Being Human has always been slightly ahead of the curve when it comes to the current trend for all things vampire related. The BBC Three show following the lives of a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost trying to live normal lives began as a single pilot episode back in 2008 and was commissioned for a full series following really strong support from the online community. Being Human has a really strong fanbase in the virtual world, with a very active blog on the BBC website, lots of extra videos, articles, interviews and the like, whetting the appetite of the hundreds of online fans for the second series which launches on BBC Three on Sunday at 9.30pm.
To celebrate this, an exclusive preview of the first episode was held last night in Mayfair, allowing a couple of hundred excited fans the opportunity to see it before anyone else. Intermingling with the fans were a whole cast of characters from the world of Being Human, all familiar to the fans – security staff from the creepy CeSSa (Centre for the Study of Supernatural Activity, which has had it’s own website in the run up to Series 2) checking for anything out of the ordinary, a tea making ghost (mush to the approval of those queuing outside in sub-zero temperatures who were rewarded with hot drinks), a vampire and a werewolf, as well as an attack in need of medical treatment. The main cast were all there and took to the stage just before the screening, much to the approval of the excited audience, doing their thank yous and generally looking slightly uncomfortable with all the attention.
The show itself picked up directly after the end of series one, where George the werewolf, played by the excellent Russell Tovey, had killed the dangerous leader of the vampires, Herrick, and all is ‘back to normal’. A short montage went over the key points from the previous episodes, before focusing back on the lives of George, vampire Mitchell (played by the devastatingly attractive Aiden Crichlow), and ghost Annie (Lenora Turner, whose performance hits just the right combination of stir crazy).
The great strength of the show is the struggle of the characters to live normal existences despite their ‘conditions’, and not letting them take over their whole lives (or in the case of Annie, death). The main focus of Episode 1 on the relationship between George and his girlfriend Nina, who he has inadvertently turned into a werewolf without realising. Well, it could happen to anyone really. Sinead Keenan turns in a sensitive performance in the role of Nina, coming to terms with the reality of what is happening to her, and I’m pleased to say that there has been an improvement in the prosthetics and CGI arena, which was the only thing lacking from Series 1 and made the werewolf transformations much more watchable. The menacing presence of an organisation hunting down supernatural beings was introduced, the undercurrents of which were bubbling under the surface of the happy conclusion reached at the end of the episodes.
It will be interesting to see how the series develops with 4 main characters rather than 3, as Nina is now a member of the household. The character of Mitchell certainly had less story time than in previous episodes, although there was a lot of set up storylines yet to come. It certainly opens up a number of changes in the balance of power between the main characters and with it a number of new directions become possible. The endearing quality of Being Human is how funny it is, and there were several laugh out loud moments throughout the episode – why a naked Russell Tovey should be funny I have no idea as he is looking pretty fine, but it is. Actually, the nudity and the sex seemed to be a bit more graphic than the previous series and I’m not surprised that the age limit for the preview was 16. The show stood up really well on the big screen and it certainly has a cinematic quality...Being Human the movie anyone??
Series 2 of Being Human starts on Sunday 10th January @ 21.30
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