robertemerald Review of Dickensian

Dickensian (2015–2016)

London in the 1800s is brought to life amid a community of fruity characters

[7/10 · 16 May 2017]

Dickensian lost points for me because its all centered around the same general set, that is, a few streets of old London town. That was a problem for me. The actors are fabulous and, in small and considered doses, and an intelligent pace, a joy to watch, truly. The script is fine and didn't need to be deliberately a Charles Dickens … what … satire … tribute … soap? Which just brings my current 2017 viewpoint back to this irritating problem. This show just stays home all the time. I found it claustrophobic. I am used to 19th Century movie and television treats such as Sherlock Holmes, Penny Dreadful, Dracula, and such, all of which leap to the country (or at least out of any given neighborhood) from time to time. Although I can only give Dickensian 7 out of 10 myself, I think there will be a big place for this experiment in future revisions of the genre, and this show will be remembered fondly.