Being Human: The Secret Lives of Monsters
By Angela Roberts
February 16, 2011
Last year, Canadian sci-fi channel Space brought over the acclaimed British supernatural drama, Being Human, airing both Series One and Series Two to date. This was to the delight of many Canadian fans of British sci-fi who’d very likely despaired of ever getting to see the show by any means other than Bit torrent. (Side note: Space has definitely stepped up in the last few years to fill the void left by other outlets like the CBC and BBC Canada who’ve been pitifully useless in bringing quality drama to Canadian viewers hungry for good TV.) The show has found a devoted audience both in the UK and abroad, having done so well, in fact, that last month Syfy Channel premiered a “North American” remake produced by Montreal studio Muse Entertainment under the same name. I saw the UK show on Space and was absolutely entranced by it; the level of storytelling, acting, and musical score were phenomenal. So, when Space announced a remake, I was both excited and wary. There was no way I would miss it, if only for the sake of curiosity. But my perception of it would inevitably be coloured by my feelings about the original. I decided to give the remake a few episodes before writing this review, and because it’s impossible not to, this review will very much be a comparison between the original and the remake. One other warning: Here Be Spoilers.
The basic premise of the two shows is essentially the same; a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost share a condo and try to live a normal human life (as normal as it possibly could be). It sounds like a weird and silly idea, right? But when that idea is matched with an involving storyline, moving internal struggles, a creepy and charming villain, and real commitment from producers and actors, it suddenly seems like the most original idea ever. The UK original strikes every one of these notes; the North American (US) version, while in many ways is almost a shot-for-shot remake, doesn’t always hold up to the original. Some of this is caused by the problem of length. The UK version has a first series of six episodes, the US thirteen. So pacing is a concern; the North American producers need to fill in more time. But the first five episodes have followed the first series very closely, albeit in a different order, so this is not the only issue. If anything, I’d say the US version has a somewhat too accelerated pace, as if they’re trying to blow through the original series as quickly as possible to get to their own stuff. Sadly, this means that the narrative strength displayed in the original gets squandered in the remake, and one wonders how good the remake’s stories will be once they no longer have the original’s stories to lean on. Because, while the producers have claimed that the show isn’t just a remake, so far it really is.
So the other problem that the US version suffers from could best be described as ‘approach’. There is a bizarre attempt on the producers’ part to separate the remake from the original while still plundering it for inspiration. I’ve already mentioned that there are scenes that are shot-for-shot similar. Costuming has also been kept mostly the same; Sally’s costume is identical to Annie’s, for example. The setting as well; their Boston brownstone is remarkably similar to the Bristol flat. Plot-wise, not much has changed, only small injections to fill in time, and they mess around with the order. They even keep the monologues at the beginning. But they almost perversely changed the names of all of the characters. Perhaps to make them more “American-sounding,” although I don’t see how Aidan is a more American name than Mitchell. And they screwed around with other little things; Americanizing their origins, giving Josh/George a sister, changing little elements of plot. They also tried to inject a bit of humour, inserting frankly stupid pop-culture references like Sally asking Aidan and Josh if they were going to “go all Twilight on each other”. This one particularly felt out of place because it fell flat in delivery. (Side rant: Being Human is not a comedy, and it’s irritating when the US version and its principals try to make it into one. Humour in the original arose naturally from the awkwardness and discomfort of the situations and characters. It didn’t need to be injected.)
Which brings me to casting. Sadly, the UK cast is a hard act to follow. Aidan Turner, Russell Tovey, and Lenora Crichlow all brought a raw complexity of emotion, strength, and vulnerability to their roles. Mitchell, George and Annie are all fascinating characters and the actors play them with a sincerity that makes you believe in their actions and motivations. Sam Witwer, Sam Huntington, and Meaghan Rath make a real effort to bring Aidan, Josh, and Sally to life in a similar fashion, but whether it’s because of poor writing, poor direction, not-as-good-acting, or all of the above, they don’t quite succeed. Perhaps it’s because they’re too pretty. While the British actors are attractive, there’s still some imperfection in their looks that makes them more realistic. The North American actors, on the other hand, no matter how you tousle Huntington’s hair, are kind of Hollywood good-looking. (And why is Aidan so darn pasty?) It‘s a problem for the main characters and their supporting cast. There’s something lost in Mark Pellegrino’s Bishop when compared to Jason Watkins’ Herrick. He can’t quite match Watkins’ combination of menace, charm, and swagger. And there’s just something off about all of the portrayals; Huntington and Rath both come off as irritated and annoying when they should be displaying pathos. Danny’s character is a pale imitation of Owen; the actor can’t bring out the menace in the character so that when we learn that Danny killed Sally in episode five, it’s almost like an afterthought (like the writers went, “Oh yeah, Danny killed Sally. Gee, I guess we should make him a bad guy.”) With Owen, the signs of the abuser are present from the character’s first appearance, in the tone of his voice and the glint of an unguarded look. The only actor who really seems to grasp his character is Witwer, although he doesn’t have the gravitas of Turner. He manages to capture the struggle of abstaining from feeding, and has figured out the alpha male aspect, but doesn’t quite accomplish the supportive role that the character has in the group.
It should be noted that much of what I’ve pointed out about the North American remake would be true even if the UK original had never been made. I don’t know if I’d have liked it better if I’d never seen the original. Perhaps. But I think I’d still end up getting bored and thoughtlessly abandoning the show (its Monday night timeslot puts it up against several better shows with stronger followings; even for this review, I recorded it and watched it later). Even without the better predecessor, the remake suffers from problems of hesitant writing, an unfocused direction, and imperfect acting. It’s just that it becomes something of a disappointment when compared to the original; a fate common to many remakes, especially remakes of British shows. The fact is, some of the best drama has been coming out of Britain in the past decade, and instead of trying to remake those successes, Hollywood should be concentrating on creating quality SF of their own, like True Blood, like Battlestar Galactica, like Stargate Universe. Because, if you want to enjoy this version of Being Human, you really shouldn’t watch the original.