Being Human: Season 1

Best Vampire Show on TV . . .
. . . and best werewolf and best ghost show on TV. Mind you, I like TRUE BLOOD and have even come to see the upside to THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, but both of those are enjoyable diversions with no real subtext (TRUE BLOOD gestures at subtext with its parallels with prejudice against all kinds of difference, but in 2010 that is a pretty worked over subtext and lacks power at this point). But if you want more depth of subtext and a more subtle narrative and richer character development and, well, less garishness, than this is a show you should check out. Not yet available in the U.S. on DVD and Blu-ray (every time I have checked on Amazon I've only seen an outrageously overpriced $70 Blu-ray that never seems to be available -- though if you have an all regions DVD player, you can order an infinitely more affordable edition from Great Britain, which I strongly recommend, I repeat, only if you have an All-Regions player). There are only six episodes in Season One and eight in Seasons Two,...

"This does not rob me of my humanity. It proves it."
"Being Human" is another of the UK's gifts to mankind and has thankfully been imported to our shores unlike the even more awesome Dead Set, which is still only enjoyable to Americans with region free DVD players. The sitcom premise (a werewolf, ghost, and vampire sharing a flat) of this one belies it's flair for the dramatic. Not that Being Human isn't funny; it's very funny, but I wouldn't qualify it as a pure comedy by any stretch. The heart and soul of this show is the relationships between the characters and the strength they are able to muster together outweighing their many individual weaknesses and failings. The British have certainly been gathering a lot of steam on the supernatural/sci-fi television front and soon they may overtake America's offerings altogether. Let's just hope this one lasts.

The cast, then. Mitchell is the classic brooding vampire cut from the Angel mold. That is to say he's a former hell-raiser who has turned over a new leaf and is attempting...

Where's the first episode?
I bought this season and was rather disappointed to find that it is missing the pilot episode which was aired the year before the series was. I was unable to find any way to purchase the pilot episode and ended up viewing it on some Russian(?) video site. The series makes a WHOLE lot more sense if you watch the pilot first!

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