VAMPING IT UP

Having watched the Pilot and the first episode there is a real niggle for me. As someone who has been waiting a while for the show to air I was saddened to find the re- casting had occured but really wanted to give it a chance as I loved the concept.

Not only has the cast changed but in many ways so have their characters. This is a real let down. I also read in an interview with the producer it was to make the show accessible to a younger audience. As I am a teacher and can therefore ask the opinions of those younger than myself at 31 and have friends in the 20's category I can comment wholeheartedly that not one of them had a problem with the initial concept and actually really liked it.

I am saddened to think that such great ideas might in the future be lightened, tweaked or straight-jacketed. Please can we have some of the darkness back in the plot and ther character back in the characters. The light and shade was what made it real and gripping.

I shall stay watching the series for now but I hope to see some of the original intensity coming back into the story.

This is in no way meant to be about the actors merely a hope about things to come.

I actually like the changes, mainly because there were a lot of stereotypical elements in the pilot that seemed tired. Gothic vampires fresh from a visit to the "european cousins", meeting in cellars...lazy characterisation. Having the vampires as more "normal" people is far more scary - authority figures being bloodsuckers? Excellent, and far less "Hammer horror" (this coming from an avid horror fan, both classic and modern takes on the genre). Mitchell is much more defined now too - I always wondered why someone who's essentially a 20th century vampire would slip into the personality of a schlocky vamp more at home in a Victorian gothic novel.



Also, the original actress for Annie was a bit too vacuous and annoying - I like the new one much better. She seems to display more emotion and this time round, I actually care about why she died, and the anguish that she's going through.



Russell Tovey is, as always, brilliant so I'm glad that he's stayed. George didn't need much modifying anyway, especially with the strong acting involved with the character.



In all, I was excited by the pilot but even more impressed by episode 1 of the series. Roll on the rest of the series!

i love "being human", its my favourite tv program! i do hope there is more series following!

i think the actors are well picked to the characters. Sadly i'm going to miss the next ep. but thank God i have sky+!

good show but how can vampires walk around in the daylight?

wainpayne-in the origonal Dracula noval he could move around in daylight, but he prefurred not to as he wasn't as strong & he couldn't turn into animals, I guess future film makers eventually turned it into vampires being allergic to daylight, you could say that the BH team are bringing back some older vampire traditions that have been forgotten

There are so many different versions of vampires ad different ideas about what they look like/dress like/act like etc it must have been hard to decide which ones to pick lol and i think a lot of it would have come down to budget. i think it must have been difficult to get the balance between human and "monster" too especially with the vampires - theyre meant to be dead but they dont really look it but if they did then they maybe wouldnt pass as human so easily

Non traditional vamps are in! whoo-hoo

ok,ok.

Um I think it is a great idea, as was said the idea of filiming night scenes only would have made it difficult.



Maybe they'll be one character who is some sort of main vamp who can't go out in daylight, but can just chill indoors. That would be good.



I'm not really suggesting anything because so far so good, I enjoy watching the show. :)

Here here taomark! I agree with everything you said. The pilot was ace but I much prefer the new series. Gothy vamps would have been watchable, but trying it from a new, more human perspective has worked out brilliantly.



Only appealing to younger audiences? Well Im not an OAP but I'd consider my self a grown up just about and I love this show.

Dumbing down, making it less dark less intense? Violence, sex, language, blood, gore, murder, suicide, addiction, corruption, unpredictable plots and the amount of thought, the detail that has gone into every element of this show!!!! Who could ask for more.

Today we see vampies as having pointed teeth, a cape maybe or an accompanyting bat. The suave safisticated modern vampires we see on tv and in films are very different from the folklores in which they originated. They used to be more like zombies, some walking in daylight, some not. Sometimes even the bloodlust is absent! In one story a vampires preffered substance was milk! So Mitchell and his peeps can be whatever they want to make them, there's as many types of vampire as there are vampire stories. If they could only come out at night then it wouldn't be "being human".

This is amazing, you created him like a normal person, but he has a dark side :D

medrenbar(1) stick with it...if you want 'darkness' you will not be disappointed.



As far as how vampires appear these days. My take is that they cannot be gothic anymore...it is what I assumed is 'hiding in plain site'

site??....meant sight...sorry

I love this show