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« WALL-E picks up PGA award | Weblog | Lost And Being Human Pull... »
20090125 Sunday January 25, 2009

Your thoughts on Being Human

So, have you just watched Being Human on BBC Three? (Or perhaps you were one of the lucky ones who went to the BBC's advanced screening last week). Either way, what did you think?

The supernatural flat share comedy drama was commissioned for a full series on the back of its enormously popular 2008 pilot, but with some changes including a couple of new cast members. Did it work for you? Let us know in the comment thread below or over on our TV forum.

If you missed it, you can always catch up on iPlayer (it's also repeated multiple times in the middle of the night during the week). Meanwhile, here are some handy links for you, if you want to find out what the fuss is about and see what we've had to say about it already:

Thanks to SFX reader and forum moderator Narin channelling the groundswell of public support for the project, the popular pilot became a six-part series, and you can read our first online comment on that here. Then Narin blogged for us from the first screening of the new series, and you can read the spoiler-free review here, and the follow-up Q&A with cast and crew here.

The official BBC blog is here. The next episode is next Sunday, 1 February, at 9pm. Will you be tuning in?
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Posted by Dave Bradley [Rants and raves] ( Sunday January 25, 2009 )



Permalink | Comments [18]
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Comments:

Personal opinion: I thought it was great. Right mix of laughter and tragedy. It was all well acted (the new actors slot right into the roles) but a particular highlight was Jason Watkins as Herrick the vampire/policeman: great little sinister character performance. What does anybody else think?

Posted by Dave Bradley (127.0.0.1) on January 25, 2009 at 09:43 PM GMT
Website: http://forum.sfx.co.uk #

Really good. Weak points such as Lauren and the vampires were improved upon, and there was so much in the 1 hour episode. Will definately be tuning in to the rest of the series.
10/10

Posted by Bombay_Dreamer (127.0.0.1) on January 25, 2009 at 10:09 PM GMT #

Sorry, I watched Lost instead, however BBC Iplayer to the rescue.

Posted by Mr Kleason (127.0.0.1) on January 25, 2009 at 11:10 PM GMT #

I loved it, there was a surprising amount of stuff happening in one hour, but it didn't feel like it dragged on or was busy.

I love Being Human.

Posted by Elbalug (127.0.0.1) on January 25, 2009 at 11:43 PM GMT #

I loved it too! Fine performances, sparkling dialogue, a real sense of potential. My worries that the regular series would be dumbed-down, following the changes made since the pilot, were thankfully unfounded. For once BBC3 gets it right!

Posted by Simon Barton (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 12:28 AM GMT
Website: http://glasswalking-stick.blogspot.com #

Fab! It was as good as - if not better than - the awesome pilot. I actually prefer the new Mitchel. George is still the star though. Gotta love the whole American Werewolf inspired transformation. The fx were great. Fantastic stuff. Roll on episode two.

Posted by Nick (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 03:00 AM GMT #

I have to say I was very worried about the new cast. I thought the pilot Mitchell was fantastic. He actually looked like a vampire, but still just human enough to pass & Annie was hilarious. Waking up to see her sitting at the end of your bed saying 'Hiya' was just genius.
However my fears were unfounded. Although it's clear Annie has been slightly tweaked & Mitchell made into more, shall we say visually appealing, the chemistry is still there. Also I'm so glad they dropped the whole 'vampires are goths' thing, I mean you only had to endure Demons the night before to see how cringeworthy that has become.
Overall very impressed. Looking forward to many series.
And the werewolf effects were fantastic, although the end result looked a bit poo.

Posted by Ian Cliffe (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 08:29 AM GMT #

Like many I had a sinking feeling when re-casting was mentioned, but the new Mitchell and Annie more than made the roles their own.
Wasn't initially sure about the prologue (although it was beautifully shot)but in hindsight set up everything brilliantly, including Herrick. Jason Watkins was wonderfully creepy- all the more so for being in a position of authority. Loved it.

Posted by David Lemon (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 09:31 AM GMT
Website: http://www.jetpacksandsuch.blogspot #

Gosh that was a bit good. I haven't seen the pilot so can't compare but for my money that was one of the best bits of home-grown fantasy TV in ages. Most of the recent British genre shows have seemed to be trying too hard to be funny/trendy/sexy/violent or pale imitations of their American equivalents. Being Human made it look easy and felt like it really had its own identity.

Looking forward to next week.

Posted by meillion (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 11:14 AM GMT #

@Meillion I agree about the quintessential 'Britishness' of the show. Demons felt like it was trying to be a British Buffy whereas this is just unashamedly its own beast and all the better for it. I love the way it flips between humour and horror and it's so fab seeing so many people so gleeful about it.

Overnight ratings for it are good too - it got more viewers than Supernatural and at 898,000 viewers performed very well in comparison to the well-established Lost (946,000).

Hurrah.

Posted by Narin (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 12:02 PM GMT
Website: http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/opinion/blog/geekchic/ #

Hugely enjoyable, despite the sudden jolts of tone change. But screw that, see my first point.

More please!

Posted by Miles I. Hamer (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 12:11 PM GMT #

Sadly I missed the 'original' pilot aired last year, but I did become aware of the attention the show got afterwards, and the drive to get a series made...

...and I have to say it was so very definitely worth it. This may be a bad thing to say, and I am not here to flame or anything, but there were times during the episode last night when I thought that this show was a thousand times better then all the other UK Genre shows being pumped out right now...I thought all the actors did a good job in the roles (as I say, I never saw the original so I have no basis for comparison in terms of recasting) and that it was tense and creepy when it needed to be, and funny when it needed to be (George screaming like a girl when he comes home to find the ex-boyfriend in the house was brilliant)...

All in all a pretty sweet 'first' episode for me, and I shall definitely be tuning in again next week!

Posted by Shaun Brown (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 05:54 PM GMT #

Unfortunately, I have to wait until the 10.30pm screening tonight, if I can stay awake!

I-player is always too jerky for my liking.





Posted by Hugh Jass (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 09:01 PM GMT #

And Narin, don't think I didn't spot the smug tone of your more viewers than Supernatural comment!

(She doesn't like it, humble readers.)


Posted by Hugh Jass (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 09:03 PM GMT #

@Hugh Jass It wasn't a smug tone, it was a statement of fact. More people watched Being Human. I say nothing. Just stop trying to convert me. :P

Posted by Narin (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 11:33 PM GMT
Website: http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/opinion/blog/geekchic #

I adored the pilot, and enjoyed this very much. Confident, well-written, some lovely characterisation.

My one quarrel is with the rewritten Annie. In the pilot, she was funny and obstinate, actually darker because she wasn't so sorry for herself. This version is ditzy and generic, a clingy ex-girlfriend. Before, she was talking about the loss of her whole life. Now it's all about losing her boyfriend.

I do like the new way the vampires are presented, as apparently ordinary people with power in human society, rather than as goths lurking around in cellars. Much creepier. And Russell Tovey is brilliant.

Posted by Caroline (127.0.0.1) on January 26, 2009 at 11:34 PM GMT #

I missed the Pilot so can't compare and contrast. Going into the series (recorded cos I watched Lost)I expected a far more humorous tone. Some things feel a little sketchy at the moment (the vampire society and Lauren side more than anything) but have a lot of potential and the pacing could change a little bit. Overall loved the Britishness and like others have said it's better than Demons.

Posted by AegisAtreyu (127.0.0.1) on January 27, 2009 at 03:50 PM GMT #

Loved it. Darkly funny, ironic and inspired. More please!
(anyone know where I can find the original pilot episode, so I an enjoy that again?)

Posted by SuzieQ (127.0.0.1) on January 27, 2009 at 09:29 PM GMT #

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