OT: Being Human pilot

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A friend sent me a YouTube link to a pilot that aired in England last month on BBC3 for a series called Being Human, whose main characters are actually not quite human - they're a vampire, a man cursed as a werewolf (and played by Russel Tovey from The History Boys) and a ghost. That may sound like a premise ripe for a camp treatment if ever there was one, but the show plays things very seriously and is all the better for it. It's not the most original story, but it is fresh enough to be interesting, and hopefully BBC3 will pick it up and turn it into a series. And anyone interested in checking out the pilot can start with Being Human part 1 (of 6 - for a total of about 55 minutes). You might also want to check out If this is what Being Human means then I'm happy with that! after you've watched it.

I should probably also point out that the show features male nudity (only from the rear) and a bit of swearing. But unless you're a member of the Parents Television Council or the FCC, I seriously doubt you'll be offended.

[retzev]

This sounds like it could turn into something really good, if it's treated properly. Thanks for the heads up, MB!

[arashi]

Thanks for the heads up, I am definitely going to check it out.

[MagnusTrask]

Is it routine now for pilots under consideration to be available to watch online?   If so, a pilot could generate a lot of public support, and that could influence programmers.    That could shake up their assumptions about what the public wants or doesn't want.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

If you prefer not to watch the pilot in six parts, prefer a widescreen version, and most of all - prefer much better quality, you might be interested in downloading this torrent: Being.Human.S01E00.WS.PDTV.XviD-AFFiNiTY. However, you'll also need a program that can process rar files to reassemble it (something like WinRAR, WinACE, etc.), and you'll need to have the XviD codec installed on your computer (though you probably already do - but if not, it's very easy to find/download/install). It's a bit more work, but it's worth it.

The site offering this torrent also features this summation of the pilot:

The first of six drama pilots sees Doctor Who/Torchwood
writer Toby Whithouse attempt a modern British monster
mash. Two blokes share a house: one's a vampire, the ot-
her's a werewolf. Whithouse melds the fantasy genre's
usual pompous portent with modest, very British flat-
share humour and scenes where the freaks clash painfully
with mundane reality. Sometimes it's an uneasy mix, and
Guy Flanagan annoyingly overplays the vampire's mercurial,
rock-star cool but Russell Tovey (Rudge from The History
Boys) is brilliant as the nerdy wolfman, and there are
several moments of prickling, singularly stylish horror.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Is it routine now for pilots under consideration to be available to watch online?

No. In fact, unless the people who produced the pilot put it online themselves, it can be illegal to post it online. And most pilots are never even broadcast on TV, so the average person would never even have access to them to post them. But in the cases of the ones that are shown, many producers are willing to look the other way because it might mean that their pilots will get a wider exposure on the Internet than they might have gotten only on TV.

a pilot could generate a lot of public support, and that could influence programmers.    That could shake up their assumptions about what the public wants or doesn't want.

True. Good word of mouth (like this pilot has been generating) is never a bad thing...

[Gothick]

Wow, I've watched part one and a bit of part two, and it's really quite well done!  Thanks for posting this.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I keep forgetting to post that this pilot has been picked up for six episodes: Being Human commissioned for BBC Three