The Lobster Dance

I wrote about Frankenstein, M.D. before, and, more than halfway through the show, I am obsessed. (Spoilers for the original text and for Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein, none for the show.)

I first read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in high school for fun, and while I enjoyed it, I don’t feel like I really “got” some of the themes or really appreciated that a woman invented science fiction. Last year, the Jonny Lee Miller/Benedict Cumberbatch Frankenstein* had a showing nearby, and it rekindled my interest in Frankenstein–but I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted a woman to play Dr. Frankenstein.

Genderswap (or “cis-swap”) is one of my favorite narrative elements. Not at the expense of writing original female and nonbinary characters, of course, but there’s something fascinating about taking a beloved male character, especially one who is well rounded or has character traits associated with masculinity/men, and turning him on his proverbial head.

Hi, I’m Victoria Frankenstein, almost-doctor and host of the web series Frankenstein, MD. You can go ahead and start referring to me now as “Dr. Frankenstein,” just so you’re used to it when it actually happens. Which will be any day now.

I’ve been passionate about going into medicine since childhood. My mother, Caroline, was a medical researcher before her untimely death when I was 10 years old, and her dedication to scientific discovery proved a deep source of inspiration for me.

I’ve completed my own studies at the prestigious Engle State University Medical School, where I presently work in a lab under the supervision of the brilliant Dr. Abraham Waldman. (On those exceedingly rare occasions when I need supervision at all.) My co-host and colleague is (almost) Dr. Ludwig DeLacey. [NOTE: FILL IN SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT IGGY HERE] (About)

Victoria Frankenstein, as I’ve written before, is brilliant, selfish, obsessive, focused, charismatic, calculating, unethical, and innovative. It’s a delight to have a morally ambiguous genius as a woman character, and a show about a woman in STEM who is painfully aware of the sexism in the system and fights back. (Not that fighting back is necessarily an option for everyone at all times, but like the original character, nothing will stand in her way.)

The show is on its 15th of 24 episodes. I wasn’t sure at first how we were going to get from introductions to Victoria and her lab partner Iggy Delacey to the aftermath of building the Creature in 24 episodes, but the pace has been good so far. The meta blog about the science behind the show is a lot of fun, and like the other Pemberley Digital shows, the side characters also have vlogs/blogs.

The cast is fantastic: Anna Lore is an absolute delight at conveying the emotional nuances of Frankenstein, and the comedic relief brought by Steve Zaragoza as Iggy is actually funny, with just the right amount of bumbling and references without going way over the top. They’re a great team. I also love Kevin Rock as Victoria’s mentor Dr. Waldman, and the complicated relationship they have between Victoria’s all-consuming need to prove she can create life and Waldman’s concerns that she needs to focus on “real” problems instead of going straight for the impossible.

There is a little bit of gore (so far – I just got to episode of 16), some cow eyes, and some unethical human experimentation.

Start here.

Notes

*I adore how Danny Boyle’s play focuses almost exclusively on the relationship between Frankenstein and the creature, and while I understand why he decided to add a rape scene that was implied in the original text, I am happy that Frankenstein, MD has not included any gender-based violence.