In The Flesh: Three Night Zombie Event (Spoilers)

When commercials for In The Flesh started running on  BBC America I was beyond excited.  I love the zombie genre, and in the last few years zombies have been overtaking vampires in public popularity.  Like vampires, their nature has been subverted in new and interesting ways.  We've had fast zombie, zombies that can learn, and even a zombie cured by love. The In The Flesh trailers reminded me of one of my favorite YA steampunk book series Gone With Respiration (Book 1: Dearly Departed and Book 2:  Dearly  Beloved).  In the Gone With Respiration novels, some zombies are able to live semi-normal lives through science, so it stands to reason that I would fall just as hard for In The Flesh.... that was unfortunately not the case.  It wasn't that I didn't like In The Flesh, it was just... it seemed very... incomplete and there were a lot of plot holes.  Here are my thoughts on the three part series, a list of pros and cons, spoilers if you haven't watched all three episodes.

The Plot

My biggest problem with In The Flesh was it's used up beaten to death plot line.  They could have gone so many ways with such a brilliant idea, but they went with the obvious, overdone racism/segregation/no tolerance in a small town plot line.  I mean, of course, that would have to be an element, I would be afraid if a "rehabilitated" zombie moved in next door, but they went all Nazi Germany on us.  Not to mention that Keiren Walker was already an outcast to begin with as a gay artist in love with the town bigot's son, Rick.  Of course, Rick does anything to make his Papa proud, so he ships off to Iraq to be blown up by an IED, causing Kieren to kill himself.  

When they are both brought back home zombie-fied, we get a Brokeback Zombie situation, both men know they love each other and while one is pretty open about it, the other lives multiple lies in order to fit in.  And just like in Brokeback Mountain, when Rick tries to get his father to see the truth, he ends up murdered... again... by his own dad... and you could see it coming a mile away.

Did I enjoy the story despite it's many cliches (Kieren's dad who won't talk about his feelings, his sister Jem who is an angsty teen filled with anger, quirky girlfriend Amy who is too big for a small town)?  Yeah, I mean, we all go see the same love stories and comedies retold over and over again, but with this I was hoping for something epic and different.  The British always blow my mind with their innovative stories and unique characters but that was just missing.

What Was Missing

The issue for me though was how many awesome looking plot points were brought up, but never finished.  As I watched the last episode I kept checking the time, wondering how they were going to get to everything mentioned since episode one.  I was most interested in the Undead Liberation Army, with the Undead Prophet as their leader.  This could be EPIC!  Not to mention the drug the ULA's followers took to re-zombifie them.  I could see so much potential from this but it never went anywhere... even when Amy goes to join up and Keiren warns of the dangers... nothing, we hear nothing more of it.  Why was this only three episodes?  It's not like Sherlock with its full hour and a half episode... this was just not enough content! Maybe that's why what we did see seemed so lame.

Also, I would have loved to see more of a back story of what life was like during the zombie apocalypse and how science was able to cure the condition.  There could be a whole episode dedicated to corralling the "rotters" and subjecting them to crazy experiments.  We did see some of Keiren's flashbacks from that time, but they only involved the day he killed Jem's friend.  The most powerful moment was during Keiren's flashback of climbing out of his casket and the subsequent panic attack that followed.  Look, in the end, three episodes was just not enough and while we were dangled some juicy goodness, we were left with nothing but the skeleton that a great show could have been built around.

The Makeup

Dem eyes!  I love movie makeup, especially movie monster makeup.  One of the best parts of In The Flesh was the makeup design... I was even willing to look past the few flaws to give it an 8/10 on the awesome scale.  First of all, those contacts were AMAZING!  I mean, I'm sure the poor actors hated having them in, but the effect was beautiful and chilling.  I also loved the idea that the zombies wore makeup and contacts to look more human.  Even with the makeup on, the makeup artists brilliantly showed the bits of zombie through.  For example, Kieren (who wears an epic amount of humanizing makeup) always has blue lips... no matter how hard he tries to cover up, there is always that bit of blue.

My only problem with the makeup is that when Keiren is full zombie, he has heavy brow with sunk in eyes... but after his treatment he is looks totally fine.  They could have explained this away easily, but just left in hanging in the ether.

Luke Newberry

The actor behind the puppydog-eyed Keiren Walker made this show for me.  His performance kept me watching through the tired plot.  He could deliver a perfect Pinter Pause and in the next moment burst through with strong passionate emotion.  No matter how much makeup they slathered on his face his performance broke through, every emotion readable, even through infected yellow eyes.  I just fell in love with him!  It was only three episodes but I wanted more Luke Newberry!  I need there to be a second season just so I can see more Keiren Walker.

In the end, despite my issues, I did enjoy watching, even if it was mostly because of Newberry's performance.  Supposedly the show will continue in 2014, but it really needs to be more than three episodes, that's just not enough time.

Supernatural Saturdays: The New Snick (Doctor Who & Orphan Black Spoilers)

Oh BBC, you filthy genius you.  If CBS was smart they would follow your lead with their Thursday night lineup because Supernatural Saturday may be on of the smartest programming moves in a long time.  You are talking to a kid who grew up in a generation where we had TGIF, Saturday morning cartoons followed by SNICK Saturday night PLUS we had Nick at Night giving us specific TV programming every night in the summer (I Dream of Jeanie Wednesdays, Bewitched Tuesdays or whatever).  I like my television programming bundled by day and category because that's how the children's TV lineups programmed me.  Now, to be fair, Saturday programming is tough because I'm usually out but God bless DVRs because I just watch my shows when I get home.

This week's Supernatural Saturday was a doosey, with new terrifying episodes of Doctor Who, Orphan Black and The Nerdist.  Now, I didn't watch The Nerdist this week, but I have to give it a shout out because it as an awesome show for all types of Nerds.  Last week they even did a great segment about the prices of collectible items that is worth a watch.  I collect Nightmare Before Christmas items so it was really helpful to learn how things are valued, some of the things you think would be worth a mint really aren't.

Any-who, this week's Doctor Who may have been the scariest ever.  I mean, really freaking scary.  I mean I watched it at 9 am and was terrified.  The plot followed the Doctor and Clara going back into the 70s to help a ghost hunter and his empathic assistant solve the mystery of the "Well Witch" that has been haunting this spot for centuries.  The pictures of the ghost (see below) scare the poop out of me.

As if the scary ghost wasn't scary enough they add in a terrifying "Silent Hill" looking monster that made the Silence look like fun.  The episode was fantastic, maybe one of my new favorite episodes next to "Midnight" and "The Impossible Astronaut".  Of course in Doctor Who fashion it wasn't actually a ghost but a time traveler stuck in a pocket universe.  And the monster?  It's just been separated from it's monster loved one in our universe.  In the end it's all happy sunshine, but the real goodness of the episode dealt with Clara's beef with the TARDIS.  It seems for now the TARDIS and Clara have reached a temporary truce, but it is really clear that the TARDIS does not like Clara.

WHAT THE EFF ARE YOU CLARA??  Some new theories buzzing around seem to suggest that she may be the daughter of the Doctor and River.  Now, I do think that River and the Doctor will be having a kid, because in "A Good Man Goes to War" when the Doctor takes his cradle out for baby Melody, River mentions that it had been a while since she's seen it.  But we've already met Clara's parents... and also, a version of her kissed the Doctor so... that's weird.  I really don't think she is his kid, but I wonder if the TARDIS has something to do with why Clara is the way she is.  The TARDIS lives throughout time, does the TARDIS want Clara out because she know's she will be the cause of what I will call "the Clara anomaly?"  We will see.

I am LIVING for this show right now.  If you have not watched Orphan Black yet, GET. ON. IT.  NOW!  This week's episode was a nail biter from start to finish.  You need a stiff drink to watch this show because it is just too intense.  In this week's episode, we find out that the crazy clone that is killing her sister's (who may be Russian based on the accent but I'm not sure) is part of some psycho religious cult.  Despite the fact that Sarah stabbed her with rebar, she is still on her mission from God, doing everything to blow Sarah's cover as Beth.  Just... just go watch it, go watch it right now.

Created by letsplaybamboozled on Tumblr.

While the episode was awesome, I just have to shout out to Tatiana Maslany for being amazing.  Sometimes when an actor has to play different characters in a show or movie they come out feeling... well.. a bit cheesy.  It's usually two totally different sides of the spectrum, good character vs bad character.  But Maslany is playing several complicated characters, but she does it with grace and finesse.  She gets down to nitty gritty details, whether it's Sarah pretending to be Beth having accent slips or being a psycho killer clone that you also have a bit of empathy for.  The show could have fallen into a super cheese category, by Maslany is making each performance totally believable.  You go girl!

So, another Supernatural Saturday (or as I generally watch it Sunday) down and I cannot wait for the next, especially with both Doctor Who and Orphan Black leaving me wanting more and more and more and more.

THE DOCTOR IS BACK: The Bells Of Saint John (spoilers sweetie)

Oh boys and girls he's back!  Our favorite nameless Doctor returned tonight in the first new episode since DECEMBER.  Well, Merry Christmas and Happy Easter because I am always down for the Doctor.  Really it's just in time to because I was beginning to get sick of reruns... no... seriously... I re-watched every episode from Christopher Eccleston on... most episodes twice.  Okay, maybe more than twice!  Don't judge me!  Anyway, in tonight's episode "The Bells Of Saint John" finally sees the 11th Doctor officially making Clara Oswin Oswald his next (and as rumor has it Smith's last) companion, even though she's already died twice on him.  Also as a side note, I am digging this whole BBC America "Supernatural Saturday" thing.  It's almost better than Snick!

Now, let's be honest... It's hard to see Matt Smith's Doctor with anybody other than the Ponds, which may have been the curse of having them be his companions for nearly 3 full seasons.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, David Tennant's Doctor went through companions like Hogwarts went through Defense against the Dark Art's teachers, and since Eccleson only did one season it kept Rose's plot line and chemistry with the Doctor fresh for two seasons, adding a bit of extra excitement when she briefly returned.  Jenna-Louise Coleman has a lot to live up to as it could be argued that the Ponds are two of the most beloved companions the doctor has ever had.  Not a dry eye was to be had after "The Angels Take Manhattan"... I'm pretty sure the internet broke overloaded with "SO MANY FEELS".  Having watched this episode, I have decided I am a Clara fan!

The show starts with a video blog, which warns the world no to connect to a certain unknown WIFI... because it will steal your soul!  As the camera pans out and we find a bunch of people stuck in TV screens very much like in "The Idiot's Lantern" but I'll let it slide.

Flash to Columbia 1207 where a monk proclaims that the Bells of St John are ringing.  They run to tell a cloaked figure who is of course the Doctor who is sitting next to a portrait of Clara "The Women Twice Dead."  Jump to Clara who apparently knows nothing about the internet.  Again, she is a Nanny who is amazing with kids.  While searching for an internet, the soul stealing WIFI pops up.  

Uh-oh.  But Clara is on the phone on a mission to figure out how to use the internet .. and that phone call connects to the TARDIS... AKA the Bells of St. John.  Who gave Clara that number...?  We are only told it was a woman.  River??????  MAYBE!

Finally Clara is given the WIFI password  RYCBAR123.  Run. You. Clever. Boy. And. Remember.  Stop the fucking presses.  Of course the Doctor runs to Clara and kind of freaks her out.  She is just Clara Oswald this time.  They have the great "doctor who?" conversation I posted above.  

We then find ourselves in some weird computer headquarters were the WIFI is coming from.  Apparently they are looking for clever people and Clara may be one of them... despite her total lack of knowledge of technology.  They are obviously a ruthless corporation and we get a very early Torchwood vibe.  They have not only hacked into the internet, they have hacked into minds and can apparently screw with peoples emotions.

The Doctor shows up and explains things to Clara, he's the man he talked to on the phone!  Clara is still freaked out but hears something upstairs.  She finds some weird random girl coming down the stairs.  She parrots whatever Clara says and is a creepy, scary, weird girl way.  Clara realizes she is the girls from the cover a of a book as  this girl TURNS HER FUCKING HEAD AROUND.  

She shows her weird android brain and Clara gets sucked in.

The doctor is busy re-donning his classic outfit, ditching monk garb.  When the doctor comes back he finds Clara panicking "I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM!"  Well... she is stuck in the back of the head of creepy android girl.  The Doctor sonics the "walking WIFI station" that is "hoovering up people."  Thankfully this time the Doctor saves her, sending a message to the WIFI company "under my protection".  The boss women of said company video chats her client saying "the doctor is back".  But who is the client?  Dalek?  Cyberman?  Who knows?

The Doctor saves Clara and they have an adorable conversation where the doctor tells Clara he is guarding her.  Things get crazy though as the lights start coming on all around them while all the lights in the city turn off.  WHAT'S GOING ON!?  And... oh shit is that a PLANE CRASHING!?  The doctor then explains that there is something in the WIFI trapping human souls.  People are being hacked... Even Clara was hacked and she is suddenly knowledgeable about the internet.  But there is no TIME!  THINGS JUST GOT REAL!     The Doctor shoves Clara in the TARDIS (which is totally different now).  They end up on the crashing plane and even though the Doctor apparently can't fly a plane but... he saves the crashing plane anyway.

The doctor takes Clara back to the TARDIS and takes her to the next day... and end up... on a motorcycle?  Which is for some reason in the TARDIS.  OK?  The show goes a bit "Person of Interest" as the weird WIFI company trails Clara using street cameras. 

Clara gets everything about the doctors in a quick lesson, yes alien  yes bigger on the inside and yes going to save the world.  

Now that Clara has had her internet smarts turned up, she is able to actually outsmart the Doctor and find the location of the company that is responsible for hacking minds.  The Doctor goes to get coffee and the company starts hacking into people in the cafe to threaten the Doctor.  They can hack anybody through the WIFI.  As the Doctor deals with hacked cafe people, Clara uses the web cams to take pictures of all of the company's employee's, which is how she can figure out where they are using SOCIAL MEDIA.  Love it.  Unfortunately, Clara is sucked away by the robot thing which is now disguised as the Doctor.  

Fortunately, Clara left the info on her laptop so of course the Doctor uses his motorcycle to... drive up the Shard.  Yeah.  The Doctor demands Clara back, but she is now fully integrated.  But.... it's not actually the Doctor... he HACKED THE DROID which then sucks in the leader of this crazy internet company.  OH DOCTOR I HAVE MISSED YOU!  Having no choice, the company has to give back all the "souls" for lack of a better word in order to save their boss... but when Clara wakes up... the Doctor is gone.

Flashing back to the company, they are in big trouble and we find out who the client is... it's the Snowman builder from the Christmas episode!  BUT WHY?!  Of course, nobody can remember what's happened so the company deletes the memories of every person working there and in a devastating twist, the company director's memory is overly-wiped and all that's left is a little girl in a woman's body.

The TARDIS comes back, and the Doctor asks Clara why she's a nanny.  She admits she was going to travel, but after some person tragedy she never went.  The Doctor asks her to go with him, but she asks him to come back tomorrow.  Of course, with a time machine that's no problem... and the Doctor is ready to find out who she is.

So it begins!  A new adventure with a new companion!  I can't wait to see what this season has in store!  WHO ARE CLARA!  I can't!  I can't wait!

Ripper Street A Series Overview (spoilers if you haven't watched the whole season)

So I'm getting around to this a bit late, but whatever I want to chat about Ripper Street so I shall!  All and all I have been nothing but thoroughly impressed and entertained by this show's first season.  Though, I often wonder if the title "Ripper Street" holds the show back a bit.  We know historically that Jack was never caught nor did he murder any more women past the point the show begins, but the constant illusions to Jack and his victims get old.  I mean, obviously they couldn't call the show Whitechapel because, well, that's been done.  That being said, I still love the show's writing, I only hope that expands even farther next season.

Now, as far as season finales go... well this one wasn't at the top of it's game.  And it involves Rose, getting kidnapped and nearly dying again.  Rose, GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER.  You are literally a dumb whore.  DS Drake has practically thrown himself at you, he's gives you his whole heart, nearly commits a robbery to win your heart and what do you do?  Respond to a lonely hearts ad and get yourself kidnapped and nearly human trafficked.  Well done.

Anyhow.  The tired plot of Rose's kidnapping was made up for with fantastically beautiful shots like these:

As if to distract you from the fact that Captain Jackson had been jailed, accused of being the Ripper the episode before and it really didn't get addressed it much during the episode.  As everybody is out looking for Rose, and apparently Reed is not having a full on affair with Ms. Goren now (which, btw people who didn't watch on BBC America, did they edit the shit out of that scene?  They were just suddenly in bed, were the Americans robbed of a sex scene?).

During the episode though, Reed (after Ms. Goren pretty much tells him to grow a pair) finally tells Emily what happened to their daughter, and how, not only is it his fault, but he thinks she may still be alive.  See, the bad guy of this episode who kidnapped Rose was with their daughter when the boat crashed and he survived.  And we are constantly shown him and his kidnapping family with a little girl.  You want to believe it's Reed's, but let's be honest  this is a British show and they aren't big on happy endings (I'm looking at you Doctor Who and Being Human).  I'm going to spoil it for you now.  It's not her.  But that's beside the point, Amanda Hale NAILS this scene, she deserves a billion awards just for this one single moment.  Seriously she needs to be in more things all of the time.

Anyway, my personal favorite part of the show comes after the bad guy was shot to death before Reed could find out where he was keeping Rose (and possibly his daughter who is not his daughter).  Basically, Captain Jackson performs an autopsy on the bad guy and the whore he supposedly ripped solving both cases while fucking handcuffed.  Now that's badass, clearing your own name while your wearing handcuffs.  Loved it.

But that's not even the best part.  After he clears his name, Jackson scalps the body of the bad guy in order to convince the kidnapper's sister that they are torturing him so the police could ascertain the location of the kidnapped women.  I am very pro Captain Jackson, and he's American so woot woot!

Anyway the episode ends with a bit of a sigh of relief, everybody is safe and sound.  All three men are back together again and ready to solve a new case.

So yeah, kind of a "wah, wah" ending, but I think part of the disappointment comes with the editing on American TV.  I really hope we weren't robbed of a sex scene between Reed and Goren, but it's more than that.  Seeing blurred out body parts on the dead bodies seems kind of silly and takes me out of it.  Any how,  I loved this show and look forward to another season.  I really hope the cast gets high praise and lots of awards because they were fantastic.  Really, bravo Ripper Street, Bravo!

Ripper Street Just Keeps Getting Better And Better

Is there nothing about this show that isn't beautiful?  Between the sets, costumes, dialogue and brilliant performances it's hard to find a fault.  I find with most TV shows that no matter what, there tends to be something irritating about a show, whether it be a cast member or cinematography or bad writing, but this show, much like Boardwalk Empire, is not only is it historically well written and put together but superbly acted.  Well, Boardwalk had to deal with Paz de la Huerta, but they got rid of her right quick.  The truth is, there are no cast members in this show I would want to see removed, in fact I find myself wanting more of certain performances.  Basically, I think we need more Emily Reid (Amanda Hale who I wrote about in Being Human), her performance is quietly brilliant portraying extreme depth in silence.  That girl needs to get in some Pinter plays.

Everybody on Ripper Street is wonderful, and a shout out to Adam Rothenburg who is playing Captain Homer Jackson, an American actor playing an American.  I mean, even in America we don't cast Americans in main or sometimes even title roles, a good accent goes a long way.  But Rothenburg is not only the real deal, but he keeps up with veteran and extremely talented British actors.  It's not secret that the Americans and British have very different acting styles and educations, but Rothenburg shines along side his Brit brethren so bravo!

But I had a point when writing this blog and my point was this.  Matthew Macfadyen is brilliant.  It's like watching poetry in motion.  He plays Edmund Reid with grace and beauty.  Reid's character isn't a new one, damaged cop with skeletons in his closet and a crumbling marriage.  We've all seen it before.  But Macfadyen brings something new.  It's not all close to the cuff, get your work done and move on.  In every frame you can see the pain of his life shining behind his eyes and he is constantly battling against it.  I mean... look!  Look at this:

I can't!  I can't!  It's just too good!  And his scenes with Emily... OH!  The two of the together are a lethal emotional combination.  They play off each other so well.

In the past few episodes we keep seeing the same few characters popping up over and over again.  One of those characters is Deborah Goren (played most lover-ly by Lucy Cohu).  At first she seems like a minor character but she kept popping up episode after episode.  And without showing it overtly,  you could see the unhappily married Reid falling in love with her.  So what you ask, characters fall for each other all the time.  No, you don't understand, Macfadyen played it in such a way that you could tell he had no clue he was falling for her and you could see in his eyes the moment he realized how he felt.  When he finally kisses her, you felt the release of the building tension as much as his character must have.  Isn't that why we watch TV?  For these kinds of cathartic moments?  Boy does Macfadyen deliver.  I could honestly go on and on with how impressed I am with this performance.  Macfadyen truly breathes new life into a totally beaten to death character type.

Oh don't worry Jerome Flynn, I haven't forgotten about Drake, the brute with a heart of gold.  It's just that your presence on this show is disturbing to me as I adore you on Game of Thrones and your main character status on Ripper Street makes me believe you may be biting the big one this season.  I don't like that.  Either way, Drake is the complete opposite of Bronn, showing the range that Flynn can perform.  No offense Flynn, but you have the face of a tough guy, so it's not hard to see you as the muscle on a show, but on Ripper Street he is sensitive and kind... even if he does beat the shit out of most suspects.  His pining over the whore Rose (played by the absolutely gorgeous Charlene McKenna) was heart breaking.  He was like a puppy.  I love contradictions, but they are hard to pull of, Flynn does it with skill.

Another character that I hope to see more of is Long Susan, played by MyAnna Buring.  Her character is still a complete and total mystery, other than the fact that we know she is in bed (literally and figuratively)  with Captain Jackson.  And we also know she is a tough cookie.  For a women as lithe and beautiful at her, the tough bitch character is hard to play convincingly, but the small amount of fear in her eyes shows that her mask is on the verge of slipping.  I really look forward to see more of this macho madame.

If you haven't watched Ripper Street yet I suggest you do so, especially if your an aspiring actor because there is a lot to be learned from these talented men and women.  I hope to see a lot of awards in the futures of these actors because boy do they deserve them.

Ripper Street: Series Premiere

Last night was the series premiere of BBC's Ripper Street and as with all BBC shows I was thoroughly impressed.  As far as series premiere's go this had everything, murder, sex and really really supreme acting.  Of course, I, living in America, had to watch the show on BBC America and you can't help but feel a bit cheated by the editing and commercial interruptions.  But we will get to my gripe about BBC America after I rant about the high quality of Ripper Street.

Ripper Street follows the detectives of East London known as H Division shortly after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders.  The show opens with a Jack the Ripper tour.  High class Londoners cower in fear and disgust behind a barker who brings them to all the sites where Ripper bodies were found.  It's all fun and games until you stumble upon a body.  Isn't that always the way it goes?  And, oh my, it would appear that she's been ripped, throat slit, eyes hatched and gashes all about her face.  Cue the frantic shouts of murder.

From there, the show goes on to follow Detective Inspector Edmund Reid played superbly by Matthew MacFadyen and his partner Detective Sergent Bennet Drake played by Jerome Flynn of Game of Thrones fame.  They enlist the help of American ex-field surgeon Captain Homer Jackson played by Adam Rothenberg who is a great foil to the two stuffy detectives.  Of course as I sit watching the show I can do nothing but panic about Jerome Flynn's leading role.  Does that mean curtains for the wise cracking Bronn on Game of Thrones?!  Whoever will protect Tyrion Lannister!?  Oh March you cannot come fast enough!

But I digress.  The plot follows the quest of these three men to prove whether or not Jack the Ripper committed this murder.  They are under intense public pressure since, of course, they never caught the man who tore through East London's whores like some sort of demon breeze.  On one hand the press hounds them, falsifying facts in the case to make it seem like Jack is back, on the other hand DI Reid is being hounded by his superiors, who secretly pray that it is Jack's doing so they could have the chance redeem themselves.  I will not go too deeply into the plot of the show as I would like to give people time to watch it.

Overall I found the show beautifully filmed, well written and as with all BBC productions brilliantly acted.  We have only been given a glimpse at each character, learning bits and pieces, but you can see all these men have been through in their eyes.  So far we have seen Captain Jackson as a bit of a whore monger, living in a whorehouse.  He seems to be in cahoots with Madame of the house, they both hint at hiding from something in their past and I can't wait to learn what that is.  Then there is MacFadyen who gives a wonderfully refined performance.  I have yet to be disappointed by a MacFadyen character, whether or not the film he is in is any good.  His character holds the weight of the world on his shoulders, but does so with a cool head and a steady hand.  We learn in the episode that he has a horrific looking burn on his shoulder which gives him trouble, making even putting a shirt on difficult.  How did he receive this?  I'm sure we will soon find out.  Then we have my dear Bronn, Jerome Flynn.  Flynn's character is a scrapper and a fierce fighter.  Or at least that's how he seems.  As we delve deeper into his character, we find a gentler man with high moral standards.

The only drawback to the show is BBC America.  It would have been better suited for HBO or any other non-cable channel.  Ripper Street includes graphic violence, nudity and sexual situations.  I feel like I'm missing out on the full vision of the show by watching this heavily edited version.  Not to mention the ever oddly placed commercial breaks.  Listen BBC America, I appreciate what you do, trust me I do, but sometimes it seems like you don't even try.  I've seen you cut off the end of sentences to begin commercial breaks.  I know you need commercials, your not government funded here, but Jesus!  While I'm ranting, the BBC has more to offer than Top Gear and anything involving Chef Gordon Ramsey.  If I see one more 6 hour stretch of Kitchen Nightmares I am going to scream.  And, I know you're BBC America but you don't need to show American TV shows.  We get those here.  And yes Patrick Stewart is a God who happens to be English and Star Trek Next Generation is awesome, but why do you constantly air it???  Ok, I'm biased and I wish you would only air Doctor Who, but I wouldn't mind more Graham Norton or Torchwood or Copper or bring other BBC shows over.  I know it's off season, but I know for absolute sure that Chef Gordon Ramsey is not the only entertainer Britain has to offer.

Ok back on track.  Ripper Street is a show worth watching, if not for the great cinematography and writing, but too see how the characters develop over the season.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!