I am addicted to BBC shows. I love how the UK takes risks with shows and have awesome and unique takes on thing. With that being said, I was curious to see how the American adaptation of the awesome BBC show Being Human would translate. So far I have mixed feelings, but I am still hopeful that they will be able to capture the spirit of the show.
Being Human UK is into it's third series (season) now and I can't wait until it's released here so I can catch up. If you aren't familiar with the show it centers around a Vampire, a Werewolf and a Ghost that share a house and are trying to live a somewhat normal life while surrounded by everyday humans. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke right? But this show is no joke and succeeds in entertaining and making the supernatural very easy to relate to for us "normals". The show begins after the boys have been living in the house with Annie the ghost for a while and are just starting to settle in when their pasts all start to come back and haunt them. George the Werewolf is neurotic, funny and trying desperately to forget what has been "done to him" rather than accepting who he has become. Mitchell the Vampire is trying to go straight and live life without drinking blood, killing, or turning anyone else. Annie is trying to figure out why she is still here. The first series takes these characters on a journey of discovery on what humanity truly is and how they can manage their various "conditions". The creators of this show have done a fantastic job of making the stories easy to relate to and the situations. Even the supernatural aspects of the characters are made over in the style of real issues that affect real people. Mitchell is an addict, George has anger issues and Annie is agoraphobic.
Being Human U.S. has just started into it's first season and already has some major differences from it's predecessor. Although it is primarily following the same story line to date, it is definitely "Americanized". The characters names are different to begin with, perhaps because George, Mitchell and Annie are not the most common names in North America. Aidan is the Vampire, Josh is the Werewolf and Sally is the Ghost. I find it cute that the name of the Vampire is Aidan because the actor that plays Mitchell is named Aidan. While the majority of the show seems to be following along to date, it is done at a decidedly different pace. While UK starts after the group are already living together US starts with the first day that they move in. There are a lot of little differences like this and I find myself almost feeling a little cheapened by the US version. It almost feels dumbed down as though they feel the audience needs every little detail explained and that the audience could not possibly accept a slightly different version how they see the supernatural. The following are examples of what I mean by this.
-Mitchell is a style of Vampire that doesn't NEED blood to live, but rather they are addicted to it. When these vamps stop drinking blood they are bombarded with memories of all the things they have done. When they drink, the pain of their past disappears. This makes them truly addicts. In the UK version, Mitchell drinks and eats regular food. Blood is a drug. Blood from a blood banks isn't the same. It's like someone who is addicted to Oxycotin taking a Tylenol to fill their craving. Aidan on the other hand appears to need blood and is trying just not to drink it from the living. We have seen him heat up mugs of it in the microwave. I don't get why the US version had to take out the addiction factor. It cheapens his struggle.
-Josh has a family. In the first episode his sister shows up at the hospital where he works and tries to convince him to let them back in to his life. George has no one. It feeds his anger. He feels unable to live a normal life because of his situation and it makes his transformations epic. Josh could have a relatively normal life, but seems to choose his isolation out of fear.
-Annie and Sally are quite similar to date, although Annie's pension for making copious amount of tea she can never drink is a quirk I miss in Sally. Mind you, Sally has started farther back in her progression of abilities than Annie did. In the first episode of UK Annie was already making progress in being visible to regular humans and could easily touch and move small objects in the house. Sally is only visible to the boys and is just barely beginning to learn to touch and move objects. It feels as though the US version must show the audience every little step and assumes that the viewers are unable to accept that things might happen out of their vision. The UK audience can infer that Annie has gone through some struggles in trying to touch the world around her and has made progress, but doesn't need to be shown every little detail. Maybe it's because a series in the UK is so much shorter than a US season. (Series 1 had 6 episodes and series 2 had 8. A typical US season is 13 episodes)
It will be interesting to compare things further as the season progresses. I can see where a lot of this is going since the "Nina" and "Herrick" characters have been introduced, but I feel like it's missing some of the heart and soul of the original. If nothing else comes from this, I hope it drives North American audiences to pick up the BBC version and give it a go.
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