Meggin Watches Being Human: There Goes the Neighbourhood (Part One)

What if supernatural beings could exist? And if they did, what if they could hide amongst us, trying to blend in with our human society? Would they succeed, or would they end up complicating things? The new TV show Being Human focuses on these questions.

The whole gist of the show is that there’s a vampire named Aidan who is friends with a werewolf named Josh and they work together in a hospital, and both move into a flat that is already occupied by a ghost named Sally, and they, as supernatural beings, try to the best of their ability to be human in order to blend in with their environment. Of course, this causes many problems than solving them, such as Aidan’s unavoidable thirst for human blood, Josh’s constant fear of always thinking he will accidentally kill a person he is close to, and Sally’s inability to make herself seen by human eyes because of her ghostly form.

The first episode of the series opens with a narrative on how we can accept our faults and move on because we are human, but those that are supernatural can’t, and several scenes flash back and forth throughout. The first scene is of Aidan walking home with a girl by the name of Rebecca, and one can assume that they have wound their way to end of a date. The next scene is of Josh walking deep into the woods and taking his clothes off, and he just stands there, waiting for something to happen. As the opening scenes progress, we witness Aidan killing Rebecca, drinking her blood using his vampire fangs, and Josh’s violent transformation of turning into a werewolf. These first two scenes absolutely appalled me, because I didn’t think that American TV would show that much skin.

I have actually seen the British version of Being Human before I saw this American version, and I thought that the American version would simply recreate the British version, only with possibly better graphics. Oh, how wrong I was. For a start, all the names in the American version are different from the British one. The vampire Aidan is Mitchell in England, the werewolf Josh is instead George, and Sally the ghost is actually Annie. Also, Rebecca is Lauren, and Bishop (a socially powerful vampire) is Herrick in the BBC3 series.

Not only are the characters different, but there are parts of the plot that are different as well. There is no Nina, as far as we can tell (Nina being the woman who falls in love with George the werewolf) in the American series, and did George actually have a lesbian sister? Also, while Josh’s sister gets locked in with Josh during one of his transformations, in England, it is actually George’s ex-girlfriend Julia. Oh, and did I mention that this bit is from the pilot episode in England, and not actually the first episode of the series? And the cast of the pilot is different from the actual series? Yeah, it’s complicated.

What the British pilot didn’t have, however, is a cliff-hanger. The American version abruptly ends with Josh’s sister, Emily, witnessing Josh’s transformation in a locked room in the hospital basement that can only be opened from the outside, while Sally, after receiving an urgent phone call from Josh (just before transforming) to come unlock the door to save Emily from being killed, tries fruitlessly to leave the house she is confined to, and Aidan is stuck under the watchful eyes of Bishop. This ending (or lack thereof) made me eager to watch the second part to this episode. I can’t wait until it airs!

Thoughts:

·         Josh always has this scared/nervous/paranoid look on his face, which suits his character, but will he do that throughout the rest of the series?

·         I have the slightest gut feeling that Rebecca is going to come back later on in this series, but as a vampire. I partially think this because that’s what happens to Lauren in the British series, but I also think that Rebecca’s presence was cut short, and she should return to fill in the gaps.

·         “And for the record, reminding me that I haven’t had sex in two years--” *turns corner, sees girl staring appallingly at him* “—a total lie...” Best part ever.

·         It’s nice to see that they’ve kept the werewolf being Jewish!

·         Excellent cliff-hanger! I absolutely can’t wait until the next episode!

Meggin Reads Anna and the French Kiss

            Imagine going to school in the most romantic city in the world. The Eiffel Tower can be seen in the background, towering over life in the daytime and lighting up the night. Every time one walks the streets of the Latin Quarter, one is surrounded by people speaking the beautiful French language, and, of course, the tourists who try to understand the language that isn’t English. There are famous landmarks everywhere one turns, and the banks of the River Seine are a great place to relax and to just watch life unfold. One can see couples holding hands and exchanging a wide variety of kisses, displaying a recreation of Robert Doisneau’s famous photograph, Le baiser de l’hôtel de ville. And the scarves! Scarves of various colours and designs hide the exposed human necks. I am, of course, describing the Paris, France that is in Stephanie Perkins’s novel, Anna and the French Kiss.

            Anna is a about a girl by the name of Anna Oliphant who lives in Atlanta and just wants to have a fun senior year in her hometown with her best friend and her maybe-kind-of-sort-of-not-really boyfriend. However, her father wants otherwise. Because he feels that his family needs to absorb different cultures, he sends Anna to school in Paris (get this: the name of the school is School of America in Paris, nicknamed SOAP. Why can’t my school be named like that?). She keeps thinking, “Oh, I miss Atlanta, I’m gonna hate Paris,” when she runs smack into an amazingly attractive guy. His name is Étienne St. Clair (which is an awesome name, I might add), and to baffle the reader beyond belief, he is American and British and French. Whaaaaaat? I feel dazzled just by reading about him! Apparently, Anna also feels the same way, because she now sees Paris in a new light. Hold your horses, girls! Before you get your knickers in a twist, you should know that Étienne has a girlfriend, which complicates things for Anna. In a nutshell, Anna and the French Kiss is a romantic novel in which two people love each other but both parties don’t want to express aloud that they do. Naturally, this turns into a “does he like me?” situation that is a dominant theme in most romantic novels.

            What I love about Anna is that the story is mainly set in France. I’m taking French as my foreign language in school, and it’s the most beautiful language I’ve ever learnt. Actually, it’s the only foreign language I’ve ever learnt, but believe me when I say it is beautiful. What I’ve also learnt in French class is the francophone culture, and Anna doesn’t stray far from it. Anna loves watching movies, and Paris is the best place to escape to the cinema every night. When the weather gets nicer towards le printemps, Anna and Étienne explore the parks and go on long promenades. Ah, see? My French is kicking in already.

            Anna also involves this great big romantic chase. Anna wants Étienne, but Étienne is already taken, and yet Étienne spends more time with Anna than with his actual girlfriend. It kind of makes one think that any second now Anna is going to pick up a flower and pluck the petals off one by one, saying, “He loves, he loves me not. He loves me…”

            Overall, Anna is a fantastic book. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, to be perfectly honest. It gives off the usual cliché love story vibe that is present in romantic novels, but the way this love story is portrayed is completely different from the norm, which is why I love it so much. It’s great to finally read something refreshing for once. What really amazes me is that this is Stephanie Perkins’s first novel, and after reading Anna and the French Kiss, I’m eager to read more of her work.

Welcome to Meggin Reviews

Why, hello there! Welcome to my blog, I'm so pleased you've decided to visit! Because I've just started this blog, I want to elaborate what exactly I'm writing about.

Recently, I've been reading loads of books, watching back-to-back episodes of TV shows, and watching numerous movies late into the night. After finishing a book the previous night, I thought to myself, "This is a really great book. I would love it if I could just tell someone how amazing this book is." And then it hit me. I can do exactly that. I can inflict my opinions upon the world by simply writing about my reactions and posting them on the internet for the whole world to read about. It's brilliant! It's pure genius! Why didn't I think of this before? And so, here I am, writing a blog about reviews. My reviews, to be specific, on any book, TV show, or film.

So, here's the gist. Here's how this is going to work. Because I am a student, and because I am a very slow reader, it will be difficult to write a review every day. Instead, I will do a weekly review. Every Saturday (or Sunday, depending on how busy I am), I will write a review about either a book, a movie, or an episode of a TV show for you, the general public. And you can feel free to comment on my reviews, saying how you agree on some parts, how you disagree on others, or if you just want to spam (even though that is a horrible waste of time for both you and me). Also, if you know of a book, TV show, or movie that you absolutely love and would want me to read or watch, please don't hesitate to send me a suggestion! I love suggestions. Don't you?

I'm hoping this blog will a somewhat successful one!