Being Human Series One Finale -- "We've Found Them"

First of all, can we stipulate to the fact that no one, human, vampire, ghost, whatever ... no one should look this good in a hospital bed? And, did Aidan Turner or the producers of this show stuff the blankets to make Mitchell look, uh ... the size of Aidan Shaw?

There's only a few of you who will get that reference, but do send along an email if you do, address here to the right.

This post is for Stacy, who as far as I can tell is the only person who reads this blog regularly who's watching Being Human. To the rest of you, you missed some very good TV.

It's certainly not as amped up and charged with adrenaline and sex and violence as True Blood, but it has its moments, and Toby Whithouse (Doctor Who, School Reunion) has proven himself with this set of shows one of the UK's best young TV writers.

He gave these actors a really strong first series where they all got a chance to take center stage for story arcs. They all delivered solidly, the audience figures on BBC Three were apparently good enough to warrant a second series of six episodes.

And committing to six at a time is a great way to be able to attract top acting talent to projects. Certainly the thought of signing a five-year US TV deal has been enough to scare some of our better actors back to the stage or on to feature films.

Not that there aren't wonderful actors working on network series in the US, there are. But they are fewer and further in between. You have to admit that the cable shows that only shoot 12 or 13 episodes get a class of actor that shows working nine months out of the year don't.

They (actors) seem to like to mix it up. Can't blame them.

Like a lot of the fans on the BBC Being Human blog (which we can now all read without the risk of spoilers) I'll miss the baddie, Herrick (Jason Watkins), but it seems that they do have a new adversary per the old guy interviewing the now-crazed Owen at what was either a mental hospital or a prison, couldn't really tell. More on that below.

Herrick just spat those great lines out with a particular verve that I enjoyed, like these from tonight's series finale:

"I'll chase you all to the end of the world and pick the meat off your bones."

"It's like Top Trumps, werewolf vs. vampire."

And of course, who couldn't just love histrionics that came from the hospital cafeteria worker (billed as Canteen Girl) played by Rebecca Cooper (to the left of Watkins in the image above) in her final scene of the episode with Annie in the funeral home.

Still, my favorite line of the episode was when the priest says to George, "Jewish people pray. I've seen Yentl." Must have been a Jesuit -- they're BIG Streisand fans.

But back to the tone of the show, I like to think of Being Human as the more cerebral creatures of the night series with a tad less violence that's a bit more introspective.

(And, if you think about it, all of this going on in Bristol makes sense in the Toby from Inner Toob sense of the TV universe where everything inside the box is a continuum. It really explains what happened to all those kids from the first two series of Skins, like Jal and Michelle and Cassie and Anwar and Maxxie. Effy and Pandora must have gotten high on spliff and just got on the wrong bus the night of some vampire feeding slaughter, I guess. Wouldn't you love, though, to see Kaya Scodelario pop up on Being Human as a old soul vamp with a hunger for some hot clubgoing stud blood? Doesn't that sound good?)

Much more, including a clip, after the jump.

Okay, one show at a time, one show at a time ...

So, what do we have at the end of this episode to lead us to the next? We have this guy interviewing Owen, who's either in the looney bin or the lockup, going out to his car, phoning a Professor Gennett or Jaggard or ... something with a G or J and some vowels and consonants, I didn't have the subtitles on ... and saying, "We've found them."

He's found who? You can never be sure that this guy is talking about what you think he's talking about. And we have no idea who this professor or his or her agenda.

I'm not even really sure who this guy to the right here on the phone is, you don't remember him from sometime earlier in the show's run, do you?

Anyhow, here's a taste of what's now available to you across the web now that you're complete up to speed. Don't watch the clip below if you haven't seen the first series finale yet. It'll still be here when you do.

If you watch it, you know who survives and who doesn't from the first series. You don't wanna know that, do you?

LINK

Comments

[Toby OB]

1.

You can include me among those who watch 'Being Human'. I have three in queue, now that I'm back from vacation, and will probably knock them back tomorrow in a mini-marathon.

Thanks for the tip o' the hat, and that's an excellent idea - combining 'Being Human' with 'Skins'! (Too bad the option wasn't available for Chris!)

[Joe B.]

2.

Toby, doesn't Chris end up on a planet half populated by humans, half populated by the Hath, and outfitted with a terraforming device?

And, doesn't he develop a case of cystic acne during that trip?

(Sorry, just watched The Doctor's Daughter two days ago.)

About the acne, the DW makeup stuff couldn't do a thing to cover it up, or that WAS them covering it up and the guy needs some ProActiv.

[Toby OB]

3.

Just finished off the 'Being Human' first season. After seeing the pilot, I went into the series most leery about the new Herrick; but now I find I'm going to miss him on the show. From that clip you provided, I'm glad to see that Sinead Keenan (?) will be back as Nina. I think there's a lot to her story we need to find out about.

BBC America did a great job in bringing the 'Torchwood' mini-series to us as quickly as possible. Hopefully they'll do the same (or even quicker!) with the second season of 'Being Human'.... I'd hate to think eager American fans would resort to the bit torrent underground alliance.....

[Toby OB]

4.

"Toby, doesn't Chris end up on a planet half populated by humans, half populated by the Hath, and outfitted with a terraforming device?"

Maybe that was his reincarnation, born to re-run? I just watched three of the last four 'Merlin' episodes stored up while I was on vacation, and saw that he may have had an ancestor who was a childhood friend of 'Merlin'.....