Yesterday we watched the last part of the Steven Moffat modern reworking of the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, called simply Jekyll.
Rather than going for a costume drama (although there are elements of this in flashback) or a modern updating, Moffat wrote a new story that, on the basis that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about a real person, explores what happens to a modern day descendant, Tom Jackman.
The structure of the storyline is in places non-linear, so at the beginning of the series Jackman has already discovered that he is transforming, and we initially see how he and Mr Hyde cope. It is only later that we see in flashback firstly how he first became Mr Hyde, and later how Mr Hyde was created – or more precisely how he wasn’t created. It isn’t until the final episode that the pieces slot into place, and indeed it isn’t until the big twist in the final scene that everything is resolved.
The series is really at it’s best in the final three episodes. The earlier episodes to some extent are putting the pieces in place. Episode two is probably the weakest of the series, but even then it is not ever really bad – the series is consistently entertaining.
If you missed it, it is certainly worth a look, and is worth picking up, now it is out on DVD.