Tuesday 28 February 2012

Being Human: A Spectre Calls

Kirby: "Evil is like travelling first class. Try it once and you can never go back."

The frustrating thing about Being Human is that no matter how good an episode is, there always seems to be something to complain about. I mostly tend to overlook its minor shortcomings. Life's too short to go mental over every detail. But tonight, some of the weaknesses (or what I perceived to be weaknesses) impacted directly on both the tension and plausibility of the narrative, and as a result, partially undermined what was probably the show's weirdest, most disturbing story to date. They didn't kill it entirely, but they certainly didn't do it any favours.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Being Human: The Graveyard Shift

Tom: “I don’t think we need this any more. I’ve got your back, mate.”

Despite offering up a few morsels of main arc development, tonight’s story took a break from the ongoing War Child saga, and focused on the private lives of our supernatural trio. Being Human's always been about the small things, so it's no surprise Jamie Mathieson managed to find some great character moments in the minutiae. Finally, Honolulu Heights is starting to feel like home again. The gang even have a new TV show to obsess over. It may not be The Real Hustle, but it's a start.

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Being Human: Being Human 1955

Pearl: “Over fifty five years and I’ve never had to change my line-up.”

If last week’s episode felt like a season finale, then "Being Human 1955" felt like a season première. It introduced us to Leo, Pearl and Hal; established a strong group dynamic; explained interpersonal dependencies -- then sent two of them packing to the afterlife. Despite Leo and Pearl being relative newcomers, their deaths were surprisingly affecting; as was Hal’s almost defection to the dark side. I guess his self control isn’t as strong as we thought. With Leo and Pearl gone, will Hal be able to put the mask back on? Or does Honolulu Heights have a new loose cannon on its hands?

Monday 6 February 2012

Being Human: Eve of the War

Woman: "I'm going to save the world. I'm going to kill that baby."

I’m not sure how I feel about tonight’s episode. On first watch, I hated it. Second time through, I actually quite liked it. Following last year's finale was always going to be a challenge. Season three was to Being Human what "Children of Earth" was to Torchwood. Mitchell's death was always going to leave a void, but to give Toby Whithouse his due, he threw virtually everything at this episode to fill it. He gave us a vampire apocalypse, supernaturals galore, glimpses of a dystopian future, and a mysterious war child prophecy written on nipply parchment. On the downside, he gave Arthur Weasley a job, killed off half the cast, and replaced them with suspiciously familiar surrogates.