Being Human Series Four: a transmuted, revamped ghost of itself?

17 January 2012

Gerard Wood

When we reported back in May 2011 that the superb British series Being Human was returning for a fourth season featuring new characters and an epic new story line, we failed to appreciate that the new characters wouldn’t be supplementing the established cast so much as replacing them. Between Series Three and Four, three of the four central characters have left the show.

Created by English actor, comedian and screenwriter Toby Whithouse the series is that distinctively British blend of comedy and drama in which comedy is the perfect foil to the drama: we laugh at the characters but feel for them. For those who are yet to try Being Human, it is (or at least was) the story of three twenty-something friends, John Mitchell (Aidan Turner), George Sands (Russell Tovey) and Annie Sawyer (Lenora Crichlow), sharing a house in Bristol, England, and trying against the odds to hang on to their humanity in a world that rightly and wrongly fears them and treats them as monsters: Mitchell is a 116 year old vampire, George a socially inept genius recently turned Werewolf, and Annie is a ghost who died in the house a few years earlier. Series Three saw major upheavals, including a move from Bristol to Barry Island in South Wales, and concluded with George’s dramatic and quite moving execution of Mitchell with a loving stake to the heart…

Between Series Three and Four however, Tovey and Sinead Keenan, who plays Nina, George’s werewolf partner and the mother of his unborn cub, have decided to move on. Most series wouldn’t long survive the loss of three of the four central characters and while it remains to be seen whether Being Human can do so, I’m optimistic: as good as the performances are by the actors, the over-arching strength of the series has been the writing. Whithouse has created complex and interesting characters trying to get by in a gritty, almost monotone, world, crafting a look and feel that lends the characters, the fantasy, the drama and the horror a degree of believability. The writers never lose sight of the story and even though the leads have charisma, it’s not shamelessly exploited: the focus never strays from character and story and the writers are not afraid to show the characters in the worst possible light as the story demands: for all his charm and charisma, when Mitchell gave in to his vampiric nature and turned violent he was nothing less than a monster.

Speaking to The Guardian last week about the reaction of fans to the changes and what we can expect from Series Four, Whithouse shifted focus back to where it belongs – with the story and its originality:  "Losing Russell and Sinead so suddenly was very difficult. But it never occurred to us for a moment to stop making the show. Not because we need the cash, but because we knew there were a 1,000 stories left to tell and 10,000 characters left to create… We knew some of the fans would be upset, and that's completely natural. In fact it's good. If they were indifferent to Russell or Sinead leaving the show, then it would mean that none of us had been doing our jobs right. I should point out that we all parted without the slightest rancour. They felt their journeys on Being Human had come to an end and we respected that decision."

There might be no rancour but it appears that the fate of Nina’s character will happen off-screen as Sinead Keenan will not be returning to film her departure. Tovey is making a return but judging by the Series Four photo below, he’s peripheral to the story at best.

So what do these changes mean for the series? Well, it seems a return to the original concept of the show is on the cards. Last year Whithouse told Digital Spy "I think that the format of the show, which is a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost living in a house, will have to re-establish itself relatively soon in Series Four." Lenora Crichlow returns as the ghost, Annie, but this leaves two sizeable pairs of shoes to fill. Michael Socha, werewolf Tom McNair from Series Three, is moving centre stage where he will be joined by newcomer Damien Moloney as the vampire Hal. Their dynamic promises to be quite unlike George and Mitchell’s brotherly relationship: Tom was brought up by his "father" McNair to hate, hunt and kill vampires. For his part, and despite the darkly brooding, Mitchell-esque look of Hal in the photo, Moloney has stressed that "Hal’s not Mitchell 2. There’s a lot of back story to play with and I assure you he’s very, very different." As a starting point, Hal is one of the Old Ones, and is played as "Very, very posh. Very upper class. A stiff upper-lipped Brit."

Although we’d expect nothing less from Whithouse, he says of Series Four, "Hand on heart, I think [it] is our best ever. Damien Moloney and Michael Socha are utterly breathtaking. And Lenora takes centre stage with stunning confidence."

We’ll know soon enough. Eight 60 minute episodes were commissioned for Series Four, and the first episode, Eve of the War, is scheduled for broadcast in early 2012.

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