TV Show Review: Jekyll

I confess, I have never really been a big fan of James Nesbitt but I bought this set because I am a huge fan of the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I am so glad i did, it was worth every penny (not much at a fiver though!) and every second.

Tom Jackman (Nesbitt) plays a loving husband and father who at any given moment can turn into a psychotic enraged madman who simply calls himself "Hyde".

As Hyde's visits become more frequent, Jackman must seclude himself and keep Hyde under observation with the help of Katherine Reimer (played by Michelle Ryan).

She feels that she has control over his behaviour but he turns out to be more sinister and more terrifying than she could ever have imagined. She must keep the lights and cameras on at all times as Hyde will not attack her when "Daddy" can see. The show deals with some of the more detailed elements of dissasociative identity disorder, such as the contempt the "alter" (Hyde) will feel for the control personality (Jackman) this is illustrated throughout, with Hyde's constant struggle for superiority and control particularly the loathing that Hyde shows for Jackman, saying that if he ever attempts to find a cure for him, he says he will "blow our brains out"

As a result of this experiment, Jackmans Family life suffers and his wife Claire hires private detective played by Meera Syal to see what's going on.
His work as a research scientist suffers too and his "best friend" Peter Syme can't help.
I don't want to give anymore away but the whole thing is packed with action, twists and two major shocks that I didn't see coming!

Whilst this is a very tense psychological thriller, there is a fair amount of gore, nothing too extreme, but definitely not for kids. There is also a number of things that will make you jump, so I wouldn't recommend watching it by yourself at night (I made that mistake)

Nesbitt is fabulous as both Jackman and Hyde, being able to switch from the loving, emotional family man, to the dangerous and psychotic Hyde.

The character is a delicate balance between his almost animal like rage and sinister intelligence that Nesbitt captures perfectly. Too much calculated intelligence and it wouldn't have been Hyde, too much gore and he wouldn't have been nearly as terrifying.

Gina Bellman is brilliant as Claire, his wife who loves him, but has just lost her patience with him, but she would also protect him with her life.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with Michelle Ryan's performance, I personally found it a little under whelming; I felt her character was completely overshadowed by the charisma of Meera Syal.

Denis Lawson is spot on as the backstabbing best friend Peter Syme; he is cold, ruthless and arrogant, justifying his actions throughout in the name of science.

The special effects are amazing and right on the mark, and there is a feature on the second disc of the DVD set about how some of the scenes were filmed and some of the effects were created. I haven't listened to the audio commentary yet, but I am told it's interesting and occasionally amusing.