alphanubilus wrote:I just watched the first episode of "Being Human" ala Americana... It is almost a word for word translation of the British version with the exception that they've spent a considerable amount of money on the effects. The Werewolf TF (you only see a partial TF) in particular revolves a more lupine variant (with a tail). The first episode ends with Josh and his sister (not his girlfriend) being locked with him in the hospital.
As a whole if they keep it up, it will be nearly identical to the British version. While effects are much better this time around, with CGI, expensive make-up effects and tons of little things here and there, the cast doesn't have the same chemistry as the British cast. I didn't know it was possible to make "Josh" more whiney, but alas he is... at least his TF screams aren't so shril this time around, but the actor makes me nervous. Aiden is now played by the same actor that played Doomsday in Smallville. His take on Aiden is less vampire sexy vs. just plain menacing. Still I'm more fond of the British cast, especially the Brit ghost of whom is just plain annoying in the American Version.
Being Human airs on Mondays at 8pm...on SyFy... It will be on Hulu 30 days after airing on TV. You can check out the first episode now.
*nods* What I liked most about the British version was that it was character-driven. Maybe that was a conscious decision, or maybe it was to compensate for their lack of decent FX, but at any rate, the British
Being Human wasn't about ghosts, vampires and werewolves, but rather three very believable, very relative people who were a ghost, a vampire and werewolf.
SyFy, on the other hand, looks like they're just trying to make a ghost, vampire and werewolf show. Which is frankly what I suspected they would do; this is the network that has kept itself alive and relevant by catering to people that
INDULGE in grand-scale sci-fi stupidity (this is the network that gave us
Sharktopus and
Mansquito). So my best guess is that the network thought their viewers would watch anything with a ghost, vampire and werewolf in it, that they carried over
Being Human to avoid plagiarism accusations (by the viewers), and that the hack and/or struggling writers hired to develop the American version (in their wisdom) realized they couldn't write anything better and just copied it directly.
No such luck for the actors though. They look more like they're trying to play type-casts than actual characters. Which is a damn shame, because the original series was character-driven. Not the worst mockery of a British TV show by an American network ever made, but not anything they'll think any better of us for either.