History Series / BeingHumanUS

* DoingItForTheArt: In order to make it appear that Sally is a ghost, [[http://collider.com/meaghan-rath-interview-being-human/ anything that Meaghan Rath sat on on set was either made of concrete or supported by concrete, preventing her from leaving an imprint in a cushion]]. She once sat down too hard on set and bruised her tailbone. Scenes would be refilmed if she accidentally moved something or instinctively touched one of her co-stars.

** Ghosts generally have no ability to manipulate the physical world,[[note]]Meaghan Rath revealed that any cushion she sat on on screen was either made of concrete or supported by concrete so she doesn't leave a physical imprint, and has recalled sitting down too hard and bruising her tailbone. Scenes would have to be refilmed if she accidentally moved something.[[/note]] outside of Sally's emotional state giving her some poltergeist-like powers. Ghosts can improve their control over these powers to haunt people.

''Being Human'' is a North American remake of Creator/TheBBC's ''Series/BeingHumanUK'', created by Toby Whithouse. It debuted in January 2011 on [[Creator/SciFiChannel Syfy]]. As with the original British show, it centers around a trio of friends, each a different sort of supernatural being: Aidan Waite (Creator/SamWitwer), a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire; Josh Levison (Sam Huntington), a geeky and uptight [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]; and Sally Malik (Meaghan Rath), a CuteGhostGirl. They all live in an old UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} brownstone where they try (and usually fail) to be as human as possible.

* CulturalTranslation: The remake's plot is almost completely different from that of the UK version to begin with, but even some of the elements that were carried over across the pond are tweaked for a North American audience. For instance, Aidan was turned during the American Revolutionary War, not World War 1. The old aristocracy of vampires consists not of European nobility, but rural Amish farm dwellers and a Mafia-like criminal organization. Some characters (including the protagonists) also own and use firearms in the remake, which obviously couldn't happen in the UK because of British gun control laws.
* CurseEscapeClause: Werewolves can lift the curse on themselves by killing the werewolf that first turned them. The catch? It has to be done while in human form. [[spoiler: The part where doing so also cures anyone you've infected, on the other hand, is just a hopeful myth.]]

* CuteGhostGirl: Sally, of course.F

* OneCurseLimit: Vampires can't become werewolves, and vice-versa. Neither of them seem to become ghosts when they die, either.
** [[spoiler:In the alternate timeline Sally creates by preventing her own death, she becomes a werewolf and after she dies in this timeline, she becomes a ghost, again, but it may be because of the unique nature of everything that's happened to her.]]
*** [[spoiler:Sally Time-traveled to the past and possessed herself. When she died as a werewolf, Past Sally's ghost was obliterated (or whatever) as per the rules of the universe. Time-Traveling Ghost Sally was simply evicted upon death, so this all makes perfect sense.]]

** Ghosts generally have no ability to manipulate the physical world,[[note]]Meaghan Rath revealed that any cushion she sits on on screen is either made of concrete or supported by concrete so she doesn't leave a physical imprint, and has recalled sitting down too hard and bruising her tailbone. Scenes would have to be refilmed if she accidentally moved something.[[/note]] outside of Sally's emotional state giving her some poltergeist-like powers. Ghosts can improve their control over these powers to haunt people.

** From the same episode, [[spoiler: Suzanna is shown walking out of a taxi in the present day]]

** The revived seem to be insatiably hungry at first, eating simply more than a normal person would, and they will (apparently) live a long and happy second life. After [[spoiler:Sally renegotiates her deal to save her brother, all bets are off. The three begin to decompose and become insatiably hungry as a result. Sally begins to lose her hair in clumps and pierces her own cheek with her toothbrush. The only way to stave off the decomposition is by consuming raw meat, but simple ground beef isn't enough and they begin to need recent kills to restore their bodies to normal. Sally uses a mouse caught in a trap ini the house. Nick eats the neighborhood cats and nearly cannibalizes Zoe. Stevie eats his parents (already killed by the initial curse) and then the mailman. Sally manages to hold onto her morals enough to not eat anything else alive, but does take a bite out of Aidan out of necessity as he will heal eventually. When Nick and Stevie die, their ghosts get a Door soon after, but Sally is horrified to discover that the Door is the same for each of them, meaning they are not going to the afterlife but are becoming food for Donna, as she will be destined to be upon her death as well.]]

** The revived seem to be insatiably hungry at first, eating simply more than a normal person would, and they will (apparently) live a long and happy second life. After [[spoiler:Sally renegotiates her deal to save her brother, all bets are off. The three begin to decompose and become insatiably hungry as a result. Sally begins to lose her hair in clumps and pierces her own cheek with her toothbrush. The only way to stave off the decomposition is by consuming raw meat, but simple ground beef isn't enough and they begin to need recent kills to restore their bodies to normal. Sally uses a mosue caught in a mousetrap. Nick eats the neighborhood cats and nearly cannibalizes Zoe. Stevie eats his parents (already killed by the initial curse) and then the mailman. Sally manages to hold onto her morals enough to not eat anything else alive, but does take a bite out of Aidan out of necessity. When Nick and Stevie die, their ghosts get a Door soon after, but Sally is horrified to discover that the Door is the same for each of them, meaning they are not going to the afterlife but are becoming food for Donna, as she will be destined to be upon her death as well.]]

** Werewolf pregnancy is about triple the rate of a human pregnancy, even between two cursed werewolves. The only way that the child survives the pregnancy, including the transformations, [[spoiler:is that the baby is a purebred werewolf, and is transformed in the womb, turning human shortly after birth]]. From Josh and Nora's first experience, [[spoiler:it would seem that the child of a human and werewolf is also born a werewolf, but the human's body cannot handle the fetus's transformation and results in a miscarriage. It may also be related to the severe burns Nora has on her stomach from the abuse she suffered at the hands of her prior boyfriend.]]

** A particular strain of the influenza virus that seemingly affects the entire world between Season 2 and Season 3, and the antibodies that remain in their systems are deadly to vampires, causing them to come out in sores before crumbling away to dust. There is a cure, and it's [[spoiler:werewolf blood, normally toxic to vampires]].

** Ghosts not trapped in Limbo can be brought back from the dead throgh the use of magic, [[spoiler:but another person's soul must be sacrificed to restore the other soul to their body.]]

** The ghost's death spot can be used as a portal to a purgatory-like dimension, where there is no way to return to the physical world. Sally's is unique [[spoiler:because as she killed Donna, she is able to go back to the living world through Donna's original death spot, but she has to relive the final moments of Donna's death.]]

* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted in the appropriately named "That Time of Month". Sally reveals one of the ingredients for the spell [[spoiler:to turn Josh into a human again]] is menstrual blood, to Nora and Aidan's disgust. Then Aidan sheepishly reveals that as a vampire, he can smell when a woman, namely Nora, is on her period.

* AnyoneCanDie: Aidan, Sally, Josh and Nora are safe, but anyone else is fair game - young or old, friend or enemy.

** More properly goes to the character of Nina in the [[BeingHuman UK original]], whom the character of Nora was based on. Still applies, though.

* OvertookTheManga: The original ''BeingHuman'' had very short seasons thanks to BritishBrevity. As a cable show, the US ''Being Human'' has shorter seasons than a network primetime series, but it's still way more than ''six'' episodes. As such, what begins as a fairly straight adaptation quickly develops a lot of new material.

** The VampireInvitation rule is also in effect. If a vampire enters the home of a mortal without being invited, their skin begins to boil and burn. Vampires can also be ''uninvited'' from a home, leaving any vampires within the home to burn alive and die. Vampires have no restriction on entering or leaving the house that they were sired in.

* VampireInvitation:
** Played straight. A vampire ''can'' enter a home uninvited, but he starts burning and quickly dies.[[note]]This only applies if the house belongs to a living human (werewolves count).[[/note]] On one occasion, a vampire breaks into someone's house and attacks him, but flees before he suffers permanent harm.
** If the owner or resident of a house changes, all invitations lapse. On one occasion, someone arranges for a house to be legally sold while vampires are inside; those now-uninvited vampires burn to death before they can escape.
** In Season 4, Kenny reveals that he can enter the group's home without an invitation because he was "born" there, and so apparently has permanent access.

** [[spoiler: Played with in that she knew, subconsciously, that she had been shoved down the stairs by Nick after she lost her engagement ring down the bathroom sink. The house's plumbing issues were her way of trying to get herself to remember.]]

** Ghosts generally have no ability to manipulate the physical world,[[note]]Meaghan Rath revealed that any cushion she sits on on screen is either made of concrete or supported by concrete so she doesn't leave a physical imprint, and has recalled sitting down too hard and bruising her tailbone. In one blooper, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcOlZ_ZcH-U part of her sweater gets stuck on something, causing Sam Witwer and Sam Huntington to crack up.[[/note]] outside of Sally's emotional state giving her some poltergeist-like powers. Ghosts can improve their control over these powers to haunt people.

** Ghosts generally have no ability to manipulate the physical world, outside of Sally's emotional state giving her some poltergeist-like powers. Ghosts can improve their control over these powers to haunt people.

** These three however are not considered "zombies" within ''Being Human'', as "zombie" specifically refers to a revived corpse controlled by another person. [[spoiler:Donna brings back Ray in this manner, tracking down his corpse using the his heart given to her by Josh and Nora to revive Sally.]]

** Garlic is not harmful to them, but it will expose their vampiric traits (fangs, black eyes, etc.).

** The VampireInvitation rule is also in effect. If a vampire enters the home of a mortal without being invited, their skin begins to boil and burn. Vampires can also be ''uninvited'' from a home, leaving any vampires within the home to burn alive and die.

* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: They transform during the full moon, and have heightened senses and strength a few days before and after the change. While transformed, they look like mangy four-legged wolves with vaguely human bone structure, and are almost impossible to kill without a silver weapon. Werewolf blood is also extremely toxic to vampires, and will cause hemorrhaging and seizures even in small doses. [[spoiler:It is however the only way to stop the effects of the flu that has been killing vampires.]] Josh at first sees the lycanthropy as a biological disease and catalogs everything that happens to him, but Nora later reveals that Brynn told her that it is a curse and the only way to lift the curse is to kill the werewolf who cursed you; [[spoiler:however, the curse is only lifted within that "generation", and any werewolves created by the one seeking the cure are not cured.]] Werewolves are also stated to generally be loners, with packs only supposed to be formed as a result of blood ties or love.
** In addition to werewolves who are created through a bite or scratch, there are pure-bred werewolves that result from a male and female werewolf having a child. They seem stronger than regular werewolves — their senses are constantly heightened, not just during the days near the full moon — and many of them view their human forms as the true curse, as they would rather be wolves all the time. They also enforce a strong camaraderie among other werewolves.
** Due to Donna's magic, Josh gets attacked by his inner wolf and when he transforms the first time after being re-cursed, [[spoiler:he is trapped as a werewolf every day except on the full moon, when he turns back into a human. He and Nora have a brief period of time when they are both human before she changes. This, compounded with the fact that he has seen the financial burden he has put on them, pushes Josh to suicidal thoughts, until Sally returns and reveals she can use magic to turn him back to normal. The spell she uses, however, is incomplete due to her own quirks in coming back, and while he is now a human, he is closer to being to the purebreds in anxiety outside of the few days before the full moon, and under duress his wolf is able to come out when it is not the full moon. Josh later is able to control his transformation at will.]]
** Two werewolves cursed via a werewolf attack can also conceive a child, but the pregnancy is three times as fast, and the reason the baby survives the mother's transformations is [[spoiler:because the child is a purebred werewolf and is partially transformed in the womb, reverting shortly after birth]].
* OurWitchesAreDifferent: Magic exists, and it is used by witches. The most powerful form is blood magic, which as it suggests requires human blood to perform. It can be used to bring the dead back to life, [[spoiler:as Donna died during the Salem Witch Trials and Sally returns to the living world through the place she died after Donna tries to keep her away from either the living or spirit worlds. Donna ultimately reveals that she was brought back to life during this time by a group of witches to make her part of their coven, sacrificing another spirit to restore her own spirit to her body]]. Sally also discovers she can access Donna's magic, after defeating her at the end of season 3, and can read the book that she used to keep herself alive, until Donna tries to trap her, again, forcing Sally to destroy the book, only for all the spells to become a part of her. Whenever Sally uses magic, [[spoiler:she finds herself thrown back in time, sometimes to the pasts of her friends, or to certain parts of the past in their house. She cannot interact with anything in the past, but she can possess people, and she uses this to possess her former self and prevent her own death, rewriting history]].
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Dead humans can brought back to life with blood magic, however [[spoiler:because witches' spells always have their catches]] they cannot see anybody that they knew in their previous life, or else those people are doomed to die within a few hours [[spoiler:to become nourishment for the witch who cast the initial spell]]. This can be changed should the resurrected request the witch to do so, at the cost of giving up their own soul to the witch once they die. The resurrected also display an almost insatiable appetite, only advancing after the soul bargain is made to where raw meat is consumed. After this bargain, their undead bodies begin to rot, and the process can only be reversed if they eat living things, such as mice and cats. The hunger gets worse and worse as time goes on, until they get the urge to attack and devour living humans. As supernatural beings, the undead can see ghosts the same way werewolves and vampires can. It should be noted that the undead are not technically "zombies", as explained by Donna, since zombies are not sentient or aware that they have been raised from the dead. The existence of "true" zombies has thus far only been hinted at, but [[spoiler:Ray seems to have been brought back from the dead in this way.]]

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: The pure-bred werewolf twins, Brynn and Connor.

* [[spoiler: BabiesEverAfter: Nora and Josh end up having two children that they name after Sally and Aidan.]]

** [[spoiler:Towards the end of Season 4, Sally makes out with Aiden while possessing a Bob Sapp-looking werewolf. Aiden liked it.]]

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They are immortal, but need to drink blood to keep them strong and healthy. If deprived of blood for too long, they will grow increasingly weak and sick before eventually shutting down and entering a sort of stasis (they will normally lose control and attack humans long before this point, though). Garlic is not harmful to them, but it will expose their vampiric traits (fangs, black eyes, etc.). They can go into sunlight without bursting into flames, but Aidan describes them as being "photosensitive". The only surefire ways of killing them are to pierce the heart with a wooden stake, beheading them, or draining them of blood. The VampireInvitation rule is also in effect, and if a vampire enters the home of a mortal without being invited, their skin begins to boil and burn. Vampires also possess the ability to [[{{Glamour}} compel]] humans into thinking
** Due to the flu virus that nearly wipes out all vampires in the third season, and its cure [[spoiler:of drinking werewolf blood]], new vampires created during this brief period are horribly deformed and insatiable. Kenny, Aidan's son, is spared death during this period, and returns, apparently completely fine, [[spoiler:except he is still heavily deformed but he has the ability to compel anyone, including other vampires]].

** [[spoiler: Zombies, at least of the form we've seen so far, they get a second chance at life but outside of a craving for raw meat, they also kill anyone they knew the last time they were alive. When that restriction is lifted, the craving for raw meat evolves into slightly more fresher flesh.]]

* BodyHorror - Josh's werewolf transformation looks and sounds extremely painful and grotesque: it's depicted as basically every bone in Josh's body breaking and re-fusing, every muscle tearing and re-attaching, every organ moving and changing, and various other bits (man and wolf) growing or being absorbed in the span of a few minutes.
** The [[OurZombiesAreDifferent resurrected corpses]] in Season 3 begin to rot if they don't consume raw meat. One infamous scene in particular sees Sally [[spoiler:put a toothbrush through her cheek by accident]].

* CuteGhostGirl: Sally, of course.

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Sally (and all ghosts) is invisible and inaudible to normal humans unless they are open to suggestion, but vampires and werewolves can see her perfectly. She at first has no ability to manipulate the physical world except with her emotions, exhibiting some poltergeist powers. When a ghost resolves the issues tethering it to the physical world, a Door to the other side opens up, allowing them to move on. Should too much time pass before the Door is found, a ghost will start to lose its sanity. If a ghost turns down the Door, he or she starts to exhibit a closer bond with the physical world, manifesting in the ability to manipulate physical objects if they focus hard enough. Ghosts can also possess humans if they are open to suggestion or under the influence of a narcotic, however the ghost may get stuck if they stay too long. This possession can be blocked by protective spiritual charms, such as the Thai Hill people's Soul Lock. Iron will dissipate a ghost's spirit, but it will reform in the place where his or her body died. Ghosts can also be exorcised, usually by trapping them in a salt circle and then using sage and the Lord's Prayer to purify the house they inhabit. They can be destroyed by completely destroying the place they haunt, and ghosts are also able to destroy each other via "shredding", completely annihilating the spirit energy of the other ghost. However, this sends the spirit to a torturous reality known as Limbo where they are punished to relive the way that they died endlessly. [[spoiler:The only known way out of Limbo is through blood magic, restoring the spirit back to their physical body where they live, again, as Sally is brought back to life by Donna Gilchrist.]] The ghost's death spot can be used as a portal to a purgatory-like dimension. [[spoiler:After Sally kills Donna, again, Donna manages to trap Sally in this purgatory as she feels the two of them are too dangerous to exist on the mortal plane anymore. Sally manages to escape through Donna's death spot, but that way out forces the ghost to relive the moments of death. Ghosts not in Limbo can be brought back to life through the use of magic, but another person's soul must be sacrificed.]]

** [[spoiler: Played with in that she knew, subconsciously, that she had been shoved down the stairs. The house's plumbing issues were her way of trying to get herself to remember.]]

** [[spoiler: Zombies, at least of the form we've seen so far, they get a second chance at life but outside of a craving for raw meat, they also kill anyone they knew the last time they were alive.]]

''Being Human'' is a North American remake of Creator/TheBBC's ''Series/BeingHumanUK'', created by Toby Whithouse. It debuted in January 2011 on [[Creator/SciFiChannel Syfy]]. As with the original British show, it centers around a trio of friends, each a different sort of supernatural being: Aidan, a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire; Josh, a geeky and uptight [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]; and Sally, a CuteGhostGirl; all of whom live in an old Boston brownstone where they try (and usually fail) to be as human as possible.