“A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf live together in a house”…sounds the the beginning of a joke. However, it’s the plot of the supernatural drama series Being Human.
While the first season of the US version of Being Human was extremely similar to its UK counterpart in its plots and storylines, the second second is where the US series really becomes a show of its own.
When we last saw our supernatural trio, vampire Aiden (Sam Witwer) killed Bishop, the head of the vampires; a pregnant Nora (Kristen Hager) discovered the truth about werewolf Josh (Sam Huntington); and ghost Sally (Meaghan Rath) passed up her door to the beyond in order to help her roommates. In this second season, Being Human is all about Temptation. With Aiden it’s bloodlust and hunger, for Sally it’s power and for Josh and Nora it’s the animal instincts of the wolf.
We pick up just a few weeks from where the first season left off. Aiden is dealing with the consequences of Bishop’s death. He is now in charge of the vampires, trying to get them to change their ways and not feed on humans. But it’s not easy dealing with lots of hungry vampires. To add to his troubles, Mother is back in town, and Aiden his put in charge of her daughter Suren (Dichen Lachman), who is being groomed as Bishop’s replacement. Meanwhile, Sally meets some young ghosts who teach her about powers she didn’t even know she had. As Sally explores these addictive newfound abilities, she senses some dark force may be hunting her, and learns there may be consequences for her actions. And Josh and Nora must deal with the pregnancy and the wolf, and what this means for their relationship. But the resurfacing of someone from Josh’s past may complicate things.
While the first season was all about this group coming together and sharing their lives with one another, the second season of Being Human explores how the group lives their separate lives, each dealing with his or her own demons and desires. One thing I really enjoyed about the first season was all of those fun moments with the characters interacting at home and in the hospital. While there is certainly less of that in the second season, I never found it lacking. The series continues to have a great blend of drama, suspense, action and humor. By separating the characters into their own storylines, we get to explore each of them in greater detail and learn more about their motivations and desires. Each of their worlds is greatly expanded, introducing new kinds of vampires, wolves and ghosts. We get to see how each of these characters interacts with their own species—and even explore more of Aiden’s earlier days as a vampire.
As someone who first watched the original UK version of Being Human, I couldn’t help but make comparisons while watching the first season of the US adaptation. However, I found that while watching this second season, the UK series didn’t even enter my head. Not only are these episodes completely original, but they take these characters in new, dark and interesting directions. The second season is intense and exciting and builds to quite a suspenseful finale. This season also features some great guest stars, including Jay Baruchel, Tracy Spiridakos, Mark Pellegrino and Kyle Schmid.
I really enjoyed this second season of Being Human, marathoning the whole season all over again. The show looks even better on this Blu-ray set than it did when I first watched on the HD Syfy channel—the picture is, for the most part, incredibly clear, except for a few of the darker scenes that have a bit of grain. The DTS Master Audio soundtrack sounds excellent—the dialogue is crisp and the soundtrack is enveloping and makes great use of all of the audio channels. The bonus features are a bit limited, but still quite entertaining. This is an easy recommendation.
What’s Included on the Blu-ray:
Episodes:
- All 13 episodes of the Second Season (572 min)
- 1080p Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 5.1 DD
- English SDH subtitles
Extras:
- Season 2 Making-of Featurette (1:00:56)
While this is called a making-of featurette, the first two-thirds of it is really just a recap of season 2—the cast and producers talk in-depth about the journeys taken by each of the characters during the second season. Afterwards, there is a behind-the-scenes look at the prep and filming of the 1930s ballroom scene as well as some other modern-day scenes. The special effects department also shows how they create the wolves. I wish the whole hour had been more like the latter 20 minutes! - Being Human at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 (48:30)
The entire Being Human panel (including the season 3 sizzle reel) from San Diego Comic-Con 2012. The panelists include showrunner Anna Fricke, and stars Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath and Sam Witwer. They talk about working on season 2 and give hints as to what viewers can expect to see in season 3. I attended this panel in person, and it was great to be able to rewatch it here—the cast has so much fun with each other, and the banter between the two Sams is hilarious. - Being Human Problems (5:00)
The cast and creators talk about the various problems the characters must overcome in the second season. While this content was pretty much covered in the hour-long featurette, here we get a little more behind-the-scenes footage of the filming.
Final Thoughts:
The second season of Being Human is truly original and proves that this version can stand on its own apart from its UK counterpart. This season gives interesting stories with a great blend of drama, action, humor and suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed rewatching this sophomore season of the US series.
This Blu-ray sports excellent picture and sound. I wish the bonus features were a little more extensive, and included things like episode commentaries, deleted scenes, outttakes or a gag reel. However, those that have been provided give the viewer with a decent behind-the-scenes look into Being Human.
I definitely recommend Being Human season 2 for sci-fi fans, as well as fans of the UK series who may have prematurely dismissed the US show during the first season for being too similar to the original.
