RUSSELL TOVEY - No.564

Being Human goes to a new shade of "dark"

The first season of Being Human introduced us to a new set of three likeable friends Annie, Mitchell and George, who battled their inner demons better when they pulled together. The co-dependent nature of their relationship allowed the viewer to pick a "favourite" out of the trio with which they could relate - the addict (Mitchell), the agoraphobic (Annie) or the serious anger management/Asperger Syndrome one (George).

Season two added a new cast member in the guise of nurse Nina. She came into George's life just when he needed someone to steer him through his issues and problems. She was confident and outwardly normal but she too had unresolved issues. It seemed like she had been abused in previous relationships and wore the scars to prove it.

At the end of both the first and second seasons they all still focus on helping each other through their battle to remain as human as possible.

The foursome still work best as a team but they look to Mitchell as a father figure and the one who can help make things better. Mitchell has realised he can't stop being what he is, so for the future he has to work out the process of "harm minimization" so he can move forward. George has gone from not being socially adept and awkward to slowly realising he can change his own destiny by "growing up" and taking charge. Annie has gone from being an invisible nobody to being a "kickass" powerhouse who is not going to allow her friends to be pushed around. And Nina is the pragmatic diagnostician who wants to use her smarts to keep all of them on an even keel.

What started out in season one as a shade of grey suddenly got darker in season two. There is hope that season three can bounce a bit more "light" into "the dark." Us humans watching Being Human deserve that I think.

Tom in Oz 26-8-2010