Jekyll

Over the past four years I've been pretty lucky to find a television show each year that has really piqued by interest and made me appreciate the medium. Doctor Who, Veronica Mars, Heroes...would the same thing happen in 2008? Well, of course it would, otherwise I wouldn't have started this review this way.

I've been a big Steven Moffat fan for some time, primarily because his work on Doctor Who (and I'm talking as far back as the Red Nose special that he wrote which was perfect Doctor Who and also enormously funny) has been so outstanding. The man has won three Hugo awards for his first three episodes of Doctor Who - the fourth episode can't be nominated until next year - so clearly he knows his science fiction. And the best thing about his Doctor Who is that it's science fiction with horror. So a modern sequel to the classic Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde...well, who else would be the better writer for it?

And truth to tell, it's brilliant. Over six episodes, Moffat manages to tell the story of Dr Tom Jackman, acutely aware of the fact that he has developed a vicious, psycopathic alter-ego, and desperately trying to find a cure for it, without letting the increasingly powerful Billy Hyde discover this, whilst at the same time protecting his family from Hyde finding out about them.
James Nesbitt is absolutely amazing in the dual role of Jackman and Hyde (and latterly Jekyll and Edward Hyde) creating two, not only distinctive personalties, but also physicalities. When he adds Jekyll and the original Hyde, that makes four. How Nesbitt does it is beyond me, but it shows the mark of a tremendously talented actor. The man deserves to be so much better known world-wide for his skills.

Nesbitt keeps you riveted to the screen the entire time, either as the hugely sympathetic Jackman or the mesmerising Hyde, but that's not to take away from his co-stars. Michelle Ryan starts off as his assistant, and secret admirer, though after about episode two becomes relatively redundant to the overall story. Gina Bellman, on the other hand, as Claire, appears to be initially redundant and then becomes more and more important. Then there are the lesbian private investigators (both humourous and wonderfully resourceful) and Hyde's enemies, employees of the Klein and Utterson Foundation which includes his best friend Peter Syme.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this series is that, by the end, you are truly barracking for Hyde. As the K&U Foundation makes its increasingly antagonistic moves, one can't wait for Hyde to appear and put them in their place, showing them that at the end of the day they have enormously underestimated their opponent.

There are two directors for the series, and it shows that they have taken the two halves. Douglas Mackinnon handles the first three episodes which are essentially Hyde taking more and more control as Jackman researches the mystery of who is investigating him. Matt Lipsey takes over the urban thriller of the last three episodes as the Jackmans find themselves prisoners of K&U. They are handled very differently, but each half is handled appropriately. Lipsey has the difficult task of mixing the more high-tech second half with the original Jekyll/Hyde flashbacks that may not necessarily sit well with such a steep contrast, but some creative editing makes it all work.

Finally, the ending was brilliant, surprising me completely - not in so much that I wasn't surprised at who Jackman's mother turned out to be, but more who she turned out to be. That is obscure, but the ending is so great I don't want to give anymore away.

"A+"