Wednesday 15 February 2012

Ghosts, Werewolves and Muppets. Oh my!

Well, what a busy Valentine’s day.  I spent it lying on my sofa watching TV, off work sick with a horrible cold.  I’d already caught up on most of the TV on my planner as I’d had to go home sick by midday on Monday and all that I had left by Tuesday was Being Human.  The new series minus George, Nina and Mitchell, as mentioned in a previous post.

I had been told by my mum and a friend that it was still brilliant and urged to give it a go so I thought, why not?  I’m not doing anything else apart from using every tissue in the house and waking the guinea pigs up every time I sneeze.

Well, I’m very glad that I did give it a go.  Despite losing two of the original characters, the series is still very well written and, of course, Annie is still there.  I wasn’t sure if Annie could carry it and it turns out she doesn’t really need to.  We were introduced to Tom the werewolf in the last series and I didn’t think or feel much for him if I’m honest.  Along comes the first episode of the new series and suddenly I feel as much for him as I do Annie.  He’s instantly likeable and I immediately felt protective and loyal to him (the same feelings that I felt for Mitchell and George that made me unwilling to watch in their absence).

If you want to know just how good Being Human was, I immediately had to watch the second episode after the first and am now eagerly waiting the third on Sunday.

My own gripe is the same issue I had in the last series – why does every superhuman programme have to involve the end of the world?  They always start off so well, developing the characters with plots involving just them and their little worlds.  I miss the episodes about Mitchell and George trying to fit in, of Annie coming to terms with being dead, discovering her new powers.  By the last series, Mitchell had gone too far down the bloody road and George had followed him to a path of no return; we had to lose them.  This series could have been (and could still be) the return of the beginning.  We have Tom, who we barely know, and a new vampire, Hal and Annie has not yet grasped her full potential.

Sadly, the first episode of the new series wreaked of the ‘apocalypse’ and unfortunately they are using the idea of vampires taking over the world.  I have loved vampires since Buffy first graced our screens, but I can’t help but find Being Human’s vampires monotonous and irritating.  Mitchell, of course, was an exception, and there are some newly introduced vampires that have the potential to change my mind.  That doesn’t change the fact that the Old Ones are coming and with them, the end of the world, spurring a fascination with George and Nina’s baby.

Here comes the second unfortunately; the baby.  I hoped that little baby Eve could simply be another tool in developing Tom, Annie and Hal’s characters as well as the potential for a brand new character as she grows up.  The writers have other ideas, it seems.  Eve is the Warchild, the Chosen One, the one will save the world.  Que flashes to the future where we see a grown up Eve in a war torn world with vampires and werewolves.  Eve, apparently, is the supernatural John Connor.

Now that I have started watching Being Human again, I can’t stop.  So I have decided to ignore all aspects of this upcoming apocalypse and Eve ‘John Connor’ the child of werewolves.  I have decided to focus on these three characters, the glorious and wonderfully warm Annie, the sweet and young Tom and whatever Hal will turn out to be.  Let’s hope the writers don’t ruin it too much.

Being Human was the beginning of my day, my Valentine’s day ended with going to see the new Muppet Movie.

I did want to write a review but I will be quick; it is brilliant.  If you love the Muppets, if you’re a big fan, if they mean anything to you, you must see this film.  I discovered the Muppets in my teenage hood and they hold a special place in my heart.

The latest Muppet films have been let downs, twaddle for the youngest of children.  This new Muppet film is a homage to the original films, it goes right back to what made the Muppets great.  I laughed, I cried, I danced. 

Watch, enjoy, laugh and let yourselves fall into the world of the Muppets – it’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights...

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