Being Human (BBC/DVD/2009)
So, a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost walk into a bar….no, that would be an obvious and dreary joke. Instead, we find a werewolf, George (Russell Tovey), a vampire, Mitchell (Aiden Turner) and Annie, a ghost (Lenora Critchlow) who band together in the Bristol, England, flat that Annie died in. As outsiders who desperately want to belong to the human race, they become best friends, supporting each other in their darkest hours.
It’s an exceptionally clever conceit, not at all satirical or dorky, a useful way for creator/writer, Toby Whithouse, as well as his excellent creative team and superb cast, to explore what being human means, especially when you have, through no fault of your own, become outlaws in the very culture you were raised in.
George was in the woods with a pal, one dark, full-moon, night, when a werewolf attacks the duo, killing the pal and infecting our hero. Mitchell was fighting the Bosch during WWI when a superior officer, a vampire by night, turned him, and Annie was pushed down the stairs in their apartment by her boyfriend. So they must find ways of playing out their individual needs and not be lynched by fearful neighbors.
The first six episodes (series in the U.K. seldom produce more than seven hour-long episodes in any season) of the first season are out now (season two will be released next month) point out a very peculiar contradiction: liberal images vs. conservative ones. For instance, the use of the F-word and the C-word, as well as “shit” and “twat” are bandied about freely; as well, George loses his clothes once a month when he transitions from a man to a werewolf, so we get a charitable amount of his rear-end nudity. Very adult on both counts, you will admit. However, when broadcast on BBC-America, they bleep most of the words (even while lip-readers will have no problem understanding what the camera shows) and try and digitalize Mr. Tovey’s butt to look as though he were wearing underpants. Why this weird and phony “protection” is superimposed on a clearly-R-rated TV show is beyond comprehension. Are they protecting the audience or the actor? If folk are that easily and deeply offended, then perhaps they shouldn’t view it and leave it to DVD sensibilities. But since BEING HUMAN is on U.S. cable, and since HBO and Showtime have proven over the years that audiences are willing to listen to or to watch adult programming that network television is constrained to utter or to present, why bother with censorship? It’s very bizarre. However, there are no constraints on the DVD. America! Wake up!!!
If one is willing to accept the premise, then the high quality of the writing, directing and acting will hold your attention and – maybe – allow you to think philosophical thoughts on the condition of humanity. Here's hopin'.