Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Being Human Being Gone

With this song on January 17, 2011, a new tv show premiered that soon became one of my and my wife's favorite shows. BEING HUMAN. Then on April 7, 2014, after 4 seasons the run is over, at the creators request. It has been a long time since a show has affected me like this one and I am going to try to write out why that is.

I guess it was one of the first shows that had a very big social media prescence, I tweeted episodes and met new people who have since become friends as we shared in this great series. Also the main cast members used Social Media to their advantage as well by detailing behind the scenes events, pictures, and live tweeting the shows. So it seems like you got a really good glimpse into what made this show special.

Sammy Huntington, Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, and Kristin Hager always tweeted and even tweeted at each other. You could tell from these tweets that they loved working on the show, that they loved working with each other, and that they were truly sad when this adventure was over. These 4 were one of the main reasons that this show ruled. They appeared to be friends and real life which added to their TV friendship as well.

It all started with the Brits. The British seem to have some of the greatest ideas ever and this one was no different, and idea that seemed so obvious that you smack your head and say why didnt I think of this? They created a show called Being Human, the basic premise was a vampire and a werewolf are friends and they move into a house that is haunted by a ghost. Just like that 3 of the biggest horror creatures are joined together as they try to find a way to live a normal life while being extraordinary. It took off in Britain so much so that the Syfy network decided they needed their own American Version as well. Now usually that pisses me off we always try to do our version of certain shows, and the British are the same way they try to do British versions of our shows. But history goes to Britain as they have more shows that get americanized then vice versa. But in this case the creators of the show were going to produce and develop the American Version which is so much better when the creators take over to make sure that it is done right. They soon were not as hands on after the first season was a huge success and then they let their American Counterparts take over while they still produced from afar.

Now the show is more about the characters then the stories. It is how these characters deal with trying to be normal when they cannot be, but they do not give up. It is unfortunate though that life has other plans for them and their extraordinary lives continue to mess them up. This is not a happy show. Yes there is a lot of humor, and fun to be had, but there is alot of darkness and despair, some romance blossoms as well but the dark pervades and makes it hard for our heroes to have a happy ending.

We have Josh (Sammy Huntington) the Jewish Neurotic Werewolf, brillant but underutilized due to his constant fear of losing control of the wolf. He feels he cannot have a normal life because when the wolf comes out it can kill you, or turn you into a werewolf and he does not want the guilt. And guilt he has. Guilt about the loss of his friend who was savaged by the werewolf that turned Josh, guilt in leaving his fiancee Julia at the altar because he did not want to harm her when he wolfed out. Guilt at the murders he causes when in the wolf form, even if it is protecting himself or his loved ones. Guilt at turning Nora (Kristin Hager) a brillant doctor whom he loves into a werewolf and even taking the guilt of what she does in the wolf onto himself. More on Nora in a bit.

We have Aidan (Sam Witwer) the brooding guilt ridden vampire who has lived for 200 plus years and has gone from mean son of a bitch, to a mere shadow of his usual self. He now just wants to live a normal life without causing anymore death and destruction. He no longer feeds on people but bags of blood he gets from the hospital where he works as a nurse. That is also where he befriended Josh and though Werewolves and Vampires are mortal enemies the two of them became best friends and they both have the same desire to be free of their horror and just live normal lives without guilt. So the two decide to move in together as roomates so that they can try to have a normal life. Of course nothing goes as planned as the house they move into is haunted by a ghost.

Sally (Meaghan Rath) was killed in the house the boys moved into by her abusive fiancee Danny and she is stuck there. But when these two extraordinary guys move in, who due to their afflictions, can see and interact with Sally. So now we have three people all trying to live as normal a life as they can. They have fun, they try to encourage each other, they help each other and it's all good. But the horror is still around them.

Nora (Kristin Hager) was turned into a werewolf by Josh, and impregnanted as well while in mid change. She had a miscarriage and does not take well to her new life as a werewolf. Josh feels guilt because it was an accident. And Nora is kind of unlikable in the first two seasons, but when you look at what is happening to her your hatred of her vanishes and then in the last two seasons Nora comes around and becomes an important of the story and another friend for the trio. This gives Sally a gal pal that they can talk girly stuff about as well. And Nora loves Josh, but sometimes his neurosis gets to her and she is also fighting off an abusive ex boyfriend who burned her.

Their lives go through so much upheval in the four seasons that it is crazy that they still remain true to their goal of Being Human. The first season set up the friendships and we discover the evil that his danny, and also the fact that Aidan still slips and kills people, Josh's neurosis is on full bore here and the crew takes on the head of the vampire crew in Boston who also happens to be Aidan's "father" Bishop. Bishop turned Aidan and has tried to keep him within the family despite many ups and downs.

Second season has Nora not taking her change to well and ends up disappearing from Josh's life for ahwile and hanging with a purebred werewolf brother and sister. Josh feels guilt about Nora and is trying to discover a cure for the werewolf problem soon gets re-involved with his ex-fiancee only to see her get killed when he turns during an eclipse. Aidan is now grooming the new head of the Boston Vampires an old flame of his who he gets involved with again. As well as the reemergence of his "son" Henry whom he turned. Sally discovers the ability to shread which is the power to kill other ghosts. She also learns she can enter bodies and feel their feels. She is being stalked by something known as the Reaper.

The Third season was the wish fulfillment season whereas at the end of the 2nd season Josh is no longer a Werewolf and he and Nora are back together. After two years of searching for Aidan and Sally who have disappeared, we get the return of Aidan who returns to a world where a virus is decimating the Vampire population, and Aidan appears to be immune to it. The virus culls the vampire horde who cannot feed on humans in case they get infected. So Aidan now lives and reigns in a world where all the vampires are like him. And Sally discovers a way back into her body and is reanimated.  However we learn that especially with this crew things dont stay good for long, as we learn that Aidan is facing a shortage of good blood and he may die soon, but finds a new human who is not infected, Kenny who declares that the only way he will feed Aidan is if he becomes a vampire. Aidan eventually turns Kenny, but all does not go well. Josh after being free of the wolf for two years gets attacked by a pureblood and rebitten and turns into a pureblood, and Sally starts to degenerate into a zombie like life form.

Finally the 4th season wraps it all up as Josh tries to come to terms with his new form, Nora is pregnant again, Aidan has to deal with the return of his wife who was also turned into a vampire by Bishop unknown to Aidan, and Sally learns magic but while trying to be helpful actually causes more troubles. We also learn that she has fallen in love with Aidan.

Those are just brief nuggets of the 4 seasons, a lot more goes on in there then I wrote and I highly suggest you look them up and watch them. All are 13 episode seasons which is another reason why it is so good since you have a tight taut storyline, and also these characters are wonderfully portrayed, I cannot go on about how good the acting is. The storyline's are also intriguing but it's the characters that sell the show. These are people I would like to hang out with myself. The finale is a good example of this, after all the darkness and horrific scenes they have lived through that they SPOILER WARNING!! Get their Happy Endings. Aidan is free of Vampire form and dies and goes to the afterlife where Sally is waiting, and Nora and Josh live happily together with their twin children living a regular human life. In the end they all get what they want and it is good.

The last episode was picture perfect, tying up loose ends and giving everyone what I longed for these wonderful people a happy ending. Again the characters make the story, the actors bring them to life and Being Human was a perfect blend of actor and character. You will be missed my friends. I will be picking up all 4 seasons so I can watch them anytime I want. You should too.