Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Being Human: Season Three Blu-ray Movie Review

A daring finale helps makes season three a winner.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 28, 2011

***This review contains spoilers for all three seasons of Being Human.***

You made me human.

Ghosts and werewolves and vampires, oh my! Ghosts and werewolves and vampires and zombies! Oh my? Fortunately, the series's dabbling into the current champion of the undead craze lasts only an episode; though a potential jump the shark moment, it's hard to fault Being Human for what amounts to little more than filler, particularly when the remainder of the season is so strong. While the show does miss an opportunity to more thoroughly explore the differences between the physically undead -- the zombie -- and the spiritually undead -- Annie -- in the fictional world of Being Human, it does manage to deliver a hearty, captivating story arc split only by a few standalone episodes and one-shot characters that, altogether, make this the best season of Being Human yet. This third season expertly weaves together a greater dramatic arc than was found in either of its predecessors, through it all returning old favorites while digging deeper into the primary characters and more pointedly exploring their difficulties in maintaining their humanity when it's otherwise been taken away from them not in their physical human appearances but in their inner capacities of the mind and spirit, battling those temptations that prove their lost humanity but perhaps in a roundabout way reinforcing their humanity even to a greater degree than could a "normal" human being by finding the courage and strength to fight what may very well be a losing battle, but fighting it nonetheless. Being Human hasn't always lived up to its potential, but that's changed. The show seems to finally be on the right track and is on the verge of excellence throughout its third season and finding it in the final episodes. This season is built more on emotional balance and the consequences of actions which seem more heightened because, finally, the characters have reached the maturation necessary to really allow a series like this to explode into something special.

Print is dead, man!

It's been a short time since Mitchell (Aidan Turner) massacred twenty people in the infamously dubbed "Box Tunnel Murders," and he's entangled in a desperate inner-turmoil to sort out who he is, what he's capable of, and what he's done. Meanwhile, George (Russell Tovey) and Nina's (Sinead Keenan) relationship is holding steady and is about to become a whole lot more complicated. Walking ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow) is still missing. It's a tumultuous time for these supernatural friends; their relationships are strained, their futures are uncertain, their lives are upside down, and they collectively and individually struggle to find answers in their quest to be more human. George, Mitchell, and Nina have moved on after Annie's disappearance, renting a new flat that's a former bed and breakfast with a Hawaiian theme called "Honolulu Heights." It even has a great bricked-in basement that's perfect for werewolf transformations. As they're checking the place over, Mitchell sees a shadow of Annie projected on a television screen. He learns she's been sucked into a sort of purgatory and is in need of rescue. When a hospital patient dies, Mitchell follows the spirit into the afterworld where he encounters a guide named Lia (Lacey Turner) who, instead of taking him to Annie, forces him to suffer through reliving his violent "Box Tunnel" attack and has her own personal reasons for doing so. She also prophesies that Mitchell will die by a "wolf-shaped bullet." Mitchell is ultimately able to secure Annie's freedom, but as the friends settle into their new digs, come across some strange new bedfellows, and face the consequences of the return of an old enemy, Mitchell must struggle to come to terms with his very real, very plain, and very dangerous destiny.

Fans might not be happy with the way season three plays out, but there's an unmistakable honesty to it that pushes the series further along than anything before it; the finale epitomizes what Being Human has always been about, and that is, as its title suggests, the journey towards re-discovering -- or, perhaps, even, discovering for the first time, albeit through a skewed but no less valid prism -- humanity when dark, decidedly un-human elements infiltrate and far too often than not dominate one's very being, sparking a war from within that's fought through the outer strength of friendship and the inner strength of the soul. The finale, controversial as it may be, is the ultimate development in that struggle, and it turns out that the very follies that define man define the supernatural, too, but it also turns out that the strengths that define man also define those who only have enough humanity left inside to know that it's worth fighting for. Does "being human" mean more at the genetic or physical level, or is humanity defined by the successes and failures of the spirit and mind, both capable of rising man to great heights or tumbling him towards the lowest depths of despair and hopelessness? What really sets this season of Being Human apart is the honesty with which it examines its core question; with that honesty comes a reality that "being human" isn't as easy as battling back physical characteristics but honestly evaluating those unseen but ultimately life-defining attributes that suck the humanity from these characters, and it's those attributes of accepting fate, unflinching self-evaluation, and commitment towards a greater good no matter the cost that finally returns the very essence of humanity back into the fold. That's worth any price one must pay to earn it back or, maybe even, experience it for the first time.

With the push towards the ultimate, series-defining finale comes an abundance of emotional content that necessarily and effortlessly gives this season of Being Human the most complete feel and tonal balance yet. This is series creator Toby Whithouse's crowning achievement, finally seeing his characters and their plights come full circle and the show's promise fulfilled. No longer is it an interesting gimmick but instead a viable, heartfelt achievement in defining what it means to be human on every perceptible level; the series's evolution from occasionally hard-hitting curiosity seems a little sudden, but seasons one and two dabbled just enough in the greater scope and context of the premise as it has always existed at a deeper level beyond the dynamics of the characters's relationships with one another that it's not a surprise that season three has finally achieved maturation of the idea. The acting has been elevated a few notches, too; all three primaries -- Aidan Turner, Russell Tovey, and Lenora Crichlow -- wonderfully advance their characters towards spiritual and emotional maturations that are key to the series's success, far beyond the admittedly interesting but thematically unfulfilling generalities that more often than not defined previous seasons that focused more on the visible dynamics and logistics of the relationships instead of the deeper, more personal journeys on which they embark as a group towards finding their humanities.

Being Human: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Being Human: Season Three bites into Blu-ray with a proficient but fairly routine 1080i Blu-ray transfer. While crisp and nicely detailed -- facial textures are exquisite as evidence by countless close-up shots that reveal every hairy stubble and pore on Mitchell's vampiric mug, and clothing and other general elements look quite sharp -- the image is fairly flat and often otherwise lifeless, attributable to the mid-grade HD video source. Colors are neither vibrant nor dull, settling into a healthy middle ground but sometimes appearing a touch drab and lifeless in darker scenes. Flesh tones waver quite a bit, appearing abnormally warm in some scenes and practically lifeless and pale the next, but blacks are good, never too murky and never slipping into a dreary, washed out look. There's a hint of banding and background noise that creeps in from time to time, but this is otherwise a clean transfer. It's not much of a looker, but BBC's transfer is at least steady and generally proficient.

Being Human: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Being Human: Season Three lands on Blu-ray with a whimper, offering fans a flat but serviceable Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. The absence of a lossless track really hurts; sonically, the show just never gets off the ground, always struggling to find a greater range and clarity. Dialogue is often shallow and low in volume relative to general reference-standard levels. Music is flat and lacking any vigor or energy, always seeming cramped and suppressed like it's being played behind some invisible barrier that muffles the presentation. Heavier sound effects, such as slamming doors or punches hitting flesh, play with a dull, wimpy thud rather than a more authoritative oomph. Surround channels, of course, go unused, leaving it to the front to carry whatever trace of ambience there may be, which never really pulls the listener into the show. This is a routine TV-type soundtrack that's proficient but stale, getting the job done but never going above and beyond the call of duty.

Being Human: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Being Human: Season Three features only a selection of deleted scenes (1080p, 11:59); interviews with Aidan Turner, Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey, and Sinead Keenan (1080p, 21:43); and Sinead's Set Tour (1080p, 5:15), a look around the Honolulu Heights set with Actress Sinead Keenan.

Being Human: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Being Human: Season Three is a wonderful achievement in dramatic and emotional television. This season is bigger in scope, yes, but it's also more focused on what the show has always promised to be about, and its courageous, honest, and gut-wrenching finale is one of the finest hours of television in recent memory. This is Being Human as it's always strived to be, the fulfillment of the concept at an emotional level that satisfied the show's title and sees its characters come full circle. Whether it can carry this momentum into season four remains to be seen, but as it stands, the entirety of Being Human can now be labeled a success and event the lesser first and second seasons may be seen in a different light as worthwhile companions leading up to the third season's brilliantly honest conclusion. BBC's Blu-ray release of Being Human: Season Three is no better and no worse than the previous Blu-ray releases of seasons one and two. A solid video transfer, a subpar lossy soundtrack, and only a few extras don't make this set worth a purchase based strictly on its technical merits, but the quality of the programming does, however, warrant a buy. Recommended.