Being Human, the real McCoy

so.. since the other thread is dedicated to the remake and the BBC production has just started showing the fourth series, I thought I'd start a thread about it.

my musings, spoilerized for those that haven't seen it yet. (Seriously...big massive spoiler allert..open the spoiler only if you've already seen it or don't intend to.)

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1)Nina totally absent from shooting, only there in flashbacks from previous series. I'm kinda disappointed. I think I liked her enough to want to see a little more of her. killing her offscreen?.. not sure I like the idea. I wonder if it was because she didn't want to return to the show and they had to change the script around it or if it was always going to be the case.

2)George dying in the first episode? him I KNOW I liked enough to want to see more of him..
I can't help but speculate... how many levels of awesome would a werewolf ghost be? is he going to return as a ghost at some stage? I wouldn't mind finding out how they plan to do that, should it happen.
once again, I can't help but wonder how much the plot of this series has been affected by the defection of the main cast. not saying it's going to be worse..
but I still feel that this is going to somehow add a patina of "patchwork" to the season just started.

3)Annie has got to grow a pair, apparently..I can't wait to see that happen.
the other ghost on the other hand..the burlesque one... I think I've seen enough of her already.

4)So there's a supernatural trinity but it's also apparently not a novelty because the other one has been around for a while too... uhm... interesting

5)Tom: I approve of him. the character is fun and played just right... (heck..it's like watching Misfits, where the actor's sister plays an even tougher bully)

6)I also rather liked the other bad vampire..the one that survives the slaughter, not the talkative pipsqueek

7)The jury is still out on the "future storyline" and what that will do to the plot.
there was a funny little "many bothans have died" moment there that made me smirk.

all considered, I think I'll watch some more of it..despite the change of pace from a "localised" plot to something much bigger.
the world domination plotline has kind of raised the stakes.
..bad news for the vampires I imagine.

Im certainly wondering what the third sheet says that seems to have to do some thing with getting vampires involved with the baby

Spoilerific theory

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as in killing her presumably completing the trilogy by having a ghost of a human baby with werewolf parents killed by vampires

so apparently there's 3 of them again.. can't say I didn't see that one coming.

episode 4 was weird...
the main plot was rrreally predictable.. yet the parts leading up to it were at times hilariously funny, creepy despite knowing what was coming, intense and at times really well played

Eh the last two have felt like their stalling for time

can't help but liking Tom though...he's hilarious in his own little ways, like when he's being spoonfed his lines by Annie

I think Hals the more interesting chracter Tom seems to be abit of a single string instrument

he is more interesting, true..although I'm a bit puzzled..he's come over his fixations/routines/shy approach to everything rather quickly, all considered.
I don't know..he strikes me as being either not very consistent or not very well written. he does have the biggest potential though, plotwise.

also, what's with Annie's ghostbuster powers?
and...

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a succubus? is there anybody who's watched it unfold and didn't see it coming?
so now there are demons in the being-human-verse too? why haven't we seen one so far?

Yea everyones powers, fixations etc seem to fade in and out depending on the episode

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Originally Posted by Spacewolf

Yea everyones powers, fixations etc seem to fade in and out depending on the episode

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Annie's in particular. Although I think that is meant to be a plot point.

Also what's Tom actually gathering supplies for? I really don't think it is actually for a pool.

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Originally Posted by Androgeus

Annie's in particular. Although I think that is meant to be a plot point.

Also what's Tom actually gathering supplies for? I really don't think it is actually for a pool.

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Annie's powers have always been all over the shop, haven't they? She was visible to normal humans at one point, and could smack nests of vampires around with psychokinetic-poltergeist-mojo, so no change there, really.

I hope Tom is just building a pool. The idea that he'd just randomly build a pool in the back garden on a whim amuses me. :smallsmile:

Interesting that Hal is immune to religious artifacts. Do Old Ones have any other other advantages?

One thing I've wondered about - how exactly is Eve meant to destroy the vampires? What, in this context, does 'destroy' mean? Manifesting a glowy, instant vampire death aura? Leading a human army against them?

My mad theory:

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Her blood turns out to be a cure for vampirism. This could eventually 'destroy' all vampires, but not so quickly that it ends the show. And it would explain the future war: if the x-factor in her blood could be mass produced, vampires would be forced to go all out against the humans, rather than be 'cured' of immortality and power.

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Originally Posted by Senator Cybus

Interesting that Hal is immune to religious artifacts. Do Old Ones have any other other advantages?

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they do.. if I remember correctly, the first one we see said straight up that you don't get to live a thousand years without learning a few tricks... he was referring to the fact that he didn't have to wait to be invited to get into their house/hotel.
what bugs me is that I would expect an Old One to be manifestly awesome in fight too..or have some other source of power to dwell on.. to mark the difference between them and your regular vampire.. instead we see that Hal is pretty much an average fighter when confronted with others of his kind... so far.

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Originally Posted by Senator Cybus

One thing I've wndered about - how exactly is Eve meant to destroy the vampires? What, in this context, does 'destroy' mean? Manifesting a glowy, instant vampire death aura? Leading a human army against them?

My mad theory:

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Her blood turns out to be a cure for vampirism. This could eventually 'destroy' all vampires, but not so quickly that it ends the show. And it would explain the future war: if the x-factor in her blood could be mass produced, vampires would be forced to go all out against the humans, rather than be 'cured' of immortality and power.

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don't know.. in fact it's kinda odd that she's trying to kill herself..because I was under the impression that future leader turned creepy murderous ghost was none other than adult Eve...going back in time to kill present Eve. alternate timelines??
I'm just going to wait and see instead of working out my own crazy theory.

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Originally Posted by dehro

they do.. if I remember correctly, the first one we see said straight up that you don't get to live a thousand years without learning a few tricks... he was referring to the fact that he didn't have to wait to be invited to get into their house/hotel.

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Aah, forgot about that.

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what bugs me is that I would expect an Old One to be manifestly awesome in fight too..or have some other source of power to dwell on.. to mark the difference between them and your regular vampire.. instead we see that Hal is pretty much an average fighter when confronted with others of his kind... so far.

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Maybe it's a "I dare not let loose my full power, lest I lose control!" thing. Maybe Hal's succubus dream where he kills Tom so easily is more of a true reflection of his strength...

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don't know.. in fact it's kinda odd that she's trying to kill herself..because I was under the impression that future leader turned creepy murderous ghost was none other than adult Eve...going back in time to kill present Eve. alternate timelines??
I'm just going to wait and see instead of working out my own crazy theory.

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Was that ever confirmed, that future lady is/was Eve? I thought that was just a fake-out? If it is, she's trying to kill herself twice, which is surely overkill. :smallsmile:

not confirmed, but it seems plausible

I just hope they don't forget about dragging a demon in existence and give it some context. otherwise last episode really will be nothing but filler...which in a series 7-8 episodes long makes no sense

So what did people think, I thought the introduction of the men in brown at this point was abit strange like they are just throwing things in to try and inject some life into it, personnally i hope this is the last seris for a while at least after all theres not really much point calling it being human anymore

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Originally Posted by Spacewolf

Personnally i hope this is the last series for a while

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Series 5 was announced after the show, at least on facebook & twitter, wish I had a better source.

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Originally Posted by Senator Cybus

Maybe it's a "I dare not let loose my full power, lest I lose control!" thing. Maybe Hal's succubus dream where he kills Tom so easily is more of a true reflection of his strength...

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Well when Mitchell was off the blood he was noted by other Vampires (well his friend Ivan, and hinted in how easy Herrick was said to be able to beat him) that he looked terrible and was not as tough as he normally would be. So most likely after 55 years without blood Hal is just not as tough as normal and would be much more deadly if he had a drink.

Though holding back a lot is also in character, and he did suggest that a shotgun blast would not slow him down too much so who knows for sure.

I thought Mark Gatiss was brilliant.

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Also, I can't be the only one who loved Tom's line: Macnair said 'Always be kind and polite and have the materials for a bomb'

funny, yes.
I'm underwhelmed by the finale..

spoilered in case anybody had not seen it yet

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on the plus side, kinda glad that they didn't find a gimmick to save the baby after all.
did I see it wrong or were a couple of old ones whisked away before it all went boom?
why is nobody capable of doing good CGI flames?
I wonder if they're not milking a dying cow, with season 5.
the man in brown didn't leave a big enough impression on me to make me really drool on a preview of next season. in fact, if the guy is so well connected as to have drinks with people in such high places, why didn't he intervene a lot sooner, and why didn't he do damage control on the box tunnel thing?
mmno.. I'm not feeling it.
although I will probably give it a shot by the time it comes out.. after all, the acting was good enough.

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Originally Posted by Omergideon

Well when Mitchell was off the blood he was noted by other Vampires (well his friend Ivan, and hinted in how easy Herrick was said to be able to beat him) that he looked terrible and was not as tough as he normally would be. So most likely after 55 years without blood Hal is just not as tough as normal and would be much more deadly if he had a drink.

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That does make a lot of sense. Though it could just be the show's wonky power levels at work again. :smallsmile:

Well, I thought that was some pretty damn good tv! Couple of minor complaints:

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Cutler's plan being completely derailed at the eleventh hour by a previously unknown organisation of paranormal clean-up men. I like the idea of them, but it seemed like an excuse to hit the re-set button, whereas actually outing werewolves would probably be more interesting. Plus, no more Cutler and his scheming! :smallfrown:

Also, I'm still waiting for Alex to become likeable; she might be the weak link of the trio for me, next season.

With that out of the way, so much good stuff! :smallbiggrin:

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Mr Snow was just delightfully horrible! :smallbiggrin: Annie worked out that you can Rentaghost vampires (I'd been hoping someone would try that)! Milo, you filthy traitor! So that's why vamps need an invite! Tom is adorable/surprisingly dangerous! But no pool! And - they blew up the baby!!! :smalleek:

As you might guess, I enjoyed that. :smallsmile: Looking forward to season five, hopefully the Man in Brown won't bore me as much as 'evil Christian guy' did back in season two.

Random thought: am I right in thinking that 'Old One' means a vampire that was sired by an original like Snow, rather than a vampire that's just lived a long time? It's more about how closely you're related to the first vampire/s?

McNair said (and Mitchell et al did not disopute it) that very few vamps in Being Human even got to Mitchels age of just over a century. Herrick was close to ruling britain and he was only 50 years older or so and outside the Old Ones Ivan at 200ish was the oldest Vamp we had ever heard of. Mitchel also objected to joining them in S3 as he was too young. Hal at 500 and change would easily be one of the single oldest Vampires in the series we ever see by three centuries and thus Old one being age related is not an issue.

And without being too spoilery, the casualness the Man in Brown acts with is an interesting sign for me. It is a new spin compared to Evil Christian Guys and so who knows.


Though to one spoilered comment. Your eyes do not decieve you. You did see it happen. And it could be interesting indeed.

I quite liked all the head vamps mentions to the carpenter though made him seem more interesting

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Originally Posted by Omergideon

McNair said (and Mitchell et al did not disopute it) that very few vamps in Being Human even got to Mitchels age of just over a century. Herrick was close to ruling britain and he was only 50 years older or so and outside the Old Ones Ivan at 200ish was the oldest Vamp we had ever heard of. Mitchel also objected to joining them in S3 as he was too young. Hal at 500 and change would easily be one of the single oldest Vampires in the series we ever see by three centuries and thus Old one being age related is not an issue.

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Ah, fair play. I'd not been keeping track of the vamps' ages; casual viewer only until this season. Though I would have sworn Mitchell was at least 150...:smallconfused:

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Originally Posted by Spacewolf

I quite liked all the head vamps mentions to the carpenter though made him seem more interesting

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Yeah, that was cool. Though as Spike once remarked in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "If every vampire that said he was at the Crucifixion had really been there, it would have been like vampire Woodstock". :smallbiggrin:

I seem to remember Mitchel was a soldier in WW1 where and when he became a vampire.
@omergideon... thought so.

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Originally Posted by dehro

I seem to remember Mitchel was a soldier in WW1 where and when he became a vampire.
@omergideon... thought so.

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WW1 indeed. The first episode of S3 has him making his first kill as a vampire on the field where he was serving as a soldier. We also see him meet Herrick and mention the date as WW1 (1918 some time) in a S1 episode where he reflects on it.


I had another thought about the Old Ones. There was a specific set of symbols drawn on the floor with a space for eash one to stand. It seems to me that this should say something about their group (as Hal's space was left empty etc etc etc) and what they mean to each other. Not sure what though.