23 July 2014
TV: "Being Human" (season 2)
In its second season, Being Human attempted more ambitious plots. Unfortunately, they aren't particularly successful. The one that works best is the the group of humans trying to "cure" werewolves. (V fnl "pher" orpnhfr gurl frrz zber vagrerfgrq va xvyyvat jbyirf guna phevat gurz.) Gurl'er fpnel, gurl unir n ybtvpny ernfba sbe jung gurl'er qbvat, naq gur eriryngvba nobhg Yhpl vf trahvaryl fubpxvat.
Annie's plot is also pretty good. Her ups-and-downs of ghost life are always compelling, and the idea that the Other Side is angry that she hasn't crossed over leads to some interesting stories. (Vg nyfb yrnqf gb gur snagnfgvp pyvssunatre.)
George's plot is so dull that when I recently re-watched, I had no recollection of having seen it before. And he takes a page out of Mitchell's book and makes some truly horrific decisions. (V zrna, zbivat va jvgu n jbzna ur'f bayl xabja sbe n pbhcyr jrrxf? Naq gura nfxvat ure gb zneel uvz? Naq V jnag gb fznpx Fnz hcfvqr gur urnq: Lbh unir n qnhtugre, jul jbhyq lbh trg vaibyirq jvgu Trbetr fb dhvpxyl???)
Nina's journey dealing with the aftermath of the events of the season 1 finale would have been more captivating if she hadn't disappeared for several episodes. (Since there's only eight episodes in the season, she was gone for a significant percentage of the season.)
Mitchell, big shock, continues to make bad decisions. At least this season he starts out with good intentions.
I feel like I'm saying I didn't enjoy this season, when I actually did. Just like with the first season, this show is saved by the little moments and stories: Annie and Nina's growing friendship. (V ybir gung Naavr fgnlf jvgu Avan sbe ure svefg shyy zbba.) The episode where Annie helps a psychic. The scene where Annie tells George & Mitchell that she's applying for a job. Mitchell (figuratively) turning into George when he tries to talk to Lucy. George correcting the grammar of a graffiti insult someone wrote about him. Etc.
Those moments are why I love this show.
Labels: Being Human, review: TV
16 July 2014
TV: "Being Human" (season 1)
Possibly the greatest wunza plot in the history of television:
"A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost are roommates."
That's the basic description of the show, and it's also the strength of the show. The main characters are amazing, and their interactions and friendships are why I originally got hooked on it.
It certainly wasn't for the plot. The first season's grand, over-arching story is a big bowl of meh. Something about vampires trying to take over the world? I think? I just re-watched it, and I'm still fuzzy on the details. It doesn't make sense and it's not interesting.
The smaller-scale plots are much better. George dealing with his curse, and his awkward and tentative relationship with Nina. Annie's struggles with why she's still here, and her feelings for her still-living fiance. Mitchell... Well, Mitchell sure is pretty. Unfortunately, he spends a lot of time being angsty and making poor decisions. But pretty!
The main characters really are fantastic, and the moments highlighting their friendships are an absolute joy.
Spoilers:
Jura V svefg jngpurq vg, V qvqa'g arprffnevyl pner sbe Avan be Naavr, ohg obgu vzcebir hcba er-jngpuvat. Avan frrzrq pbyq naq obffl, ohg abj V rawbl ure gnxr-ab-fuvg nggvghqr. Naavr vavgvnyyl fhssrerq sebz orvat fb fgrerbglcvpnyyl tveyl: jrnx, zrrx, bofrffrq jvgu ure svnapr... Ohg jura lbh xabj zber bs ure fgbel, fur znxrf n ybg zber frafr, naq frrvat ure wbhearl vf jbaqreshy.
Vg'f vagrerfgvat gb zr gung -- ba jung vf bfgrafvoyl n ubeebe fubj -- gur fpnevrfg punenpgre vf n uhzna. Gung fprar jura Bjra pbzsbegf uvf arj tveysevraq, gryyvat ure gung gur Naavr-tubfg vfa'g erny, juvyr ur'f ybbxvat evtug ng Naavr, vf nofbyhgryl puvyyvat.
V ernyyl yvxrq Trbetr gur svefg gvzr V jngpurq, ohg ur fhssref n yvggyr sebz ercrng ivrjvatf. Ur fgnegf gb frrz juvarl.
Naq Zvgpuryy, lbh ner n zrff. V ybir uvf sevraqfuvcf jvgu Trbetr naq Naavr, ohg bgurejvfr ur vf n gbgny qvfnfgre.
Labels: Being Human, review: TV
20 May 2014
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Adam's Family" (3.02):
[Adam is staying with George, Mitchell, and Annie for a few days.]
George: Home sweet home.
Adam: It's a shit hole.
George: Yes, but it's our shit hole, so show some manners.
[Adam is staying with George, Mitchell, and Annie for a few days.]
George: Home sweet home.
Adam: It's a shit hole.
George: Yes, but it's our shit hole, so show some manners.
Labels: Being Human
10 August 2013
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Sticks and Ropes" (5.2):
[Hal and Tom are competing for "Employee of the Month" honors at their workplace.]
Tom: What's that you're doing?
Hal: I'm disinfecting the keyboard with pure alcohol and a cotton ball.
Tom: I'd never think of doing that. I'm never gonna win this competition, am I?
Hal: This isn't part of the competition. Doesn't everyone do this?
[Hal and Tom are competing for "Employee of the Month" honors at their workplace.]
Tom: What's that you're doing?
Hal: I'm disinfecting the keyboard with pure alcohol and a cotton ball.
Tom: I'd never think of doing that. I'm never gonna win this competition, am I?
Hal: This isn't part of the competition. Doesn't everyone do this?
Labels: Being Human
29 July 2013
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Pie and Prejudice" (5.3):
Hal: Lady Mary is a ghost, who died some years ago.
Alex: Wait a minute... You know a ghost [other than me]? Another female ghost? And you didn't tell me?!?
Hal: Because I knew there was no point. You really wouldn't get on.
Alex: Well, I think that's for me and my new best mate Mary to decide, don't you?
Hal: Absolutely not. Lady Mary is a shy, fragile creature, with an innocence I am determined to protect.
Alex: What, you think I would corrupt her?
Hal: I think you'd corrupt Keith Richards.
Hal: Lady Mary is a ghost, who died some years ago.
Alex: Wait a minute... You know a ghost [other than me]? Another female ghost? And you didn't tell me?!?
Hal: Because I knew there was no point. You really wouldn't get on.
Alex: Well, I think that's for me and my new best mate Mary to decide, don't you?
Hal: Absolutely not. Lady Mary is a shy, fragile creature, with an innocence I am determined to protect.
Alex: What, you think I would corrupt her?
Hal: I think you'd corrupt Keith Richards.
Labels: Being Human
05 June 2013
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Hold the Front Page" (4.5):
Annie: You know, when I was sixteen, a photographer told me I was pretty enough to be in a catalogue. Yeah, a catalogue, Hal. You don't hear me going on about it.
Hal: I've only been here a few weeks, and you've already told me twice.
Annie: You know, when I was sixteen, a photographer told me I was pretty enough to be in a catalogue. Yeah, a catalogue, Hal. You don't hear me going on about it.
Hal: I've only been here a few weeks, and you've already told me twice.
Labels: Being Human
24 February 2013
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Being Human 1955" (4.02):
Tom: I ain't done naught!
Annie: You haven't done anything.
Tom: Exactly!
Annie: No, Tom, I'm not agreeing with you. Your grammar is appalling.
Tom: I ain't done naught!
Annie: You haven't done anything.
Tom: Exactly!
Annie: No, Tom, I'm not agreeing with you. Your grammar is appalling.
Labels: Being Human
31 January 2013
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From the second episode of series two:
[Mitchell is a vampire who's trying to stop drinking blood. He's talking to his roommate, George, about previous attempts to get clean.]
Mitchell: One of the times I properly tried to quit drinking blood, I was living with this vampire, Carl. And he helped me. He's been clean for, I don't know, twenty years now --
George: You... um, sorry. You lived with someone, before me?
Mitchell: What? Yeah, lots of people.
George: But... who?
Mitchell: [baffled by the question] Vampires? People-people, I don't know!
George: People?! Oh, well, that's it.
Mitchell: Oh, god. Don't get all --
George: What? What?
Mitchell: You! Don't get all "you" about this. Of course I've lived with other people. You think I've spent the past hundred years waiting for you and your three different kinds of upholstery cleaner to show up?
[Mitchell is a vampire who's trying to stop drinking blood. He's talking to his roommate, George, about previous attempts to get clean.]
Mitchell: One of the times I properly tried to quit drinking blood, I was living with this vampire, Carl. And he helped me. He's been clean for, I don't know, twenty years now --
George: You... um, sorry. You lived with someone, before me?
Mitchell: What? Yeah, lots of people.
George: But... who?
Mitchell: [baffled by the question] Vampires? People-people, I don't know!
George: People?! Oh, well, that's it.
Mitchell: Oh, god. Don't get all --
George: What? What?
Mitchell: You! Don't get all "you" about this. Of course I've lived with other people. You think I've spent the past hundred years waiting for you and your three different kinds of upholstery cleaner to show up?
Labels: Being Human
30 August 2012
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Adam's Family" (4.2):
George: Home sweet home.
Adam: It's a shit hole.
George: Yes, but it's our shit hole, so show some manners.
George: Home sweet home.
Adam: It's a shit hole.
George: Yes, but it's our shit hole, so show some manners.
Labels: Being Human
15 July 2012
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "A Spectre Calls" (5.4):
[Hal and Tom look at the schedule Annie has made.]
Tom: 7am, I feed the baby. 8am, you walk the baby. There's a task for every hour and it's colour-coded.
Hal: Little pictures of nappies and bottles. And glitter. She's planned every moment of every minute of every day of our lives.
Tom: We must destroy this.
[Hal and Tom look at the schedule Annie has made.]
Tom: 7am, I feed the baby. 8am, you walk the baby. There's a task for every hour and it's colour-coded.
Hal: Little pictures of nappies and bottles. And glitter. She's planned every moment of every minute of every day of our lives.
Tom: We must destroy this.
Labels: Being Human
06 May 2012
I Love the Title of this Clip
14 April 2012
Get a Job, Hal
Tonight was the season finale of Being Human. I am sad; my reasons are twofold. One: It was a good season and I am bummed that it's over. Two: It was a sad, sad episode.
Here's a clip from happier times:
Here's a clip from happier times:
Labels: Being Human
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Puppy Love" (4.6):
[Tom fancies a girl; 500-year-old vampire Hal is giving Tom advice.]
Hal: Then it is time to declare your intentions! First, write her a poem. Then speak to her father.
Tom: Annie said I should just get drunk and try and to snog her.
Hal: It's all so brutish these days! I preferred the dowry system.
[Tom fancies a girl; 500-year-old vampire Hal is giving Tom advice.]
Hal: Then it is time to declare your intentions! First, write her a poem. Then speak to her father.
Tom: Annie said I should just get drunk and try and to snog her.
Hal: It's all so brutish these days! I preferred the dowry system.
Labels: Being Human
07 April 2012
House Rules
Season four of Being Human (UK version, I couldn't get into the US version) is VERY different than the previous three seasons. It took me a couple of episodes to adjust, but now I love it!
Here Annie (a ghost) is explaining to her new roommate Tom (a werewolf) the house rules:
Here Annie (a ghost) is explaining to her new roommate Tom (a werewolf) the house rules:
Labels: Being Human
20 November 2011
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "The Pack" (4.4):
McNair: You know what I don't understand? Is what a clean and kind girl like you is doing with a vampire.
Annie: How did you know?!
McNair: I see things. Live the life we do, pays to know who's safe and who's a threat.
Annie: Look. My first boyfriend took naked photos of me while I was asleep and put them on the internet. My second boyfriend got drunk and asked my mum for a threesome. My third boyfriend pushed me down the stairs and killed me. So I think a vampire's pretty much... marriage material, given my track record.
McNair: You know what I don't understand? Is what a clean and kind girl like you is doing with a vampire.
Annie: How did you know?!
McNair: I see things. Live the life we do, pays to know who's safe and who's a threat.
Annie: Look. My first boyfriend took naked photos of me while I was asleep and put them on the internet. My second boyfriend got drunk and asked my mum for a threesome. My third boyfriend pushed me down the stairs and killed me. So I think a vampire's pretty much... marriage material, given my track record.
Labels: Being Human
29 September 2011
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From "Daddy Ghoul" (3.6)
George: I like watching you sleep. I look at you and I think, "She's mine. She's all mine."
Nina: Hm. That's sweet. Creepy and slightly Ted Bundy-esque. But sweet.
George: I like watching you sleep. I look at you and I think, "She's mine. She's all mine."
Nina: Hm. That's sweet. Creepy and slightly Ted Bundy-esque. But sweet.
Labels: Being Human
21 June 2011
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From episode 2.6:
[Two ghosts have a conversation...]
Robin: Christmas 1998. Faulty panto pyrotechnic. One minute I'm standing in the wings watching Widow Twankey belt out a chorus of "La Vida Loca" the next? Bang! Flat out on my back with every hair on my body standing to attention.
Annie: Gosh, that's awful.
Robin: It was a terrible shock.
Annie: Yeah, I bet it was.
Robin: No, I mean literally: it was a terrible shock. That's what killed me.
[Two ghosts have a conversation...]
Robin: Christmas 1998. Faulty panto pyrotechnic. One minute I'm standing in the wings watching Widow Twankey belt out a chorus of "La Vida Loca" the next? Bang! Flat out on my back with every hair on my body standing to attention.
Annie: Gosh, that's awful.
Robin: It was a terrible shock.
Annie: Yeah, I bet it was.
Robin: No, I mean literally: it was a terrible shock. That's what killed me.
Labels: Being Human
08 April 2011
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From episode 6.1:
[George is visiting his friend Mitchell in the hospital, and the hospital vicar, Mark, comes to Mitchell's room.]
Mark: If you're non-believers that's fine, we can just sit together for a few moments of quiet contemplation.
George: Contemplation about what?
Mark: The fiery oblivion that awaits all atheists?
George: Oh, it's not that. I'm Jewish and... [gestures to Mitchell] he's complicated.
Mark: Jewish people pray, I've seen Yentl.
George: You're very sarcastic for a vicar.
Mark: Yeah, so people tell me. I feel very bad about it, and then I forgive myself.
[George is visiting his friend Mitchell in the hospital, and the hospital vicar, Mark, comes to Mitchell's room.]
Mark: If you're non-believers that's fine, we can just sit together for a few moments of quiet contemplation.
George: Contemplation about what?
Mark: The fiery oblivion that awaits all atheists?
George: Oh, it's not that. I'm Jewish and... [gestures to Mitchell] he's complicated.
Mark: Jewish people pray, I've seen Yentl.
George: You're very sarcastic for a vicar.
Mark: Yeah, so people tell me. I feel very bad about it, and then I forgive myself.
Labels: Being Human
08 March 2011
Quote of the Day: Being Human
From episode 2.8:
Lucy: I saw Amy McBride this morning.
Kemp: Amy McBride is dead.
Lucy: She spoke to me. She said, "It's coming."
Kemp: What is?
Lucy: Retribution, my stuff from Amazon... she didn't go into detail.
Lucy: I saw Amy McBride this morning.
Kemp: Amy McBride is dead.
Lucy: She spoke to me. She said, "It's coming."
Kemp: What is?
Lucy: Retribution, my stuff from Amazon... she didn't go into detail.
Labels: Being Human
24 November 2010
British -> American
Syfy is remaking "Being Human", a very enjoyable BBC show. Initial clips look promising, but I'm not sure what the point is. Can't Americans just watch the original? Is making the characters (a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost) American going to change them in some fundamentally interesting way?
Last Sunday the History Channel premiered their version of "Top Gear". It had some good moments, and the race car driver host (Tanner something-or-other) was cool, but still -- what's the point?
I guess time will tell.
Last Sunday the History Channel premiered their version of "Top Gear". It had some good moments, and the race car driver host (Tanner something-or-other) was cool, but still -- what's the point?
I guess time will tell.
Labels: Being Human, Top Gear, TV
