Author Topic: Being Human (Read 19982 times)

Alasdair5000 · **on:** February 18, 2008, 11:00:05 PM

If you get the chance, do try and catch this. It's an hour long pilot, shown tonight on BBC3 for a series about a vampire and a werewolf who work as hospital porters and the ghost in their new flat.

The perky ghost.

Who makes tea.

Very English, very odd and just when it looks set to go all cute you get a moment that drives home exactly how horrific these characters lives can be. Written by Toby Whitehouse who did one of the good Torchwood Season 1 episodes (Greeks Bearing Gifts) and the dialogue alone is worth the hour.

Repeated all this week I think on the BBC channels and on the iplayer on their website for seven days.

eytanz · **Reply #1 on:** February 18, 2008, 11:13:17 PM

Ooh, good timing, I literally finished watching this 5 minutes ago.

Let me second Alasdair's recommendation - if you can see BBC shows do your best to catch this one. I can easily see it go down the route many BBC fantasy/horror shows went down and lose the balance between the light-hearted and dark parts of the plot, while not acquiring the gravitas to pull it off, but the first episode was great.

Heradel · **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2008, 12:51:58 AM

For those illegitimately wanting to see it, there's a bay of pirates with a copy.

Heradel · **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:10:51 AM

I have to chime in on the it's good thing, and I didn't find it particularly British — but maybe I just missed a bunch of in-jokes. I did love the Harry Potter scene towards the end there.

I'm not a big horror fan, but I will keep watching this one.

I wonder if there will be Mermaids.

Heradel · **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2008, 11:34:28 PM

For the love of whatever pagan worship system they have in this pilot, can the BBC give it a greenlight and get the full series in production? Do they hate their fans? Is the comment about the people with rocks and sticks (Styx?) actually the writer's memory of going into meetings in BBC HQ?

oddpod · **Reply #5 on:** March 11, 2008, 07:11:52 PM

i was blown away buy this also, if thay dont make a sereas i am going to sullk, realy realy sulk

Heradel · **Reply #6 on:** July 23, 2008, 01:31:36 AM

Apparently six episodes have been commissioned, but the leads haven't signed on yet.

eytanz · **Reply #7 on:** January 12, 2009, 06:10:46 PM

A webpage has now come up on the BBC site - they seem to have recast the female lead, but I think the male leads have remained the same:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/beinghuman/about/

davedoty · **Reply #8 on:** January 13, 2009, 01:59:07 PM

Nope, they recast the vampire, too. And the evil vampire. Only Russell Tovey as the werewolf remains.

And the pilot is not going to be in the same continuity as the series, which is supposed to be "less gothic, more grounded, and funnier."

I'll check it out, but not thrilled by that description.

eytanz · **Reply #9 on:** January 13, 2009, 02:18:49 PM

Quote from: davedoty on January 13, 2009, 01:59:07 PM

Nope, they recast the vampire, too. And the evil vampire. Only Russell Tovey as the werewolf remains.

Ah, I just went by the pictures, and the vampire guy looks pretty similar to me. Or maybe I just paid more attention to the woman

. The evil vampire was a pretty minor character in the pilot - though obviously destined to become more important as the series progressed - so it does not surprise me he was recast.

Quote

And the pilot is not going to be in the same continuity as the series, which is supposed to be "less gothic, more grounded, and funnier."

I'll check it out, but not thrilled by that description.

I'm curious - did that quote come from an interview or something with more context? I'm curious.

sirana · **Reply #10 on:** January 13, 2009, 08:46:14 PM

Quote from: davedoty on January 13, 2009, 01:59:07 PM

Nope, they recast the vampire, too. And the evil vampire. Only Russell Tovey as the werewolf remains.

And the pilot is not going to be in the same continuity as the series, which is supposed to be "less gothic, more grounded, and funnier."

I'll check it out, but not thrilled by that description.

Not too happy about the recast here. I was on the edge about the vampire, his acting felt a little forced sometimes, but he had a nice chemistry with the wolf. The recast of the ghost is a pity. I really liked the actor, from what I could see in the pilot. A shame too that Adrian Lester (the head vamp) will not return to his role, I liked him a lot, too.

"less gothic, more grounded" doesn't sound necessarily bad to me. "funnier" does.

eytanz · **Reply #11 on:** January 13, 2009, 09:30:08 PM

Quote from: sirana on January 13, 2009, 08:46:14 PM

"less gothic, more grounded" doesn't sound necessarily bad to me. "funnier" does.

"Funnier" doesn't sound bad to me. It sounds like it's far riskier - balancing comedy and drama is far harder than sticking to one or the other - but if it's done well, it can be very rewarding as well.

davedoty · **Reply #12 on:** January 14, 2009, 12:56:39 AM

Quote from: eytanz on January 13, 2009, 02:18:49 PM

I'm curious - did that quote come from an interview or something with more context? I'm curious.

I found the quote on Wikipedia (I misquoted slightly, he actually said "more rooted" rather than "more grounded," if that makes a difference). I went back and looked at the citiation, and it came from this interview.

eytanz · **Reply #13 on:** January 14, 2009, 02:39:40 AM

Oh dear. If you want something that really makes me have doubts about the story, look no further than the last line of the interview. There are few phrases that have been attached to more television disasters than "very dramatic twist".

davedoty · **Reply #14 on:** January 16, 2009, 08:15:27 AM

Quote from: eytanz on January 14, 2009, 02:39:40 AM

Oh dear. If you want something that really makes me have doubts about the story, look no further than the last line of the interview. There are few phrases that have been attached to more television disasters than "very dramatic twist".

Could be bad, but despite my reservations, I'm not freaking out about this just yet. Usually dramatic twists go wrong because they're tacked on attempts to revive a show that's off track. They can work if they're planned from the beginning and built to in a logical way, with careful thought as to how the show will work after that. Time will tell if that's the case here, though.

Heradel · **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2009, 03:10:29 PM

Can anyone explain why exactly the BBC did the show development and production like this? It seems a little insane to pull everyone together for a pilot, that from all accounts went well, and then totally redo everything.

eytanz · **Reply #16 on:** January 16, 2009, 03:24:48 PM

Quote from: Heradel on January 16, 2009, 03:10:29 PM

Can anyone explain why exactly the BBC did the show development and production like this? It seems a little insane to pull everyone together for a pilot, that from all accounts went well, and then totally redo everything.

I don't think they released too many details, but there are several possible reasons that come to mind:

1 - Executive meddling. Probably the most likely, as network executives are known for their ability to try to "fix" stuff that isn't broken.
2 - Artistic direction. It could be that the creators decided they weren't entirely happy with the orgiinal. Reading between the lines, this may have happened with the original vampire - the interviews make it sound like the creator wasn't 100% happy with the original actor.
3 - The actors may have refused to sign a longer contract, maybe they got a better job in the time between the pilot's production and the series being picked up.
4 - The pilot was relatively popular, but there was clearly room for improvement. I agree with some of the comments made in the interviews about the changes - specifically, the pilot did seem to lack a bit of cohesiveness, and there were points that felt like the creators weren't entirely sure what direction the show was supposed to take. I think that one way or another, it was good that they decided, though I hope they made a good decision.

Alasdair5000 · **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2009, 04:42:47 PM

At least one element of it as well is how late the pick up was. Andrea Riseborough, who played the original Annie, has hit the fast track with her last two or three roles and the contract, I would guess, for a possible series had lapsed by the time BBC3 decided to do it.

eytanz · **Reply #18 on:** January 18, 2009, 11:09:20 PM

And there's a date - series premiers next Sunday, Jan 25.

Alasdair5000 · **Reply #19 on:** January 19, 2009, 01:57:34 PM

Fantastic:) An early, spoiler free review's gone up by Narin Bahar, who organised the petition that appears to have got the show up and running. It's at sfx.co.uk and is positively glowing so the initial concerns about the retooling appear to be unfounded.

Heradel · **Reply #20 on:** February 03, 2009, 12:16:36 AM

So it's been in the wild now for a bit. I continue to like the werewolf, and I don't think the replacement actors are worse than their originals. I like that the vampire clique is a bit more subtle now — it was a bit overblown last time.

Is it just me or does the BBC have a set number of times the werewolf has to be naked on camera per episode?

Alasdair5000 · **Reply #21 on:** February 03, 2009, 11:33:59 AM

Certainly seems that way:) I actually liked the second one more than the first, and, like you am really liking the new, subtler Vampire group. Also? The replacement Lauren is magnificent. Rarely seen an actress that small face off with a guy twice her size and look that intimidating.

Poppydragon · **Reply #22 on:** February 04, 2009, 12:16:24 AM

Watched this for the first time tonight (via play it again sam) and really enjoyed it. I thought th eacting was good most of the time and it had a nice blend of comedy and drama about it. I thought the actor playing Herrick wa sparticularly good. Nice to find something I want to keep watching.

sirana · **Reply #23 on:** February 12, 2009, 07:07:24 PM

*shudder*

I hated this new first episode. I hated the new actors, I hated the writing, I hated the directing.
The new Vampire is worse than the first one and this goes doubly for the ghost.

I won't be watching any more episodes of this...

DKT · **Reply #24 on:** February 23, 2009, 05:16:58 PM

Is there a place I can see this online somewhere? Between hearing Al rave about it and other commenters in the recent PP episode thread, I'm very curious about it...

cuddlebug · **Reply #25 on:** February 23, 2009, 05:31:52 PM

Quote from: DKT on February 23, 2009, 05:16:58 PM

Is there a place I can see this online somewhere? Between hearing Al rave about it and other commenters in the recent PP episode thread, I'm very curious about it...

On the BBC iPlayer

Heradel · **Reply #26 on:** February 23, 2009, 05:51:20 PM

Quote from: cuddlebug on February 23, 2009, 05:31:52 PM

Quote from: DKT on February 23, 2009, 05:16:58 PM
Is there a place I can see this online somewhere? Between hearing Al rave about it and other commenters in the recent PP episode thread, I'm very curious about it...

On the BBC iPlayer

Which only works if you're in the UK, or you're using a UK proxy. Your best bet is to either find and use a UK proxy, or to find the episodes on bittorent, where they are widely available.

Praxis · **Reply #27 on:** February 23, 2009, 06:09:06 PM

Or the series is due to be shown on BBCAmerica.

'parently.

Poppydragon · **Reply #28 on:** February 23, 2009, 08:15:17 PM

The first series is out on i player over here although not sure if it is available outside of the UK, I think there is a torrent for it at mininova too

Alasdair5000 · **Reply #29 on:** February 24, 2009, 09:46:00 AM

Incidentally, it should be pointed out that this is a show that REALLY figures out where it's going at the halfway point. The last couple of episodes have been excellent, up there with the original TV version of Ultraviolet. Incidentally, anyone who didn't see that? Needs to. Massively impressive show.

Poppydragon · **Reply #30 on:** February 27, 2009, 06:58:55 AM

Just seen on the BBC that due to the success of thie first series they've just commisioned a second. It's good news I think, but at the same time a little worried that they'll dilute it down to try and get a more "mainstream" audiance. The last one of the first series on Sunday night though.

Alasdair5000 · **Reply #31 on:** February 27, 2009, 08:05:19 AM

I know what you mean about diluting it, but it strikes me that the show could lend itself to three seasons pretty well. At the risk of going all old school World of Darkness, there's a season's worth of plot in the various ghosts of Bristol, the way George interacts with other werewolves and Mitchell's interactions with the vampires. Given that one of those has been a focus for year one, there's a couple left for future seasons.

Poppydragon · **Reply #32 on:** February 27, 2009, 08:38:30 AM

I'd go along with that, it would be nice to see a Producer that was brave enough to say "actually this is all of the story we've got so we're stopping now". Hopefully it'll stay off the main channels too, as long as it continues to be seen as specialist or niche there's some hope they won't spoil it.

eytanz · **Reply #33 on:** February 27, 2009, 09:34:24 AM

Quote from: Poppydragon on February 27, 2009, 08:38:30 AM

I'd go along with that, it would be nice to see a Producer that was brave enough to say "actually this is all of the story we've got so we're stopping now". Hopefully it'll stay off the main channels too, as long as it continues to be seen as specialist or niche there's some hope they won't spoil it.

I agree that it's nice to see that when it's called for. In this case, however, I'm pretty sure that even before the show was first picked up I read interviews where the creators were saying they were hoping for more than one season. And when the show was picked up, they said that the first series will end on a dramatic moment that will set up a (then potential) new series.

Now, I agree that the longer it goes, the greater the risk of executive meddling - though that tends to be less of a problem with UK shows than US shows - but I don't think this is a case of extending a story that was intended to be one season long, I think this is a case where it was always supposed to be multiple series.

I should point out that I'm still not entirely sure I like the show - there are some good moments in it, but it tends to lay it a bit thick at points. I've only watched two episodes so far, though, so maybe once I catch up I'll like it more (or less).

Praxis · **Reply #34 on:** February 28, 2009, 12:08:30 AM

I think the last episode (5) showed they are able to up their game. So far the series has been fun but didn't feel like there was an awful lot really happening.
Finally we are getting some real (inter)action and excitement. Hurrah.

And Sapphire and.....um...Steel.

davedoty · **Reply #35 on:** February 28, 2009, 03:44:40 PM

I suspect any executive meddling we're likely to see happened in the big shift between the pilot and the regular series.

Heradel · **Reply #36 on:** March 02, 2009, 05:23:56 AM

I liked it. Not as good as the last two, but it leaves room for more.

eytanz · **Reply #37 on:** March 02, 2009, 08:47:16 AM

I watched the last fifteen minutes of yesterday's episode - I was just randomly channel zapping and it was on, so I saw it even though I still am several episodes behind. It was actually pretty self-explanatory, but it definitely shows that a second season was planned all along, given that it introduced two new major plot threads in the last five minutes of the show.

cuddlebug · **Reply #38 on:** March 04, 2009, 10:35:41 PM

I absolutely *LOVED* it. Finally managed to see the rest of the series and am so glad I stuck with it, I liked it from start to finish and the last few episodes were even better than the first half. I did think it was very British, I have to say, and I normally don't like British TV shows at all, but this was the right mix of humour, mundane quirkyness with a bit of suspense thrown in. The last episode clearly suggests what will be taken up in the next series, I think.

I haven't seen the pilot, only a few clips on youtube and I am so glad they replaced some of the lead characters, they seemed rubbish from what I could make out in a few minutes. ... and the accents, ewww, toe-curlingly annoying, and I live in the North of England.

Now, just need to master the art of patience.

Poppydragon · **Reply #39 on:** March 04, 2009, 10:41:45 PM

Must admit I'm disappointed that I've got to wait. I thought the series got better and better. Herrick & George were both brilliantly acted and their shared scene was superbly done. The potential new plot lines are interesting... guess I've just got to practice patience.

Author Topic: Being Human (Read 19982 times)

Praxis

Praxis