Drama with bite

Alright, so here’s the head up – watching Being Human is something I pretty much always look forward to. It’s an indulgence for me as not only is it well written (created by one of my favourite TV writer’s Toby Whithouse, who also has Doctor Who and Torchwood strings to his bow) but despite its supernatural themes it’s always based strongly in humanity and how people really are flawed but quite wonderful things. Like fairytales read at the bedside by tired parents really just wanting to read themselves to sleep, these episodes and story arcs have always been allegories as to the value of the outsider, the ugly duckling, the feisty lost babes in the woods (Hansel and Gretel may have been kids but they didn’t half know how to slay a witch properly to full gruesome death).

So, the fifth series starts with the relative newcomer ghost Alex adjusting to her new circumstances and moving in with werewolf Tom and vampire Hal.

Everything changes but everything stays the same. Exactly the same supernatural dynamic as started the whole kit and caboodle series but with a different ghost, vamp and wolf. So… is it any good?

Well, yes of course it is. Not only has Toby Whithouse written the first episode himself but he even has a sneaky cameo as an omnipotent government bureaucratic. Sounds a bit like a series writer to me.

“Vampires are effortlessly seductive and werewolves are salt of the Earth”

Setting the scene with the worst torture that Hal can undergo being to continue to view the absolute mess the others have slumped into without his OCD to keep every pin in place, this is about the characters and not the labels. Hal is not his vampy predecessor Mitchell anymore than Tom is previous wolf tenant George. Sure, there are similar traits – vampires are effortlessly seductive and werewolves are salt of the Earth, but it’s a bit like saying that people who live on the coast like water. Not an absolute rule but given the factors a high possibility.

Of course, the scene is set for a whole new story arc, utilising what we already know about our super spooky protagonists and bringing in some new elements to keep it fresh. As much as I’ve always been a fan, there were fears in my head that by the time a fifth series came about the formula might just be getting a little tired. It’s not.

Because it’s a very simple idea every time – good versus evil with many shades of gray between the two. Plus oodles of quips, absolutely masses of them. And brilliant casting. I was very pleased to see the ever-so talented Colin Hoult appear in the first episode as that buoyant office enthusiast no one really knows but everyone recognises. Plus a few other familiar faces with secrets up their sleeves and bogeymen in their bottom drawers.

Suffice to say that after a gap that saw my enthusiasm threatened about the programme and my optimism wane Being Human has returned and given a shot in the arm to both. Colour me pleased.
Being Human, BBC3, started Sunday 3 February, available now on iPlayer.