finding out the terrible truth. You see Dr Jackman, much like ourselves, has a bit of a darker side, but not like a Monday morning headache, it’s a bit more like Saturday night volcano eruption.

Just before midnight every night Dr Jackman straps himself to a chair, this is because at the stroke of midnight he will no longer be Dr Jackman but someone else. Someone that he cannot control, therefore his only way to communicate with this savage person is by using a tape recorder. Restraining from telling him anything personal he records everything that he wants Hyde to hear when Hyde awakens. “Don’t kill anyone”, “remember where we parked”, usual stuff. They live completely separate lives and the only person who gets to see the intricacies of this arrangement is Katherine Reimer (Michelle Ryan) She is hired to oversee this arrangement and make sure that both of them stick to the rules.

As twisted as things are they actually begin to get by with this arrangement and for the time being it seems to be working, but the balance becomes unsettled when a mysterious organisation shows up in their lives and claims to be Hyde’s true owner. They have been monitoring Hyde for years and now say that they want to step in and take control but much like any beast, Hyde is extremely difficult to tame.

I’m always happy when I watch a really really great pilot episode of a series because it means that there is lots more to come and having now watched the complete series I sincerely hope to see a second offering. There are some pretty gruesome scenes but they are not done in a tactless way, the real strength comes from the clever and dark dialogue and the likeable nature of both sides of this character. If you haven’t seen this already on television then I implore you to just watch one episode, this will not disappoint.

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