Jekyll

Steven Moffat's new thriller is a breath of fresh air for the BBC1 Saturday night evening post-"Casualty" slot. Beginning with super-sexy Michelle Ryan preparing the restraining straps on a chair, you just know this is going to be fun. Ryan is a delight and it comes as no surprise to learn she is the new "Bionic Woman".

The always-excellent James Nesbitt is the star of the show. As Jackman, Nesbitt plays a man who is living literally two separate lives. There's a thick air of mystery in the air and more than a scent of a conspiracy. His transformation into "Hyde" is genuinely unnerving.

The beautiful Gina Bellman has always had a place in my heart, ever since I watched Dennis Potter's puzzling but erotic "Blackeyes" in '89. Bellman remains devastatingly gorgeous and is as watchable as ever.

Comic relief is provided by Meera ("Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee" and "The Kumars at No.42") Syal as Miranda, a private detective who is mysteriously paid not to investigate Jackman any further.

"The League of Gentlemen" and "Doctor Who" fans will be pleased to know that Mark Gatiss will be making an appearance later in the series as Robert Louis Stevenson.

This is an interesting show - part mystery, part horror, part comedy. It's certainly unique and well worth a viewing. The BBC really have Saturday nights sorted out at the moment as this is a great "book-end" companion with "Doctor Who"!

For those who may find the first episode a little disappointing, stick with it. The later episodes are darker and more satisfying installments.

Just watched the first of the series on the BBC. Was not sure what to expect as I had not seen any publicity leading up to the broadcast.

I was very pleasantly surprised. Not just with the slowly revealing dark tones of the plot but also with the underlying eroticism from both the female and male protagonists.

There is quite a lot of attention to detail which hand in hand with the competent acting makes this very believable and therefore watchable. I very much hope the same quality is maintained throughout the series.

I have to say that I like the choice of James Nesbitt in the lead role. Not only because he is an actor who demonstrates, very admirably, human frailty but also he can show that hard edged centre which is believably portrayed.

Looking forward, very much, to the next instalment.

I've actually never watched a show starring James Nesbitt before, but I'm glad I took the time to watch this one.

I found it amazing how Nesbitt could play two such different characters but make you believe both were real, even though this may seem obvious as that is the part he was playing, he almost made you forgot each alter-ego while he acted the certain character. (Dr. Jackman or Mr. Hyde)

In summary, Jekyll was a great and enjoyable show, with a good cast lead amazingly well by James Nesbitt.

10/10 for such an enjoyable storyline that felt modern while staying true to the idea of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Great show. James Nesbitt is mesmerizing as BOTH Tom Jackman, a modern day Dr Jekyll, and Mr Hyde his vicious alter ego. This show is part sci-fi, part psychological drama, part conspiracy actioner. It's not perfect. The American accents are atrocious and some of the explanations and conspiracy elements are a bit weak, but it's riveting TV.

James Nesbitt plays Tom Jackman, a British doctor who discovers that he changes into someone else. That someone else is Mr Hyde, a superhuman driven to indulge his impulses. As one character says "Hyde is a child with all the urges and needs of a grown man." Jackman seems to be the descendant of Henry Jekyll, who was the real life inspiration for the Robert Louis Stevenson story. This is despite the fact that Jekyll had no known descendants, and apparently died a virgin. Jackman himself had no known parents, being found abandoned at a train station and raised in foster care. That's the basis for a somewhat intiguing mystery and a sometimes disappointing conspiracy plot as Jackman is targeted by a powerful multinational corporation.

But the real attraction here is Nesbitt and the interaction between the Jackman and Hyde personalities. Nesbitt, who will be familiar to British, and some American viewers, from the show Murphy's law, and the film Bloody Sunday, shines here and gets to show off the full range of his acting chops. When he's Jackman he's a somewhat nebishy man who loves his family so much that he leaves them in order to isolate them from Hyde. It's a very real and dramatic performance. As Hyde he is all flamboyance a swaggering bon vivant who could have stepped out of a Broadway show, except for the fact that his shirt is covered in blood and he could turn violent at any moment. Nesbitt doesn't play Hyde as a macho bully, but rather as someone even more dangerous, a creature with no boundaries, driven only by passion, whether that's for food, sex, or violence. The interplay between these two aspects of Nesbitts performance is a joy to behold.

As much as I tend to be an Anglophile when it comes to all things British in the cinema and on TV, I know that just because the actors have plummy accents it doesn't necessarily make something good. However, I'm glad to discover that BBC America's new series is a welcome exception to that rule.

When a post-modern adaptation of "classic" material such as this is attempted, the filmmakers had better bring something fresh and different to the table, if they expect the project to make an impression beyond the first moment or two. And luckily, "JEKYLL" has a real asset in James Nesbitt's tour-de-force portrayal of Dr. Tom "Jackman", the 'hero' of the piece who is sharing his mind and body grudgingly with the absolutely amoral and insane "Mr. Hyde". Blessedly, Nesbitt chose to take the Spencer Tracy route with this version, relying more on acting ability than cheap prosthetics, (though there are some makeup effects used very sparingly, which makes them that much more gruesome when they appear.)

This take is part-mystery, part-conspiracy thriller and part-psychological drama, which at times hints that it might even be headed into old "X-FILES" territory. It is fascinating to try and second-guess Steven Moffat's excellent script, but just when you think you know where it's going, the plot line swerves in another direction, but not with such unexpectedness or contrivance as to make you want to turn it off and ditch the whole thing. (Too bad I can't say the same thing about "LOST".)

I'm coming up on the last couple of episodes, and I'm hoping that it will be back for another installment, if things don't get wrapped up towards the end. Nesbitt, whose work I've never seen before, is outstanding, and he's backed by a terrific supporting cast, especially a nearly unrecognizable Denis Lawson, whom I only ID'ed thanks to IMDb.

If you haven't been following this on Saturdays on BBC America, be sure to catch it when it becomes available on DVD.