Being Human

To me TV has been a little boring of late... If it isn't forensics then it's reality or cooking shows - too much... So, if you are looking for a fun sci-fi fantasy to keep your attention, this just may do the trick. It's weird, a little quirky and dramatic to boot... Hopefully we will see some romantic possibility with Aiden and Sally - because to me that seems like a perfect match. Aiden doesn't want to kill anyone and well, Sally can't die again... So, vampire+ghost=love...

Don't avoid a show like this because you think you are above the "vampire" trend. It's not about a vampire and a werewolf, it's about "trying" to be normal, kind and morally acceptable under extremely abnormal and immoral conditions. Can they rise above and choose the high ground or will they be trapped in their violent natures, forever miserable.

Let me preface this by saying I have seen all the episodes of the BBC version. I love it. I also love the new US version.

Anyone who has read anything about this show (rather than just taking to the internet to spew fury all over everywhere) knows that the US version will be following the UK version, roughly, as far as the end of the first series. The first 13 US eps will mirror the first 6 UK ones. None of the US writers or actors have seen any more of the UK show than the first 6 episodes in order to make the show different in later episodes. What I am interested in seeing is what the US version does after the first 13 episodes, because it will be "original". Hopefully.

So far, the US version has made one important improvement on the UK version: the "ghost" rules (ie How Sally/Annie can interact with the world) are much clearer. Frankly, the extent to which other people in the UK version can interact with Annie has always been a little murky (read: plot-servicing). I enjoy the clarification of the rules in the US version. I am willing to see what else the US version does. Some things may be better, some things worse. Without giving the show a chance, we'll never know.

It is important to note that SyFy (and Space, its Canadian buddy) primarily air reruns of old SciFi shows produced by others. Original in this context means they are producing it. Yes, linguistically tricky, but so is everything in Show Biz. Bear in mind that BSG was also a remake, just more time had passed and the series was darker. Also, excellent, which gives me hope for Being Human.

I have no trouble watching both shows. Liking the US one doesn't take from liking the UK one. They both have humour, likable characters, and an engrossing storyline. If you like SciFi, Fantasy, or horror genres, give this show a whirl.

...but the US Being Human somehow accomplished the seemingly insurmountable task of being better than the UK version. It feels wrong to type it even, but as crazy as it is, it's actually true. It surpasses it in virtually every way. That's not to put down the UK series, as it's excellent, which further boggles the mind how an American take on the series could actually improve on such greatness. I wish Hollywood would learn from this quiet gem that defied the odds and became one of my most passionately loved series of all time. I'm still reeling from whatever the heck that Inbetweeners and Skins US disaster was.

I could go in depth with a review of everything I loved about this series, season by season, episode by episode, but considering this is a late review to a series that ended years ago, I think I'll just encourage anyone reading this to give it the old college try, and go in blind if you know nothing about it or the original UK series it's based off of. I know you'll be tempted to watch the original version first, but truly, this is the superior series.

Enjoy, folks! Apart from the story, also be prepared to have your ears assaulted (in a good way) by one of the most impressive, perfectly placed tv soundtrack I've heard since the OC. (I know the OC is garbage, but it irrefutably is in large part responsible for pioneering the hip indie music into tv shows)

I did not know what quite to expect when watching this especially in 2021, but I was pleasantly surprised!

It did take some time to get into it but once you're in, you're going to watch it all!

Safe to say i watched the whole series within a week.

The characters all bring different aspects to the story and provide a good balance.

Overall really good casting and story, especially in season 4. Aidan and Sally were my favorites for sure!

I have to say that Being Human took time to grow on me and at times I felt I was being led down a path that would leave me sorry I had wasted my time watching the show. I read this sentiment in many reviews articulated in various ways, but the bottom line is Being Human is a very good show, however it isn't until its over that you truly appreciate the show for what it was and is because the end is not sloppy, hacked, or rushed. It simply brings a lot more meaning to the previous seasons and makes you appreciate the whole show a great deal more. At that final place is when you truly engage all that the show brought you through and makes you appreciate the idea behind the story and realize it is much more than you thought while on the ride.

Season 4 of Being Human was the best season of the series without question. The peculiar thing is that I believe it was the best season because it was the last season and the really big questions that this show presents in terms of our main characters can't be answered until the show ends. The other seasons gets us to know the characters, vested in them and the story, and took the viewer to the point of a unique interest in a world of monsters trying to retain what they could of their humanity while by their nature made it impossible to obtain anything but frustration and heartache. But season 4 didn't just bring the story to a close, it took us back through the story with a perspective of how things could have been much different but for the groups will to make them different and appreciate the first 3 seasons a great deal more in the process of taking the characters to a place that I couldn't have imagined in the beginning.

Interestingly after seeing it all I realize they could have made the series longer, but to make it maintain its overall quality the only way they could have done that would have been by making what is season 4 the last set of episodes (or 75% of them) the final season however they wove the story in any other seasons. But given the nature of shows like this that teeter on the edge of being renewed each year there isn't the security to allow the writers to do that. So given the unknown faced with writing each season I have to say that season 4 made my opinion of the writing go up a great deal as it was the best by far and brought a somewhat uneven story come together in a way such that I enjoyed the final episodes far more than I ever would have thought. There are some oddities that bothered me throughout the series that the end made the trip very worth the effort, and a wonderful ending that left me surprised in a day and age when shows rarely surprise me in a positive way. Season 4 makes the whole series better and I'm certain had they figured out a way to work that sort of intensity and emotion into the other seasons would lave made Being Human a more popular, longer running show. But as it is, I'm simply glad I got a chance to enjoy it.