I don't know about you, but I would have been a lot more likely to watch Friends if it included the possibility that once a month, Ross might flip out and maul Chandler limb from limb. Which is why I'm eagerly looking forward to the U.S. premiere of Being Human, recently aired on the BBC and is headed for BBC America later this year.
Brooding Mitchell and nerdy George are hospital janitors in scenic Edinburgh; impish Annie's currently unemployed. They all share a quirky, half-decorated house -- and a very unusual perspective on life. You see, Mitchell's a reluctant vampire, George turns into a bloodthirsty werewolf with every full moon, and Annie's a ghost, tethered to the house in which she died under mysterious circumstances. None of which stops them from bickering over chores, nipping down to the pub, or giving each other grief in highly entertaining ways.
Judging from the pilot episode (largely recast before the show went to series, with only the sweetly dweeby Russell Tovey reprising his role as George), Being Human looks like a very funny show. The pilot includes some great discussion about the various houses in the Harry Potter books, and a three-word response to the old "You've got $10 million, what do you do?" question that made me laugh out loud. I really like the way that creator Toby Whithouse, a veteran of the new Doctor Who and Torchwood, ensures that the humor arises from the characters and their personalities, rather than their unique situations. You'll find no hoary fang puns, fur jokes, or references to white sheets and rattling chains here.
Because when the show's horror elements rise to the surface, they're most definitely not played for laughs. George's transformations are agonizing, alarming, and impressively well-done, and there's a harrowing sequence in the pilot where he finds himself locked in a way-too-secure room with the ex-girlfriend he abandoned after being cursed, with the full moon on the rise. Meanwhile, Mitchell's constantly wrestling with his own murderous urges, and walking a razor's edge with a clique of fellow vampires who resent his benign attitude toward the living. And Annie's quietly horrific description of what she saw after she died is maybe the pilot's single best line of dialogue; it gave me chills.
Sure, Mitchell's storyline is maybe not the most original depiction of modern-day vampires, and yes, George's nocturnal adventures and amusing post-lycanthropic predicaments suggest Whithouse has seen An American Werewolf in London a time or fifteen. Still, the show's blend of unsettling frights and big, warmhearted laughs just works, and works quite well. It pleasantly reminded me of Steven Moffatt's work on Jekyll and Doctor Who (if not quite so cliche-busting or structurally imaginative).
Thanks to YouTube, you can enjoy Being Human and its distinctively tricky tone for yourself. The producers shot three special five-minute prequels to set up the characters before the regular series began, and they each showcase the show's knack for making you laugh and shiver all at once.
George and an obnoxious American go on an ill-fated hike:
Mitchell does a good turn, sort of:
And (my personal favorite), Annie introduces herself to a pair of new housemates:
You'll also find the complete pilot on YouTube; given the extensive recasting, and the fact that it likely won't air over here, I feel OK about linking to it. I also feel OK about encouraging anyone interested in that fine, bloody line between fear and laughter to keep an eye out for the show when it makes its way stateside. We may never have gotten an episode of Friends in which Ross woke up naked in Central Park, covered in assorted bits of Phoebe (and possibly Marcel), but this is easily the next best thing.
