Being Human Revamped

A new series…with an entirely new cast. Hmmm. Was this really going to work? Surely they couldn’t continue _Being Human_ with a complete new set of actors? With completely new storylines, with so little relevance to the old series it might as well be a different program…or an ‘American’ version of a British series, what on earth was this year going to bring?

Brilliance. Sure brilliance. The series was fantastic. I cannot think of one poor episode or any weak actors. The creators of the supernatural series clearly knew that with a complete new revamp of the series came hand in hand with a lot of old fan prepared to kill if they even tarnished such a beloved _BBC_ gem. So what made it so great? Well I have summarised it into five top reasons.

**1, Hal and Cutler.
**
The two new vampires of the series – Hal and Cutler. The pair are polar opposites and yet identical at the same time. In one of Toby Whitehouse’s strongest episodes to date, the pair were seen in at two different periods of time playing alternate roles. In the early time period, Hal was the dominating sinister vampire forcing the timid Cutler to drink blood and leave all connections to his life behind. Jump to the present day and Cutler was the horrifyingly sinister one trying to manipulate Hal into being the bloodthirsty vampire he had been previously. These two have some brilliant scenes together but I am not praising them for their performances as a duo, for their scenes together are unfortunately very limited, but simply as portraying such fantastic and contrasting vampires. Hal is played by Damien Molony, who manages to show most of his character’s contradictory emotions simply through his eyes: Hal is tormented by his want for blood everyday and does not trust himself to be without his strict routines. Cutler, on the other hand, is a fantastic villain. Played by Andrew Gower, this psychotic vampire is continually suspicious. The audience never quite know which side he is on and what exactly he is hoping to achieve or gain; these combined characteristics guarantee that he is the villain that no one can quite reason with – meaning he is terrifying.

**2. Annie.**

The one character from the previous three series who decided to stick around. She is fantastic, not only is her character simply one of the most loveable and compassionate, the way she deals with the grief of loosing her two best friends is explored throughout the beginning of the series and shows that Lenora Crichlow truly deserves the recognition she is starting to receive.

**3. Mr Snow.**

Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. Having only appeared in one episode of the series and meeting his death at the end of it, this character had a massive impact. His veiny skin and sharp pointed teeth set him apart from the rest of the vampires and emphasised just how much control he had over the race from the very start. As an ‘Old One’, Mr Snow could turn strong vampires into gibbering messes, with his persuasive sinister voice and ability to capture the attention of the entire room. The scene in which he influences Hal into not killing him verged on the edge of disturbing. Mark Gatiss, the actor, is a self-confessed horror fanatic, and this is one of the many reasons he played the character with such brilliance.

**4. Hal and Tom**

Well everyone loves a bit of bromance in a story right? The Vampire and the Werewolf – known enemies in the supernatural world. These two continue to bicker, compete and irritate one another relentlessly throughout the entire series. However, at the same time they risk life and limb to help one another, are incredibly loyal and ultimately, are the best friends. Their comic bickering is a strangely very different to that of Mitchell and George, but the later two are known friends from the start of the series, whilst Hal and Tom pretend not to care for one another. This relationship certainly provides the most laughs and demonstrates that the following series, which will now not even include Annie, will definitely have a winning duo at the centre of it.

**5. Alex**

A new kick-arse ghost. The leather dressed tomboy was originally meant to be a potential date for Hal, but met are rather bloody end. She is now the ghost of the series whose relationship with the boys is far from calm. This new ghost is very different to Annie, in almost everything single way, but she does care for the two supernaturals and her relationship with Hal will certainly be one everyone is watching in the following series.

To summarise, the series surpassed all of my expectations: it was better than ever imagined, and, in some ways, dare I speak such blasphemy, it bettered the old _Being Human_ – particularly Series 3. The new ‘gang’ which consisted of Annie, Hal and Tom guaranteed the series still had the unlikely housemates at the centre of it, and it was still full of comic witty lines, extraordinary circumstances and, sometimes, extremely frightening situations.