This show is Not Rated
I’m the type of person that has to get personally attached to a character in a TV show for it to hold my interest. Don’t get me wrong the premise of the show has to be interesting also, but to me it’s more about the characters. I don’t even necessarily have to like the main character of the show. I mean, I made it through seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and Buffy was my least favorite character on the show (Spike, Oz and Willow were the ones I liked). Same goes for “Angel” (Doyle, Lindsey, Wesley, Fred, Lorne and Spike were the ones I watched for).
Sometimes my character love comes back to bite me in the @ss. Take for example “Torchwood“. I’m not going to go into my whole rant about “Children of Earth” again, but if you’re interested, here it is. Suffice it to say that Ianto Jones and the wonderful acting of Gareth David Lloyd was why I watched the show. Which is also why I will no longer be watching it.
Anyway, what does all this have to do with “Dante’s Cove”? After “Torchwood” breaking my heart, I was looking for something that was just harmless fun that I didn’t have to take too seriously. Which is when I stumbled across this show. I would classify it as a “guilty pleasure” and I think most people involved with the production would say so as well. Think of it as a cross between “Dark Shadows/Passions” and “Queer as Folk“. Kinda hokey supernatural stuff, with ridiculously melodramatic scenes at times and lots of hot steamy sex (primarily male/male, but some lesbian and hetero).
I will say, right up front, the actors appear to be hired based on their looks and bodies. It definitely wasn’t for their acting ability. There are a few diamonds in the rough that have the potential to become quite good (such as Charlie David; he has moments where he shines) and others that are just awful. However, that doesn’t necessarily hurt the show, in fact in some ways it makes it more fun.
The first season is only 2 episodes long. The first episode is around 1 hr 15 minutes long and the second is around 1 hour and 40 minutes. While a lot of things happen during this season, they are really more of a setup for the upcoming seasons. Giving us the back-story and ending on a big cliffhanger.
We start out in the town of Dante’s Cove, in 1840 and are introduced to the characters of Ambrosius (William Gregory Lee) and Grace (Tracy Scoggins). They are engaged to be married. We also discover that Grace is a very jealous woman, that she has supernatural powers and isn’t afraid to use them. You really don’t want to get on her bad side; which Ambrosius and his butler, Raymond, manage to do. You see, Grace ends up walking in on them having sex. Needless to say she is really pissed off.
She quickly takes care of Raymond and then moves on to Ambrosius. Next thing we see is Ambrosius chained up in the basement and at her mercy. He is given the choice of reconciling with her or spending eternity there. He choses eternity in the basement. She tells him that the kiss of a young man is the only thing that will set him free. Then proceeds to makes him look all old and creepy; which would certainly hurt his chances of that every happening.
Now we jump forward to current day. The location is Laguna Beach, California. Toby (Charlie David) is in a taxi on the way to pick up his boyfriend, Kevin (Gregory Michael). It’s a long distance relationship, Kevin lives in Laguna Beach and Toby lives in Dante’s Cove. They met two months ago and now Toby has come back for a visit. The taxi scene is great. Let’s just say they are up to an extracurricular activity in the back seat and the driver is definitely enjoying the show (love the taxi driver’s expressions).
Kevin’s home life is not good. He lives with his mom and stepdad. They seem to know that he is involved with a guy, but they think it is all Toby’s fault. That he is a bad influence on Kevin. It is a very oppressive and tension filled household. This leads to some problems between Toby and Kevin. I think Kevin is a bit jealous of the fact that Toby is living openly as a gay man and is not getting any grief over it. Whereas, it’s such a struggle for him.
I should point out that the sex scenes between Toby and Kevin are extremely hot. While they may not be the best actors in the business, Charlie and Gregory have incredible chemistry together and it really comes across in these scenes. I also really like the way the scenes are filmed in a very artistic and moody manner. Basically, when all is said and done, they have ended up with some incredibly erotic and sensual sex scenes.
Vacation is over and it’s time for Toby to head back to Dante’s Cove. He tries to get Kevin to come with him, but he won’t go. They have a very tearful farewell. However, after another nasty encounter with his stepdad and mom, Kevin decides that he should take Toby up on his offer.
So now Toby and Kevin are living together in the Hotel Dante. We get to meet the other residents of the hotel as Kevin is being given the tour. Two of the more notable ones are Van and Adam. Van is currently Toby’s best friend. She is an artist and is also very interested in the history of the area, particularly in relation to the hotel itself. Adam and Toby have known each other since they were in fifth grade. Their friendship has had a lot of ups and downs over the years. It also seems like Adam is a bit jealous of Kevin’s arrival.
It’s probably important to mention that the Hotel Dante just so happens to be the house that Ambrosius is chained up in (not that anyone is aware of that fact). Obviously it won’t take long until we see their world collide with the world of the supernatural.
Some of my favorite quotes:
Ambrosius - “Grace, I can assure you that I have absolutely no interest in any other women.”
Toby – “You know, maybe you’re right.”
Van – “I’m always right. You should know that by now.”
Toby – “Yeah, I can always count on you to make me smile.”
Toby – “It’s this place, it’s haunted.”
Kevin – “Great, you kind of left that part out when you convinced me to move in with you.”
Toby – “Hey, I’ve been dreaming about this moment. Finally, you and me together. I couldn’t wait for you to get here.”
Kevin – “Me too.”
Toby – “Even if it is haunted?”
Kevin – “Shut up and just go to sleep.”
Van – “He’s easy.”
Toby – “I know, that’s why I keep him around.”
Toby – “Yeah, I know it’s probably pretty hard for you to imagine that, but I live in this little make believe world where two guys can actually really care about each other and be open about it.”
Adam – “Toby, if I could go back and make things different, I swear to god I’d … “
Toby – “Do know how many times we’ve been through this. You apologize and then I forgive you and it’s the same song and dance. The same crap all over again. I’m just not ready to forgive and forget this time.”
Cory – “Why should we leave, we were here first.”
Toby – “Because I’ll kick your @ss if you don’t move it.”
Van – “Aw, kiss and get it over with.”
Van – “Ok boys, the makeup sex will have to wait; we have a curse to lift.”
Van – “Cool, let’s get the f*ck out of here.”
So in summary, this is just a fun, not to be taken too seriously show. I was pleasantly surprised by the production values. They did a great job with the filming and editing. The sets and filming locations were terrific. The overall atmosphere that was created was very good.
Even though this review is focused on Season One, I just wanted to mention that I think the show improves in the next seasons. It’s probably due to the fact that the actors are getting more comfortable with their roles and each other. Plus the storyline gets more complex and some interesting characters are added.
Random Thoughts:
Is the Dante’s Inferno book that Kevin has the exact same book we saw in 1840?
Whoever was responsible for the oiled down bodies with the sweaty look sure got carried away.
They definitely believe in scantily clad people and gratuitous nudity.
Jan
P.S. Comments are welcomed. Scroll towards the bottom of the page (below the spoiler section) to where it says “Click Here to Make a Comment”. Or on entries from previous days there is a comment box.
Following is additional information about the show that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.
So, I was watching this show to get over the whole “Ianto” thing I was talking about early. Guess what happens, in the final few minutes of the season my favorite character on the show, Toby, is hit over the head with a brick and thrown into the ocean to drown. Luckily, I bought all the seasons together so I didn’t have to be kept in suspense over his fate for very long. However, I don’t think I can take much more of this.
