Being Human: I Want You Back (From the Dead)

Last night was a total trip! It wasn't exactly a secret (anyone that saw the sneak peek trailer would know) that Rebecca was going to do something stupid, like turning a child into a vampire, because that's just how she is. In some regards I think she actually means well and just wants Aidan to stay with her, but her methods are completely whacked and unhealthy. She probably had issues (dependent, clingy, neurotic) as a human only we never saw them because she was turned before Aidan, or the viewing audience could figure it out. 

Anyhow...the whole kid vampire thing was disturbing and the twist with Marcus and Bishop was a total WTF moment for me. I did think that Aidan's binge was interesting and I'm not sure why he objects so much when it seems like the donors are well cared for and nobody seemed brainwashed or in that freaky minion state. I'm just sayin', vamps gotta eat and his stance seems extreme.

My difficulty with the entire episode was that I never understood why Bishop and Josh were blaming Aidan. And why he lets himself be guilted like that. The mess started with him but Rebecca crossed the line, and again, I just don't think that Josh is a very nice friend. Way too judgemental for me.

Poor Sally. Just when you think she might find some normalcy and peace with the ghostly deal things take another depressing turn. She meets an old friend from college that has also died tragically and they strike up a romance. Cute, right? Only then Sally decides that his death echo of reliving his drowning every day is not healthy and she tries to fix him. Guess what? He doesn't want to be a project and they decide to break up. Her reasons are sound but I feel like maybe she should take a moment and understand that a hot ghosty boyfriend might be hard to find, so maybe she should just drop the intensity a few notches and see what happens. Maybe that echo would disappear on its own or maybe they could find the light together.

I thought Josh was finally going to man-up but it seems that sadly and much to my dismay, he is still a wuss. I'm just not liking his indecision and constant stress mode. He's way too nervous! He strikes me as the guy that will never find happiness because he just doesn't think he deserves it. And that's sad because werewolves are people too. Hopefully things will work out for him and his girl.

What did you think about the kid vampire and how that situation was handles? Did you guess about Marcus and Bishop? Did you think that Josh overreacted about the boy and about his girlfriend? Do you agree with Sally breaking things off with Nic?

Being Human: I See Your True Colors...and That's Why I Hate You

Look, I finally found a few images that I can put on the blog! But overshadowing even that awesome announcement are all the glorious details from episode 7 of Being Human.

After Aidan explains the birds and the paranormal-bees to Josh about what happens when you fight with vampires, they decide that a little distance might be necessary, and Josh ends up taking Emily...home. And what a lovely dysfunctional home it is!  At times it was like That 70's Show meets The Munsters meets Intervention. Apparently Josh's parents have split up and everyone thinks he's crazy as a loon, which might happen in your house if a certain werewolf journal was stolen by a pesky sister and shared with the entire household. I knew I didn't like her!

So Aidan gets worried and follows Josh home, which results in a hilarious dinner scene where Aidan starts to vamp out because the chicken has garlic in it, Josh fumbles around trying to help, and Aidan gets an herbal tea bath. And how can we complain about our very sexy vampire in the tub?

Marcus shows up, a fight with Aidan ensues and ultimately Josh understands that he can't stay at home anymore. I felt sorry for him because he seems to have the hardest identity to hide and he obviously misses being around his goofy family.

And let's not forget about Sally. Boy, did she have a rough night! I have said from the beginning that Danny is an ass-hat psycho and last night was our first glimpse into his real personality. Long story short: Sally possesses Brigit's pen and conveys the idea that Danny killed her, Brigit confronts Danny at which point he whines and weeps about everything being a big accident, Brigit falls for it hook, line and sinker, and I think that Sally should totally have Aidan and Josh deal with him.

Thoughts? Ideas on how Aidan can torture Danny? And what do you think Bishop has planned for his happy vampire family?

Being Human

I just finished watching the first season of BBC's Being Human.  I know, I'm behind the times.  The show is currently heading into it's third season.  Yay!  This is an awesome show with an amazing ensemble cast. It combines drama and the supernatural with a perfect dash of wacky humor, and there wasn't an episode that was not excellent.  The first season is only six episodes, but it's worth the price, no matter if you find it on DVD (Amazon around $20) or a streaming service like Amazon's Video On Demand ($9.99 for season 1 right now).

The show features a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost living together in Bristol, in an attempt to 'be human' by keeping their darker natures separate from the side they show the public.

Annie (Lenora Crichlow), the ghost, isn't quite sure why she hasn't gone 'beyond' yet, so wants to solve that.  She's a free-spirit, always happy and eager to please.  She doesn't need to eat, but making tea makes her feel normal, so there's always a clutter of teacups about the house.  She's someone you'd love to have as your next-door neighbor, but you wouldn't be able to see her because she's a ghost.  Her growth over the six episodes is remarkable and she learns both good and bad things about her death and its meaning.  You'll be rooting for her, I promise.

George (Russell Tovey), the werewolf.  What can I say about sweet, lovable, goofy George? He's not what you'd expect a werewolf to be, and that's great.  The whole show turns the paranormal stereotypes on their heads.  George is very firm about keeping his werewolf nature away from his 'human' life and only has to deal with that during the full moon.  Yet, he's fearful in reaching out to humans, and when love comes to him, he is reluctant.  He is the comic relief on the show, and has incredible comic timing.  Heck, the whole cast works marvelously with one another.  You'd think this show was in its third or fourth year for the actors really have a handle on their characters.  One of the things I adore is the gnome wallpaper in George's bedroom (you can see in the pic at left).  It was obviously there when he moved in, but, oddly, it fits him to a T.

Finally, there is Mitchell, the vampire who is about 150 years old.  He's stopped drinking blood in his efforts to be as human as possible.  You can see that he genuinely craves the companionship and affections that humans offer, yet he struggles (as you would expect from any vampire).  Aidan Turner, who plays him, has laidback charisma and charm and just like George, he embodies his character and you can't resist loving him from the start.  The fact he's gorgeous doesn't hurt a bit.  But over the very short story arc he manages to grow a lot as the others do.  He faces his dark cravings, and whether or not he succumbs I'll leave for you to find out when you watch the show.

The BBC site for the show is here, and you can watch clips and video (yes, even here in the US!).  The Wikipedia page is pretty awesome.

The SyFy version of Being Human premieres Monday night.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I don't get the channel, so can't watch it, but I'm so in love with the original I really don't want anyone to try and remake it.  Though advance word on the SyFy version has been good.  You all will have to report in if you see the new show and let us know what you think.  Do we need two versions of this show?  Can they capture the magic of the BBC version?