Being Human - S01E05

Watching this episode, I couldn't help but compare it to what will probably happen in the American version. British television practices are so different from American ones, starting with things like episode length and going to what British writers/producers are willing to do and what their actors are able to do.

The penultimate episode of the season, a whole lot of set up happens for the season finale. This is common in both countries, but it is the way it happens that is so different. For one thing, to American audiences, a 6 episode season is ridiculously short. 12 is the lowest order expected, though it is usually 13, and 20-25 is expected for most shows. So to have so much happen in 5 episodes, while each episode was properly contained and worked extremely well is quite impressive.

Then we consider the number of important events that happened in the episode

- Annie (Lenora Crichlow) decides to haunt Owen (Gregg Chillin). She not only confronts him at the house, which does not work out so well, but then tried to convince Janey (Sama Goldie) of his guilt, and finally, after some other events which strengthen her resolve, she confronts him backed by George (Russell Tovey) and Mitchell (Aidan Turner). This time she is successful and he confesses.

- Mitchell, meanwhile, has joined back up with the vampires. He's all for their plan, even introducing to an old friend of his who is dying of lung cancer. She points out to him how wrong the plan is, and then he discovers that the vampires are holding humans prisoner to feed on them. When he confronts Herrick (Jason Watkins), the two prepare for a fight to the death.

- George helped Annie with her haunting plan, and was then warned about Mitchell's involvement with the vampires. He and Annie headed out to help their friend, getting into a fight with Seth (Dylan Brown) on the way. Eventually they find Mitchell, but the three are cornered until Lauren (Annabel Scholey) kills Seth and they escape.

-As they are escaping, Lauren convinces Mitchell to end her sorry existence, and he does. And, when the group has recovered at home and forced Owen to confess, Annie's door to the other world appears. But, as she is preparing to go through it, Herrick arrives at the front door and stabs Mitchell in the chest when he opens it. Cliffhanger.

All that happens in one episode, and in the States would likely have been the subject matter for half-a-dozen - the same number of episode of Season 1.

On top of that, choices like killing off Lauren and Seth would not have been made so lightly, as each probably would have had a decent fan base by this point in time and audiences would not have been so keen on it. British television is far more willing to kill off characters if that's what the story requires.

Also, removing Lauren, Seth, and Owen (as well as Janey) from the story in one episode would also never happen. Each of those events could be the climax of one episode, and it would be a waste considering how often American shows end up with filler episodes where nothing actually happens.

Finally, if this were an American show, I wouldn't be so worried at the junction of this cliffhanger. There is NO WAY an American network would kill off either of its main characters, particularly not after purging so many of the secondary ones. Neither Mitchell nor Annie would be in any danger of dying/disappearing. But this is British television we are watching, and I have seen many a show from across the pond where lead characters are killed off because it's what is necessary.

But which is better? Would you rather watch a show with extra episodes, which, while a little predictable, gives you exactly what you want? Or do you want a show that surprises and follows the storyline because of what makes the most sense rather than what makes the most cents?