Latest vampire series ‘Being Human’ full of supernatural, humor

A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf walk into a bar.

While it sounds like the setup for a truly terrible joke -- the kind that only generates laughs when told by grandparents or blind dates way hotter than you -- it's an actual scene from BBC America's quirky "Being Human" (9 p.m. Saturdays; last night's series premiere airs again at 8 p.m. Saturday).

Twenty-something hospital orderlies Mitchell (Aidan Turner), a sexy, brooding vampire, and George (Russell Tovey), a high-strung, Jewish werewolf, move into a house in Bristol, England, and become accidental roommates with Annie (Lenora Crichlow), the chatty ghost of the young woman who died there.

It's not nearly as wacky as it sounds.

Don't get me wrong, "Being Human" is riddled with humor. "Please. Who are you saving, really?" a fellow vamp asks, trying to tempt "lapsed" vampire Mitchell into killing again. "Have you seen 'Britain's Got Talent'?"

But it's also about the struggles of fitting in. Annie has only recently become visible to some humans -- supernatural beings see her just fine -- so she squeals with delight when a passing motorist calls her an obscene name because it means that someone, anyone, noticed her.

Somewhere, though, Joss Whedon must be drinking himself into a stupor. His "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," along with its spinoff, "Angel," are still hands-down TV's greatest vampire-related offerings. Yet they never entered the mainstream because most viewers turned up their noses at anything that appealed to the Comic-Con crowd.

A decade later, the mainstream has swallowed up Comic-Con -- the talent behind everything from "Weeds" to the upcoming "Glee" is turning up at this year's event, which wraps up today in San Diego -- and you can't swing an exsanguinated corpse without hitting a TV vampire.

"True Blood" (9 p.m. Sundays, HBO) is in the middle of a stellar second season that continues the love affair between telepathic waitress Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Southern gentleman vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer), who's gone from feeding off the innocent to separating his recyclables. This season has found a bigger story line for Las Vegas native Rutina Wesley, as her Tara has evolved beyond just being Sookie's best friend. And at around the four-minute mark of the season premiere, Sookie's brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten), set a personal best for the longest stretch of time spent with his clothes on.

Then there's "The Vampire Diaries," The CW's can't-miss fall drama adapted from the books of the same name, which focuses on teenager Elena (Nina Dobrev) and the vampire brothers, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), she's torn between.

The thing about TV vampires, though, is that each series has its own set of rules. Some vamps do just fine in the sunlight, others burst into flames. About the only things they have in common are that they can't enter a home unless they're invited, and they're all dead sexy. (Well, technically, they're undead sexy, but you get the idea.)

There's no denying the intense magnetism these guys exude that leaves mortal women weak in the knees and, more often than not, semiclothed. But why do they always have to be guys? Oh, sure, there's often a vampiress or two lurking around the periphery. But where's the series about the sultry, raven-haired lady vamp, possibly with leather boots and a long, flowing coat, getting all cold-and-bothered and sweeping a TV critic -- I mean regular guy -- off his feet? I'm just saying.

Anyway, back to "Being Human."

It's charming, clever -- cheeky, even. When it's George's time of the month and he's forced to transform at home, Annie's only concerned because she just vacuumed.

George doesn't do well with the ladies because he's always afraid he'll hurt them. "I never know with you whether it's Jewish guilt or werewolf guilt," Mitchell says. "They're pretty much the same thing," George concedes.

And Mitchell is goofily proud to have been in "Casablanca." "I'm just an extra. In the bar. And you can't actually see me, obviously," he says, practically beaming while alluding to the whole vampires-can't-be-captured-on-film thing. "But I do knock over a chair at one point, and you can see that."

Yet, despite its supernatural trappings, "Being Human" feels utterly believable.

You probably should enjoy it while you can, though, because when the inevitable U.S. remake comes along, it's a good bet Mitchell and George will be elevated from orderlies to world famous surgeons who bed random nurses and talk about their feelings over the latest song by The Fray.

Until then, did you hear the one about the ghost, the vampire and the werewolf in a rowboat?

Christopher Lawrence's Life on the Couch column appears on Sundays. E-mail him at clawrence@reviewjournal.com.