Is 'Being Human' being great again?

With effortless gusto, Being Human has returned to our screens via the same mix of blood-curdling horror, tense drama and howling laughter that made the first season such a smash. At the same time, writer Toby Whithouse has not shied away from taking the show into brave new directions, with bold decisions such as turning Nina into a werewolf and propelling lead character George into fairly unsympathetic realms with his infidelity.

Although boasting some nifty special effects and action sequences, the real strength of Being Human lies in its compelling dialogue and interaction between the leads. The brutally raw emotional exchange between George and Nina in their bedroom, where the latter revealed her new condition, was utterly mesmerising and also showcased the calibre of leads Russell Tovey and Sinead Keenan. Another intimate scene, set in a supposedly unisex hospital toilet between Mitchell and goldfish-craving Lucy, contrastingly delivered plenty of bittersweet humour.

Swinging vampire couple Ivan and Daisy fitted seamlessly into events and provided an intriguing foil to our heroes, while veteran actor Donald Sumpter excelled as the creepy Kemp. His murderous experiment on the unsuspecting werewolf was truly chilling and showed about as much gore as possible on mainstream British television.

Having spent a lot of the first season establishing and ultimately consummating the tender relationship between George and Nina, it was heartbreaking to see the pair consumed by conflict. George's inability to resist his animalistic side through his affair with Daisy, although understandable given his werewolf alter ego, came as a big shock and Tovey excelled at bringing out the internal turmoil of the hospital porter.

Elsewhere, Annie's stint in a pub was a good laugh. As Mitchell so hilariously put it, "The disembodied spirit of a dead woman is getting a job in the service industry - what could possibly go wrong?" Nonetheless, let's hope that she doesn't lose her ghostly characteristics much more in future episodes. She was much more fun when everyone except her flatmates couldn't see her.

Much tastier than the poor stag that George munched on, Being Human is sure to be a major treat to devour over the coming weeks - especially if it builds with every episode like last season.

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