Being Human (U.S. version)

Cafe Society
1

I was a fan of the UK version of the show, and I’ve been watching the US version with a lot of anticipation and hope. I really do like the US version quite a bit; there are some things that they added or changed that I really like.

Becca was much more sympathetic than Lauren IMO, and a bit sexier to boot. I liked that she came across as really wanting to try to have a family with Aidan and Bernie, and that she seemed to actually care about Aidan; Lauren, on the other hand, seemed to just keep trying to use guilt to use Mitchell to get her next fix of blood.

Nora is, again IMO, a big upgrade over Nina. Nina was a very distinctive character and all, but there’s just something about the actress and her being 4 foot nothing and having a huge forehead that I couldn’t quite get behind. Nora on the other hand, has the same sass and intelligence but she’s way hotter, and I can actually believe the Josh/Nora romance more than I ever did for George/Nina. Part of that is because George is SO neurotic that he makes Woody Allen seem like the most confident man in the world. I can’t imagine someone who whines and cries that much being very attractive to most women. Josh is neurotic but at least he doesn’t end every other episode collapsing in tears.

I also liked the introduction of Josh’s family, especially his lesbian sister; we didn’t get to see anything of George’s family or past in the first few seasons that I saw, and I think it really helps flesh out the character. George does have one advantage over Josh, though; the actor has some of the best anguished/surprised screams ever. I really can believe that George is having major internal trauma during his transformations because of those screams.

The US version really is working hard at fleshing out Bishop, something that I thought was missing with Herrick in the UK version. Bishop comes across as a far deeper character, someone with history and motivations that never seemed to materialize with Herrick.

I’m especially glad that there is so far no US version of Karen, the cafeteria worker that Herrick recruits and takes as a lover. She’s so damned annoying that I want to punch a kitten when she starts with that tittering laugh of hers. (Side note; there seems to be many more overweight women cast in the UK version than the US version; Lauren isn’t really fat, per se, but she has a bit of a chubby face, and Karen of course is overweight, and Tully the werewolf hits on the overweight waitress and gets her number in the first season, and Owen’s new girlfriend not only has a horrible orange fake tan, but she’s also chubby. Is this a UK thing? Like Owen goes from super-cute and slim Annie to chubby and annoying whatserface, and Herrick, who presumably could compel a supermodel if he wanted to, chooses an overweight, annoying woman as his mate? Maybe it’s a US versus UK thing but it just seems odd to me.)

I’m kind of torn on the werewolf form; on the one hand, the transformations in the UK version are better, paying homage to classics like American Werewolf in London and The Howling, but the werewolf itself looks like a cheap Halloween costume. The CG werewolf in the US version, on the other hand, doesn’t look quite fearsome enough to me. I would have preferred the upright, bipedal werewolf look, or at least something hairier and more wolf-like.

I’m not sure how I feel about the vampire elders being part of the plot, other than admitting that it makes sense, in an Underworld, “there have been vampires around for thousands of years” sort of way. The thing I hope doesn’t happen is that Aidan spends all his time dealing with that stuff; both series are at their most enjoyable when the roomies are together, trying to figure out how to fit in with the rest of the world.

Aidan is starting to grow on me. Mitchell is still better by far, but it’s kind of hard to outdo him. US Aidan seems bred from the Twilight/Vampire Diaries brand of vampire, which I guess makes sense given the US audience, but I’m pretty sure that if they somehow had convinced Aidan Turner to play the vampire in the US version, there wouldn’t be many complaints. Still, I’m giving it a chance.

I liked the previews of Sally haunting Danny, and Josh’s comment, “She looks like The Grudge!”

2

I just finished the season last night.

Overall I like it and will watch season 2 if there is one.

Next season it probably won’t be worth comparing the US & UK versions, but for this first season:

Sally vs. Annie: I prefer Annie in the UK version. She’s cuter, and plays innocent better. Sally strikes me as a bit harsh, and I’m not sold on the intensity of hate she has for her fiancé. Danny is an asshole, and I wouldn’t want to date him or anything, but he’s not the sociopath his UK counterpart was. He did go nuts eventually, but I’d say Sally is as much to blame for that as he is.

Josh/George: They both annoy me, bore me, and I don’t care about their personal stories. I do prefer the way they handled George’s family in the UK version. It had more humor.

Aidan/Mitchell: I like both, but have to say Mitchell has more style and personality. Aidan seems mostly broody, and not as entertaining at it as Mitchell.

Nora/Nina: I like Nora well enough. She’s smart, snarky but I don’t buy her falling for Josh, or putting up with him past their first “date.” Nina is funny-looking, and deeper, smarter and I think George and Nina are a convincing match. Josh and Nora’s relationship feels forced.

Actually, a lot of the US version seems forced, and I feel like the show is telling me too much and not showing me nearly enough.

Bishop/Herrick: The guy who plays Herrick is a much better actor (actually I think all the Brit actors are better than their American counterparts). I like Bishop more, and he’s obviously a more central character than Herrick was. Hard to compare.

Religion: The real test was how they handled Nora and Nina’s respective exorcisms. In the UK version, it was hilarious and brilliant how the priest guy’s exorcism failed completely and utterly, and it was clear that while there are vampires, werewolves and ghosts, religion has nothing useful to say about it. In the American version, the exorcism actually worked??? Boo, hiss.

All for now. It looks like no one is going to read this anyway. Did the show bomb? Is it already canceled? Judging by the number of replies in this thread, I’d guess so.

3

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen all of season 2 of the UK version yet; and I had the season 3 finale spoiled for me, so I know what to expect, more or less. Sounds like there’s a lot that I missed so far…

Not sure if the show bombed, but as far as I can tell there will be a second season. I’m thinking it just happens to be a show that few Dopers were interested in, but that’s hardly a thorough sample size to draw broader conclusions; if it were, I would assume that Mal Reynolds is a household name on par with Elvis Presley and that the average American can give a detailed history of Middle Earth.

4

For what it’s worth, I really liked the show and made it a point to watch every episode. I gladly await the next season. I thought the show had some really artfully done shots and good music additions. I have not seen the UK original. Among my friends that watched the US version, only one other one besides me had good things to say about it, but they all seemed rabidly pro-UK version.

I agree that the Josh/Nora relationship was not well fleshed out. It seemed very rushed and unbelievable. I didn’t realize she was going to be a main character until the last episode.

I actually really enjoyed Aiden’s character - I feel like he tried really hard to help his friends, yet they never really asked him how he was doing or delved too deep into what was bothering him. Seemed like he got the short end of the stick. But they had entirely too many long-lost-love-interests in the series for him; hopefully he’ll get some better stories next time.

I think the show is going to lose a lot of personality with Bishop gone, though - his actor was awesome at the understated sinister shtick.

I was disinterested in Sally at first and found her whiny, but by the end of the series I liked her a lot more. I am interested to see what they actually do with her.

I enjoyed all of the retro hairstyles. :smiley:

5

The UK version was pretty good. The US version I don’t like.

6

I thought that Bishop’s death at the hands of Aidan made a hell of a lot more sense than Herrick’s death at the hands of George. Herrick, instead of taking the opportunity to attack George in his vulnerable transformation state, stood there and gave him all the time in the world. (It would make sense if Herrick was playing at some I-needed-to-die-to-achieve-some-scary-magical-end gambit, but I don’t recall that being the case.) Two badass vamps throwing down works much better.

Bishop’s attack on Aidan in the house raised an issue with me. The convention about vampires being unable to enter a residence unless one of the occupants has invited you in generally depicts the threshold as sort of an invisible forcefield. But in this case, it was shown as being where you CAN come in, you’ll just suffer terribly until you get back out. That weakens the protection a lot.

I tell you, I really wasn’t impressed at all with the choice of Sam Witwer to play Aidan initially. But that might have been because the promotional material made him look like a bit of a meathead. He’s doing all right, if not as good as his UK counterpart.

7

I haven’t seen the UK series, but I like the US version a lot. It has indeed been renewed for a Season 2. Seems like some of you here like the UK version better, but I’ve read comments on other boards where a lot of posters like the US version more.

It will be interesting to see where they go with things in season 2 with Rebecca and Bishop (and Bishop’s flunkie) gone and Danny apparently out of the picture. I guess Nora’s fate is the burning question. And, of course, whoever “she” is that Aidan is going to see.

8

Oops. For anyone confused by what I wrote, the bolded part should read: Sally and Annie’s.

9

I got such a crush on Nora, smart and gorgeous. It is fairly unbelievable that she would fall for Josh.

10

US version was more “magic” type stuff than religion tho, wasn’t it? Medium instead of priest, etc.

11

Yeah, there was nothing religious about the exorcism.

12

True. Was she an exorcist or a psychic ghost buster? I think of exorcism as more religious, and ghost busting as generally supernatural.

13

Like TBG said she looked and acted like a medium, not a priest. She used salt and i believe smoke and didn’t mention god at all when driving her away.

14

I thought the season finale was awesome. Gonna wait a while to watch whatever eps I have recorded.