IMHO "Being Human" 101: And you thought your 20's were complicated!

Michael, this sounds really good - who to we have to club at BBC America to get it added to their Saturday night lineup (their SciFi night) when Dr. Who wraps up shortly.  Seems like a logical place for it - Dr. Who, Primeval, Hex have all occupied the slot. Being Human seems a natural fit.  And a great excuse to look at Tovey's tail!

club someone, I will!

BBC America stops showing what I call AMBUSH ADS!  I cannot stand those transparent ads on the side of the screen telling us what we are watching right now (as if we weren't intelligent enough to know) or what shows or films they plan to show in the future.

The commercial breaks are the proper place to promote a network's other wares.  I deliberately do not watch shows that I might like simply because of this practice.  If the networks--and more importantly the advertisers--want my attention, then they should present their shows and films in their purest forms.

I will support gay-themed TV only if the gay community backs me up in making the networks stop using ambush ads.  That means emailing them, sending them actual letters, and phone calls.  Also, contact the sponsors of such shows and tell them that you will not buy their products unless they force the networks to stop this awful trend.  Thank you all very much, Howard

 

 

 

 

The Tide is High, But I'm Holding on, I'm Gonna be Your Number One -- Blondie via John Holt

LMAO!

You are too precious!

As you probably know, Russell Tovey is the only actor to survive from the pilot that aired last year. That's when Mitchell turned their female friend into a vampire, so this follows directly from that story but it was cleverly-enough constructed that you don't actually need to have seen the pilot.

The scene that really stayed with me was Annie's reaction as she watched George's transformation. She wanted to see it because she thought it would be interesting, but she ended up being horrified by it. Nice piece of acting.

And that war with tin helmets is clearly WWI, Michael.

I really, really liked Annie in the pilot, and the new Annie is going to have to work hard to win me over.  The new vampire is very similar to the original, and I accepted him without even taking a beat.

 

The pilot makes more clear that Annie is actively refusing to discuss or remember how she died, and I suspect that's going to be the real focus of her character.  Her fiance wasn't in the pilot, and I had the impression he might have killed her.  Maybe I was wrong, or they changed direction after the pilot, because I sure didn't get that vibe from her character.

For those who torrent, I'd recommend hunting down the pilot, it's really excellent.  And the scene in which the realtor thinks George and Mitchell are a couple is funnier than such scenes usually are.

Thank God for torrents! The pilot was to die for! I am a bit torn up over the the old and new vamp. Both  are great.

You almost get the same vibe from the pilot.

Im glad the added some diversity to the cast, but Nu Annie has to win me over as well, however the threesome has good chemistry. Really not feeling Nu Lauren though, the actress and the acting, a real misstep IMHO.

Seem like its going to be a great show. And hey, we did get two guys making out in the woods, at least its a start.

and while I prefer the original pilot, I definitely enjoyed this version as well. Russell Tovey continues to impress as an actor. George, as a character, ranges from over-the-top (literal) scene-chewing to quiet and subtle reflections. Tovey is utterly convincing at both ends of the spectrum, as well as everywhere in between. Neither of the recasts bothered me, but I definitely would like a little more backstory on the ghost - she seems to be the least defined of the three so far. It's a terrific concept, and I'm very interested to see where the show is going!

OK, I just watched the original pilot - it was pretty awesome, but I feel like I need to watch it again and actually pay attention.  Most TV I watch while I text, and web surf, but I found myself rewinding to hear snippets of dialog because it was actually important to the story.  It just seemed like it was a complex story being told, and not necessarily just on the surface.  I need to see this new series on BBC America stat.

But of course the problem with that is going to be all the fuzzy bits on screen.  While I recall that American TV is prudish, it never really slaps you in the face until you see that much casual nudity on programming from overseas.  Not the just the transformation scenes, but with George standing there giving himself a bath in the sink at the hospital - totally unabashed. I'm sure Brits don't even notice it, because it was done so matter-of-factly, but to an American, it was stunning - I'm not sure we'd see anything quite that normalized even on Showtime.  

I'm not sure how I'll feel about the recasting of the vampire  - the actress playing the ghost didn't really make an impression on me - I just didn't buy her panic at leaving the house to rush to the hospital.  But our vampire, he seemed very old to me, in a good way.  I thought he made an interesting narrator.

All that said, this show is unique - scary, philosophical, and funny - the realtor scene was hysterical, and didn't fit with the rest of the show, yet somehow it did.  I really enjoyed this thing, and have to admit, I'll go out of my way to watch the series, one way or another. 

I just finished watching the new episode - have to say, I like the original pilot a lot more.  I don't like the new ghost, she's needy in the wrong way - she annoys me, where I thought the old actress was needy in a relatable way.

And while I suppose the new vampire is is fine, I don't like him nearly as well as the original - he seems lacking in the sort 'old, wise-beyond-his-years' thing that the original actor had.  I'll give him a chance, but he just didn't draw me in, and since it looks like a lot of the series is going to revolve around the vamps, that's an issue.

Tovey, who I love, didn't have as many great moments in this episode.  And note to the producers: You do pretty good with the CG on the transformation.  The stuffed animal werewold peeking up fully transformed, that was better have been comic relief (didn't work if it was), because if not, it was just sad. It made classic Dr. Who monsters look good.