Genre: Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Drama
Director: Colin Teague, Charles Martin, Kenneth Glenaan
Creator & Writer: Toby Whithouse
Cast: Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow, Aidan Turner, Sinead Keenan, Donald Sumpter, Lyndsey Marshal, Jason Watkins
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Summary: Being Human returns for a gripping second season as vampire Mitchell (Aidan Turner), werewolf George (Russell Tovey), and ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow) encounter new enemies while they fight for something close to a normal life. The tables on our supernatural roommates – they are no longer the hunters, but the hunted.
Run Time: 345 minutes (approximately 86 minutes of special features).
This season’s eight episodes deal with the hearts and humanity of each of the main characters. Mitchell, George, and Annie are tested with their supernatural nature pitted against their humanity. Let’s look at the season two box set by storyline and then break down the special features one by one, shall we?
Intro to Season Two:
There is a power vacuum with Herrick gone. The vampire revolution has been canceled, but now there is chaos in the vampire ranks and George has been the victim of several vampire attacks since he killed Herrick. This season opens with the introduction of a vampire couple, Ivan and Daisy, who are in town to watch fun of the aftermath of post-Herrick Bristol. Ivan and Daisy serve as a stark character contrast to both Mitchell and George in how each has preserved/ignored their humanity.
Nina is struggling with the fact that she is now a werewolf and that George does not know what he’s done. Grab a tissue box because you will need it. There are some absolutely crushing scenes with George and Nina. Can Nina adjust with the help of George, Mitchell, and Annie?
Annie, who is now remarkably stronger since the close of season one’s fight, decides to get a job at the local pub since she can be seen by normal living people now. How bad could this possibly be? There are others who are seeking her out…
Mitchell meets a woman, a doctor at the hospital named Lucy. Could there be something here? This season sees many different sides of Mitchell that we haven’t seen before. Somewhere, there is an experiment being conducted on werewolves to prevent their transformation. What is the true motive behind these scientists? Why are they so interested in Mitchell, George, and Annie?
Special Features Breakdown
Disc One’s Easter Eggs:
How to access: Wait for the main screen to cycle through twice and it will automatically take you to the special features.
“The Story of CenSSA (Centre for the Study of Supernatural Activity)” – 24 minutes
This is a video blog that chronicles Lloyd’s founding of CenSSA and his descent into fanatical madness. This special feature fleshes out the character of Lloyd who appears to be a simple lackey in season two, but here, you can see where he’s coming from and why he’s working with Kemp.
“Guided Tour of Facility” – 4 minutes
Lloyd takes you on a tour of the underground CenSSA facility.
Disc Two’s Special Features:
“Blood Bursting” – 9 minutes
Production Designer Andrew Purcell and series creator Toby Whithouse reveal how the chamber that was used to experiment on werewolves was created.
“The Caves” – 7 minutes
The location of the scene where punishment is exercised on a delinquent vampire is one of the hidden treasures found in Bristol. The catacombs are real and dug out of the red sandstone of Bristol.
“Unleashing the Beast” – 7 minutes
Russell Tovey (George) takes us behind-the-scenes of the scene where George loses control and unleashes on his boss at the language school and shows us the trick of how it was filmed.
“The Swinging 60s” – 9 minutes
This featurette shows the tremendous team effort undertaken to create Mitchell’s flashback sequence with Herrick in the sixties, down to every single conceivable detail.
Disc Three’s Special Features:
“Behind the Makeup” – 7 minutes
Make-up extraordinaire Marcus Whitney takes you behind the scenes for a look at the make-up in season two and how meticulous they have to be for filming in HD.
“Making the New Werewolf” – 11 minutes
Series creator Toby Whithouse and the Millenium FX team show us the creative process behind re-assessing their methods of creating werewolf transformations and the fully transformed werewolf. In this featurette, you will meet Paul Kasey, the man behind (or rather inside) the fully transformed werewolf.
“Train Carnage” – 8 minutes
This featurette will tickle your gory-funny bone. It’s a delightful look behind the scenes at the making of the scene where Mitchell (Aidan Turner) and Daisy (Amy Manson) exercise vampire vengeance on a train full of innocent people and the fun that the make-up team took with their profane deaths.
You cannot simply be a passive viewer of this series. You are engaged. This is what I love about this show. It is not only one of the best written and performed shows on television today, but you feel this series test your own boundaries and it will pull at your heartstrings and conscience. Season two develops the show with a rich contextual mythology built around each character’s supernatural nature and when you see how this season closes, you will also be counting the days for season three!
I give Being Human: Season Two Four out of Five Stars
