Pimp Post I
Nov. 15th, 2009 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanndellThere are shows that grab the imagination of fandom almost immediately, shows that creep up on fandom, and shows that get no fandom love at all. In my eight years or so lurking around fandom, I haven't been able to map any patterns in this progression. Merlin and Torchwood would be examples of the first, Psych would be an example of the second, and I'm very afraid that Being Human is going to be an example of the third. For this reason I feel it incumbent upon me to sell the show to every fanficcer out there, in the hope that someone will pick it up and pay it forward, because this show deserves a whole lotta love. As a fan of genre television, and particularly genre television with complicated interpersonal narratives and dilemmas, Being Human had me at hello, and I need to read awesome fic about its fascinating characters and somewhat complex universe. So here I go, on my very first Pimp Post and be warned there will be spoilers behind the cut!!!!
The Concept: A vampire, a werewolf and a ghost share a house in Bristol. No, seriously, I am not even kidding you. That is the central theme of the show. Creator Toby Whitehouse explained that the storyboard was initially about three very different people, facing different problems sharing a house, then they decided to make them supernatural because it would be cooler. It was! The three of them are trying to integrate with normal society in an attempt to 'be human', hence the title of the show, and facing all kinds of crises in the process, including interfering evil vampires, a landlord with a secret, and of course matters of the heart. But the real kick of this show lies in its characters and they way they interact with each other, and so without further ado... I give to you...
Mitchell, The Vampire: At first sight,Mitchell, played very well by the very hunky Aidan Turner, is a bit of a Vampire cliche. He's over a hundred years old, used to be a total badass, had a case of the consciences, and is now going cold turkey on the need to feed. He's a bit of a legend among the vampire community, a complicated and slightly incestuous unit, which I'll describe further later, and has a peculiar relationship with WIlliam Herrick, the leader of the vampires. He has moments of broody angst about the crimes he had committed when he fully embraced his vamp self, and he still suffers from the momentary moral breakdown that leads to more soul searching and conflict, but most of the time, Mitchell is a bit of a pet. He works as a hospital porter, has a way with the ladies, loves Laurel and Hardy films, admitted to being the dorkiest kid ever, wears horrible yellow t-shirts, loves biscuits and gives smashing tea-parties. he's friendly and sensitive and charming, and is just the kind of guy who stays friends with his exes, even if he did date them four decades ago. He's also a damn good friend to both George and Annie, and he and George have the most charmingly codependant relationship in the world. Which brings me to...
George, The Werewolf: I love George, I love George like puppies and sunshine and candycanes and Christmas. George has supplanted Remus Lupin in my affections for woobiest werewolf ever, and I thought that was nearly an impossibility. I must admit to liking ever single character in Being Human, something that happens very rarely for me in a show (Last time was Firefly) but George holds a very special place in my affections. Played by the hilarious and oddly attractive Russel Tovey, George was turned two years before the pilot during a random werewolf attack in Scotland. When he discovered his condition, he left everything behind, a loving family, a fiancee, presumably a good job (George is very smart, he speaks six and a half languages, show tells us this) to live a twilight life on the outskirts of society, first working as a kitchen boy, and then as a hospital orderly. George is ever so slightly socially dysfunctional, he's high strung, a bit hysterical, and is adorably and heroically loyal to Mitchell. He's also madly in love with Nina, the tough-talking ward sister, who we will talk about later. The title of the show and its overarching theme is most applicable to George, because he's the one with the best shot at Being Human, his condition only affecting him for 12 nights a year. He's also the most invested in staying off the radar, and quietly integrating with society. He hates what he has become, and constantly dismisses his wolfish side. Except when he has to embrace it, but that's another story. He's also Jewish, loves to cook, and watches horror films all the time. He also loves Casablanca. It's cute!
And last but not least, Annie, the Ghost: Now, let me admit, I was sceptical about Annie for the first episode. She haunts the house the boys moved into, died just before her wedding due to a fall down the stairs, makes endless cups of tea, and babbles incessantly about her living fiance and her unfulfilled life. Clearly the kind of character who becomes annoying rather quickly, right? Wrong! Lenore Chriclow plays Annie with the perfect combination of vulnerability and hidden strength that makes the shift from whiny domestic ghost to kickass vengeance spirit entirely believable. This shift happens when Annie discovers that she didn't just die, but was murdered by her beloved fiance Owen, and that her release from the worldly realm depends on forcing him to confess to his crime. She becomes increasingly tougher and more powerful, while retaining the qualities that made her the frightened, unhappy and insecure ghost of the early episodes. It's very well done and very believable, and Annie is pretty awesome in her own right. Of course, like all the other characters of this show, she is more awesome in conjunction with the other two. This brings me to the completely correlations between the three characters.
However before I take off on my pairings and expectations from the large and fertile fandom that this show should have, I have to outline the important roles played by at least four of the minor characters of the show. If I haven't sold you on Being Human already, then perhaps fleshing out the other characters will do it. So in Pimp Post Part II, coming up soon on this LJ, Nina, Herrick, Owen and Lauren, where do they all fit in with our three protagonists, and how do I see them being an important part of fic. So stay tunedMitchell, The Vampire: At first sight,Mitchell, played very well by the very hunky Aidan Turner, is a bit of a Vampire cliche. He's over a hundred years old, used to be a total badass, had a case of the consciences, and is now going cold turkey on the need to feed. He's a bit of a legend among the vampire community, a complicated and slightly incestuous unit, which I'll describe further later, and has a peculiar relationship with WIlliam Herrick, the leader of the vampires. He has moments of broody angst about the crimes he had committed when he fully embraced his vamp self, and he still suffers from the momentary moral breakdown that leads to more soul searching and conflict, but most of the time, Mitchell is a bit of a pet. He works as a hospital porter, has a way with the ladies, loves Laurel and Hardy films, admitted to being the dorkiest kid ever, wears horrible yellow t-shirts, loves biscuits and gives smashing tea-parties. he's friendly and sensitive and charming, and is just the kind of guy who stays friends with his exes, even if he did date them four decades ago. He's also a damn good friend to both George and Annie, and he and George have the most charmingly codependant relationship in the world. Which brings me to...
George, The Werewolf: I love George, I love George like puppies and sunshine and candycanes and Christmas. George has supplanted Remus Lupin in my affections for woobiest werewolf ever, and I thought that was nearly an impossibility. I must admit to liking ever single character in Being Human, something that happens very rarely for me in a show (Last time was Firefly) but George holds a very special place in my affections. Played by the hilarious and oddly attractive Russel Tovey, George was turned two years before the pilot during a random werewolf attack in Scotland. When he discovered his condition, he left everything behind, a loving family, a fiancee, presumably a good job (George is very smart, he speaks six and a half languages, show tells us this) to live a twilight life on the outskirts of society, first working as a kitchen boy, and then as a hospital orderly. George is ever so slightly socially dysfunctional, he's high strung, a bit hysterical, and is adorably and heroically loyal to Mitchell. He's also madly in love with Nina, the tough-talking ward sister, who we will talk about later. The title of the show and its overarching theme is most applicable to George, because he's the one with the best shot at Being Human, his condition only affecting him for 12 nights a year. He's also the most invested in staying off the radar, and quietly integrating with society. He hates what he has become, and constantly dismisses his wolfish side. Except when he has to embrace it, but that's another story. He's also Jewish, loves to cook, and watches horror films all the time. He also loves Casablanca. It's cute!
And last but not least, Annie, the Ghost: Now, let me admit, I was sceptical about Annie for the first episode. She haunts the house the boys moved into, died just before her wedding due to a fall down the stairs, makes endless cups of tea, and babbles incessantly about her living fiance and her unfulfilled life. Clearly the kind of character who becomes annoying rather quickly, right? Wrong! Lenore Chriclow plays Annie with the perfect combination of vulnerability and hidden strength that makes the shift from whiny domestic ghost to kickass vengeance spirit entirely believable. This shift happens when Annie discovers that she didn't just die, but was murdered by her beloved fiance Owen, and that her release from the worldly realm depends on forcing him to confess to his crime. She becomes increasingly tougher and more powerful, while retaining the qualities that made her the frightened, unhappy and insecure ghost of the early episodes. It's very well done and very believable, and Annie is pretty awesome in her own right. Of course, like all the other characters of this show, she is more awesome in conjunction with the other two. This brings me to the completely correlations between the three characters.
