Pop Vultures

It seems that the BBC has adopted the American practice of making pilots of its new dramas before going on to produce a full series. One such pilot currently being shown on the new and fabulous BBC iPlayer (sadly not available to those reading outside the UK) is begging to be picked up for a full series. In the rich drama/horror/black comedy Being Human, the BBC has created a surprisingly excellent show.

On the face of it, it sounds like a fairly cheesy premise - a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost live in a house together and try to lead ‘normal lives’. But the production is deftly handled and any potential cheesiness is completely off-set by some wonderful, sharp scripting and incredibly well-sculpted performances from the three main leads. They each reveal a deep sense of desperation and sadness underneath a thin veneer of sarcasm and witty banter.

I am particularly enamoured of Anya, the ghost of a young woman who died ‘quickly’ and who is cursed with the compulsion to make cups of tea but the inability to drink them. Actress Andrea Riseborough brings a wonderful deadpan delivery to some great lines, hinting at a great misery and a life that ended without resolution, trapping her in the house where she died. Mitchell, the vampire, is sickened by his need for the blood of young women, and is determined to go cold turkey even though it goes against his very nature. And George, the werewolf, desperately wants to lead a normal life, but once a month he has to lock himself away in isolation so that he won’t kill the people he loves. Actor Russell Tovey brilliantly portrays a gentle man who is filled with self-loathing but also, secretly, enamoured of the power and blood-lust that his monthly transformation brings.

The script crackles with pop-culture references and is full of rapid-fire throwaway lines that will make you smirk when you catch them. I particularly enjoyed the werewolf/vampire/ghost take on that old chestnut - which house would you be in if you went to Hogwarts? (Anya - ‘I always fancied Hufflepuff, it sounds like they spend all day playing with safety scissors and glitter’.) I really really hope that this show gets picked up for a full series. In fact, I am doing more than hoping; I’m taking action. And you can too. There’s a petition up here to beg the BBC to green-light it.

If you haven’t already seen Being Human, it’s still up on the iPlayer for another few days, and I fervently hope it will make an appearance on BBC America before too long, although as far as I can tell it’s not scheduled there yet. If you get the chance, watch this show, and then consider yourself very fortunate that you’re only human after all.