Being Human- Speaking of the Werewolves...

[furtech]

Why is it that so many studios think that ugly, scabrous werewolves look more "real"? Being Human has werewolves, but it feels like they couldn't decide what was cool and what was doofy, so the final beasts look...awful. Imagine the Twilight werewolves with terminal cases of mange.

Here is the werewolf:




It looks like one of those mange-ridden coyote carcasses that show up every so often as genuine "chupcabra". It is fat and lumpy and my first inclination is to take it to a vet. Why do they think that "mangey/scabrous=REALISTIC!!1!" ??? The coolest scene was where they used an actual dead werewolf prop--that was the one time any of them had any heft or weight to them. CG garbage.

I did some checking and found that the original British version of the show actually had a really nice werewolf design-- far different from the American one:


Wow-- a classic crinos-style, upright, not-too-mangey, not-scabrous werewolf! Neat!

More pics:


I have -no- idea if the British series is better than the American one (I get the impression the American/Canadian team "remade" the series to fit "American" tastes), but at least the werewolf is an actual practical effect-- classic rubber suit! Yes, I can predict that they have the same problem that the producers of "Werewolf" (the tv series from the 80's) had: totally cool looking werewolves, but without the budget to do full animatronic heads, so they looked great in stills, but kind of rigid on camera, leading to very quick cuts of the heads.


Still, I've enjoyed a lot of Brit series more than their American counterparts, so I'll be curious to see how they play out. Hopefully the Ghost is less annoying than in the American series. (SO ANNOYING!!)

Comments

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

I watch this every now and again when there's nothing else on. The werewolves are butt ugly. They look better the less of them you see! They looks decent in shots where you see bits and pieces of them through woods, peering around things, etc... but long clear shots... FUGLY.

On its regular days days Being Human is normally followed by "Lost Girl" which has some interesting character designs. rather a lot of T&A, but the main character is a succubus, so that is somewhat unavoidable. The main cast have "easy" special effects that are clearly cheap to produce and reuse, so they seem to spend the effects budget on guest critters.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I like Lost Girl...If the Borderland story series was made into a tv series, this is what I imagine it'd be like. I still fine her sidekick annoying, though. The werewolf is cool, both his human and wolf form (though the wolf form is pretty much a real wolf/wolf-dog). Visually LG is also very nice. Related, I have enjoyed the episodes of Grimm that I've seen (though the werewolf falls under the fugly category...).

[thornwolf.livejournal.com]

Actually I find the ghost MUCH more annoying in the British version :/ She's a lot more simpering.

But yeah, the werewolf is so much better in the Brit version!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Aomaigawd...MORE annoying?!? And yes, adding "simpering" to the American version would definitely fill that bill.

The Brits seem to be either more easy-going about their creature-effects (see early Dr. Who) or there's benign neglect (the producers just don't care that much). Either way, I generally like 'em better than most American spfx these days.

[oats-a-plenty.livejournal.com]

I think they (studios) transpose human body hair onto the creature. Wolf with horrid mange or average Greek guy as a wolf?

[furtech.livejournal.com]

True...but why does the hair have to be so kinky? Like, why can't they be covered with head-hair rather than...er, other-place hair?

My other beef is with short or non-existant muzzles. But don't get me started...

[typographer.livejournal.com]

I was watching the UK Being Human on BBC America before they made the American one. I find the show much more interesting. Besides having better werewolves. :)

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, the British series is on netflix! Finally, a watch-on-demand I want that netflix actually has!

[iisaw.livejournal.com]

I can put up with the crappy/fugly werewolves when the story and characters are really good. Too bad I haven't yet found a movie or TV series that fits that description.

I wish someone would make Lonely Werewolf Girl into a series!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Noooo! They will *ruin* LWG! Unless you -enjoyed- what they did with Percy Jackson, The Golden Compass or, worst of all-- Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising (which you may have missed: it was called "The Seeker" and was...disappointing).

[iisaw.livejournal.com]

The Seeker was truly horrific... for all the wrong reasons. The Golden Compass was the ruination of what could have been an epic trilogy. I haven't seen or read the Percy Jackson stuff, so I can't comment on that one... are the books good?

Perhaps what I should have said was, "I wish someone would make Lonely Werewolf Girl into a good series!"

[kynekh-amagire.livejournal.com]

I quite enjoyed the BBC series (I plowed through every episode on Netflix a couple of months ago). The werewolf effects were entirely functional, better than many werewolf movies, certainly The transformation sequences were extremely An American Werewolf in London, which I appreciate: nice closeups of hands and jaws lengthening, etc., all done practically, AFAIK.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

"Functional" werewolf effects: yeah-- I can live very happily with that! The trouble is that most filmmakers over-thing the werewolves and then get all-paranoid/insecure about how the effect will be received, leading to bizarre, ugly, weird things. Somehow being artsy in an ugly way makes them feel better about the creatures.

[lironess.livejournal.com]

I was watching the making of whatever that stupid show is that has the lichen (lol)...moar butt naked weres.....anyhoo they were looking at what they looked like without the hair and admiring their own work and on camera decided to leave them naked rather than cover up the beautiful work...

EVEN if that meant they would be butt ugly to the rest of us.

I liked the werewolves in Van Helsing....but not much of the rest of that movie.

Also where do the tails go? Into the intestines? At least the American BH ones have tails....but they move like the werehamster in American Werewolf in London...stance is WAY too wide..

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Van Helsing had decent werewolves...too CGI, though.

Yeah, few have done the narrow-chested wolf-like werewolves (4 legged)...they all turn into pitbulls. Hairless, scabrous pitbulls.

I actually lean towards tails on werewolves, but no-tails makes more sense. It's an aesthetic thing, I think.

[lironess.livejournal.com]

No tails makes less sense to me...very very few mammals are tailless....and to me a tail is a very important part of any canine. And fur....nice thick sink you fingers into fur. At least husky fur....

I actually prefer the threian thing...they turn into actual real wolves....pound for pound no suddenly enormous 500 lbs wolves from 170 lb men....

But I guess it is hard to make "real" wolves behave like emo humans...so they go for somewhere in between and they look like shit,

[cooner.livejournal.com]

I've only seen a few episodes of the BBC Being Human so far, and it seemed pretty good (and very British). I haven't seen the American version yet, but if those are the werewolves ... ugh. How is it taut grey skin somehow passes for fur with so many werewolf producers? :P

I'm curious, though, whether you've seen the movie "Attack the Block"? It's a small-budget British alien invasion movie, and I'd be curious what you thought of the alien designs. They were mostly done with practical effects too -- suits, puppets, animatronics, very little CG here and there just where needed -- and I was really impressed with them. Very cool-looking AND creepy as hell (in that cool-creepy way).

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I will definitely check out "Attack the Block". Sounds cool-- hopefully Netflix has it!