Addicted to Media: TV: Being Human

Thursday, 29 March 2012

TV Review: Being Human – “The War Child”

How boringly predictable: I did not like the final episode of Being Human. Prior to this episode, I truly believed that the writers and producers of Being Human could do no wrong but after a second viewing of “The War Child”, I’m still not happy with huge parts of the episode.

As a fan, I disliked the manner in which the stories of Annie, Eve and Cutler were wrapped up. I did not like that Hal has become a shadow of a vampire or that Mr Snow dominated the episode despite not featuring in the rest of the season. A couple of scenes didn’t make sense and some just made me sad.

Spoiler Warning: This is not a preview, spoilers throughout.

The Good

Let’s start with what I liked. “The War Child” begins in 2022, ten years after the events of present day. Despite the dystopian outlook of a world overcome by sadistic vampires, you’ll be pleased to know that the official vehicles are properly MOT’d. We don’t get to see Propaganda Hal in this episode but once again, the future closely resembles Nazi Germany (what is it with UK television and Nazi Germany? In the past year, themes of Nazism have featured strongly in Doctor Who, Misfits and now, Being Human).

It is April 11, 2022, and we learn that it is ten years to the day since Mr Snow (Mark Gatiss) killed the Prime Minister on live television. Hey… maybe this whole vampire infestation isn’t so bad after all? I’d pay a lot of money to see that. Moving on swiftly…

As Snow interrogates a human suspect, we learn that there was a human pregnancy embargo shortly after the vampires came into power and that the vampires want the War Child to survive. I quite liked this scene, although I did almost choke on my ice cream when Snow disembowelled the suspect, but Eve escapes and we cut to Hal, Tom and Alex.

Yay! Hal (Damien Molony) survived the werewolf attack at the end of the last episode! Hal and Tom speak about how far they have fallen and how they need to stop the Old Ones.

Hal: “Leo once said we were on the outside of humanity so that we might guard it. He made it sound like a privilege rather than a burden”.
Tom: “I don’t think any of us deserve that job any more”.
Hal: “Then we must earn it back”.

So far, so good. We have a scene where Cutler (Andrew Gower) appears before the Old Ones but nothing he can come up with impresses Snow in the least. Nick Cutler offers Mr Snow the world and instead, he lands up with the greatest humiliation from a main who has laid eyes upon pharaohs and the “Son of a carpenter”.

Mr Snow: “I was planning just to take the world. I didn’t realise I needed you to give it to me”.

Nasty Mr Snow. We learn once and for all that the Old Ones need the War Child to survive, that they are not interested in her demise but her protection.

The Okay

There was a lot of filler in this episode which was my first complaint. The episode felt a little perfunctory to me, as if it was merely a gateway between seasons 4 and 5, out with the old and in with the new and all that jazz.

Annie (Lenora Crichlow) and Alex (Kate Bracken) engage in girl talk, ghost school and baby-protecting while Hal and Tom plot a suicide mission to blow up the vampires.

Alex: “Do vampires die if you blow them up?”
Hal: “Most things die, if you blow them up. Sadly we can’t, you know, what with us not living in a cartoon”.

The Crap

And then… well, then Cutler comes to Honolulu Heights except neither Alex nor Annie will invite him in. But he forces his way into the house as his flesh burns and melts off his body. It is a terrible, terrible ending for such a brilliant character and there is no redemption for Nick Cutler. At the last minute, Annie stakes him and he is gone. That was the point at which I stopped enjoying this episode.

I always say that I don’t like it when really shitty things happen to the characters I love but after Cutler’s performance last week and his contribution to the season, that was a really unfitting end. It is strange as I didn’t like Cutler in the first episode “Eve of the War” but I grew to love him. Even if I take that fondness out of the equation, I still think the writers could have given him a more noble death and certainly allowed him a modicum of redemption.

You see, that is the problem when writers write so well that we fall in love with their characters. Killing them off is one thing, but doing it in a confusing mess of an episode is just wrong.

The Not All That Bad

There were certainly great moments in the remainder of the episode. As gory and gratuitous as it was, I loved the scene where Alex and Hal find Alex’s body, crawling with maggots and in advanced rigor. I loved that Alex totally calls Hal out for licking the congealed blood off the floor and Hal’s remark that it has been a long 500 years.

I loved meeting Mr Rook (Steven Robertson) and the Cleaners and I just know they’ll play a massive part in season 5 of Being Human (which was announced on the Being Human blog, Facebook page and Twitter stream last night).

I loved the look of vampire-friendly werewolf Milo (Michael Wildman) but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what his purpose was.

The Truly Disappointing (and Not Entirely Logical) Ending

Mr Snow: “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”.

Hal returns to the cafeteria to find Mr Snow waiting for him. We learn that Hal has oscillated repeatedly between good and bad and that each time he fell, it was exponentially worse. Hal thinks Snow is tempting him but Snow says Hal is already on their side. He always knew where Hal was over the years.

Mr Snow: “Oh Hal, you weren’t hiding. I was just giving you the afternoon off”.

Snow won’t tell Hal to join him. He knows he has him already and he informs him that they are here to rescue him. [Note: the importance of Mr Snow telling Hal to do anything is that Hal will thereby be compelled to obey him. Mr Snow is that powerful and has that much of a hold over Hal].

And then… and then it is the closing scenes with Mr Snow and the Old Ones. I don’t get it. After a second viewing, I still don’t understand why Tom (Michael Socha) took Eve to the Old Ones or why he decided to act alone, without Annie or Hal. I know the events that lead up to it but I don’t get his decision at all. It just felt as if the plot had been written from all sides but then they got to that one point in time, the point at which Eve lands in the hands of the Old Ones, and they ran out of thread to tie it all up.

The story around it seemed to work. I understood Hal arriving with explosives and that his will was broken under Mr Snow’s command and I really loved Bad Wolf Annie blasting in and demanding that they give her “my f**king baby”.

Remember what I said about the compelling hold of Mr Snow’s commands on Hal? I hated (yes, I know it is a strong word, let me emphasise it), hated that the writers crapped all over their own canon and that Hal was able to break Mr Snow’s hold so easily once Annie burst in. The first rule of canon is that you do not break your own rules!

The writers actually need to think hard about where they are going with Hal’s character. Hal simply wasn't his normal awesome self in this episode, except for the Hallibal Lector sequence at the end. The allure of the ‘human’ vampire is that he walks a fine line between his darkness and his love of the human race. I just think they need to come up with new and inventive ways for Hal to court his darkness.

I really wasn’t happy with Cutler’s demise but Annie’s end filled me with equal dismay and did anyone else notice that they killed the baby? Let’s be clear, I am not unhappy that Lenora Crichlow is leaving the series and I agree, it would be hard for Annie to top saving the world. I get all of that now but my immediate response was far less charitable.

My initial reaction was that I didn't like the idea that Alex was being set up as the new ghost and I felt for the first time ever that Being Human had steered wrong. It seemed to me the writers and production team have begun to doubt themselves, that they are trying to compete with the US version by bringing in new, funky, young characters.

I also noted that the series was co-produced with BBC America. You can never please both side of the Atlantic. Best the producers remember whose TV License pays for their show!

So yes, not impressed by the final episode but looking forward to the fifth season of Being Human nevertheless.

Promo stills © BBC / Touchpaper - Photographer: Huw John

TV review: Being Human - "Making History"

It’s been hours since I watched “Making History” yet still I cannot stop thinking about it. The penultimate episode in the fourth season of BBC Being Human, “Making History” is terrifying and horrific. It was the kind of television that has the viewer hiding behind the sofa or, if you’re mature like me, barely peeking out at the television from behind the safety of a cushion.

There was a moment, towards the end, when I was so appalled that it must have been written all over my face. My other half walked in and asked if I was okay and it was all I could do to gasp out a pained, “no!” It was certainly difficult to speak or breathe; I believe I might have held my breath for the last 15 minutes of the episode. Even now I cannot draw enough air into my lungs as I think back on the episode.

“The History Maker” follows five deeply intertwined storylines and it won’t be possible to discuss any of it without giving away massive spoilers, especially for events that take place 30 years into the future. So here it is:

Massive Spoiler Warning: Do not read further unless you’ve seen “Making History”

Cutler is made

1950. Nick Cutler (Andrew Gower) is an ambitious young solicitor but even he can't get the slimy, corrupt mobster Hal Yorke out of the mess he finds himself in. Unless it is just a matter of motivation? Well, Hal (Damien Molony) turns Cutler into a vampire just in case and suddenly he is motivated enough and Hal is released from prison. Result. Well, for Hal at least because things are about to take a very bad turn for Nick Cutler.

Bugsy Halone: "All We require is everything"

Indeed, Hal requires everything, especially Cutler's mercy and his last vestige of humanity. And if Cutler can't do it and cut all ties to his former life, foregoing mercy for a crystal glass of blood, then Hal will do it for him. Wow, I wonder if that decision will ever come back to haunt Hal? May I just say that scary Hal is also pretty awesome? In a terrible sense, of course.

Eve and Annie

Oh Annie, didn’t your parents ever tell you never to trust strangers? Especially creepy Future Girl strangers claiming to be your infant daughter? Well, it is true. The Woman is in fact the ghost of Eve (or so she says), and she has travelled back in time following her death in 2037. What disturbs me is that nothing good has ever come of Annie (Lenora Crichlow) entering the Other Side and she ought to be far more careful than that!

The Woman (Gina Bramhill) takes Annie to the future and gives her a blow-by-blow account of the evil that transpires when the vampires take over the world (which is about to happen in a couple of days). Mass murder, internment camps, worldwide domination and Hal as pure evil.

Internment camp sign: “Through me you pass into eternal pain”

She tells Annie of the fall of Tom and his devastation following an attack on humans.

Cutler and Tom

It seems like a throwaway remark. Surely the Tom (Michael Socha) we know would never hurt humans, would never put himself in that position? For much of the episode it certainly seems that way. Cutler tries to convince Tom that he needs to kill the Old Ones, that vampires are the embodiment of evil.

But Tom refuses to believe it. He dons a sorbet orange dress shirt (ultimately paired with a stylish, blood red tie) and explains his case to Cutler. He wants to negotiate with the Old Ones; after all, Cutler is good and Hal is his friend, right?

I wonder what Cutler could do to convince him otherwise?

Cutler and Hal

Well, this is “Making History” of course and Cutler decides to make a little bit of history himself. Hal made history when he forced Cutler’s hand and the events in 2037 (or even days from now) have already occurred. So Cutler draws Hal in and appeals to his greatest weakness: blood. Hal, when he’s off the wagon, is a very scary vampire indeed. Despite his best efforts to fight it, he descends first into madness before going into withdrawal and finally gives in and returns for more.

Cutler has Hal right where he wants him, almost. Tom no longer trusts him as Hal becomes a slave to blood once again. Fifty-five years he was clean, fifty-five years of walking a fine line between obsession and madness. Cutler suspects that Hal might have a slight affliction of mercy and decides to remedy him of it.

Hal and Alex

I warned you there were spoilers in this post, right? No really: there are huge, massive, spoilery spoilers! Stop reading if you’ve not seen the episode because it got pretty hectic there for a while and I need to talk about it.

BBC Merlin Making History

It is no secret that I don’t like Alex. I mean, sure, Kate Bracken is a fantastic actress with an accent to die for and Alex is a really interesting character with quick wit, intelligence and overall likeability but I’m not too keen on Hal having any love interests at all. And yes, that has nothing to do with Hal’s diabolical flirting skills and everything to do with jealousy.

Moving on swiftly. As soon as I realised what Hal had done to Cutler’s wife (and I figured it out pretty early in the episode), I knew that he was going to hurt Alex. I just didn’t expect it to be quite as gruesome or graphic as it was and it really was horrible.

Of course, Cutler expects Hal to forsake his humanity as he forsook his own in 1950 but Hal is not quite there yet. In the midst of all the horror, there was some truly spectacular acting from Andrew Gower when Hal realises what Cutler has planned and pleads with him:

Hal: “Don’t do this. Please”.
Cutler (disbelieving): “Sorry, what?”
Hal (kneeling): “I’ll do anything. Just stop this”.
Cutler (incredulous): “What’re you doing? [Laughs]. Oh God. Are you begging? Now you stop, seriously, it’s horrid”.
Hal: “Please. Cutler. Nick”.
Cutler (nervous laughter): “Now he’s calling me Nick [really freaking horrible giggle]. You can’t do this, you… You’re Hal Yorke! I’m gonna heave”.
Hal: “Remember what you were”.
Cutler (grabs Hal by his shirt): “What I was? Now you stole that from me! Now you dragged me into this world! You killed my wife, you turned me into a murderer, an addict. You made me abandon my whole species!”

And then, when Cutler refuses Hal’s apology, telling him he does not get to say he is sorry, Hal’s humanity shines through once and for all and we realise that he is not going back. He will not become the vampire that takes humanity down in the future (or so we hope). It is beyond moving.

Hal: “I can’t let this happen, Cutler. I will kill you if I have to but I will not let you take their world”.

Swoon.

We always knew that nothing would be resolved in this, the penultimate episode of the season but the final 18 minutes of the episode were incredible. The Woman explains her reason for appearing to Annie, Tom turns on the full moon and is set loose in a crowded nightclub and a new ghost enters the fray.

My heart was pounding out of my chest by the end of episode and we are left uncertain as to whether Hal has survived the events.

In the final sequence, the Old Ones finally arrive and who better to lead them than the esteemed Mark Gatiss? Oh, I think he will make a positively horrible nemesis.

I’m usually eager for the weeks to rush by in between my Being Human fix but I’d like this week to slow down! I don’t want to say goodbye to this fantastic show for another year!

The final episode “The War Child” will air this Sunday at 9pm on BBC Three. Make sure you turn your clocks forward properly!

All images © BBC / Touchpaper - Photographer: Huw John

TV Review: Being Human – “Puppy Love”

It seem the unthinkable has happened. There is an episode of my beloved Being Human and I don’t really care for it. “Puppy Love” is full of love and tenderness and not exactly my cup of tea when I’m in the midst of exams, work stress and job interviews. Then again, it is entirely possible that it is plain old jealousy because this is the episode where Hal gets a (shudder) girlfriend.

Alex (Kate Bracken) is smarmy and self-assured and is in Barry on holiday with her family. For some inexplicable reason, Hal’s diabolical flirting skills don’t send her packing and she insists on chatting him up. Then again, her flirting abilities are pretty dire too but I’m way ahead of myself. Alex only arrives half way through the episode. Back to the beginning then.

Alex is not the only lunatic in town. (Note: the use of the term ‘lunatic’ here is perfectly acceptable as werewolves do, in fact, react to lunar phases). There is a teenage werewolf on the prowl who makes Adam ("Hold the Front Page") look demure and Kirby ("A Spectre Calls") fashionable. Allison (Ellie Kendrick) has decided that Barry is the place to be as she seeks the werewolf made famous when Cutler released the video of Tom and George changing. Of course, it is a massive surprise when Tom falls made in love with her.

Oh Cutler, we knew there were going to be repercussions when he released that video on YouTube but did it have to hail the arrive of yet another creeptastic character? I’m just kidding. I kind of liked Allison even though I was too grumpy to appreciate the blossoming relationship between her and Tom.

Well, you reap what you sow because Cutler's antics manage to draw the attention of some pretty hardcore vampire attention in the form of Golda (Amanda Abbington) and her henchmen. Golda is from UK operations and is in town to take over from Cutler following Griffin’s demise. She learns that there is a werewolf on the loose and decides to have a little fun.

Golda: “Cage, human, Prosecco”

Meanwhile, back at Honolulu Heights, Annie accidentally kills a man (as you do when someone knocks on your door) and is stuck with the ghost of her lecherous neighbour Emrys (Anthony O'Donnell). She tries everything in her power to assist him in sorting out his unfinished business but is just about to learn that a ghost’s last business might not exactly be ethical in nature.

In amongst all of this love and anti-love, Cutler (Andrew Gower) decides to tell a couple of porky pies to Allison and Tom about the source of the online video. It doesn’t matter what he actually tells them (spoilers) but this exchange was hilarious:

Cutler: “…there’s not much I can do on my own but if you, Tom McNair, vampire slayer, could get involved…”
Allison (interrupts): "Vampire slayer! How many vampires have you... slain?"
Tom: "Oooh, err, three or four... dozen"
Allison (to Cutler): "And you're condoning this?"
Cutler: "Well, you can't exactly go to Ofcom"

Now there is a little known fact about the hit BBC show Being Human and that is that it is, in fact, supposed to be a horror show. Well, nothing is more terrifying than Hal’s singing and this time it is 1970s soul. Aargh, my ears are bleeding! Again! And then we are back at the beginning and Alex walks into Hal’s life and breaks my heart.

How horrifically cute is that?

Fantastic wit and humour aside, there is nothing wrong with “Puppy Love”. It was funny, cute and entertaining but every now and then I do miss the darkness and drama of the previous two seasons. There is an underlying darkness to Hal that we haven’t even begun to explore and I would love to see him lose control (Kia-Ora anyone?)

Hal: “I have seduced several thousand women in my time!”

We might laugh at this fastidious, rigid vampire and his attempts to assert himself when teased by Tom and Allison but beneath the surface is an ancient being, an Old One, who demands due respect and is only barely maintaining control.

Spoiler alert: spoiler ahead

And can I just say this, I knew the woman from the future (Gina Bramhill) was Eve. I knew it!! I cannot believe there are only two episodes left. I really do think that the seasons should be longer (although that absolutely killed Torchwood last season so I should be careful what I wish for).

I cannot wait for “Making History” next week which will see Cutler take Tom under his wing and Annie visiting purgatory.

All images © BBC / Touchpaper - Photographer: Huw John

TV Review: Being Human – “Hold the Front Page”

Four episodes down, four left to go in the fourth season of Being Human. Am I the only one who feels cheated by these ridiculously short seasons? If I had my way, programmes like Being Human, Misfits, Doctor Who, Sherlock and Merlin would never be allowed to go on hiatus at all but I digress…

“Hold the Front Page” takes us back six months before the start of the season. We’re at St Hilda’s School for Girls and our favourite teenage vampire Adam (Craig Roberts) is disturbed just as he is about to devour a rather horsey and incredibly clueless young schoolgirl. We first met Adam last season and he had a starring role in the short web series Becoming Human which is highly recommended for Being Human fans.

Back at Honolulu Heights, Hal is (oh my gosh, my freaking ears are bleeding)… Hal is singing, I think. Make him stop! Adam comes banging on the front door, causing Hal and Tom significant alarm as they have never met him before. Annie assures them that all is fine:

Annie: “It’s definitely not the nemesis, he’s way too much of a knob for that”

Adam and schoolmistress lover Yvonne (Selina Griffiths) have arrived on their doorstep in a bid to escape the press who are having a field day with the fact that Yvonne is a “saucy schoolmistress” who has seduced a student. Despite that, she is eerily prim and proper.

Yvonne: “But never let it be said that Yvonne Bradshaw isn’t open-minded. Our head of French is a member of Amnesty, so I know the drill”.

Oh, ho! Yvonne Bradshaw is about to face a lot more than pesky members of left-wing justice movements. It soon becomes abundantly clear that she has no idea of who or what Adam is, never mind Tom and Annie. But then again, she has no idea what she is either and can I just mention that I knew exactly what she was the minute she was able to see Annie and she enchanted Tom. Succubus!

We cut to the woods and just what exactly is Cutler (Andrew Gower) up to this time? I’ve certainly grown to like him since the first episode but I really do not trust him.

“Hold the Front Page” is a pretty cool episode with some fantastic performances from Selina Griffiths and Craig Roberts. I loved Adam’s besotted state and his inexplicable love for the plain and old-fashioned Yvonne. I love how possessive he is of her and the way that Tom (Michael Socha) begins to vie for her attention.

I also enjoyed the introduction of reporter Pete Travis (Sacha Dhawan) and his startling discovery (although I didn’t think his previous experience with vampires was particularly well-scripted).

What I didn’t like was that frumpy schoolmarm seducing my Hal (Damien Molony)! It made me want to break her freaking neck! Get your hands of him, woman! Oh my, oh my. It is ever so slightly possible that I have discovered my latest fangirl obsession. All I can say is that thank goodness that little scene ended the way it did, because I did not like where the plot was going!

Back to Cutler and his relationship with Pete. It is really apt that a vampire as slimy and smooth as Cutler would be a solicitor and as the episode progressed, I realised that he is becoming one of my favourite nemeses ever. I just love how much he reminds me of a disingenuous City cad. It is shocking how naive Pete is and he really should have thought twice before messing with someone like Cutler.

For just a moment, it seems that Pete has the upper hand when he traps Cutler in a hotel room and outs him as a vampire. We know that Annie (Lenora Crichlow) and Hal are on the way to the hotel but will they get there in time?

Sadly, I’m not going to spoil this fantastic ending for you but I will leave you with three bites.

Annie: “Oh, Adam, little twat, I’m really going to miss him”.

If I thought listening to Hal sing was painful at the beginning of the episode, that was nothing to my eyeballs bleeding when he (shudders) smiled at the end of the episode! I haven’t seen such a chillingly wrong smile since Wednesday in the Addams Family. Please, Hal, for the love of all that is good and sacred in the world, please don’t ever smile again!

And finally: oh, Cutler. What have you done?

Can I just say how disappointed I am with Damien Molony? Before last night’s episode, he went on to Twitter and promised us more press ups. He also warned us about his singing.

You might remember the glorious scene in "A Spectre Calls" where Hal does one hundred press ups, shirtless. Sigh. Well, not only was the scene in question omitted in the final cut, it also didn’t quite deliver on its promise (apologies to non-UK readers, you won’t be able to see this):

Being Human’s strongest point has always been its skill in blending comedy, horror and drama but this season is perhaps the funniest yet. The second and third seasons got pretty dark with the Box Tunnel Twenty massacre, the experiments, Annie’s expulsion, the wolf-shaped bullet prophecy and the death of Mitchell. There s no doubt that this season will get dark but it is a lot of fun at the moment.

I have to admit that while I loved Russell Tovey and Aidan Turner with all my heart and soul, I am not missing them one tiny bit. I am loving the dynamic between Lenora Crichlow, Michael Socha and Damien Molony.

I cannot wait until next week’s “Puppy Love”.

All images © BBC / Touchpaper - Photographer: Huw John

TV Review: Being Human – “A Spectre Calls”

1975. Alfie Kirby (James Lance) is walking along the street with a little boy, teaching him the Green Cross Code. He fails, spectacularly. Well, I guess that depends on how you look at it. Maybe watching Kirby get rear-ended by a car at 60mph prevented the little boy from breaching the rules of the road ever again.

Barry, present day. Annie (Lenora Crichlow) is driving Tom and Hal up the wall with the illustrated rota she has drawn up for Eve's care. Hal tries his best to explain that he already has an obsessive schedule, necessary in order for him to stay on the wagon, but Annie doesn’t care.

The doorbell rings and in walks Creepy Kirby. He is a ghost and he says that Nina has sent him from the other side but no one with hair that bad could ever be trusted. Annie wants to know why Nina didn’t come herself but Creepy Kirby scoffs, werewolves can’t be ghosts, that really wouldn’t make sense!

Creepy Kirby does everything in his power to generate dissent in the household. He moves in as close as he can get to a stressed and exhausted Annie, plants seeds of doubt in her mind about Hal (Damien Molony) and superbly plays up Tom’s insecurities and doubts. In short, he is a nasty piece of work with an even nastier fashion sense. The strangest thing of all is how desperate he is to get close to Eve.

Despite the thrill of seeing Hal in an apron in “The Graveyard Shift”, trying to chat up the clueless Michaela, last week’s episodes wasn’t one of my favourites. “A Spectre Calls” sees Being Human right back on form though and I really enjoyed it. Of course, I might simply be biased after seeing Hal shirtless, performing push ups, Hal in a tank top and Hal crying.

Yes, crying. Because Creepy Kirby really is a nasty piece of work and he knows all about Hal and the lives that he destroyed. He knows just what a monster Hal really was and he threatens to tell Annie all about it.

And then there is Tom. He never grew up with the luxury of a loving family, living on the run as he did with McNair. It is his 21st birthday and he has never even had a birthday cake before. But don’t worry, Creepy Kirby is there to really rub it in.

Spoiler warning: do not read further if you have not seen Being Human – “A Spectre Calls”

Kirby succeeds and soon both Hal and Tom are alienated in their own home. Tom storms out after a fight with Hal, leaving to celebrate his 21st birthday in true British binge-drinking style. Kirby manages to provoke Hal right up to the point where he loses control and Annie sees him as a threat to Eve and kicks him out. We finally see the return of the ambitious vampire-yuppie Cutler (Andrew Gower) when he poses as a lawyer (what else could a vampire-yuppie pose as?) and gets Tom out of jail. He almost convinces Tom that he can trust him but he most certainly cannot!

Damien Molony was incredible in this episode. His range of acting is impressive but I am really looking forward to him losing his temper in the very near future. No one can repress that much rage and violence without a major meltdown occurring.

Talking about meltdowns, Annie went all Rose Tyler / Bad Wolf in this episode and it was freaking amazing. Seriously, look at this:

The star of “A Spectre Calls” was James Lance (and the writers and wardrobe designers). The Toy Man storyline was horrific, as was Kirby’s happy dancing to “Barbara Streisand” towards the end of the episode. Creepy Kirby was really well written and had a fabulous dialogue. Kudos to James Lance for pulling it off so well.

Prime quotes include:

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

and

Kirby: “Dammit, I’m so good I’m Starsky and Hutch!”

Double spoiler warning!!!

So who do you think The Woman (Gina Bramhill) in the television screen is, the one we met in “Eve of the War” from the year 2037? I remain as convinced as ever that she is Eve, determined to end her own life to avoid the final fall to the vampires that we saw in 2037. I think the biggest clue is how sad she was when she thought Annie was gone. This is a girl who would have been brought up by Annie, after all.

And what do you think about Hal’s burnt arm? Has he become the evil foe predicted by the prophecy and will Tom’s blood eventually kill him?

I guess we’ll have to wait until next Sunday for “Hold the Front Page”.

TV Review: Being Human – “The Graveyard Shift”

London 1855. Fergus (Anthony Flanagan) is looking just dandy in his red Crimean War coatee. He's having a fine time taunting a poor servant woman bound, gaged and tied up in a chair. He can’t kills her, he says, it is against protocol and he waxes on about his friend, saying he can’t figure out why everyone is so scared of him.

Fergus: “Sometimes I think the only demon worse than him must be the one he’s fleeing from”

He’s not scared of him, he says. “Not scared of who?”, enquires a voice coming up the stairs. And then we see Hal, shirtless and sporting a moustache, covered in blood. Oh. My. Gosh. Excuse me while I run that back and watch it another dozen times.

It seems that Hal is a very bad vampire, indeed. Not only did he know Fergus but he also knew all Mitchell’s old friends Ivan, Wyndham, and Hettie.

Moving on swiftly to present day, Elbow’s “Grounds for Divorce” blasts as we find Tom (Michael Socha) preparing for a shopping trip with Annie and Eve. Annie (Lenora Crichlow) is reduced to stealing baby food while Tom does his best to creep out the till assistant. Once thing is clear: Hal needs to get a job.

Of course, the idea goes down a storm with the obsessive compulsive vampire who barely manages to keep control by avoiding all human interaction.

Hal (enunciating e.v.e.r.y. syllable): “This is me hanging on by my finger nails and going to work? Out of the question”.

As you can see, Hal loses that particular argument. Doesn’t he just look special in his cafe apron?

Hal: “Seriously, kill me now. You can tell Annie I attacked you or something”.
Tom: "Maybe later".

Meanwhile, Annie and Tom’s little shopping trip didn’t exactly go unnoticed and ~~Mr Weasley~~ Regus (Mark Williams) is not impressed. He didn’t go to all that trouble to spare Eve’s life only to have Annie take risks with her. He warns Annie that Something is coming for Eve but Annie says that prophecies are only dangerous when you start believing in them. Check out Regus’s Team Edward t-shirt!

Back at the cafe, we meet Michaela (Laura Patch), an attention-seeking freak of a wannabe Goth. Michaela is a poet and writer, confident that she will one day write her masterpiece in the cafe just like JK Rowling. Um, yes, right.

The charm of “The Graveyard Shift” is in its priceless one liners and hilarious comedy. In fact, it is almost like a series of sketches, topped off with a nasty surprise. Without spoiling too much of the episode, I will give you seven titbits of hilarity:

The sex scene in the forest where Regus experiences sex through Annie’s eye a little too vicariously for his liking.
The pissing contest between Hal and Tom as they try to get Michaela’s telephone number is brilliant and may I just mention that I would definitely give Hal my number.
Tom (to Michaela): “I like your tights. They look like a bee, and I like bees”.
Annie: “What happened to your face?”
Regus: “My lunch fought back”.
Regus (to Annie): You need to hide in the middle of nowhere. Go to Bangor.
Hal: “I can't live without central heating, carpets and Radio 4”.
Hal picking up a lads mag with a glove and putting it in its rightful place – the bin.

Spoiler warning: do not read further if you have not seen Being Human – “The Graveyard Shift”.

As funny as it was, “The Graveyard Shift” has all the makings of a filler episode until some pretty salient details begin to bleed through. (Bleed, vampire show, get it? Oh, nevermind). For example, the casual way that we learn that Hal is an Old One.

Wait, what? Hal is an Old One!!! That is really serious! Can we trust him with Eve? Of course we can. He couldn’t be that gorgeous and evil too, right? I mean look at Tom Riddle. Oh, wait, moving on…

We learn that Hal used to be massively powerful and that he was known as Lord Harry. That’s pretty funny. A control-freak, obsessive-compulsive, pedantic vampire named Lord Harry? Priceless.

I’m not going to completely spoil the ending for you. Although funny, this is a pretty slow-moving episode and all of the action happens in the final couple of scenes. Suffice to say that I am really sad to lose one of my favourites nemeses ever and am having a hard time accepting that dust is dust and that the vamp is gone for good.

I think the Tom / Hal double act is brilliant and I really like how quickly Michael Socha and Damien Molony settled into their onscreen dynamic. I’m really loving how quirky Hal is and how absolutely seriously he takes himself. He’s not as self-pitying as Mitchell was but he is pretty dark in an entirely different way. I like that Tom and Hal are not just replacements for George and Mitchell but that they are completely different characters and absolutely memorable ones too. Of course, it is no secret that I’ve developed entirely inappropriate feelings for Hal and I love every moment he is on screen. Especially the ones where he is shirtless and sporting a moustache.

Roll on Sunday and episode 4 “A Spectre Calls”.

TV Review: Being Human – “Being Human 1955”

Following the drama, gore and tragedy of season opener "Eve of the War", Being Human returns with "Being Human 1955". This episode is a lot of fun and definitely provides the comic relief we needed after last week.

The episode opens at the Southend-on-Sea barbershop where time stood still. Hal (Damien Molony) and Pearl (Tamla Kari) argue about who should carry out the brutal murder of Hal’s greatest enemy, the spider upstairs. While Hal and Pearl disappear upstairs to commit the crime, Leo remains behind and is contacted through the gramophone by The Woman from the future in “Eve of the War”.

Coming from 2037, I still maintain that she is none other than future Eve but I guess time will tell. Leo interprets the disembodied voice as an angel when she tells him that he must journey west to visit the home of a werewolf and a ghost, who are guardians of the child that will save us all.

Back in Barry, Tom returns home in the early morning after pulling an all-nighter. Annie is not impressed because Tom has broken her precious commandments:

Annie: “Why don’t we just run through them again so that we’re clear?”
Tom: "No smoking, no dialling 0800-numbers. All dishes must be washed, dried and put away, not left to drip. No bringing girls home. Never put a cup down without a coaster. And if I’m gonna be late, two rings.
Annie: "And we're missing one, aren't we?"
Tom: "No killing vampires"

As hilarious as it is that Annie has turned into a fixated ghost-mother hen, that is nothing compared to an obsessive-compulsive vampire who cannot stop at petrol stations situated on the left hand side of the road. And so it is that Hal and Pearl push a stunning 1950s baby-blue Mercedes Benz into the town of Barry. I absolutely love the music, costumes, styling and props surrounding these three characters and I love Hal’s whole stiff and proper old English gentleman act.

The minute the three Southend-on-Sea supernaturals arrive at Annie and Tom’s house, there is tension with Tom nearly driving a stake through Hal’s heart. But they tell them of the “prophecy” and Annie goes into overdrive, preparing a ludicrous ceremony in the hopes that the messiah-like child Eve can cure the ailing Leo.

Not surprisingly, it doesn’t work because, you know, Eve is just a child and far-fetched stuff like that just doesn’t happen. Still, it is becoming ever clearer that Annie completely lost the plot and now we’re adding a really peculiar vampire to the mix.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Hal in this episode. As Leo prepares for his eventual departure, he briefs Annie on the rules for taking care of Hal. We learn that he has been dry for 55 years and that you need to keep him away from people, small dogs, budgies and blood. More important than all of that, they are not to allow him to drink Kia-Ora under any circumstances (and not just because it is a really awful English squash, either).

Leo promises that he’ll tell Annie the rules for taking care of Pearl but we never get a chance to hear those.

BBC Being Human 1955

This episode is about control, dominos, poltergeists and facing your pain and I loved every minute of it. I loved the love story at the at the centre of it all and really liked the ending. Most of all, I enjoyed the scenes with Tom and Hal in the pawn shop. I loved Tom’s reaction to the wolf on the wall and how Hal first holds Tom back from attacking the shopkeeper and then the roles are reversed.

I liked the original Mitchell (Guy Flanagan) from the Being Human pilot in 2008 and I grew to love Aidan Turner as Mitchell in the first three seasons. Now that George, Nina and Mitchell have left the show, I am now happy to say that I adore Damien Molony as Hal. Seriously, none of these promo photos do him justice, he is gorgeous.

BBC Being Human 1955

When the closing credits began to roll on last night’s episode, my only thought was that I do not know how I am going to last an entire week until the next instalment. I guess I’m going to have to re-watch the first two on iPlayer to tide me by! Suffice to say, I am really, really happy with this season of Being Human.

Oooooh! There are a whole load of extras on the Being Human blog!

BBC Being Human - "Being Human 1955" promo stills

TV Review: Being Human – “Eve of the War”

London, 2037. New York has fallen and Earth belongs to the vampires. The current reality is just as grim. Nina is dead, killed by a vampire called Griffin and George (Russell Tovey) is not in a good place as he fervently guards his unnamed new born daughter. Annie is not much better, barely coping with the loss of both her lover and best friend, as well as the dire situation at home with George and the baby. Tom (Michael Socha) really wants to move in to the house with George and Annie (and Splodge as Annie names the baby) but will settle in the meantime for warning George of the coming storm.

Meanwhile, the vampires are becoming bolder as they brazenly take on new recruits and prepare to relieve the world of humanity. Griffin (Alex Jennings) is mobilising his generals, warning of the impending arrival of The Old Ones and promising to gift them with George and Nina’s organic werewolf child. He takes full credit for Nina’s murder, bragging that he “put her down” to punish the werewolf that killed John Mitchell and Windham.

We meet the Vampire Recorder, Regus (Mark Williams, Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films) and the ambitious and traitorous Cutler (Andrew Gower). We also meet the deliciously sinister Fergus (Anthony Flanagan) and young vampire recruit Dewi (Darren Evans), who I really hope we’ll see again in the future.

Meanwhile, over in Southend-on-Sea, a vampire, a ghost and a werewolf live in a house together (stop me if you’ve heard this one before). The aging werewolf Leo (Louis Maloney) has seen more full moons than you can ever imagine and it is his last days. We meet Hal, the gorgeous vampire who is so much better looking than the promo photos ever reflected and the ghost Pearl (Tamla Kari) who seems to be a carbon copy of Annie really. Wait, can you say ‘carbon copy’ when you’re talking about ghosts?

So begins the fourth season of the hit BBC series Being Human. I don’t really think it is accurate any longer to call Being Human a drama-comedy because this is pretty dark stuff. I love the scenes in the vampire nest and those featuring the resistance movement in 2037.

In fact, I pretty much loved everything about this episode. I liked Griffin but I loved Fergus and am really happy that he’s becoming a series regular. I really like Hal, even if the chemistry between him and Pearl is a little new and uncomfortable. I don’t like Cutler but I don’t think you’re really meant to like him. And finally, I love the whole crossover between Being Human and Terminator where Splodge = John Connor. Or so I thought, we’ll have to see if that is who she really was.

Spoiler warning: do not read further if you have not seen Being Human – “Eve of the War”. In fact, you might not want to read this even if you have.

I already knew that Aidan Turner wasn’t returning to Being Human when John Mitchell died at the end of season three. When the start date for season four of Being Human was announced, we also found out that Sinead Keenan (who plays Nina) was not returning at all and that Russell Tovey (George) had announced that season 4 would be his last. What I really, really did not expect was that we would lose George in the first episode. I am heartbroken! Russell Tovey – you will be sorely missed! You were with us from the pilot and made Being Human the incredible show it is.

Despite being sad, I have to say that I was really impressed with the way they handled Sinead Keenan’s sudden departure and I thought the story was really well done. George’s partial turning and subsequent death was really well done too.

I thought the introduction of the new characters was seamless and it lacked the awkwardness you often get in other mass cast introductions (I’m looking at you NCIS Los Angeles).

In a way, I am glad George left in the first episode because it means I don’t have to go the whole season dreading it and going into premature mourning. In my eyes, the writers of Being Human have ever set a foo wrong so I am absolutely excited for the rest of the season with a brand new exciting cast.