Being Human (British TV series)
Being Human | |
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File:Being Human promo.jpg Aidan Turner, Russell Tovey and Lenora Crichlow in a promotional image from the show | |
Genre | Drama, Horror, Comedy |
Created by | Toby Whithouse |
Starring | Lenora Crichlow Russell Tovey Aidan Turner |
Country of origin | ![]() |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 + 1 pilot (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Rob Pursey |
Producer | Matthew Bouch |
Cinematography | Tim Palmer (pilot); Nic Morris (series) |
Editors | Paul Endacott (Episodes 3 and 4) |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Three BBC HD |
Release | 18 February 2008 (pilot) 25 January 2009 (series) |
Being Human is a British television drama/horror/comedy series, broadcast on BBC Three. It stars Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey and Aidan Turner[1] as three twenty-something characters sharing a house in Bristol, trying to live a normal social life, despite being a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire.
Following the success of a pilot broadcast in February 2008, a six part series began on 25 January 2009 on BBC Three.[2][3]
Commissioning
The pilot episode was broadcast at 9pm on 18 February 2008 as part of the re-branding of BBC Three along with several other pilots (including West 10 LDN). Danny Cohen, the controller of BBC Three, had stated that a full series from either one or two of these pilots would be produced; the other to be commissioned was Phoo Action,[4] a decision which was later reversed.[5]
An online petition lobbying BBC Three commissioning editors to greenlight a full series was set up by a journalist from the Reading Chronicle newspaper as part of a review of the show.[6] The article and petition drew traffic from across the world and with the latter now having been signed by over 3,000 people.[7]
Differences from the pilot
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/56/BeingHumanPilot.jpg/220px-BeingHumanPilot.jpg)
Several cast changes have been made for the series, although Russell Tovey returned as George. Mitchell, originally portrayed by Guy Flanagan, is played by Aidan Turner, and Annie is now portrayed by Lenora Crichlow rather than Andrea Riseborough. Jason Watkins replaced Adrian Lester as a "more down-to-earth" version of Herrick.[8] The character of Lauren also returned in the full series, with Annabel Scholey taking on the role from Dominique McElligott.[9]
Producer Matthew Bouch has described the series as "less gothic and slightly more rooted" and "a bit funnier". Bouch has described the series as "kind of a reboot" of the narrative in the pilot.[2] Nevertheless, writer Toby Whithouse said in an interview that he does consider the pilot canon[10].
Characters
Main characters
John Mitchell (Aidan Turner)[11] is a quiet, calm vampire working as a hospital orderly. He does not want to kill anyone and seems to hate his condition, struggling to control his lust for blood and sometimes failing to be human. He looks out for George, particularly around the full moon. Irish by birth, he was originally bitten during the First World War by his commanding officer Herrick. He faces a conflict of emotions as he debates the possibility of saving several people by biting them to prevent them dying as he did with those troops under his command in the First World War. In the 1960s, Herrick gives Mitchell the opportunity to kill a young girl that they have lured into their car. Mitchell shows guilt and anger at the easiness of the kill and lets her go. He tells Herrick that she escaped, prompting the suspicious Herrick to say he will keep a closer eye on Mitchell.[12]
Like other vampires, Mitchell has enhanced strength and smell, and his eyes turn completely black when he has blood-lust or when he wills it; though it appears that he is slightly weaker when he abstains from drinking blood, he can survive without it. He is not reflected in anything "silver-backed", making him invisible in mirrors and on camera, but is reflected in transparent surfaces such as windows. Mitchell has himself admitted that he is over 100 years old. Although he can survive daylight, his eyes are overly-sensitive to natural light, prompting him to wear sunglasses whenever outside in the daytime.
George Sands (Russell Tovey):[13] is less socially adept than Mitchell, despite his high IQ. He became a werewolf when on a holiday to Scotland. He went out for a walk with an American tourist, they get lost and when darkness falls they are attacked by a werewolf. The American was killed but George was only scratched when the rescue services found him[14]. It is later revealed that the werewolf who attacked him is a man called Tully who comes looking for him so that he no longer is alone.
After becoming a werewolf, he left his family, job and fiancee, afraid of hurting them. He works alongside Mitchell as an orderly in the local hospital, unable to hold down a more permanent job due to his monthly transformations which are extremely painful. George can anticipate his transformations fairly well,as they appear to occur at a specific time. According to Mitchell, George suffers liver and kidney failure and a heart attack each time he transforms. When in human form, George has an enhanced sense of smell. As the full moon approaches George's behaivour also becomes more wolfish, prone to violent and animalistic moods. As George starts to transform, he loses higher brain functions and gains claws and fangs, attacking those nearby. When fully transformed, George becomes covered in hair, slightly gains in mass and has an elongated snout. George is Jewish.[15]
Anna "Annie" Clare Sawyer (Lenora Crichlow)[16] is an insecure ghost who haunts the house she and her fiancé lived in while she was alive, and is unwilling to leave it. Annie appears in the clothes she was wearing when she died which change subtly depending on her state of mind.[17] It was recently revealed that Annie was killed by her fiancee, Owen, after he found a thong in her possession. Annie's ability to be seen and heard by normal people depends on her state of mind, though supernatural creatures such as werewolves, vampires and other ghosts can always see her. Annie also seems to be able to teleport short distances. When Annie discovers her cause of death, she becomes a poltergeist, which allows her to move objects without touching them and turn machines on. However, it seems that she can't control these newfound abilities, which only activate in times of extreme emotion (along with her teleportation).
William Herrick (Jason Watkins) is a socially powerful vampire who is interested in the way Mitchell lives his life. They used to be close partners but grew apart as Mitchell decided to try and control his vampire urges. Mitchell has a flashback in Episode 1 which reveals Herrick to be the vampire who bit him having been in the First World War as well.
Episodes
Pilot (2008)
# | Episode | Writer | Director | Original air date | Viewing figure[18] |
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Series One (2009)
# | Episode | Writer | Director | Original air date | Viewing figure[19]
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Reception
Reviews for the series have been overwhelmingly postive, with TV Scoop praising the idea and commending the acting. [20]
Production
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Shoot_of_the_TV_drama%2C_Being_Human.jpg/220px-Shoot_of_the_TV_drama%2C_Being_Human.jpg)
Set in Bristol and filmed on location, Being Human shows views of Clifton Suspension Bridge and Clifton Village. The characters' shared house is located in Totterdown, Bristol, and the Shakespeare pub shown in the closing minutes of the pilot is located on the same street in Totterdown as the rented house. The hospital that the characters work in is mostly filmed in and around the Bristol General Hospital.
To promote the show, the BBC launched a blog.[21] On the 22nd of December 2008, the BBC Being Human web page launched three prequel videos that introduced the three main characters by explaining their back-stories. Mitchell's was set in the 1960s, George's was a video diary of his visit of Scotland where he got attacked and Annie's involved her as a ghost terrorising a couple who had moved into the house. [22]
References
- ^ "Being Human - introduction". BBC Press Office. 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
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(help) - ^ a b Holmwood, Leigh (15 December 2008). "2009 TV Preview: 'Being Human' the series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ "Being Human – Sunday 25 January". Radio Times. BBC Magazines. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (19 February 2008). "BBC3 to air full series of Phoo Action". Guardian. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "BBC3 drops new drama Phoo Action". The Guardian. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Bahar, Narin (21 February 2008). "If this is what Being Human means I love it". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ Bahar, Narin (07 March 2008). "More humanity". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Bahar, Narin (04 November 2008). "Newly human: Meet the new Annie and Mitchell". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 4 Unplaced 2009" (Press release). BBC Press Office. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/beinghuman/2009/02/tobys_blog_the_myths_and_more.html
- ^ "Being Human: Mitchell". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ BBC Being Human: Prequels Archives Blog http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/beinghuman/prequels/
- ^ "Being Human: George". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ BBC Being Human: Prequels Archives Blog http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/beinghuman/prequels/
- ^ "Russell Tovey ('Being Human')". Digital Spy. 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ "Being Human: Annie". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ Behind the scenes costume and make-up BBC
- ^ "Strong ratings for 'Lost', 'Being Human'". Digital Spy. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ See relevant week. BARB.
- ^ http://www.tvscoop.tv/2008/02/tv_review_being.html
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/beinghuman/
- ^ BBC Being Human: Prequels Archives Blog http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/beinghuman/prequels/
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- Official presspack at BBC Press Office