TV Review: Being Human

As someone who watched the original British version ofBeing Human, SyFy's American remake is almost unbearable. Not because of anything they've left out, but because of the producers' obsessive need to recreate the original, with the addition of some good old American self-pity.

Even the costumes seem second-hand for vampire Aidan (Sam Witwer), ghost Sally (Meaghan Rath) and werewolf Josh (Sam Huntington), who are living as roommates. They just want to be normal people, but whereas the original trio kept a stiff upper lip, these three are encouraged by the writers and directors to make their sadness at not being human as maudlin as possible. Sally and Josh even get into a pissing match about who has it worse, her ghostly self or him, with his once-a-month transformation.

The U.S. producers have also seen fit to retain the complicated and boring subplot about the vampire bureaucracy that Aidan is trying to escape, a plot point that was even less interesting than it is onTrue Blood. Perhaps first time viewers will find the premise and attractive, relatively unknown cast appealing enough to forgive the lapses into brimming tears. For those of us who have already been to this particular haunted house, we don't need to relive it all over again, with more feeling this time.