(there is a spoiler alert in this review)
The first season of Being Human came and went rather quickly. So quickly that some people didn’t even notice. A lot of people were skeptical of it, especially those that have seen the UK version. Friends, who I trust, that watch the UK version say that it is a great deal better than this US version. I hadn’t seen a second of the UK version, so I really didn’t know what to expect, but was intrigue by the idea of a vampire, werewolf, and ghost living together.
For those that aren’t familiar with the show, let me start with a brief summary of the main characters, and storylines. As stated above, the basic idea here is that a vampire, werewolf, and ghost all live together in the same house. The vampire, Aiden (Sam Witwer), is trying to turn his life around by not killing people, and drinking their blood. As with the usual vampire storyline, he struggles with this, along with trying to distance himself from his past. His creator and leader of the Boston vampires, Bishop (Mark Pellegrino), continuously tries to rein him back into this group of bad vampires.
The werewolf, Josh (Sam Huntington), is also struggling with who he is because he hasn’t been a werewolf anywhere close to how long Aiden has been a vampire. With help from Aiden and others, he learns more and more about being a werewolf. In the process, he gets heavily involved with a young woman, Nora (Kristen Hager). Of course, there is always that awkwardness in their relationship because of his secret.
The third piece of the puzzle is the ghost, Sally (Meaghan Rath). Not long after Aiden and Josh move into the house together, they discover there is a ghost living among them. Sally is tied to the house because that is where she died not long ago. Just as Josh is learning about being a wolf, Sally learns what she can, and can’t do as a ghost. Most importantly, she learns that one day her door will appear, and her time roaming around the house will be over.
Now lets get into the good and bad things about the show. As I said, I was intrigued by the concept of the show, and it didn’t disappoint me. Seeing three different creatures connect and help each other out is very interesting. What makes the show unique is Sally. While there is plenty of the same old vampire-werewolf tension, Sally is a new part of the equation. She gives the show a different storyline, while still being able to include her in the lives of Aiden, and Josh. Actually it is kind of funny how one of my first reactions after she appears was, “Is she going to wear the same clothes for the entire show?” Well, she did, and I am glad they didn’t over look that detail.
Whenever there is a vampire around, there is sure to be blood. In one episode, Aiden and Rebecca, who he changed into a vampire, share their affections for each other in a blood binge. Also, there is a scene where he goes on a similar binge with several ladies who have offered up their blood to vampires. As far as the scares, there aren’t many, but there is one scene where Sally’s goes from friendly ghost to one who you don’t want haunting your house. It is one of the more memorable moments of the season.
I wasn’t expecting top of the line acting, and while at moments it is a little hard to absorb, it didn’t detour me from watching. Right off the bat I wasn’t excited to see Witwer play Aiden because I didn’t really like him on Smallville. I can buy into his performance as the mean vampire, but not when he is playing Mr. Nice Vampire. Rath seems to grow more and more comfortable in her role, as Sally becomes more comfortable as a ghost. Huntington does the best acting job, as he handles all of Josh’s strange behaviors well.
Pellegrino is a great pick as the bad vampire. There is just something about him that makes me think he is up to no good. Speaking of Pellegrino as the bad vampire, it is good how they reveal little by little about what these vampires are up to. The mystery kept me guessing what they were up to all the time. The season finale definitely leaves this storyline with something new to look forward to.
There are a couple of things I have specific problems with. As I mentioned, I immediately thought that Sally shouldn’t change clothes, and she didn’t. Along with that, I wanted to know why the vampires could walk in the sunlight. They make the audience wait for a while before giving an explanation. Well, maybe not much of an explanation. Aiden brushes it off, and quickly mentions that vampires have evolved. Evolved! That is the best they could come up with?
The other problem, or question is a spoiler alert, as it concerns the season finale.
If you have been watching, you know that Josh’s girlfriend is pregnant, and the baby apparently changes like Josh. So this led me to a series of questions. How fast has this baby grown because it didn’t seem as if she is pregnant for that long? Does the baby have nails when it changes? If it does and you become a wolf by getting scratched by one, then why do they also show a scratch on her arm? Also, wouldn’t it have torn up her insides? And I guess it is a cliffhanger, but did she have a miscarriage, or is the blood just from the wolf inside?
I didn’t know what to expect from Being Human, but I’m glad I watched it. While not perfect, it offers some of the usual back and forth between vampires and werewolves, but adds something a little different in a ghost. The storylines are descent, the characters are interesting enough, and there is some blood. The acting could be better, but I don’t think you could expect much more from a show on Syfy; a show no one expected to make it through a full season. This might not be the show for people that have seen the UK version, but might be one for those that haven’t. With hopes of improvement in the second season, I give the first season of Being Human 2 pools of blood.
HorrO
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