The best show ever - will bells on! (Being Human)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	Being Human
Date:	24/05/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Awesome

Disadvantages: George's wolf suit

Being Human Series One:
I was first attracted to Being Human when I discovered it was set in Bristol. I live near Bristol and have lived in Bristol in the past and it is a place dear to my heart. I watched mainly to see if I recognised any of the places, (which I did), and I ended up really enjoying the pilot, (it was about two years ago I think), and when the new series came on I was delighted, (especially because they had re-cast everyone apart from George), and I got the DVD of the series as soon as I could.

When my parcel arrived, (I got it online), I couldn't wait to sit and watch it all in one go. The case is nice and quite clever really with a hint being given to each character's identity. It impressed me anyway but it's best to see it for yourself so I won't tell you too much. Other than that the case is standard - just like any other DVD case.
The plot of Being Human is based around three friends sharing a house; one is Vampire, (Mitchell), one is a Were-Wolf, (George) and one is Ghost, (Annie). They try to live a normal life, to be human so to speak but their lives are fraught with dangers. There is the constant threat of exposure, other vampires and their agendas and the Landlord of the flat they share who was Annie's fiancé when she died.

George, (Russell Tovey), is cute; he is really sweet and kind-hearted and has a stinking IQ and can speak five languages but is reduced to working as a hospital porter so as not to draw attention to himself. His love interest, Nina, (Sinead Keenan), is a strong, feisty girl who is a ward sister at the hospital. George is desperate to keep his secret hidden from her, (well he'd like to hide it from himself if that were possible, he does the best he can to separate the wolf from the man), and she has a secret that she wants to keep from him too.
Mitchell, (Aidan Turner), is gorgeous! He is just the right amount suave vampire and down-to-earth Irish lad. His dark good looks suit his character down to the ground and he certainly has a way with the ladies. He is trying to abstain from blood and control his inner beast but the hunger is a strong thing to try and suppress. He's been around a long time so he has plenty of history which makes for an interesting, slightly tormented character.

Annie, (Lenora Crichlow), is a really lovely girl. She is still madly in love with her fiancé, Owen, and the fact that he is their landlord and often comes round torments her terribly. She is really easy to like, (in fact they all are), but she can be annoying, in the same way as everybody can I suppose but it's just part of her charm. It is easy to sympathise with her situation and you really feel for her as she tries to come to terms with what has happened to her and resolve her issues so she can pass over.
Herrick, (Jason Watkins), is a sort of leader of the vampires, he has a lot of influence both in the world of the living, (he is a police officer) and in the world of the undead. He is a bit of a swine and is clearly evil as most of the vampires seem to be and not just in the fact that they drink blood but their whole beings seem to be evil and they enjoy it. He plays off against Mitchell really well and there is definite chemistry between the two who now hate each other when once they loved each other, (not in a boyfriend way but almost as father and son, I guess Mitchell was Herrick's protégé).

Owen is an interesting character and he is probably just as evil as Herrick but I won't say anymore or I'll ruin it for you!
The first few episodes make the series seem like a light-hearted sit-com based around the super-natural; these episodes are for us to get to know the characters. As the series progresses however it gets darker and more interesting. The other vampires are always lurking about, trying to get Mitchell to dispense with his vow of abstinence from human blood, (he has the occasional relapse), and return to the fold while being sworn enemies of were-wolves and seemingly they don't like ghosts much either.

The rest of the community seem to be able to sense something is up with Mitchell and George, (not all of them can see Annie), but they can't quite put their fingers on it. It is interesting to watch and makes the plot seem more believable.
Watching the three struggle through their lives, trying to be "normal" is really interesting and I loved the series. I don't want to make it sound too serious though because it is laugh-out-loud funny in places too.

The casting is great; all the characters are really believable and that only happens when the casting is spot-on. It wasn't so good in the pilot but I am glad they kept George as he is perfect.
Acting wise I think Being Human is flawless. As I said above all the actors fit their characters and the acting is never camp or corny as it can be in this kind of show.

I was going to list all the actors and describe their acting but to be honest I would just be repeating myself over and over. They are all perfect, they all play the strengths and weaknesses of their characters excellently and they are all believable. I have never seen a show where all the characters work and they are believable until I watched Being Human.
The special effects are limited because of the budget. They aren't awful though there just aren't many of them apart from make-up which they do really well. Annie can kind of teleport which looks perfectly good, I guess the main problem is George in full-blown wolf mode. It's a guy in a costume and that's the end of it. The transformation scenes are great though. I have to admit I have never seen a particularly good were-wolf before, maybe the one in Buffy was quite good but they almost always seem like a guy in a suit! In mythology the were-wolf turns into a wolf, an actual, four legged, wolf but on TV they always turn into bipedal wolf-men?! Why do they do that? It would much easier to make an actual wolf look convincing! Any way that is the only problem with the whole show and it is a small niggle.

If you haven't seen this either borrow it or just buy it. It is a great show and a great sign for the British TV industry. Come on series two!

Summary: A great British TV show.