Being Human

Being Human:
The Anti-Twilight

Now, I will be the first to admit, on first look back in 2007 when I first saw the pilot for what would become "Being Human", I laughed at it, seriously the idea of a television show about a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost living together in a pink house in Bristol UK, dismissing it as a gothic version of the old priest minister and a rabbi joke, because well, lets face it, it sounds like one, but let me tell you, after seeing the pilot, and then reworked and recast pilot, and now, just about two complete series in, i must say, do not sleep on this, you will infact be sadly misguided in doing so. The show is probably one of the better I have seen recently in the genre of British sci fi in recent years, and really thats something when you look at its contemporaries. But don't be confused, though this show is high brow sci fi, its not droll or confusing to follow, its sarcastic and comedic nature really lighten the mood more often then the mood gets toned down. You find yourself relating to the cast, and in a sense questioning what it really means "to be human", and are they truly trying to achieve this goal, or have they become it, and the rest of us are playing catch up. Its a brilliant little romp through their world where monsters and things that go bump in the night are real, even if some of them just wish to live in a house together and not draw attention to themselves.

The show is brilliantly cast, each character is played by someone who, infact looks like they could be exactly what they are, the vampires are all believable in their roles and personalities, the werewolves really act like you'd expect a werewolf fitting into society would act, and the ghosts, really do look like photographs frozen in time, its all very sad and darkly beautiful and very funny all at the same time. But then it was created by one of the writers for Doctor Who, so one can assume just on the modern version of that show it'd be a brilliant mixture of high end sci fi, realism and comedy, lets have a look at the cast shall we?

Anna "Annie" Clare Sawyer: Annie is a ghost, but like most of the dead, she is very much alive, even if no one outside of the realm of paranormal creatures can on a regular basis. Annie's biggest thing is, she doesn't want to be dead, for most of the first series she doesn't even remember her death, saying she just feel awkwardly down the stairs, she remembers the night she died differently then when it really happened, and when confronted with the truth, that she was infact an abused woman who was murdered by her abusive boyfriend when he was beating her, she becomes very depressed, then very angry, and gains the powers of a poltergeist, powers that grow through out the series, she gains new skills, and in the end of series one, takes on an entire horde of vampires almost single handed. Annie also is unique in the fact she has turned down passage to the other side twice. She is in a sense the glue that holds everyone together. She, like all ghosts are frozen in what they were, and she helps many like her cross over to the other side. Annie also has the greatest line in the entire series to date, she says it to her exboyfriend who murdered her, revealing what they all are to him to scare him into confessing to her murder. "there is a question you haven't asked yourself yet, if i exist, what else does? You think you're the big bad wolf, you should see George on a full moon. You think you're a coldblooded murderer? Mitchell was killing 80 years before you were born. Don't you get it yet? I'm just the tip of the iceberg, I'm good cop, look at you with your grubby little murder, fact is when it comes to pure naked evil, you're an amateur. I want you to know, you've wandered off the path, this is where the wild things are, and we've got your scent now, and we can find you, at the ends of the earth, and create unimaginable tortures ... my advice to you, find a safe place with locks and guard dogs, and never, ever turn out the lights." she drives him insane with that line and telling him the secret only the dead know.. Brilliance, just brilliance.

John Mitchell: simply known as "Mitchell" by everyone around him, Mitchell is a vampire who is just about 100 years old, and has decided in recent years to turn his back on the ways of vampires, who are portrayed as cold and calculated bloodthirsty creatures who feed and turn others into their kind with out repercussions or thought. They are by far the largest in number of creatures in the series. Mitchell brings the group together, first saving George from a group of vampires who wished to beat and murder him simply because he's a werewolf, and they were drawn to the house where Annie lived, died, and haunts, the three of them together decided to make a go at life as normal people, or as normal one can get being what they all are. Mitchell however has shown that his resolve isn't as strong as he'd like you to believe it is, in the first episode he's shown accidentally "converting" Lauren, an exgirlfriend of George's during sex, he leaves her to turn on her own, out of fear and panic of what he'd done. Lauren appears heavily through the first series, at first taunting and teasing Mitchell, then eventually saving him before he is asked to kill her, which he does. Mitchell was "converted" as they call it, by Herrick, the first series main villain, who sees him as a sort of savior among vampires. Its strongly implied that Mitchell's idea of changing came from a human woman named Josie whom Mitchell spent much of the 1960s with, and happens across him in her last days before cancer kills her, Mitchell openly weeps when she dies, giving the last bit of herself, her blood, to save his life.

George Sands: George is a werewolf, who can transform at will, or by force once a month on a full moon, however having only been a werewolf for two years at the point of show's start, he's very uneasy and paranoid about how he's seen, he hadn't at that point learned to control or bring on his transformation and is very scared around other, he comes off like an nerd with social issues and is always stuttering and acting jumpy, he looks and acts alot like you would think a dog would in personality if able to pass as a human. George starts to gain confidence in himself and what he is as the first series progresses, first after meeting Tully a fellow werewolf, who teaches him how to be a werewolf, and how to control the transformation, the first time George willingly transforms is out of rage when he discovers that Tully was infact the werewolf who passed the curse on to him, claiming he seeked George out because he had nothing else, his wife and son were both dead and he had no family, claiming that he felt a kinship to George given their connection. George rejects him claiming what he'd done to him isn't a gift, its not a marvelous thing, its a curse and that it shouldn't ever be given to anyone, the two of them start to fight and George's transformation takes over, this is the first time he uses his wolf form in combat, the second is when he fights Herrick in the end of series one, this time showing complete control over his wolf form, claiming that the fact he has come to terms with it, and has learned to use it to protect his friends and loved ones shows why he has not lost his humanity, but infact has gained strength in it, and his faith in what he, Annie and Mitchell are doing. George also accidentally turns his girlfriend Nina into a werewolf by pushing her back to protect her before his fight with Herrick. Afterwards he no longer refers to his wolf form as a separate being, but as a part of himself, implying he has come to terms with what he is, an is willing to do whatever it takes to keep their little family together, just like Annie and Mitchell are.

This is for the rabid Mitchell and George Fangirls, oh yes, there many, its like twilight for people with taiste

Don't dismiss this as an action show though, it really isn't, its mostly the story of these three misfits that found each other, and how they are trying to accept their way into a world that doesn't know they're out there in the night. And them doing what they can to keep the fact they're out there a secret, but yet, they have to let people know in order to survive, like Mitchell revealing to a neighbor woman who thinks he molested her son that he is a vampire and giving her the option to let him save her son, whom Mitchell did grow very attached too because he saw alot of himself in the young boy, and infact Mitchell tried to save from a speeding car when a mob was ready to lynch him believing him a pedophile. Or how George unwillingly exposes himself and what he is to his girlfriend Nina. or when Annie tries to explain to Janey, the woman currently with her exboyfriend that he murdered her, and tried to warn her to leave him, a message which as far as we know, she didn't listen too. It seems the more they try to hide, the more they're brought out into the open by others, its kind of sad, but in a way is also very close to how human life is, no matter how hard you try to fit in and not get noticed, if you are extraordinary, you will get noticed, not by the masses, but by those small few who can infact see the difference in you and others. The series also goes into a great deal of depth on the matter of Death, with Annie and other ghosts they encounter or that Annie helps to the other side, its hard to go into depth on that with out heavy spoilering both the first and second series for you, so I won't, but I will say, its handled in a brilliant manor that you jut have to see to believe.

This is for the Annie Fanboys out there, because Casper's older sister is allowed to be hot..

So if you haven't yet, have a look at Being Human, atleast in its original form before the SyFy made version of it comes out this summer and ruins the whole feel of it. Believe me, you won't be sorry you've given it a look.

Oh and if you click the images afew of them are beautiful high rez wallpaper size.. so enjoy.


---

BC