Being Human – Season One (2009/BBC Blu-ray Set)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Episodes: C

 

 

It sounds like a good idea, if an odd one.  A man named Mitchell is a vampire and he becomes roommates with George, who happens to be a werewolf.  So starts the set-up for Being Human, which could have been a smart British TV take on the dreadful Underworld films, but the show also throws in Annie, who literally haunts them both because she is a ghost and does not know who she died.  That immediately sounds like the British TV hit Randall & Hopkirk: Deceased, but this mishmash of ideas and genres is all over the place.

 

Season One introduces their plights, characters and sets things up for what turns out to be six surprisingly predictable, tired and uninspired episodes.  I was hoping the makers would at least have some energy and be fun, but this is too much soap opera and not enough substance.  The new actors even have previous genre experience, but the haunted version of The IT Crowd this is not.  Too bad because this could have worked and has actually lasted three seasons, so no wonder there is serious talk about reviving Randall & Hopkirk: Deceased.

 

So it is a formula show and it shows.  The casting of Lenora Crichlow, Aidan Turner and Russell Tovey is interesting and they deserve some credit for the show’s success, but I was not impressed.

 

The 1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image also lacked impressive visuals, could be too soft too often and even had some Video Black issues.  Color is styled down and this has the same boring look as most such shows since X-Files.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is a lossy set of mixes that do not impress.  The lack of a lossless option is a shame and might have helped.  Extras include text character profiles, Deleted Scenes, Interview with creator Toby Whitehouse, Video Diaries and a few behind the scenes featurettes.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo