Review: Being Human (TV) - There Goes the Neighborhood

Being Human is a brand "new" series for the [still] horribly named Syfy Network. I use the quotes because this Being Human is actually based on a BBC show of the same name/premise. In case you lived/are living under a rock, you probably know that many American shows -- Being Human is actually filmed Canada, so North American is more accurate is this case -- are based off British shows, i.e. The Office,  All in the Family, and Three's Company too (I couldn't help it). I want to make sure that you understand I am not saying these remakes don't divulge from the original source material or that they aren't good, I just find it important to mention.

With all that nonsense about Britain out of the way, let me just say that I have never seen the original series. Some people may believe one needs to see the original before being able to judge the remake, but I find that virgin eyes are an important perspective; why should every reviewer be familiar with the original when so many viewers are not? If you can give me a legitimately understandable reason, I would love to hear it, though technically I'd be reading it.

Okay. I haven't really talked about the showl and I can feel your impatient, restless leg syndrome kicking in, so I'll cut into the meat. Being Human is an hour-long show about three roommates: a ladies' man of a vampire (no courvoisier here), a somewhat awkward werewolf (sadly, no basketball), and a ghost who isn't named Casper (but still rather friendly). The show is essentially about these three "monsters" trying desperately to be human (there's your title), and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.

The Sams work well together, even when things get a little hairy... that was terrible.

My expectations were non-existent. I didn't know if the original show was a comedy, a drama, or somehow a reality show, so I had nothing to go on. To my surprise, Being Human has much more of a serious tone than I was expecting. And yet, even a bigger surprise, I really enjoyed the more serious tone and really thought the three main characters worked well together. I never once thought that any of the actors were out of place, and that is important for such a character-driven show.

Why does it work? Good casting. You have Sam Witwer as the vampire, Sam Huntington as the werewolf, and Meaghan Rath as the friendly ghost. While Rath is a relatively fresh face, Witwer and Huntington will be immediately recognizable. Huntington is obviously best known for his role as Tim Allen's jungle-raised son in Jungle 2 Jungle, and Witwer is best known for being that one guy who pretended to be that other guy on Dexter. I am best known for being a sarcastic idiot. Regardless of my own stupidity, the actors are all in top form and bring the human to these nonhuman characters.

We are only two episodes into the first season, but if it keeps this up, they will make a fan out of me. I like the internal struggles of what it's like to be different while wanting to fit in -- with a supernatural take -- and I am already invested in each character. I will say that the visual effects are of a Syfy quality, leaving much to be desired, but it doesn't take away from the show. Overall, I came away enjoying the show and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here. Will the series continue to match its strong opening? That is something I can't answer, but I now have a show to watch after Chuck (Being Human airs every Monday at 9/8c on Syfy).



Comments

[LillithDravin]

I think it is a very good thing that you never saw the British version of the show if you want to enjoy the American version. I myself being a fan of the British version will give a brief duel sided review here. Though I very much agree that the cast was spot on and complements each other perfectly, this was a great trait of the original British version. The show is very addictive as the plot moves on and I think that anyone who has not watched the British version will enjoy this new SyFy(I agree about the station name) version very much. With that being said, So far the SyFy show is a complete rip off thr British show, I plan to give it a chance but it is almost exactly like season one of the British version. Not very creative or exciting, I was really hoping they would use the core idea but not go down the exact same road already traveled. For those of you that don't already know Season three of Being Human comes on BBC America Sat. February 19th at 9/8C.

[Marc Kusnierz]

Thanks for the comment and feedback. I was hoping to hear from someone who watched the original series and while it does disappoint to hear it is so similar to the original series, a little birdie told me that things will start to divulge after they get the core storyline finished. So, I have no idea if it will come to fruition, but things could change as soon as the upcoming third episode. I can say that even if I watched the BBC original and this version never differed, I would still rather watch this than True Blood. I just don't understand the appeal of watching a show where someone has to have rough sex every episode.