Just got DVD 1 from Netflix yesterday, and I watched the HELL out of it.

Oh yes. I watched it. I made tea, popped some popcorn, and watched that biznatch like it was a naughty nanny. OOoooohhhhhh! Man, them Brits know how to make one Heckle and Jeckle of a TV show! Man! I wanna move across the pond!

Anyway, YES, this show *IS* indeed about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.. as in the main character, Dr. Tom Jackman, is the long lost descendant of Dr. Jekyll. Sounds dumb and cheesy, huh? I know! Dunnit’?!

Let’s get right into it, shall we? Jackman’s a Doctor of… something.. and Hyde is his “dark side”. Now, In this story, there was no potion, or space ray, or radioactive blast involved in the split - in the (d)evolution. it’s genetic. Jackman is Jekyll’s long lost heir. Though, we still don’t know HOW yet. (*I* think Hyde knocked up a prostitute at some point, and it just never made it into Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. )

Anyway, Jackman has a wife and kids that he doesn’t want his alter ego to find out about, so he goes to some great lengths to keep his other half controlled and in the dark. He’s got an elaborate set up where Hyde and he can communicate with one another and make plans, and chide each other.. it’s awesome.

Jackman will punish Hyde by chaining himself up before changing, and Hyde will reciprocate the indignity by getting REALLY drunk and staying up all night to give Jackman one heckle of a hangover. if Hyde kills anyone, Jackman will turn himself in; if Jackman seeks a cure, Hyde will put a bullet in his brain. So, you know, lots of friendly tension.

Okay! throw into this a mysterious, young caretaker with boobs, a nosy wife who hires private detectives to follow her estranged husband, and a super, billion-pound corporation that’s hunting the doctor and you have BBC’s Jekyll!

Lots of dry, deadpan banter. An American character you love to loathe. Not-entirely linear plots. Weird Ghost mom. Dudes, duddettes! I’m tellin’ you.

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