Being Human: The Last Broadcast

Alex: 'Shit's getting real out there.'

As far as finales go, that was incredible. Just when we thought we were about to get our happy ending, they pulled the rug out from under our feet and sent us sprawling. For fifteen minutes I felt excitement, which turned to weeping, then disappointment, then happiness, then confusion. I think I'm still stuck at confusion. Was this a fitting end to five years of blood, death and long brooding stares? You know, love it or hate it, I think it probably was.

Being Human: No Care, All Responsibility

Rook: 'Close your eyes. Don't look at the monsters.'


I spent the first half of tonight's episode wondering when something was going to happen, and the last half wishing that nothing had. In traditional penultimate episode style, everything went colossally wrong—leaving Toby Whithouse just with 60 minutes to either pull it out of the bag or feel the wrath of my right boot up his arse.

Being Human: The Greater Good

Hal: 'All we are doing is marking time until the inevitable happens.'

Another great character episode, although the season arc itself is a little slow to get going. I guess I keep expecting Captain Hatch to explode in a burst of malevolent madness. Instead, he just sits there, gently picking people off and manipulating others from afar. Not that I'm complaining, it's an effective strategy. The Barry Grand Hotel has a higher mortality rate than Midsomer.

Being Human: Pie and Prejudice

Hal: 'What have you done? You've broken Mary!'

I confess, I wasn't anticipating any stand-alones this season. With the end in sight, and a reduced episode run, I was expecting a mainly story driven final four. So, although initially miffed by the appearance of the seemingly obligatory comedy episode, this actually turned out to be a fascinating character piece. To say Hal killing Larry has thrown a spanner in the works seems like something of an understatement. After over 200 years of lying to Lady Mary, Hal looks set to continue the tradition with his house-mates. This isn't going to end well, is it?

Being Human: Sticks and Ropes

Hal: 'Very well, Thomas. I accept the challenge.'

Now Being Human has been cancelled, I'm finding it difficult to decide what might pass as an appropriate finale. Will they all live happily ever after? Have the new characters had sufficient time to develop so that, in the event of their possible deaths, we'll all feel suitably distraught? If Hal died, I'd definitely miss him. Tom, too probably. Alex, being the relative newcomer, needs some work, but tonight Toby Whithouse did his best to oblige, and thankfully, he did a better job of hanging flesh on Alex's bones than Alex did of playing the organ.

Being Human: The Trinity.

Hal: 'Fill a bowl with boiling water and washing-up-liquid. This is a two sets of Marigolds problem.'

A solid opener to what promises to be Being Human's biggest season yet. Thanks to the rickety economy, we're down to six episodes instead of eight, but this doesn't seem to have diluted Toby Whithouse's ambition. The villains have been getting bigger each season, so it should come as no surprise that this year's big bad is none other than Beelzebub himself. And with Phil Davis on board as Captain Hatch, how can this not be awesome? Well, quite easily, really—but at least we're off to a good start.

Being Human: The War Child

Annie: “Hal isn’t a living thing.”

It’s official: Being Human has been renewed for a fifth season. Despite a slight dip in ratings (compared with season three), fans appear to have taken to the new line-up like a duck to l'orange. Season five will be a shorter season – six episodes instead of eight – but that may not be such a handicap. In the past, extra minutes have translated into filler. Thankfully, tonight's episode was mostly useful, and saw the departure of Annie, our last surviving original character. Can a show survive with none of its original cast members? If this season's proved anything (apart from disco's not dead), the answer is probably yes.

Being Human: Making History

Cutler: “Softly softly, massacre monkey.”

It seems strange that after six weeks of theorising over Cutler’s plans and motivations, it all comes down to Hal. Since 1950, he's been a malign influence in Cutler's life. (Despite being presumed dead for most of it.) In fact, this whole season’s been about Cutler trying to live up to his sire’s expectations. As well as conditional immortality, he wants historic immortality too. He wants statues erected in his honour. He wants Brazil. He wants the world to know that the defeat and mass conversion of humankind was all his idea. In short, he's disappeared up his own megalomaniacal arse -- and it's all Hal's fault.

Being Human: Puppy Love

Emrys: “When your time comes, remember: it might not be a good thing you have to do.”

Now there’s a tantalising piece of dialogue. Whether we’re supposed to interpret it as a piece of general advice, or as a portent of things to come, I’m not altogether sure. Annie offing Kirby two weeks ago does seem to have changed her attitude towards killing. But didn’t Annie get rid of her unfinished business when she solved her own death back in season one? I was under the impression her continued existence on earth was more to do with free choice than it was her being stuck here. I hope this isn't a hint Annie will be leaving the show at the end of the season.

Being Human: Hold the Front Page

Adam: “We’re both trapped. We should be trapped together.”

This felt like the episode where Being Human finally reclaimed its mojo. The first half of the season has been guilty of pushing the tomfoolery way beyond what is acceptable. Tonight the humour was played to perfection. Tom Grieves did a splendid job of adding some much needed depth to Adam’s previously one-dimensional character. In fact, by the end of the episode, I actually found myself liking him. And then being disgusted by him. And then liking him again. Add an unlikely love story, a new supernatural, and some great character development, and this was my favourite episode of the season so far.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Being Human: The Wolf-Shaped Bullet

Mitchell: 'Thank you, all of you. You made me human.'

What an exceptional season finale. I watched with five friends, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. As far as emotional punches go, tonight's episode was brutal. At one point, it looked as though Whithouse would press the reset button. He didn't, and I applaud him for that. Unfortunately, we're now a cast member down—unless, as well as entering houses unbidden, the Old Ones know how to bring people back from the dead. I'm clutching at straws, I know.

Being Human: Though the Heavens Fall

Herrick: “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

With Herrick back from his sojourn in la-la land, the body count tonight was freakishly high. Standard penultimate episode etiquette dictates that, come the closing credits, at least one main character must be either dead, seemingly dead or dying. Tonight, Toby Whithouse chose Nina as his sacrificial lamb. I was so shocked by what happened to her that I actually tweeted Sinead Keenan to express my concern. In case anyone's wondering, Sinead's fine. Nina... less so.

Being Human: Daddy Ghoul

George Senior: “I came back from the dead for you, Ruth. How many men can manage that?"

Tonight's episode saw George and Nina take a break from the increasingly bizarre goings on at Honolulu Heights, and take a road trip back home. This was essentially George's "coming out" episode. Not that anyone noticed. After meeting George's parents, it's easy to see why he is the way he is -- yet, his family's prosaism is what makes them so special. It also probably explains why he left.

Being Human: The Longest day

Nina: “What's your manager's number, Wendy? I'm going to unleash a shit-storm!”

Things are looking decidedly bleak for Mitchell. The sins of the past two seasons are catching up with him. Herrick's back and living in the attic, Nina's knows about Mitchell's part in the box tunnel massacre, George is threatening to disown him -- there was only Cara who seemed vaguely pleased to see him... right before she committed suicide. It's like all of Mitchell's nightmares are coming true. Let's hope he doesn't hear about The Real Hustle being fake or it'll be curtains. There's only so much a man can take.

Being Human: The Pack

McNair: “You spilt my boy's blood. So I'm going to spill yours.”

After the relative lightness of the past two weeks, tonight's episode turned the chuckles down low and cranked up the drama. It's a testament to the show's quality that even the stand-alones this season have been excellent -- with each instalment an improvement on the last. Tonight's story saw McNair and Tom finally meet potential pack mates George and Nina. Sadly, instead of creating harmony, it brought violence, revelations and grief. The wolves totally kicked arse tonight. Could McNair really take Mitchell in a fight? I'm guessing we'll find out before the season's over. My money's on Mitchell.

Being Human: Type 4

Sasha: “Live Annie. Seize the day.”
Annie: “I will.”

Despite being mostly a stand-alone, tonight's episode had surprising depth. Sasha and Graham provided the perfect comedy foils for Mitchell and Annie. I'm not sure who was the most messed up: fanboy Siddion, or Sasha the chavalanche zombie. (Mentally, that is. Physically, Sasha wins hands down.) Sasha's dying words had a profound effect on Annie and Nina. Her carpe diem swansong forced them to reassess their choices and re-evaluate their relationships. For Mitchell, Graham's death was perhaps less of an epiphany. The shadow of his past still looms large -- and if that closing shot of Graham's scrapbook was anything to go by, Mitchell's past atrocities won't stay hidden for long.