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DVD Review : Being Human Series 4

23 Apr

Release Date: 23 April 2012
2012 | 15 | 459 minutes | £24.99 (DVD)/£29.99 (Blu-ray)
Distributor: 2entertain
Creator: Toby Whithouse
Cast: Lenora Crichlow, Damien Molony, Michael Socha, Andrew Gower, Kate Bracken

Misfits had it easy. Having to replace one of your five leads was a doddle compared to Being Human’s predicament when faced with losing three quarters of its principal cast. That the supernatural houseshare comes out the other side as good as ever is a remarkable achievement.

The departures of Mitchell, Nina and (in episode one) George end up feeling like a blessing. While the trio were yet to outstay their welcome, so much dramatic water had passed under the bridge — particularly Mitchell going psycho in Box Tunnel — that it was becoming increasingly difficult to believe they could live a normal, incognito life in South Wales. Series four seizes the opportunity to wipe the slate clean, ingeniously setting up a new ghost/vampire/werewolf dynamic without ever feeling implausible.

Returning spook Annie is joined at Honolulu Heights by last year’s occasional guest werewolf Tom and uptight reformed vamp Hal (Damien Molony). Both are fantastic: Tom is an intriguing mix of naive idealist and ruthless vampire hunter; well-spoken Hal, meanwhile is a walking timebomb, a bloodsucker for whom abstention is a mask constantly on the verge of slipping. He’s dangerous in a way Mitchell rarely was, particularly with the arrival of tempting snack/the house’s third new addition, baby Eve.

As the “War Child” of vampire prophecy, the kid’s an effective McGuffin for a series that’s more mythology-driven than its predecessors. Bringing tales of destiny so prominently to the fore can be a sign that a show has lost confidence in its characters, but here the arc plot is expertly judged. Yet in a series that’s unafraid to go to some properly dark places, it’s the humour and likeability of the leads that keeps it watchable. With a new ghost introduced by cunning stealth and a fifth series confirmed, a format that initially looked like it could sustain just a couple of series goes forth looking like it could reinvent itself indefinitely.

Extras:

101 minutes of bits and bobs, previously featured on the Being Human website (although not everything from the website is here): three short prequels, six interviews, six featurettes and seven deleted scenes. Highlights include the prequel which shows how Hal and Leo came to team up; Michael Socha resorting to the word “sugarlumps” as he manfully struggles not to swear during his interview (still let slip one “shit” though, fella…); and a scene where a sniggering crew decide not to bother telling Damien Molony when he can stop doing his press-ups…

Rating : 9/10

source:sfx.co.uk
by:richardedwards

BBC commissions Being Human series 5

26 Mar

The new incarnation of Being Human is to return for a fifth series on BBC Three.

After the final episode of the current series aired last night, the Being Human Facebook page posted a modest little update which read thusly, “Fifth series of beinghuman coming your way, my friends.” Cue 682 comments (at the time of writing) ranging from glee-filled excitement to old school sticklers prophesying doom for the new series and longing for the days of George, Nina and Mitchell.

We’re interested in what impact this news is to have on BBC Three’s fantastic The Fades. At one point budget tightening looked as if it may be an either/or situation for the two shows, and now Being Human is confirmed to be returning, does that make it even more unlikely The Fades won’t be back for series two?

There’s no news on cast and scheduling as yet, but if series 5 follows the established pattern we should be seeing the reinvigorated Honolulu Heights team back on our screens in early 2013.

Tv Review : Being Human – series 4 episode 8 ‘The War Child’

26 Mar

This review contains major spoilers.

4.8 The War Child

Mark Gatiss, so brilliant in his brief appearance at the end of last week’s episode, was far and away the best thing in this series finale.

Mr Snow is one of the standout characters of the entire Being Human universe. Or rather he was, which made his exit all the more disappointing if I’m honest. It would have been great to see Gatiss play a larger role in the next series, which there is surely bound to be following events here.

Still, what a way to go. Many of you pondered about Annie’s future following the introduction of Alex and it turns out that you were right. Handed something of an epic departure, if not quite on the level of Mitchell’s last series, Lenora Critchlow handled things rather well.

I feel conflicted over her exit, truth be told. Having finally been handed something to do in this series, it’s a shame that we won’t get to see her develop any more. That said the spunky Alex stands out as a wonderful character in her own right, injecting some of the spice and humour that the very first series brought to the table. Great acting from Kate Bracken, too.

Annie’s closing moments gave Critchlow an opportunity to tug at the heartstrings, too. With just a simple look to her former colleagues on the other side of the door, and no emotional goodbye to her new ones, it was a truly touching moment. Annie never truly connected with Tom or Hal on an emotional level, so it would perhaps have been a stretch too far for tears all round. Instead, a muted exit (albeit one with a hell of a bang at the start) was just right.

With the biggest loose end tied up, what else did we learn from this final episode? Hal was all tied up in a Trainspotting-style bid to keep his urges at bay, Alex picked up Annie’s ghostly tricks very quickly, and Tom… well, we didn’t learn an awful lot more about Tom, actually. Michael Socha was given precious little to do, other than trade fisticuffs with a badass werewolf and demonstrate some rudimentary, but effective, bomb-making skills, which is a crying shame as he has demonstrated himself to be a fine actor throughout this series. Growing into a role that could easily be forgettable, he’s proven a worthy replacement for George.

Of course, the real purpose of this episode was ultimately to reset everything for series five, and it did that well enough. Now we have a new threesome to root for, plus a potential new threat in the form of the well-dressed document recorders and keepers. I hope that these aren’t dismissed with as easily as Edgar Windham was last time round.

Sad to see Cutler go, too, although he was given plenty of screentime and some truly disgusting make-up to boot. A tough cookie, is our Cutler, with an entrance to Honolulu Heights that will burn bright on memories of this series. Along with Gatiss, Andrew Gower’s performances and delivery throughout have persistently been a delight.

With the series now done and dusted, my overall reaction has been one of, well, relief, if I’m honest. Being Human rebooted could easily have died a swift, dull death, so credit to Toby Whithouse, then, for believing in his new vision for the show, despite fans’ and critics’ well-aired worries. Credit also to the casting bods for bringing Damien Molony to a wider audience. Molony has the screen presence to step up to leading man status, if the show decides to take that route and I have loved watching Hal evolve as the series has evolved with him.

It hasn’t all been positive, however, and series four has been a decidedly uneven affair. Self-contained comedic scripts have sat alongside exposition-heavy series story arcs and the results have been mixed. I also remain of the view that eight episodes is too much for the scripts to bear and that it would be interesting to see a tighter, six-episode approach.

These are minor grumbles in the grand scheme of things, though. I mentioned in an early review that the real triumph of this series has been to create a successful, highly-watchable bunch of episodes and characters from the fallout of three quarters of the main cast deciding to leave. That’s no mean feat and Whithouse’s efforts can’t be underestimated.

Being Human, for all its faults, remains one of the most creative, interesting, and downright watchable series on the BBC.

Quite why it’s still being shown on BBC Three is anyone’s guess.

Rating : 9/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:Mark Oakley

Tv Review : Being Human – series 4 episode 7 ‘Making History’

19 Mar

This review contains spoilers.

4.7 Making History

It’s Mark Gatiss!

It says something about a show when a very fleeting appearance of a newly-introduced character – albeit played by someone of a hero of mine – stands out as the best thing of the episode. Yes, the brief screen time of Mr Gatiss had me cock-a-hoop, but that’s perhaps partly down to the previous fifty-so minutes leaving me scratching my head.

If last week’s episode played it for laughs, this week’s was all about setting things up for the big finale. For me, it didn’t work.

Viewers who haven’t taken to the more comedic elements of this series might have been craving for a bit of high-octane drama and action, but I’m afraid that this satisfied neither camp in which you happen to reside. For those of us who enjoyed last week’s humour-laced outing, there was precious little to cheer here. For those of us wanting to see serious fantasy and/or an almighty smackdown, there’s just one episode left to deliver.

The biggest issue I had with Making History was the ridiculous level of exposition we were forced to sit through. Last week’s ‘revelation’ that the woman was grown-up Eve all along was laid out in front of us again and it fell to Eve to tell Annie, and us, all about the future. It is a widely understood writing technique that you should show and not tell, allowing the viewer/reader to follow the story through what’s on screen/on paper, rather than explicitly describing said events, which can ultimately be a bit boring. Making History was, unfortunately, all about telling rather than showing.

The dystopian imagery of the future was impressive enough, taking a few cues from the likes of I Am Legend and even Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but this was unfortunately backed by prolonged and, frankly, boring monologues from Eve, played with precisely nil passion or conviction by Gina Bramhill. I really don’t like having to single out performances when they are below par, but honestly… I found her difficult to watch at times. Her interactions with the really very good Lenora Critchlow hardly helped her cause, and there was zero chemistry between the pair.

We do now know just how bad the future is, though, and it isn’t good news for anyone. How much of Eve’s tale we believe is up for debate. Do we really think that Hal is the grade A bastard Eve suggests? We know that he used to be, thanks to some excellent flashbacks to flesh out his relationship with the consistently brilliant Cutler. Fans of Damien Molony’s more obvious charms were treated to some dapper clothing and a genuinely forceful performance as a man at the top of the food chain. Aware of his power, 1950s Hal presented us with a wonderful insight into why he is so fearful of slipping back to old ways. Cutler’s wife’s sticky end was proof positive that here is a guy who doesn’t mess around.

Cutler, on the other hand, just wants to impress. His plan to show Hal how far he’d come had high points – primarily Alex’s own sticky end – and one big low one. Cutler’s idea of using social media to show the world the gruesome horrors that live among us seemed a bit old hat to me. Had this been written a few years back, perhaps it would have had more impact. As it stands, it seems a little lazy if I’m honest. Poor Tom was sucked in, though, and the restaurant scene with him and Cutler was another classy bit of writing. I wanted more.

Things picked up in the last ten minutes or so, but by then I was too fed up with Eve’s blathering to really invest in the show. Next week’s episode will be brilliant, I’m sure, and as a vehicle to set things up for a season finale, this did its job. I do wonder if some of Eve’s insights couldn’t have been weaved elsewhere throughout the series somehow, instead of letting it all out here in all its mind-numbing glory.

Still… it’s Mark Gatiss!

Rating : 7/10

source :denofgeek.com
by:Mark Oakley

Tv Review : Being Human – series 4 episode 6 ‘Puppy Love’

13 Mar

This review contains spoilers.

Jason Statham comes in for a fair amount of praise on this site, and rightly so. It was with a huge grin, then, that I welcomed a Statham-inspired thug to the Being Human universe. Said vampire thug was obsessed with action movies and with his Stath-like physique and genuinely laugh-out-loud put downs and pre-kill lines, he was a comedic gem.

In any other episode, his brand of comedy might have sat awkwardly but it fit in perfectly here, given that the order of the week was big laughs all round. It’s been noted several times how this series has increasingly leaned towards comedy in lieu of the dark stuff, but this week’s was an out-an-out gag fest.

I loved it. I absolutely loved it.

My previously stated worries for Annie’s plotline were unfounded as she was handed a lovely little side story surrounding her accidental offing of a decidedly grumpy neighbour. Perhaps this was all just an excuse for the revelation that not all unfinished business has to be a good thing, but it was well played by all concerned. Lenora Critchlow has somehow managed to find another dimension to a character we all feel we know inside-out, and that’s a real achievement. She has handled the lighter moments well, as well as the impending sense of drama that permanently hangs over her. I’ve enjoyed watching her in this series more than any other.

Tom and Hal are now firmly established characters in their own right, and Puppy Love saw the culmination of a relationship that has turned from rocky at best to bosom buddies. It’s been a believable journey, some of the credit for which has to be handed to the actors. The opening scenes in the café were a perfect example of how these two have slowly but surely managed to find a way into fans’ hearts, without sullying the memory of what’s gone before.

Perhaps the humour has something to do with that, but that humour can only shine through if the plotlines allow. In returning to its roots about the daily human dramas in our supernatural trios lives, the series has steadily led us to root for each one of them. I love the new direction and I hope Whithouse is satisfied with his work. He should be.

Tom’s evolution perhaps best represents the show’s new focus. As the series began, he was a rather dark, seemingly uncomplicated character out for nothing other than revenge and a roof over his head. Now, we know he’s a sensitive pup, and one looking for a bit of direction in his life. The introduction of fellow werewolf Allison was always going to turn his world upside down and bringing her in as a one-shot character brought out the best in Socha’s portrayal of the hairy fella.

I adored Allison. She was beautifully played by Ellie Hendrick, presenting a loveable geek and the romance was believable. I found myself rooting for them, and feeling a little sad when she said goodbye. Perhaps she’ll be back next series, but if not we’ll always have that glorious Puppy Love montage.

Hal had a romance of his own to deal with, although Alex felt slightly underwritten. With temptation placed in front of him, Hal did his best to stick to his ever-more inventive routines (I’m not bored of them, yet) which led to some of the flat-out funniest moments of all – Hal on relationships: “It’s all so brutish these days.” Hal on social networking: “We’re more Ceefax, here.” Throw is some singing and you have the makings of a comedy god. It looks like dark Hal could be making a reappearance next week, but I enjoyed the boyish charms of the lighter version this week.

The funniest line of the week actually fell to Cutler “Look, you can’t exactly go to Ofcom” and his dalliances with Golda were gripping. Talk of the old ones raised its head again and Cutler’s allegiances became rather muddy. Does he just want to run the show, or does he genuinely have a soft spot for Tom?

With next week’s teaser suggesting a blacker tone, I relished the performances and the plot of this altogether lighter Being Human. If the last couple of weeks have seen the new guys become comfortable in their roles, this cemented the deal. And any show that gleefully references the Stath and Blue Peter deserves high praise indeed.

Rating : 9/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:Mark Oakley

Tv Review : Being Human – series 4 episode 5 ‘Hold the Front Page’

7 Mar

This review contains spoilers.

4.5 Hold the Front Page

“Thomas, you’re about to become very, very famous.”

Quite possibly the best line of the episode delivered by quite possibly the finest addition to the Being Human universe. Cutler, a captivating and mesmeric screen presence, illuminates this series like John Mitchell has done before, and it was fitting that it was left to him to drive forward the series’ key story arc while our newfound heroes dealt with a rather excellent self-contained sideshow.

The exposure of werewolves to the world has been a slow burner up until now, so I was glad to see things pick up quickly. Better still, that the cat is to be dragged out of the bag next week, from the brief preview. Cutler’s dalliances with an eager, motivated reporter were enthralling and lent further proof that when Being Human hits its marks, it’s far and away one of the UK’s finest TV exports, supernatural or otherwise.

I’m fast becoming a huge fan of Andrew Gower. I confess that I know nothing of his previous work but already I find I miss him when he’s not on screen. His delivery is sublime and he has such a unique and interesting look, threatening yet with an odd compassionate streak. He’s a clever, erudite chap, too, and that all lends to one of the standout characters of this and any other series.

With his grand plan to throw Tom to the wolves revealed at the hour’s end, I was also taken back to his words in the first episode. He promised a more intelligent way to bring down the vampires’ great enemy. Not for him the breaking down doors approach, preferring to use the modern tools at his disposal. Is it wrong that part of me wants him to succeed?

Cutler’s plan played out in the background of Hold The Front Page as the war child was also placed safely behind the cupboard until a later date. This week has far more important, and frankly far more interesting, things to deal with, namely a succubus in the name of Yvonne. Played wonderfully by Selina Griffiths, she arrived at Annie’s door with Adam in tow.

Remember Adam? Movie star Craig Roberts stepped back in to Adam’s role with gusto, delivering the same disgusting, slightly creepy performance as last time round. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but give Roberts his dues. He did bring many a laugh to the episode and Adam does successfully tap into a Being Human’s younger audience.

His relationship with Yvonne was, erm, complicated. Touch her, and you’ll see her in all her erotic glory (Brad Pitt nearly had her, you know) and as both Tom and Hal nearly found out to their cost, heavy is the price to pay for her charms. We all knew something was odd about her (it was never explained how she could see Annie until the big reveal, something that seemed a slight oversight on the script’s part, although I guess Annie has a lot to be coping with right now) and the introduction of her siren-like powers played well in what has so far been a series of new introductions to the series’ lore.

As a story-within-a-story, then, I really enjoyed this week’s episode, far more than I did last week’s (although judging by the comments field, I was out on my own there). There remains an argument for any future series to drop from 8 episodes to 6 as I, for one, feel that this would lead to a tighter, more enjoyable series on the whole.

It’s a minor point, however. Bear in mind that when this series began, many were questioning whether the show would, or even should, continue. On the strength of what we’ve seen so far, I’m delighted to find myself in a position where I’m already looking ahead to a new series with Hal and Tom (and of course Cutler) at its core.

Damien Molony is fast proving himself as more than capable of filling Turner’s ample acting boots, while Michael Socha’s Tom consistently delights. The pair riff well together, delivering the comic interludes as well as the serious drama. And Lenora Critchlow is finally being given some decent story lines, although I fear a little for her role next week, judging by the preview.

I’ll worry about that later, though. And if Cutler features as strongly as he did here, he will more than compensate.

Rating : 8/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:Mark Oakley

Tv Review : Being Human – series 4 episode 4 ‘A Spectre Calls’

27 Feb

This review contains spoilers.

4.4 A Spectre Calls

Well, that wasn’t very good now, was it?

It’s a truth every Being Human fan knows only too well: throughout each and every series to date, there have been at least one or two genuine clunkers to offset the largely outstanding stuff. It was with something of a heavy heart, then, when the credits rolled on A Spectre Calls, that I realised Whithouse and Co. had failed to buck the trend this time round.

The first three episodes had delivered two pearls and one average-but-necessary series opener so perhaps I should have seen it coming.

Really, though, this has to be the worst episode since the horrors of series three’s Type 4. Where that outing was plain pointless, this was both pointless, and extremely boring to boot. Beyond delivering Annie’s big power reveal, can anyone honestly give a satisfactory reason for much of what happened here? I mean, if you’re going to send someone from beyond the grave to do the dirty deed on the war child, you could at least send someone credible, no?

Credibility is a sometimes questionable concept when it comes to fantasy, I understand that. But within the universe and rules that the show has built up to date, I simply refuse to believe that any of our beloved characters, particularly Annie, would have been taken in by Kirby’s creepy-but-nice shtick. Annie is naïve and a bit of a drip, we all know that, but she’s not a complete mug. While she’s had a tough time of it of late (is that a bit of an understatement?) it was simply a stretch too far for me to believe that she would have been taken in by Kirby. Without that credibility, of course, the entire premise of the episode falls down.

Kirby was, quite simply, a creep. I like James Lance, having admired his work in I’m Alan Partridge, but his portrayal here was too much of a cartoon villain to be believable as a shoulder for Annie to cry on. The voice, the smarmy smile; the undercurrent of a complete and utter bastard was laid bare for all to see. Apart from Annie, Tom and Hal, it would seem.

His manipulation of all three also lacked credibility. Tom is a young lad without a father figure, I get that, but I you’re looking to provide him with such, surely that figure has to be just a little bit likeable, rather than planting obvious seeds of doubt that anyone would spot a mile away. Hal had his number, and Kirby’s threats to shake him off the scent did at least make some sort of sense here.

Hal needs his routine, once more hammered home throughout the episode (it would be nice if future episodes weren’t quite so blatant about this, to be honest) and Kirby’s threat to his safe little world was troubling. However, I’m just not sure that it would have gone as far as that in the first place, as I can’t believe that Kirby would have been allowed to stay in the house for as long as he did.

But Nina sent him, right? Well, even if Annie had believed that to be true, she would surely be able to use her instincts a little better and not be quite so swift to tell her friends to bugger off at his behest?

Bringing back the Box Tunnel Massacre seemed a misstep, too. If we’re going to embrace this new version of the Being Human universe, which I’m all too happy to do, can’t we just put that to bed?

As far Annie’s big reveal, that really was something, wasn’t it? We’ve all predicted that she was going to break out the big guns at some point in this series, and it was worth waiting for. It’s just such a shame that it took a whole episode of guff to bring it to the boil.

I have little doubt that when we all look back on this series, this is the episode that, Annie’s freak-out aside, few of us will care to remember. The humour was there, the scares were there. Heck, even Damien Molony’s sweaty pecs were there. But the credibility most definitely was not.

Rating : 6/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:Mark Oakley

Tv Review : Being Human – series 4 episode 3 ‘The Graveyard Shift’

20 Feb

This review contains spoilers.

4.3 The Graveyard Shift

So this is the last time I’ll say this, I promise. If you aren’t watching Being Human: The Reboot, I urge you to reconsider. Sure, we’re all pining for Mitchell and George but the sooner we all accept that they’ve moved on to pastures new, the better.

The same could be said of Annie, whose devotion to her former housemates shone through in a wonderful exchange with Hal. It would have been silly for Anne to entirely forget about her friends, no matter how quickly the reboot wants to move forward. However, by acknowledging how much she misses her former life, and yet wants to move on with her new one with Tom and Hal, the show has wisely, and successfully, managed to tread that fine line.

This third episode is best viewed as the one in which the fourth series made clear its intentions. This series of Being Human, it seems, isn’t afraid to bring out the big laughs and bring back the character interplay that made us all fall in love with the premise in the first place. By dispensing of the, albeit excellent, periphery characters last week, we’re back to how things really ought to be. A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf, living together in a flat, just trying to get on with their lives.

This meant Hal having to get a job. Inconveniently for him said job was with Tom in the café. Conveniently for the show, here was the chance for the boys to bond, and bond they did. Tom threw away his stake and Hal decided not to let his vampire chums chop up their ‘doggie’ for dinner. Hurrahs all round, then.

Away from the bonding plotline, Annie was tasked with being literally the stupidest ghost on the block. Here’s a thought. You’re handed charge of a baby, whose importance in the grand scheme of things is deemed so important, she’s been gifted the unfortunate title of ‘War Child’. Time to keep her under wraps and safe inside then, no? Annie decides, instead, that it’s time to hang out at the park. Sure, this gave us a chance to see her newfound cloaking ability, but, really, Annie’s naivety at times is breathtakingly annoying.

Something picked up by Regus, in fact. Mark Williams’ turn was far more convincing than his rather ill-pitched appearance in the first episode, and his chance to fill Annie, and us, in on more of the backstory surrounding the war child was well handled, as was the revelation of Annie’s brand spanking new powers. I’m guessing that more will be revealed throughout the series, but it does appear that, finally, we might get to see Annie go all crazy poltergeist on us at some point. In fact, may I make a prediction? Annie will save someone’s life/kill some vampires towards the series’ end, much to the great surprise of her buddies.

The episode did introduce one new character, but it all fell rather flat. Laura Patch is a fine comic actress, perhaps best known for her turns in Star Stories, but her portrayal of a gothic-obsessed writer was played for some far too obvious, broad gags. She gave Regus a new purpose, and did raise some genuine chuckles from me, but I’m not sure the role really worked, beyond delivering some cheap gags.

The gags did come thick and fast in this episode, generally, which is always welcome. All three main leads have excellent comic timing, with Michael Socha looking his most comfortable yet. The scene in the café in which he and Hal tried to seduce Michaela was a thing of simple beauty, and in many ways defined for me what made this episode work as well as it did. Stripped down, devoid of any histrionics or huge set pieces, in brought back some of that ordinary, simply-pitched acting that I missed towards the end of the last series. I’m not knocking what’s gone before (I adored much of series three) but I really do like this new (or should that be old?) direction.

Weakest point of the episode? The rather obvious about-turn of Hal in the flat to begin the beatdown at Honolulu Heights (and we all spotted Annie’s knife-throwing trick, right?). I can forgive that, though, as this categorically achieved what I dare say Toby Whithouse wanted his show to all along. It entertained the heck out of me, and I really can’t ask for more than that.

And if you didn’t raise a smile when our new threesome huddled around the TV at the show’s denouement, then perhaps you’re trying too hard not to like Being Human MKII.

Rating :8/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:Mark Oakley

Tv Review : Being Human – series 4 episode 2 ‘Being Human 1955′

13 Feb

Warning: this review contains spoilers.

4.2 Being Human 1955

Origin stories are often a cause for celebration and, as predicted in my review last week, Being Human Redux has begun in earnest with last night’s episode. If last week was all about putting to rest old friends, this week was all about setting up the future.

And very well handled it was, too.

Remember everything you first fell in love with about Being Human? Remember how George and Annie used to make you laugh and how Aidan Turner’s acting powerhouse used to regularly excite and captivate? Well, the good old days are back, on the strength of Being Human 1955.

In fact, I can’t remember the last time I watched an episode that fizzed with quite as much energy as this one. This was partly down to the filling in of the full back story of Leo, Pearl and Hal, partly the superb interaction between all five key characters, and partly the wealth of good humour on show.

Whether it was Annie’s non-too-subtle ceremony to try to save Leo, Tom’s downbeat sarcasm, or a focus group with a sticky ending, the writing was full of charm and the result was a show that portrayed real delight in telling its tale. The focus group scene in particular was joyous. Cutler is shaping up to be a key character, his throwaway attitude towards humanity, vampires and life in general providing one of the episode’s standout moments. Asking a scattergun bunch of humans how the sight of werewolves makes them feel was inspired scriptwriting, and also allowed Andrew Gower to, if you’ll excuse the rather obvious pun, sink his considerable acting chops into the role. The payoff of that scene, too, was adroitly handled.

Perhaps the other most memorable moment was the pawn shop showdown, giving Tom and Hal an opportunity to forge the beginnings of what promises to be an uneasy alliance. Damien Molony wears the face of a man who has seen and done far too much. He also wears a waistcoat well and delivers every line with a gravitas that lights up any scene he’s part of. It made perfect sense, therefore, to give him the one big, lengthy speech of the episode, simultaneously scaring the wits out of said pawn shop owner, while saving the poor wretch’s life in the process. Expertly timed and beautifully acted, this is a set piece that stood up well as the moment we were properly introduced to the slightly shifty, all too serious vampire. And it was a pleasure.

Hal’s backstory was fleshed out further with important insights into how he resists his pulsating, dangerous urges; who knew dominoes could be such a calming force? Rounding the episode off with a view of what Hal’s world is like when that routine is taken from him was a nice touch too, giving Molony his first chance to go all action man (“Jesus Christ” “Not quite”).

Of course, the moment that brought out Hal’s pointy teeth was the departure of Leo and Pearl, two fine additions to the Being Human universe. Pearl in particular was a firecracker and provided a worthy counterbalance to the emotional whirlwind that is Annie Sawyer. I’m genuinely sad to see her go, although it had to happen to bring balance back to the supernatural force.

Leo, too, was far more than just another werewolf added to the mix. His finest moment was arguably his reading of the list on how to handle Hal – “Keep him away from people, and Kia-ora.” Why Kia-ora? “We don’t talk about it.” Isn’t it nice to know that Being Human still has a great sense of humour?

If last week’s starter was a bit of a damp, overcomplicated squib with more questions than answers, this was an indication that the Being Human of the future has taken a moment to remember the best bits of its past. In doing so, it brought about a fine introduction to our new threesome, and reintroduced some of the energy that I felt was sorely lacking last week.

Finally, some of the show’s more vocal doubters should be, if not silenced, certainly a little quieter.

Rating : 8/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:Mark Oakley

Being Human U.S Renewed for a 3rd season on Syfy

10 Feb

With a second season that’s going strong from a numbers standpoint and taking its characters into thematically darker territory, the American version of Being Human has staked out its own place in the supernatural series pantheon. Little surprise, then, that Aidan, Sally and Josh will be back in a third season on Syfy, as was made official by the network today.

The press release announcing Being Human’s renewal touts the show’s strong showing with the female audience (the best ever for a Syfy series) as a big selling point, as well as the continued general growth in viewership between the first and second seasons. Mark Stern, President of Original Content at Syfy, had this to say:

“With the success of season two, Being Human has become a premier destination for Syfy viewers,” said Stern. “Jeremy Carver and Anna Fricke have taken this series to new heights this year and we’re excited to see where the third season will go.”

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