A VAMPIRE, A WEREWOLF AND A GHOST WALK INTO A BAR...... (Being Human)

Member Name: jojopillo

Product:	Being Human
Date:	03/04/09 (411 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: WELL WRITTEN, WITTY AND EXTREMELY ENJOYABLE

Disadvantages: LEAVES YOU WANTING MORE

Now, I don't normally watch an awful lot of television and I'm not really a great fan of supernatural tales (not sure if this is a throwback from circa 1972 when I'd watch 'Hammer House of Horror' from behind a cushion - I was only 6/7 years old for Pete's sake!). Oh, and for those of you who are thinking, 'what is Hammer House of Horror?' ask your folks, it's legendary!

So, just recently a friend and I were chatting when he asked me had I seen a series called, 'Being Human' on BBC3. I replied that I hadn't and he advised me to go on to BBCi and watch it from the beginning. I thought what the heck and decided to watch the first episode.

The series centres around three main characters;
Mitchell, a rugged-looking, charming, eyes-to-die-for (probably a girly point of view that one!) Irish vampire.
George, a nervy, nerdy, sensitive, good mannered and highly moralistic London lad is a werewolf.
Annie, a neurotic, wouldn't-harm-a-fly, slightly obsessive, twenty-something ghost.

The story is set in the present in Bristol where the two boys work at the local hospital. The three characters share a house and only Mitchell and George can see Annie, who lived there with her fiancée before her untimely death caused by a fall down the stairs. She constantly makes tea all day long but can't eat or drink herself. She wears the same clothes all the time because she exists in the same state as when she died. Annie believes there is a reason that she hasn't passed over yet, as if she still has something to do before she can rest.
Mitchell, who has lived for over a hundred years, has had enough of the drinking blood, vampire ways and wants to live as ordinary a life as possible, an undertaking not that easily achieved because the local vampire community, headed by Herrick (the person who turned Mitchell into a vampire all those years ago) are determined to bring him back into the fold, by any means, fair or foul.
Then there's George (my favourite character). Poor George. Every 28 days George becomes a werewolf. He's beside himself with worry that he'll do someone harm and so, on the day when he is due to transform, he locks himself away in a deserted cellar at the hospital for the night.

Annie's former fiancée, Owen, is the landlord of the house and Annie loves it when he comes over to do some repairs. She desperately wishes he could see her and daydreams about the life they would have had. At one point, she even texts him off George's mobile - which he'd inadvertently left at home - to come over to fix a bogus leak, just so she can see him. Unfortunately Owen has already moved on and is now going out with an old flame, much to Annie's chagrin. There is also a lot more that Annie is about to discover!

Mitchell tries his utmost to integrate into the local community and even invites all his neighbours round for tea and coffee in an attempt to become more sociable. The nervous George doesn't think it's such a good idea and likes to keep himself to himself, but ends up going with the flow for an easy life. And being human is what they desperately want to be.

I think if it had been a dark gothic setting I doubt it would have retained my attention, but this is a very fresh take on the old vampire/werewolf stories that we have been used to in the past. One of the main reasons I think it works so well is the funny man/straight man set up, with George being the out of breath, extremely nervy Lee Evans-like funny man and Mitchell being the deep, brooding, serious straight man. Some of the one-liners are extremely funny and yet this isn't an out and out comedy, but some of the more bizarre consequences of this eclectic mix of characters is used to intelligent comedic effect.

Some of the other issues that are raised throughout the series mainly centre around man's fight against its own conscience and the difficulty in staying on a true path and not succumbing to temptation. The human condition is examined in many ways such as this and although not something that is overbearing throughout, the fact that the writers have gave this story that kind of depth, to me, gives the series more than just entertainment value; which it already has in spades!

If you watch the first episode I would be quite surprised if you didn't want to watch the rest of them. It's a series I would highly recommend and think the BBC should be congratulated in bringing this to our screens.

Main Characters
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George - Russell Tovey
Mitchell - Aidan Turner
Annie - Lenora Crichlow
Herrick - Jason Watkins
Owen - Greg Chillin

There are six episodes and each one is approximately an hour long.

Summary: A WONDERFULLY TALL TALE!