The Frankenstein Chronicles

Absolutely brilliantly directed! A Must watch series. Great cast, loving Sean Bean in this! and set in a bleak and dim London, it is fantastic and very atmospheric. Apparently filmed in Northern Ireland the scenery is fantastic. Cleverly written, with the traditional Frankenstein story woven with historic nineteenth century London, makes you feel it could be true! I'm a sucker for a period drama so this ticks that box for me too. So often you come across a series that tries hard to do a remake of a famous story and fails in an epic way, so it is refreshing to watch this as it has brought the story to life again and in a historically inspired way.

The Frankenstein Chronicles is a very dark interpretation of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly.

Indeed, this work is far more bleak than the original book. Its mired in the misery, inequality and depravity of 19th century London. The focus in this case is not adults but missing children, making this already disturbing tale that much more troubling.

Sean Bean hands in an excellent performance as the lead detective who knows the case he has been tasked with solving, is not, in fact, the case he is really investigating. There's a dark underbelly to this stories dark underbelly.

This is a masterful work, but I would say its not for everyone. I personally found its heavy, sombre and at times downright depressing tones, a little too much to handle. No doubt its true to the awfulness of the times but that's in some ways little consolation. That said, if you are prepared to accept the dark tones of this series I have little doubt it represents an impressive watch. Eight out of ten from me.

Felt this was let down by the marketing and fairly bland trailers. I only watched since Sean Bean was in it, thank goodness I did! Whilst its pretty slow initially, after 2 episodes when it all starts coming together the show stands out as a very creative one, with what I certainly felt was a completely original story based around the Frankenstein lore. In this respect it was a great surprise, and like others have mentioned, with so many shows coming out now based on established materials this was very refreshing.

Hopefully we see more, since whilst I do appreciate shows that keep it short and direct, instead of like others dragging on longer than they should (you know who you are!), this is one story that certainly has more to tell.

Not to miss.

First of all, people need to stop saying this is an interpretation of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. It is anything but that. This story takes place about 10 years after that novel was published, which was my first clue that this was going to be something completely different. As a nice early surprise, the novel itself does exists in this tale, which adds further realism to the whole affair. What this tale is though, is two things. First, it's a superb detective mystery. Secondly, it is well-executed, well built-up, gut wrenching horror.

The premise is undeniably very dark, and ingrained in the times, but there are underlying themes that are quite relevant to the world of today--it is a mirror for certain scientific dilemmas of 2015. The protagonist (played by Sean Bean) is a good man but a tortured soul, with high potential for being of unreliable perspective (his character might be experiencing dementia). So that alone will keep you guessing. If you start watching it, watch it to the end. You will see that it is anything but an interpretation of the novel, Frankenstein.

Sean Bean, superb as usual, leads a fantastic supporting cast through this dark and gritty investigation of mutilated corpses and the possibility of galvanizing the dead back to life.

I cannot say enough about this 6 episode (what was originally supposed to be mini-series - but now renewed for a second run!) season. Everything from the costumes, the sets, and the music (oh, the great music!) is phenomenal! The opening credits and theme deserve some recognition as it was very well done (I had a Game of Thrones vibe watching it)!

This could have easily ended at episode 6, because it was a perfect way to end this story, but I am also excited to see where they take Sean Bean's character next!