Monster Mash

What I'm Watching: Being Human (US) - Season 2

I don't have a problem with the whole supernatural creature (vampire, werewolf, zombie, etc.) craze going on in entertainment right now, but it does seem like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel as far good ideas. We've come a long way since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and unfortunately, it's been mostly downhill. If someone comes along with a fresh take on things, though, I'm always willing to hop on board.

Being Human started out as a British television show, and follows the stories of a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost, both individually and as a group of housemates. It was adapted into an American version, and I mostly enjoyed the first season, so I figured I'd tune in for Season 2 as well.


The show does some things better than others. As far as the individual stories, the vampire saga is fairly weak. It seems to split mostly evenly between vampire-with-a-heart-of-gold treacle and power-struggles-within-the-council-of-vampires tedium. The werewolf story is fairly standard, and tracks the character's self-loathing and attempts to forge some sort of relationship with the woman he adores. Things are picking up in the current season, with pregnancy and werewolf infection getting thrown into the mix. The ghost story is the most interesting to me, as it progresses in multiple directions, from Sally's haunting of her murderous fiancee to her exploration of manipulating objects in the physical world to her search for the reasons she hasn't moved on to the next realm.

The group scenes are the best. The three otherworldly roommates have great chemistry, and it's fun to watch them commiserate about being outcasts, support each other's plans, and wildly misunderstand what makes each other tick. You get the sense that if you woke up as a hellish beast tomorrow, it would all be bearable if you could hang out with pals like these. Even if they do occasionally behead their boss or melt through the wall.

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