Jekyll

02 August 2007

John Howell

It's about time someone updated the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde story for the 21st century. Created by Jeffrey Taylor, the BBC's new television fantasy drama Jekyll stars James Nesbitt, best know as the lead in the popular UK television series Cold Feet.

Nesbitt plays Tom Jackman, a modern-day descendant of Dr. Jekyll, who has recently begun his unfortunate transformations. He also plays Dr Jekyll's alter ego Mr Hyde.

Jekyll is more a sequel than an adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, with the writers adding the possibility that Tom Jackman may have been cloned from the original Dr Jekyll, and a secret American organisation is tracking his movements.

Unable to control his alter ego, Tom Jackman separates from his wife, locks himself away in a rented apartment, and hires an assistant to manage the transformations. Each personality has its own lifestyle and secrets, which the assistant keeps for both of them.

If it can sustain the momentum and wit of its early episodes, it should be worth the investment.

Jekyll was first broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007.

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