Being Human - Episode 2

After the first episode's cracking start, this supposed comedy-drama continues to impress. I felt that last week’s episode was probably slightly better but this week was still very good. Currently, I reckon this is one of the best British TV shows on the telly at the moment.

Being Human follows the lives of three non-humans - a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost - living together in a flat in Bristol. It delves deep into how these creatures feel, what their various conditions mean and how they cope around 'regular' humans. All three are trying to live 'normal' lives and integrate themselves into human life, as highlighted this week when Mitchell (the vampire) invites all the neighbours round to chat. Because, of course, keeping themselves isolated would look too abnormal - even though, as George (the werewolf) notes, British people don’t normally talk to their neighbours until they've nodded at them for 15 years.

This weeks episode also saw the arrival of Tully, a fellow werewolf, who latches onto George and teaches him all about managing his condition. It turns out that Tully is a bit of a creepy bastard, such as when he tries to come on to Annie (the ghost). Not only that but we find out he was the creature that turned George into a werewolf in the first place.

The build up of the vampires' revolt and potential take-over - what appears to be the overarching plot in this series - was also featured together with Lauren's (Mitchell's last victim) attempts to try and get Mitchell back into the bloodsucking game. All of it acted and scripted beautifully.

As has been pointed out elsewhere, in a way, this isn't a show about monsters at all. It's about three people with problems (one's an addict, one's a schizophrenic and one's an agoraphobic/abused woman). The fact that they're fantasy monsters got me interested but shouldn't but other people off. Neither should the "comedy" label. This week's episode was even less funny than last week but that’s not a bad thing. Instead, it's becoming more of a dark, interesting drama and, for me, something of a must-see. A highly recommended Very Fine.