TV shows getting complaints is hardly a new thing, as most shows that don’t ride the wide line of morality certainly draw their detractors. One of the most recent series to be added to that list is the Brit comedy-thriller Jekyll and Hyde, which has amassed a sizeable pile of criticisms saying it’s too scary and too violent to be aired as early in the day as it is. No thwackings before dinner, boys. It’ll scare the pipsqueaks.
The network watchdog Ofcom is investigating the series and how much it matches the expectations reserved for the initial 6:30 p.m. timeslot. They received over 450 complaints for the first episode of the series, while ITV directly received around 380, which was apparently enough to get the ball rolling to talk about what is too frightening and too early. That actually sounds like a fun conversation to have. But not when such important things are at stake here.
It should not be a brain-buster to learn that Jekyll and Hyde is tied to the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel, which falls squarely into the horror genre. So of course this show is going to be violent, even though it’s a twist on the original material. Da Vinci’s Demons star Tom Bateman is the original Henry’s grandchild Robert Jekyll, who suffers a genetic condition where he turns into a vice-driven monster when he’s angry, like if the Incredible Hulk were created by an indie comic label. There is a sense that the show takes Doctor Who’s wild storytelling and gives it a comic violence sprinkling, so even though there are things like bludgeonings and someone being set on fire, it’s not played for slasher flick realism. Doesn’t matter to a lot of parents, though, because won’t someone please think of the children?!?
ITV didn’t back down to such complaints and aired the second episode on November 1 in its 7 p.m. timeslot, and currently has no plans on changing it. That said, no one is being a douche here. According to Express, here’s how show creator Charlie Higson apologized to people.
I’m sorry that anyone got upset by it. It wasn't my intention to upset people by it. Obviously, it was my intention for it to be scary - it's a scary show. I was expecting more people to complain that it wasn't scary enough, rather than people saying, 'This is a scary show and I found it scary'.
I guess you can only show kids relatively frightening stuff if it’s Harry Potter doing the dirty work. And anyway, there was a warning before the program to say that younger children might find it scary. Warnings are there for a reason.
