Series 5 of Being Human will be with us next year, but what would we like to see more (and less) of from Honolulu Heights?
This article contains spoilers.
Now that the dust has settled on series four and we've all had time to ponder over Annie's timely departure, Tom's sweet puppy dog eyes and Hal's mighty chest, it's a good time to turn our attention to the fifth series of the Beeb's best supernatural series set in Barry.
Yes, we now know that series five is happening and that Michael Socha and Damien Molony will return, alongside newest recruit Kate Bracken. Colour us excited? Too right. For all of series four's faults, it was overall a sparky, witty, and most importantly engaging outing for the show, with many episodes harking back to the glory days of series two.
We do have some ideas for how the show could look further to recapture those halcyon days, though, and we'd like to share them with you.
Make Each Episode Count
Do you think Mr Whithouse was listening? We've been banging on about bringing the episodes down from eight to six for so long, we were beginning to bore ourselves silly. Then, would you believe it, we find out that this is precisely what's been commissioned for next year.
A six episode series should, by rights, bring a tighter focus to proceedings and leave us with a better series story arc, rather than the rather sprawling one that the last series was at times guilty of providing us with.
This tight focus isn't a given, of course, and we hope that each and every episode next year feels like it's driving the series forward.
Give Alex Something To Do
Lenora Critchlow's has said of Annie's demise “I don't know if there's much more for her to do, if I'm honest”, which is an interesting comment, given that many Being Human fans felt that Annie was given precious little to do for nigh-on two series. Too often, Annie was a creative cul-de-sac for the writers, leaving her with very little to do, beyond moping and basically existing in the background.
Kate Bracken's performances have been fantastic, providing a character with real grit and determination. With such a great screen presence to boot, Alex deserves a better service than Annie ever received. Come on, chaps. Give a ghost a chance.
Less Backstory
We've seen enough of the vampires and werewolves now to know enough about their backgrounds and histories. Unless there is someone genuinely interesting to bring back from history (Mr Snow, we're talking about you) let's all just move towards a better, darker future.
Oh, and can we please put the box tunnel massacre to bed?
More Hal-Tom
Bromance fans, this one's for you. What started out as a distinctly frosty relationship blossomed in the end with Tom's words of genuine affection towards his new best mate. There were plenty of genuinely funny moments between these two throughout the course of the series and it would be a crying shame if we didn't get to see more of the same next year, preferably away from the confines of that café.
More Of Hal's Chest
Because some fans clearly like this sort of thing.
Give The Heroes A Proper Adversary
Throughout much of the course of series four, the villains of the piece – the old ones – were largely left in the background, or otherwise swiftly dealt with and forgotten thereafter. Mr Snow is a prime example of how a cracking adversary can spice things up, although we'll obviously be without him going forward.
For much of the last series, Hal's prime adversary was his own desires, which was interesting but it did get slightly boring towards the end – you'd never find Mitchell whining so much. So man up, Hal. Or vampire up, or something.
Forget The Past, People
Clearly, the best way to enjoy the next series, which has essentially been set up for us all now as a proper reboot of the show (really, wasn't that the underlying point of the last series?), is to stop comparing it to what's gone before.
Hal is not Mitchell. Tom is not George. Alex is not Annie.
All obvious points, but the way some people keep harking back to times past... Give these three a chance.
Bring Back Cutler
Unlikely, we know, but we can hope.
Read our review of the Being Human series 4 finale, The War Child, here.
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