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The season finale of Being Human surprised me. Better than I expected. [I state this while half-watching a cringe-worthy episode of Brothers and Sisters - which is so being canceled after this episode it isn't even funny. Cliche after cliche after cliche. Ugh. Example of when melodrama does not work. And before you state you never watch melodrama...if you watched Whedon and love Whedon - you watched melodrama. *cough*Amends*cough* and ahem, Hole in the World? There just happens to be "good" melodrama and really bad cliche ridden melodrama.]
Being Human, and I probably should mention just so there's no confusion - I'm referring to the British series not the Syfy remake. If you don't like the Brit series, it's highly unlikely you will like the Syfy version - if you do like the Brit series, the Syfy version will irritate you. It irritated me. So why bother? I tried watching the pilot for 20 minutes and gave up. Yes, it was that bad. And I watch a lot of cringeworthy tv, so I know whereof I speak. Once again we got a remake that has all the flaws but none of the strengths of the original. This is not always the case by the way - AMC remade a Norweigian mystery series entitled The Killing which is actually pretty good.
The British version while definitely flawed - has some fine dramatic moments that stick with you long after it is over. It also manages to do something that I haven't seen an American series do and I'm willing to bet the remake won't attempt. American television writers tend to be wimps - in part because they are so dependent on advertising dollars. It's not that they don't take risks, on occasion, but rarely to the degree Being Human did. Whedon certainly never did. Sure he killed off his leads, but only to bring them back the next season somewhat shaken, maybe a little nutty, but overall intact. That's not risk, folks, that's a cliche. Soap operas, comic books, and gothic horror serials have been doing that for the past twenty years. I should know, I've certainly watched and read enough of them.
This whole season of Being Human actually had moments that stick with you. And unlike most series in its genre, actually does examine the difficult question of what is unforgivable act and the degree to which we have choices regarding it, how we handle the consequences, do we forgive the person, is the person redeemable, and what addiction means. Or ...as I asked a few weeks ago, in this journal - "when does the drunk driver stop driving drunk and begin to take responsibility for his or her actions? And even more important - when does forgiving them over and over again become enabling and not well merely providing a chance for redemption?"
It's very hard to write this review without comparing to Angel, and the missed opportunities. But I will try.;-)
( Being Human - The Wolf-Shaped Bullet - cut for major plot spoilers. If you haven't seen this episode or the series - best to skip. )
Being Human, and I probably should mention just so there's no confusion - I'm referring to the British series not the Syfy remake. If you don't like the Brit series, it's highly unlikely you will like the Syfy version - if you do like the Brit series, the Syfy version will irritate you. It irritated me. So why bother? I tried watching the pilot for 20 minutes and gave up. Yes, it was that bad. And I watch a lot of cringeworthy tv, so I know whereof I speak. Once again we got a remake that has all the flaws but none of the strengths of the original. This is not always the case by the way - AMC remade a Norweigian mystery series entitled The Killing which is actually pretty good.
The British version while definitely flawed - has some fine dramatic moments that stick with you long after it is over. It also manages to do something that I haven't seen an American series do and I'm willing to bet the remake won't attempt. American television writers tend to be wimps - in part because they are so dependent on advertising dollars. It's not that they don't take risks, on occasion, but rarely to the degree Being Human did. Whedon certainly never did. Sure he killed off his leads, but only to bring them back the next season somewhat shaken, maybe a little nutty, but overall intact. That's not risk, folks, that's a cliche. Soap operas, comic books, and gothic horror serials have been doing that for the past twenty years. I should know, I've certainly watched and read enough of them.
This whole season of Being Human actually had moments that stick with you. And unlike most series in its genre, actually does examine the difficult question of what is unforgivable act and the degree to which we have choices regarding it, how we handle the consequences, do we forgive the person, is the person redeemable, and what addiction means. Or ...as I asked a few weeks ago, in this journal - "when does the drunk driver stop driving drunk and begin to take responsibility for his or her actions? And even more important - when does forgiving them over and over again become enabling and not well merely providing a chance for redemption?"
It's very hard to write this review without comparing to Angel, and the missed opportunities. But I will try.;-)
( Being Human - The Wolf-Shaped Bullet - cut for major plot spoilers. If you haven't seen this episode or the series - best to skip. )
