Being Human

Jokes like that ["You gonna go all 'Twilight' on me?"] and the wisecracking Sally occasionally threaten to turn Being Human into a mild, campy thing. As we get to know the characters, however, and begin to identify with their sense of loss and isolation, humor helps make what is preposterous about their situation seem real.

Both "Skins" and Being Human are about outcasts who form their own families together, muddling through the present even though the future doesn't look too bright. The characters may all be extreme, but you'll identify with them all.

I liked the original and also like what little I've seen of the remake so far, but won't know until it expands beyond the original stories - as American series generally must do - whether it's worth sticking with.

The ghost (Meaghan Rath), the vampire (Sam Witwer), and the werewolf (Sam Huntington) continue to work out their angst-addled yearnings to be human in this more neurotic version of the U.K. TV series.

I'd settle for them just being interesting.

Unfortunately the new version of Being Human is more repetitive, clunky and melodramatic than the previous one.

Syfy's show relies a lot more on dripping fangs and never speaks in a whisper when a bellow will do--even the simplest conversations are conducted with the neurotic intensity of a bad soap opera. Simply put, this Being Human lacks any human warmth.