"Being Human" Review - North American and United Kingdom Version
I discovered "Being Human" -- the North American version (yes, it takes place in Boston with mostly American characters, but the production company is Canadian so it doesn't feel right calling it the "US version"). I watched the remake first because I couldn't find a free version of the original UK version and holy fucking mother of God it is amazing!!! Quickie synopsis to those who need it: a vampire named Aiden and werewolf named Josh move into a house together in an attempt to be normal, only to discover that it's haunted by a ghost girl named Sally. So the show revolves around these three characters and their attempts at living normal lives. It's more complicated than that, but that's the gist. The story kept me watching any moment I could spare (many late nights, mostly), the characters are likeable and fun (even the Vampire, and I'm not a vampire-nut) and you can relate in some way to at least one of them, and the production quality is holy shit awesome. The acting is great, the writing is superb, and when I read all these people saying the original was better, I felt it was worth opening my closed Netflix account to see the UK version.
And, well, I couldn't help but be a bit...disappointed.
Don't get me wrong - it's good, and they get major points for coming with the original concept. But...I don't know - maybe because it was for a British audience, but while the remake took a LOT from the first season if the UK show, they took those parts and ... I don't want to say "corrected" them, necessarily, but built on it or changed it enough for me to love it rather than like it. Not to mention adding their own stuff and making that awesome too.
The main characters (Mitchell the vampire, George the werewolf, and Annie the ghost) are fine, but I didn't feel as connected with them. I thought at first that it was the fact that the UK version had six 55 minute episodes and the remake had thirteen 45 minute episodes, but I watched all three seasons, and while it improved for George and Annie, with Mitchell it didn't get any better. I don't remember learning anything before he was turned into a vampire (other than he was a soldier in WWI), and mainly snapshots about his life before the series. Though by the third season I was so turned off by him that I didn't really want to know him at all. The lesser characters were, I felt, even less developed and compelling (though that improved as the series went on). George is admittedly more defined as a character than Josh (doesn't stop me from having a fannish crush on Sam Huntington, though -- he's up there with Zach Levi as far as I'm concerned), but ... when the actor (Russel Tovey) is on, he's REALLY on, but when he's not...eh. I kind of wonder what it would've been like with a different actor. And there were some points where I felt a bit of dislike for what his character did, even if I understood it, logically. That aside, I like the development of his character through the series, though, and really hope the NA version does something similar with Josh.
Was the UK version bad? Absolutely not. I even enjoyed a lot of it. But I think I should've watched the original first, because maybe I wouldn't have had such high expectations.
I've also heard a lot of complaints about how in the NA version, the main characters look like they stepped out of the OC, and I'm not sure what to say about that. If they were bad actors, I could understand this, but they aren't -- they managed to impress me a lot, actually. It seems to me as weak a con as those who say "I love the NA version because the people are better-looking). I don't know. I'm just curious.
So, if you're into supernatural drama, some comedy (because it is there, and it's freaking hilarious), and great character and plot, I'd check them both out. See what you think. I've introduced it to my hubby and he loves it. I love being married to someone who's as big a geek as I am. :)
You can watch the remake for free at IMDB or the Syfy channel (as well as Netflix), and I've only been able to find the original on Nefflix.
And, well, I couldn't help but be a bit...disappointed.
Don't get me wrong - it's good, and they get major points for coming with the original concept. But...I don't know - maybe because it was for a British audience, but while the remake took a LOT from the first season if the UK show, they took those parts and ... I don't want to say "corrected" them, necessarily, but built on it or changed it enough for me to love it rather than like it. Not to mention adding their own stuff and making that awesome too.
The main characters (Mitchell the vampire, George the werewolf, and Annie the ghost) are fine, but I didn't feel as connected with them. I thought at first that it was the fact that the UK version had six 55 minute episodes and the remake had thirteen 45 minute episodes, but I watched all three seasons, and while it improved for George and Annie, with Mitchell it didn't get any better. I don't remember learning anything before he was turned into a vampire (other than he was a soldier in WWI), and mainly snapshots about his life before the series. Though by the third season I was so turned off by him that I didn't really want to know him at all. The lesser characters were, I felt, even less developed and compelling (though that improved as the series went on). George is admittedly more defined as a character than Josh (doesn't stop me from having a fannish crush on Sam Huntington, though -- he's up there with Zach Levi as far as I'm concerned), but ... when the actor (Russel Tovey) is on, he's REALLY on, but when he's not...eh. I kind of wonder what it would've been like with a different actor. And there were some points where I felt a bit of dislike for what his character did, even if I understood it, logically. That aside, I like the development of his character through the series, though, and really hope the NA version does something similar with Josh.
Was the UK version bad? Absolutely not. I even enjoyed a lot of it. But I think I should've watched the original first, because maybe I wouldn't have had such high expectations.
I've also heard a lot of complaints about how in the NA version, the main characters look like they stepped out of the OC, and I'm not sure what to say about that. If they were bad actors, I could understand this, but they aren't -- they managed to impress me a lot, actually. It seems to me as weak a con as those who say "I love the NA version because the people are better-looking). I don't know. I'm just curious.
So, if you're into supernatural drama, some comedy (because it is there, and it's freaking hilarious), and great character and plot, I'd check them both out. See what you think. I've introduced it to my hubby and he loves it. I love being married to someone who's as big a geek as I am. :)
You can watch the remake for free at IMDB or the Syfy channel (as well as Netflix), and I've only been able to find the original on Nefflix.