Great Zia! Happy to hear Damien is making a positive impression on the italian audience too!

But any chance of a  translation? I am pretty sure I am not the only one with only a basic understanding of italian, and the google translations are almost unreadble.  thanks!

OK, here it goes
I think it's unlikely for someone here not to have watched season 4 of Being Human so far, but just in case I must warn you: massive spoilers ahead!!!

"It would be difficult to me if I had to point a "bottle episode" in Being Human because actually any single episode has been filmed on the cheap. Few outdoor shoots, special effects as in a junior high school carnival, no CGI for werewolf transformation, Purgatory is a corridor with doors... nevertheless production had to renounce to the small pink house in Bristol moving the action to the shabby B&B in Barry Island, in South Wales, to save money: "Oh, I'm so sorry!" exclaims Hal to Alex announcing to be there in vacation, and that's not a coincidence.

But the strenght of the series has always been elsewhere, in characters, in writing, in cast choices: all conditions that meeting and enforcing one on the wake of the other have raised the selling off air to the perfect synthesis of the needing that made the protagonists bond: to have something small, ordianry, a very human housekeeping rota that could become cause of rants and recriminations as it was the end of the world.
Then, with season four, the end of the world has been introduced for real, literally, by eliminating the distinctive element of the series - resarch for normality - in favour of a big apocalyptic design, going on anyway with a poverty of means that this time hasn't been redeemed nor appeased by original ideas, writing and interpretations such as to evoke in imagination what production is not able to display.

In short, adult Eve, in informing Annie about the atrocities that will be perpetrated in the future, is not able to show us anything of what she is telling. It's not made believable that the full narrative arch is put into motion by the interpretation of a prophecy missing a third, and Lenora Crichlow, alone, without a strong story, without charismatic counterparts to face, is not able to arouse empathy. At times, rather, annoyance. Luckily, this main plot marks heavily only the first and last episode: even if the prophecy, the apocalypse, Eve's destiny remain the central thread, in the other episodes we are put in the condition to continue loving Being Human.

Mitchell is irreplaceable and, in a very clever way, is not replaced, so as is not offered a life in common similar to the one of the past seasons: the character of Hal York has a life of his own, it's not been written to make us forget Mitchell. The domino scene is the perfect example of how it doesn't need dozens of episodes to portray a character: the disposition of dominoes is a continuing exercise of controlling his own nature, resisting the impulse of cast them down once they are perfectly disposed is a reiterated statement of capacity to stop on the limit when it would be so easy and gratifying to surrender, even if only once. The life in common that gathers Hal, Tom and Annie under the same roof becomes mostly founded on opportunity. Hal lost Pearl and - most important - Leo, but in memory of the last is decided not to become again the monster he once was. Tom, orphaned of Mcnair, weary of travelling, seeks in protecting little Eve a goal that is to protect and no more to kill. Annie has decided that little Eve must be the Saviour, and herself her guardian: so she can at the same time love and satisfy her vanity.

The bond is then the protection fo Eve, but the relationship that from episode to episode is developed is only Hal/Tom, protagonists of the most successful and entertaining scenes. It's a pleasure to watch the fall of a noble vampire, with OCD traits, once powerful and feared, and now frying low quality food in a shabby café, under orders of a messy, naive, daydreaming werewolf, definitely too uncouth and ignorant for the tastes of a lord. But when to the basic line-up - we had anyway again a vampire/ghost/werewolf trio - is added the very likeable Alex, not just as a one episode guest, the idea that season four was not just a restart  is enforced. The season finale confirmed that.

The botched mythology about the origin of vampires and the destiny of humanity comes to its end. The Old Ones finally land in Barry Island, Mr. Snow reveals his plan: Eve must live, this is the meaning of the complete prophecy. Belief that the baby is the saviour will make humans, in perpetual awaiting for the decisive intervention of a messiah, never able to manage a united resistance, firm and effective against the vampires. This is why future Eve tries to kill baby Eve. This is why, failed any other attempt, she can only implore Annie to save the destiny of mankind not protecting the baby, but killing her.

Despite the available material - Annie must make a terrible choice - the finale is flat: we are not able to sense the danger for whole humanity, Annie's torments are exausting, Tom's plan is simply absurd. The episode has anyway its strong moments: the interpretation of Gatiss - who could have dubted that? - Cutler's plan ridiculed, the "Show no mercy" posters of Hal bloodthirsty dictator in the regime to come.
In the end the best part is Annie's demise. The reason why her character seemed unbound to the others even if sharing the same storyline was the incoming goodbye: it's not her the third vertex of the triangle. Fourth season has not only been a new beginning but, seen in the light of the last episode, a openly transition year. Alex, Tom and Hal will be the new housemates, the new "a ghost a vampire and a werewolf under the same roof". These eight episodes served to bring the series from a sudden confusion to a true beginning, this time - we hope - reasoned and meditated"

-- Edited by ziadada on Wednesday 4th of July 2012 05:36:42 PM

Wow, so much work (and time) must have gone into this Zia thank you so much! It seems to be a really thoughtful review.. from what i could grasp it is mostly positive and some salient points raised - particularly about how cleverly the issue of 'replacing' Mitchell was sidestepped by bringing a very different vampire with his own story, in Hal. Damien made the same point himself in his Series 4 blu-ray / dvd extras interview.

"the fall of a noble vampire" that is interesting to me..from the perspective of traditional vampire world, Old One Lord Harry was part of a nobility, only from a human perspective was he a evil monster! There is definitely something so compelling about the mystery of that, and the polarity between his 'then' and 'now'.

conflicted domino wrote:

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Has series 4 just finished in italy?

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It has just begun last monday...

(many people, like myself, watch tv series before they are aired in Italy... )

-- Edited by ziadada on Thursday 5th of July 2012 07:09:04 PM

Hi Zia, I may be wrong but at the time of series 3 ending the general feeling was how could it recover? but BH just keeps on growing in my opinion, the synergy of writing and acting is and always will be ridiculously EPIC

Sorry to be such a numpty about Italian TV but...Has series 4 just finished in italy?

Yes, it could be a spoiler but usual readers are well aware that reviewers are ahead of italian airing, so no harm is done

I would be very curious to hear how they all sound dubbed in Italian, but too bad I don't have that channel...