TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly
I intentionally held off reviewing the launch of series two of Being Human (Sunday, BBC3) last week. Partly because the world went bonkers for Glee but partly to wait and see how the second episode panned out, given that the first instalment was something of a let down, feeling out of step with the tone of the first year. Instead of reacting with a vitriolic OMG! bEING HUmaN IZ OVER!!1! review, I decided to cool off, wait a week and see if things settled down.
The best flat share drama since Spaced, Being Human centres on a Vampire, a Ghost and a Werewolf living together in Bristol and trying their best to hold down normal lives despite their need for blood / being dead / transforming every 28 days. What sounds like a flimsy gimmick is actually the most nuanced exploration of contemporary relationships and twenty-something lifestyle on TV; their surrogate family and various supernatural conditions serving as neat metaphors for 21st century life – drug addiction, STIs, isolation etc. Avoiding gothic clichés, the show revels in juxtaposing breezy banter with emotional punches and proper body horror.
Episode one wasn’t bad per se but so focused on setting up the series arc that it lacked enough plot to sustain itself and neglected the humour that usually gives the show its heart. Thankfully, with the groundwork now in place, the second episode flew. Achingly romantic, helluva scary and wonderfully offbeat (containing a trippy cameo from Terry Wogan no less) this story was perfect; exceeding even the high standards of the previous season with several bravado set-pieces, any one of which would be the envy of many a more mainstream programme. If you can forgive a sub-par opener (and you can) then series two of Being Human seems to be back on track and well worth sinking your teeth into (ho-ho).
Being Human is available to rewatch on the iplayer.