Tag Archives: bbc america

October 23, 2009 · 10:00 AM

Vampires, Werewolves, Witches & Demons: TV Marathon Time

Song Lyric of the Day:

And all those shadows there are filled up with doubt / I don’t know who you think you are / But before the night is through / I wanna do bad things with you / I wanna do real bad things with you

Jace Everett / “Bad Things“

Hex (witches, demons, fallen angels)
As you know, I’m quite the fan of the supernatural and horror genres. Which is how I came across the late BBC series Hex a while back via Netflix. After watching the first season on DVD (I think it’s split as three seasons in the UK vs. two here), I’d become quite invested in the adventures of student Cassie (Christina Cole); her dead roommate and resident ghost, Thelma (Jemima Rooper); fallen angel Azazeal (the very sexy Michael Fassbender); and all the other denizens of Medenham Hall: demon hunters, half-humans, demons, and, well, university students. While the show is not the BBC’s best supernatural offering, I enjoyed it nonetheless. Heads up, though: It gets off to a really, really slow start; the husband actually bailed after about four episodes because he couldn’t handle the pace. As for me? I was very frustrated to wrap up season one only to discover that season two is not yet available on DVD stateside. Which is why I was happy to see that the Chiller network has started airing season one of the series (I’m crossing my fingers I will finally get to see the last season. I need the closure).

Interested in checking it out? Chiller will be airing a Hex season one marathon tomorrow, Saturday, October 24, starting at 11AM EST.

*An added bonus for me: The title sequence uses a remix of Garbage‘s “Number One Crush” as its theme song.


Being Human (vampires, werewolves, ghosts)
While I enjoyed Hex a lot, I absolutely love the new BBC series, Being Human. Which, if you read my blog even occasionally, you already know. Despite also featuring vampires, it’s worlds apart from True Blood, which I also love. While the show’s main characters are a vampire (the top-of-my-Christmas-wish-list Aidan Turner as Mitchell), a werewolf (the amazing Russell Tovey as George), and a ghost (the lovely Lenora Crichlow as Annie), the heart of the show really lies in their unwaveringly loyal friendship and close relationship as roommates. And then, of course, there are their unique conditions and the impending vampire apocalypse to deal with.

Season two is currently filming, so it’ll be a while before we see it here stateside. In the meantime, you can catch up with season one as BBC America will be airing a Being Human marathon this Sunday, October 25, starting at 11:30AM EST. And judging by the hour-and-fifteen-minute blocks allotted each episode, the marathon will include the behind-the-scenes footage that originally aired during the season’s premiere run earlier this summer (the featurettes are about three-quarters of the way into each episode, tacked onto the end of a commercial break).


True Blood (vampires, werewolves, telepaths, maenads)
I’ve been hooked on True Blood since I first saw the promo for its series premiere. While the very first episode featured enough Southern stereotypes and exaggerated accents to make both the spouse and I a bit wary, we stuck with it and, boy, do we enjoy the hell out of watching this show. Being on HBO allows it the freedom to indulge in all those horror-genre staples that mainstream TV can’t: sex, nudity, profanity, violence, gore, and lots and lots (and LOTS) of blood. Not for the faint of heart, the show is based on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse books, although season two veered away from the books (or so devoted readers of the series have told me). Set in Bon Temps, Lousiana, the series revolves around waitress Sookie Stackhouse’s (Anna Paquin) romance with vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), along with all the drama that comes with it. That drama includes a wayward best friend, Tara (Rutina Wesley); Sookie’s boss, bar owner Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell); a vampire-blood-dealing cook (LOVE Nelsan Ellis‘ Lafayette); Sookie’s aimless horndog brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten); and too many other fascinating, unique characters to do justice to in this post. There is also the thinly veiled parallel to the gay rights movement, with the vampires “coming out of the coffin” and living openly among humans (it’s legal for them to marry humans in Vermont).

If you haven’t yet given the show a try, HBO Signature will be airing a True Blood season one marathon next Friday, October 29, starting at 10PM EST.


What supernatural/horror-themed shows thrill, scare, and amuse you?

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September 2, 2009 · 2:00 PM

My Latest TV Obsession: Being Human

Song Lyric of the Day:

In every headline we are reminded / That this is not home for us / Where is it? / Where is home? / I walk a modern tight rope / Of humility and belligerence

Bloc Party / “Where Is Home?“

It’s been a while since I blogged about anything really TV-specific. Basically because I’ve been, you know, busy. That said, I still find time to indulge in TV whenever possible. I’m not dead, after all. And of late, I have to say my current favorite show — other than True Blood — is that other vampire series, Being Human. The six-episode first season just wrapped up its BBC America run*, but I’m burning it to DVD for a friend, which means I’m using this opportunity to rewatch the season. It’s that good.

Image courtesy of the BBC website.

Actually, to describe Being Human as merely a vampire series is completely underselling it. The premise sounds like the setup to a good joke: A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost share a house in Bristol, England. The meat of the show, so to speak, is that they are all trying to hold onto their humanity in the face of dealing with their supernatural conditions (Being Human — get it?). Mitchell (the distractingly beautiful Aidan Turner), the vampire, does his best not to give in to his primal urges by feeding on humans, a decision over which his fellow vampires give him grief. George (Russell Tovey) has only been a werewolf for two years and still can’t quite get a handle on his changing body. He relies heavily on his roommates, Mitchell in particular, to help him isolate himself during his time of the month, lest he inadvertently hurt someone. Ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow) went from newly engaged to newly dead. She and her fiance, Owen, shared the house in which her spirit is now trapped. While she supports Mitchell and George, they in turn support Annie in trying to figure out what is keeping her tied to the house and from crossing over.

I think the beauty of the show lies in the friendship between Mitchell, George, and Annie. They fight just like any roommates would, but their unique conditions give them a bond and an understanding like no other. The series has also played with some of the usual vamp/were/ghost conventions, making them its own. Mitchell can go outside in the daytime and be exposed to sunlight. Vampires do not instantaneously die when staked in the heart. Ghosts can be seen by “others” — beings with their own supernatural conditions. They can also touch and move objects like they did when alive. And werewolves apparently have fantastic sex the eve of their metamorphosis (lucky George).

As expected, Being Human has its own wonderfully quirky British sense of humor. While overall the themes are pretty dark and heavy (hiding their true selves, betrayal, power plays, misplaced loyalties, fear, etc.), the show is not without wit. George in particular provides most of the comic relief, with Mitchell getting some really great zingers, and Annie enjoying a slightly more physical humor, with funny lines of her own.

I love everything about this show: the cast, the characters, the acting, the direction, the setting, the look. But in addition to that is an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack, with songs perfectly chosen for each episode, both in tone, sound, composition, and lyrics. In this show’s case, music only makes certain scenes better and more affecting.

Fortunately, season one did so well that season two is now underway, complete with better special effects. And I, for one, can’t wait.

Oh, and did I mention that Aidan Turner is drop-dead beautiful? Rowr.

*Check out BBC America On Demand.


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