Jekyll and Hyde: The Strange Case of The Doctor Who Effect

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

What is the elusive quality that Doctor Who has that makes it succeed where other Saturday night dramas have failed?

In the case of Jekyll and Hyde – which started last night and stars Tom Bateman as Robert Jekyll – you might say ‘Well it’s on Sunday for a start’ but other than that, with its focus on big names, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, and evening friendly horror (well maybe not so ‘friendly horror’ judging by near 500 complaints received by ITV and Ofcom), it’s ITV’s attempt to that capture lightning in a bottle effect – and it could be doomed to fail. Radio Times Huw Fullerton has been examining just what it takes to emulate the Doctor.

Creator of Jekyll and Hyde, Charlie Higson is no stranger to attempting to bring fantasy to the mainstream. Before Russell T Davies hit it big in 2005, Higson attempted to revive Randall & Hopkirk (deceased) in 2000 for a mainstream audience with little success.

“What I really loved was, when Russell [T Davies] came in with Doctor Who, and brought that back, and it was a hit, I thought ‘well he managed to pull off what I was trying to do,’” Higson told the Radio Times. “And he did it probably better than me.

“So, I was very pleased when he did that. And I think it did slightly open the doors for different types of stuff. Although, from this country we haven’t really had another big fantasy-type hit since he brought back Doctor Who. Yet!”

Not that they haven’t tried. The BBC attempted to fill the vacant Doctor Who spot with fantasy fare like Merlin (which lasted five series), Atlantis (which lasted two before it sunk without a trace) and Robin Hood (which ran out of tights after three series). While ITV scored reasonable hit at the formula with time travel/dino romp Primeval and a sizeable miss with teen drama Demons.

The fact remains, Jekyll and Hyde represents the best bet for a while to connect with audiences. So why is it doomed to fail?

Looking back at the ultimately doomed Demons, which shares a Victorian gothic vibe with Higson’s show, could its failure be attributed to a lack of identity? Higson certainly think so: “I think possibly the problem was with Demons that it was slightly hard to tell what the show was about, what its identity was.

“So at least we’re starting with a thing that’s like ‘Oh, it’s Jekyll and Hyde, I know what that is. Let’s see what they do with it.’”

But has Jekyll and Hyde put too much faith in audiences’ relationship with preceding media; is Robert Louis Stevenson tale just too slight to paint a thousand worlds and offer endless possibilities like the Doctor in his TARDIS does? Is it simply trading on a name recognition?

This sense of freedom, of joy unbound by convention, you might argue, has been missing from Doctor Who for a while but, at its best, this is what the show promises. Regardless of how well you mimic the premise, timeslot, crew, and casting choices ultimately, that’s not important. It’s making sure the show lives up its promise.

Unless Jekyll and Hyde cements its own identity and finds its audience quickly, it could end up joining that great list of pretenders to the throne; rather than being a fun, clever piece of counter programming.

 

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