The first episode of the regular series of Being Human premiered tonight on BBC 3.
Here you can see the cast from last year's pilot ( above ) and the re-jigged lineup ( below ). Speaking as one of the sad gits who signed the infamous online petition to commission a full series, I must admit I was wary of the changes that were made. With two cast members being replaced and the whole production reportedly chasing a younger demographic ( excuse me while I spit! ), alarm bells were ringing. I had the impression that the show was going to be made over in the image of most of the yoof-friendly crap on BBC3, a sort of Two Pints Of Blood And A Packet Of Crisps if you will. I'm glad to report that this isn't the case - phew!
The dynamic of the werewolf/vampire/ghost flat-share is unchanged, with plenty of humour sprinkled amongst the horror, and fine acting all round, especially from Russell Tovey as George. The special effects are excellent, coming as they do from nu-Who veterans Millennium FX, with the werewolf transformation setpiece reminiscent of An American Werewolf In London. My only real complaint is the mundane way the vampire antagonists are portrayed: in the pilot Adrian Lester played a silkily evil, Gothic vampire leader, Herrick, while the new version ( played by Jason Watkins ) has dialled back the Anne Rice qualities in favour of a more down-to-earth menace. But the show is still far from the blanded-out compromise it could have been and I'll definitely be tuning in next week.
Random irritation of the day: Why can nobody on TV pronounce the word "innovative"?
Shows promise. I tuned in expecting a full-on comedy so was... well, I was wrong, that's what I was. I think it'll need to improve to become a 'must see' but I have high hopes. I like Jason Watkins and Wolfie's acting. And even though I'm as straight as the next man (who is straight), the vampire is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYeah, like you say it definitely shows promise, unlike certain other recent shows like Spooks Club 7 or whatever it was called, and ITV's hilarious Demons.As for fancying the vampire, I think you've been out in the snow too long...
ReplyDeleteAlso, you need to get more friends to stop me feeling like I'm stalking you. You signed up to Blog Catalog? Quite a good site.
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