Coping With Mortality - Being Human "There Goes The Neighborhood Pt. 2" Review

The cliffhanger from the previous episode is resolved with kind of a dud, but it shows the key to the Aidan/Josh dynamic: they need each other.  As Josh is about to turn, Aidan comes in the nick of time (Being Human's vampires are not killed by sunlight but still superfast. I have given up on critiquing vampire shows for "breaking traditions" because there really are none anymore). Later in the episode, when Aidan is feeling his blood addiction getting the best of him, he calls Josh for help, who comes as fast as he can.  I am liking the dynamic between these two, since it seems that vampires in general don't think much of werewolves.

The vampires were fleshed out a bit more this week, since Rebecca, Aidan's victim from the last episode, joined their ranks.  I did not like Rebecca at all, however. She was very grating, reminding us that it's fun to be bad. I hope she gets some more emotions beyond angry, however, as she eventually learns to cope with the fact Aidan left her for dead. I can't say her reaction is irrational, but her place in the show needs some work.

Bishop looked a lot more menacing in this episode, and I'm really leaning towards my vampires-as-mob theory, especially once we found out that their headquarters was a funeral parlor.  Bishop is definitely their Don, but unlike a Godfather-style Don, he does have a job, as a police investigator.  Bishop is not just a mastermind, he gets dirty.  He clearly has plans, what with increasing the vampire numbers, but we don't know what that is yet.  We also learned that Aidan was turned during the Revolutionary War, so he's old, and valuable.  I'm guessing that Aidan is not going to get any peace and quiet anytime soon.

Possibly the most important scenes from this episode were the three characters' origin stories.  We saw Aidan in the revolutionary war, so I wonder if we can expect snippets of his past life in each episode, like we saw him at the wedding in the previous episode.  Josh was attacked while camping, and presumably the only one who survived, so he probably also suffers from survivor's guilt in addition to the rest of his neuroses.

Then we saw Sally dead on the staircase, and we heard Danny tell the story of her falling down the stairs during a blackout.  I don't believe him.  I have no doubt she fell, but why is another question.  I suspect either she had suicidal/schizophrenic episodes, or there was some foul play.  I can definitely see Danny feeling guilty rather than just mourning, but we'll have to see why.  I believe that if it really was as simple as her falling down the steps in the dark, Sally wouldn't be having so much trouble.  I guess most of this is hopeful guess work. For all we know, she really did just fall, and her story becomes one of simple self discovery.  I just hope something more comes along for her.

I can see why Josh couldn't just tell his sister what was going on with him, since she wouldn't believe it, but anybody can tell that this is not the last we've seen of his sister.  We did learn that their mother had some mental instability issues.  I do not think that she would also be a werewolf, because that would be too convenient, like Sally's fall, but I do believe at the very least their mother can sense the supernatural, be it ghost, werewolves, vampires, or all of the above.

Finally, we saw the end of the cute girl who passed over Josh for the much more dangerous Aidan, and we saw some crossover between the characters' stories, specifically Josh getting involved in the affairs of the vampires.  This is what I want more out of the show. I want to see Sally, Josh, and Aidan confront things together, and not just share a house while they have their own lives.  We got the sense that that is where the show is heading by the end of the episode, so lets just hope they keep going this way.

GRADE: B
More histories and mysteries were established in this second outing, but a few unfortunate cliches brought down an otherwise enjoyable episode.  Either give Rebecca a personality, or stake the bitch.

MVP: Sam Witwer, for showing how Aidan wants, and needs, to reform.
Runner Up: Meaghan Rath. Sally has a long journey of acceptance ahead of her, and the scenes of her inspecting the landing showed just how far she had to go, and how able the actress is in taking us there

True Buds - Being Human "There Goes The Neighborhood Pt. 1" Review

As soon as this series was even announced, you couldn't mention it without a resounding chorus of "The British version is better!" Some even call it the "actual" Being Human.  I have never seen one episode of the original, and I am going to keep it that way. Not because I want a clean slate when approaching this show, but because I am not a fan of British television. I just don't have the patience for long, slow, expository television. I also need to lead with this so you understand why I wouldn't comment on where things would be headed in the British version. If the producers are approaching this correctly, like the producers of The Office did, they are using the original series as a launching point, and not a guidebook. It helps, of course, that I'm so far enjoying where this show is headed.

I'm finding most of the mythology in this series intriguing so far.  The vampire side is nothing new so far, but that doesn't mean Sam Witwer and Mark Pellegrino aren't selling it.  They do seem to function rather tribe-like, or even corporation-like, which is something I haven't seen before, but I'm still feeling a little bored by it.  I get the whole blood-is-a-drug aspect, and Bishop's group does function like a gang, or a mob family, which are, again, tribe-like, with a plant in the cops and what-not.  I guess the producers were anticipating the most backlash against the vampire character, with The Vampire Diaries and True Blood getting high rankings, so I understand their thought-process on fleshing out the vampire society so thoroughly, but I guess I have just lost my interest in vampires after so long. I want Aidan to deal with other issues as a vampire, not just vampire issues.

Then there's Josh the werewolf. The easiest comparison for his werewolf would be Oz in Buffy, only much more emotive and neurotic.  I don't like how much he whines, though. It can get to be a bit much. I don't know how I feel about his sister showing up in the pilot.  It adds to the drama, that's for sure, and they do mention that its been two years since he disappeared, so he should have it together enough to handle running into his past, but he is clearly incapable of handling spilled milk, much less a nosy sister. It is cute, and maybe even a shout out to Buffy, that the little sister is a lesbian, though we don't learn exactly how they ended up at that particular hospital. I guess Josh wasn't smart enough to run far away and not just to the nearest big city. It was smart, though, for Aidan to find him a safe place to turn.

This leads me to the opening scenes, of Josh's first transformation and of Aidan's date with Rebecca. We see them both contemplating the results of their actions: Aidan feels vile and wicked for killing Rebecca, albeit accidentally, and Josh is just terrified that he killed something.  I think it explains perfectly how these two live each of their days: Aidan in moral despair, and Josh in blind terror. They can help each other cope, but are lost when on their own.

Where this show takes the biggest step away from the "Vampire Craze" is the inclusion of the ghost, Sally.  I am simultaneously excited and worried about where they are taking Sally.  She is just an image and noise most of the time, but when she got angry, she knocked over a chair.  She also can't leave the house. I was very intrigued to learn that it's not that she can't leave, but she can't convince herself to leave. There haven't been many ghosts with such deep psychological issues since The Sixth Sense, and I'm loving it.  What I'm worried about is whether or not she will spend all of her time complaining. I guess we'll just have to see.

Sally did bring the funny, though, between quoting Bon Jovi and berating Josh for masturbating to Nova, which is the saddest thing I've heard.  I can see where these characters need to go, and I just hope the show takes the right way to get there.

Grade: B
The premise works for me, and I hope they can fix their few flaws, like the overemphasis on vampires, and Josh's whining, but I'll keep watching anyway.

MVP: Sam Witwer. The emphasis was more on establishing the story rather than character work, but as the most recognizable of the main cast, he had the bigger job of drawing people, and I think he did it well.
Runner Up: Sam Huntington. Whiny and neurotic though Josh may be, he does convey the confusion and angst of a young Jewish man who has this curse suddenly thrust upon him.