Genre: Horror | Drama
Air Date/Time: March 3 at 9/8c
Network: BBC America
Created by: Toby Whithouse
Director: Philip John
Writer: Lisa McGee
Summary:
In an old B&B in a sleepy seaside town, we join Annie (Lenora Crichlow), her housemate George (Russell Tovey) and their new friend Tom (Michael Socha). With a newborn baby to look after, it’s never been more difficult to live life under-the-radar as a ghost and two werewolves. There are also vampires to deal with: lurking in every corner of society, waiting for the Old Ones, powerful older vampires, to arrive and take over the world with brutal force. Worse yet, there’s a malevolent ghost on the loose and someone’s seeking to expose the existence of werewolves – not to mention all the diapers that need changing.
This is a lovely episode. After the cascading events and all the new characters last week, this week we get to catch our breath and learn a bit more about the new faces, and particularly about the “original” ghost, werewolf, and vampire, as well as two of the, oh, let’s call them “traditional” (nasty) vampires. You should also know that, despite the title, this is in no way a flashback episode.
But don’t worry, we also get a lot of Annie, and happily, it’s classic Annie. This means she is a bit unintentionally silly, and excitable, but always with a great deal of heart and the best intentions, and great enthusiasm. What I like is that the writers never push it too far. She is reacting to the recent upheavals in her life in a way that suits the character perfectly. Well done, Lenora Crichlow.
Other standout performances are given by Michael Socha as Tom and Damien Molony as Hal. Young Tom is completely believable in his character. Right for his age, right for what he’s been through, right for what he is. Hal’s character is in flux, and I’m confident in thinking that what we get this week in his wisdom and control and charity and potential for violence is the tip of the iceberg in all ways.
Neither direction, lighting, sound, or editing stand out in any particular way, but that means they are perfectly unobtrusive. The background music is fine when it isn’t a vocal. We do get one vocal but it’s at least blissfully short. Also, inexplicably, the music during a particularly poignant scene is straight out of a 70s cheesy romance. But that’s okay, it goes away and is overcome by subsequent events.
They do a nice job of striking a balance between humor, drama, the supernatural, and horror in this episode. It’s not that easy but it is mastered by this production, this week. It’s an excellent second episode of what is for all intents and purposes a reboot, and sets us up quite nicely for what is to come.
I give Being Human: Season 4, Episode 2 “Being Human 1955” Four Out of Five Stars.
