Hannibal

In the US: Fridays, 10/9c, NBC. Starts October 24

I was remarking only yesterday how DC comics and adaptations in other media now have something of a reputation for gloomy grittiness. When did this start, you might wonder, given how light and breezy the 1980s Superman and 1990s Batman movies were (yes, they were. Don’t argue)? Some might argue it was Denny O’Neil’s Batman strips. Others might point to the mid-80s decision by DC to try to appeal more to adults than children with its comics, which led to ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’. 

But it probably began with a strand of DC comic-writing that began in the 80s and blossomed in the 90s with DC’s ‘Vertigo’ imprint, which was intended for ‘mature readers’. Many of Vertigo’s creations are still with us: Shade the Changing Man, Animal Man and Doom Patrol still crop up in DC Comics, although most people haven’t heard of them. They will almost certainly have heard of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – indeed, it’s the creation that introduced the world to Gaiman and even now, movie producers are trying to come up with a way to adapt it that can feature Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

The other Vertigo character of note is John Constantine. Not truly a Vertigo original – Alan Moore created Constantine as an escort for another future Vertigo character, Swamp Thing, during that mid-80s ‘Crisis’ – it was nevertheless Vertigo and writer Jamie Delano who turned Constantine from a chain-smoking, trenchcoat-wearing, petty London street thug and Sting-lookalike with a certain knowledge of the occult into one of DC’s most popular, authentic and powerful characters in Hellblazer. Since then, Constantine has gone on to fight demons, devils and angels in his own comic, Constantine, as well as heading Justice League Dark. He’s even appeared in a movie of his own, played by no lesser and no less an inappropriate actor than Keanu Reeves:

Now NBC, which scored something of a critical, if not ratings success with ‘elegant horror’ show Hannibal, is trying to branch out into more conventional horror with its own version of John Constantine. Vastly more faithful visually and culturally than the movie, and drawing considerably on Delano’s Hellblazer run for its plot, NBC’s Constantine is nevertheless a horror show exemplified by the fact that its bad boy protagonist isn’t allowed to smoke on network TV in case it sends the wrong message.

Here’s a trailer.

Continue reading “Preview: Constantine 1×1 (NBC)”

In the US: Fridays, 10/9c, NBC

At its height, the British Empire was the most powerful force humanity had ever known. Fully 1/5 of the world’s population lived and died under the British flag. Yet its true power was not on land but on the sea where they ruled with the most brutal and efficient military force that has ever been: the British Navy.

But the oceans that this navy sought to control were vast, unknowable and full of terrible danger. And for all the Crown’s might, its ships were often lost to starvation, to storm and tempest, and to pirates.

So it was in 1712, the Crown offered a prince’s fortune to whomever could create a device that would allow its navy to navigate this great emptiness with a precision never before known. With this device, the Empire would increase its dominion over the world. But without it, the ships of the Crown would continue to be easy prey, not only from the gods and monsters of legend, but from a monster far more brutal and far more real.

– The opening narration to Crossbones

Back in the 00s, when I was watching BBC2’s Coupling, the last person I expected to become a US action hero was Richard Coyle. To be fair to Coyle, I didn’t expect any of the cast of Coupling to become US action heroes, but Coyle was right up there at the top of the list of cast members who wouldn’t become US action heroes. Because he was Jeff.

Of course, Ryan Reynolds was “the second guy in Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place” before he became the action hero we now know, so perhaps that’s a warning for you of the danger of typecasting comedy actors.

Indeed, since Coupling, Coyle’s been a Persian prince in Prince of Persia…

…a suave Russian ex-special forces soldier-cum-spy in Covert Affairs…

…and now a British government agent and assassin in NBC’s Crossbones. Good for him – he’s made it to the big time: the broadcast networks.

I think it’s fair to say, though, that all you need to know about Crossbones can be encapsulated thus: John Malkovich is Blackbeard the pirate; he does not have a black beard. All the same, it does also need the following addendum: Crossbones is much, much better than Black Sails.

Here’s a trailer.

Continue reading “Review: Crossbones 1×1 (NBC)”