Ratings1
Average rating4
Set in the Germany (or more accurately, Baden) of 1827, this is clearly the world of the Brothers Grimm, rather than anything more closely tied to real history. There are scheming burghermeisters, gypsy fortune-tellers, feisty young barmaids, and, of course, the Beast itself in a story that's initially quite dark. It does, perhaps unfortunately, lighten up once it's clear what's really going on, but I, at least, found the Gothic atmosphere never really went away.
The most notable guest actor in this one is Miriam Margolyes, who is superb as the owner of the tavern, who has a pivotal role in what's been going on. The others are good too, though, and the story does a good job of keeping the nature of the Beast a mystery for as long as possible, riffing off of dark fairy tales, and, to a lesser extent, Hammer Horror, as it does so. It's not pitch-perfect, but it's pretty entertaining.