Being Human

In this day and age Vampires, Werewolves and Ghosts are popular. We've got True Blood and the Vampire Diaries on TV, Twilight and a whole slew of cuddly Vampire films. All of which just seem to exist to annoy Buffy Fans and those of us that have read Bram Stokers Dracula.
Anyway in the middle of all this BBC Three came out with a story about three flat mates caught in the middle of events they weren't in anyway prepared for. Of course the three are a Ghost, a Werewolf and a Vampire. The Ghost is brand spanking new, as such she has a very limited knowledge about what she can do. The Vampire, disgusted after years of brutal death from his own hands, is trying to give up his blood sucking ways. Finally the Werewolf just wants a normal life again. All together they are just trying to be human again.
It sounds like a simple story but it's not. There is a hell of a lot of things going on behind it all. A planned Vampire Armageddon, a smug murderer, the meaning of death. That's just what comes to mind, and I'm not giving away any of the hints for the second year or spoilers.

Here's a trailer for the second year.



And the best of the three prequels



As shows go this is one of the better ones. It's a short, complex, character driven drama with a rich background to draw on. It has a scope and depth few others have. It deals with wider issues on an adult basis. It's not a teenage romance or a badly acted supernatural soap opera. With some shows fantasy elements like vampires are tacked on. You can remove them and, after a few tweaks, the show wouldn't really have any difference.
A good example is True Blood, which uses hatred for vampires as a thinly disguised metaphor for racism. Making the romance between the two leads another metaphor. Take the Vampire element out and you could just do it as a straight drama. You could even swap them for aliens and there wouldn't be much difference. Being Human explores vampires, werewolves and the supernatural. It just wouldn't work otherwise.

So in the new year we have eight new episodes. If you're in the UK tune in, if your not just wait your turn!


PS
I have to say if there is one thing that annoys me its the stupidity of the BBC. The first series has been released on DVD, but they didn't include the fantastic pilot episode. I want my pilot episode, George's speech about his feelings as a werewolf near the full moon is epic.