Telly with bite

When I heard that Mitchell and Nina (aka Aidan Turner and Sinead Keenan) were not returning for series 4 of Being Human my heart quickened. Not through fear, or disappointment – as great as they were –?but having watched all three series devotedly it was through sheer excitement. What would this mean would happen next? Annie (Lenora Crichlow) started off dead so anything could happen in terms of their exits. Plus we left the last series with Nina pregnant with a little werewolf cub. What might this mean to human kind? Or, more pertinently, ghostkind, vampire-kind and werewolf-kind? Questions, questions – and many more beside. This was why I wasn’t worried. After three seasons the Being Human world is so perfectly constructed I didn’t need to worry as to whether it would survive without two of its main protagonists. There was just so much more in the fine print waiting to come into the main storyline light. It’s odd to have that much faith in unleashed potential.

In case you’re worried about the others, the series starts with Russell Tovey’s George standing guard over his yet unnamed baby daughter at the top of the house, Annie turning up with her trademark cup of tea, and Tom – remember him? The young werewolf who was brought up by well hard werewolf and vampire-killer Robson Green? Anyway, he’s back and feeling a bit lonely but also twitching to kill more bad vampires. Really, there is a difference between them, it’s just subtle. He’s on our side. I think.
Anyway, the whole series kicks off with a random flash forward to 20 years in the future and a world overrun by supernaturals. And then dashes back to the now. With that I just knew that my conviction that the potential would be seized was correct. It’s even got the witty dialogue I love straight off the bat.
Alright, so I am already a fan of the show, and that’s pretty obvious. But as a fan I could also be its harshest critic. Friends may think it’s fine simply to chuck a supernatural book at me and expect it to occupy me in a corner for an evening but Twilight is not Neil Gaiman, Anne Rice is not Tom Holt, and knowing the difference may just be the reason

I would come down like a ton of gargoyles upon Being Human if it if it wasn’t any good.

One pair of fangs does not a good supernatural yarn make. And not all of them are the same (despite mutterings to the contrary by those overwhelmed by the vogue to embrace it in recent commissioning cycles). Vampire Diaries has more in common with 90210 than it does with True Blood, and each have their place, so I’m told. It’s just that Being Human’s place is sitting pretty right at the top of the heap and revelling in the hard work that is still so evident in delivering top stories, dialogue and plot twists it has become known for. Not that I’m sycophantic you understand.
Seriously, I’m pleased it’s back. Apart from anything else it seems to foster talent and bring something of quality to BBC3, recently overrun with titillating documentaries, repeats and Winter Wipeout. With cuts left, right and centre at the Beeb I’m quite keen that we justify every part of it and BBC3, to my mind, didn’t seem to be carrying its weight as well as other channels have been. Welcome back Being Human. I can’t wait to find a comfy place behind my cushion from which to watch your series 4 delights unfurl.
Being Human started on BBC3, Sunday 5 February and continues this Sunday.