PENNYWORTH Season One
Butler Begins
UK StarzPlay, streaming now US Epix, finished airing Showrunner Bruno Heller Cast Jack Bannon, Paloma Faith, Jason Flemyng, Polly Walker
Bruce Wayne’s butler was, it seems, to the mannered born. Part crazed genius, part cringeworthy toot, Batman prequel Pennyworth is quintessential cult TV, if not a megamix of cult TV tropes. The vast majority of viewers aren’t going to “get” it, but those who do will lap up its self-conscious stylisation. But even they will probably admit that at times it tries too hard to be quirky.
Set in an alternate ’60s London of airships, armed Beefeaters and a political system in thrall to the aristocracy, the series follows a young Alfred, fresh out of the SAS, returning to set up a security firm, and becoming involved in a fascist attempt to overthrow the government. This may sound grim and gritty, but as comic book adaptations go, the tone is more The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen than V For Vendetta. Don’t expect biting satire, but rather a burlesque pantomime with gimps, a lascivious Queen and plenty of bonking.
It’s all style over substance – much of the former purloined
from such ’60s shows as The Avengers and The Prisoner (and not just because Alfie says, “Be seeing you,” repeatedly). Jack Bannon’s Alfie is a combination of Michael Caine’s Harry Palmer and Number Six, his delightful surliness giving the show a supremely watchable centre. Paloma Faith and Polly Walker provide some charismatic villainy as the dotty Sykes sisters, and Jason Flemyng gets to wear a polished metal nose as a powergrabbing Lord.
It’s all delightfully British (Alfie even says, “Gertcha”), wantonly unhistorical and utterly ludicrous, with drama often losing out to one-liners. But there’s little feel of a connection to Batman. The inclusion of James and Martha Wayne does little to link the series with the Bat-mythos, while young Alfie seems to have little interest in following his dad into a life of service. Then again, the show is undeniably batty. Dave Golder
In episode two, a convict who’s hung, drawn and quartered for “rape, sodomy and murder” is named as James Savile...