Being Human: 405 “Hold the Front Page” Review
There’s another unexpected guest knocking at Honolulu Heights this week. This time, it’s a more familiar face in the form of Adam, the teenage vampire who made his first appearance in series 3 and spin-off Becoming Human. Tagging along with him this time though is his lover, a headmistress named Yvonne. The couple are on the run from the press, which brings some unwanted attention on the housemates.
Despite a slow start, the fifth episode does develop into something much more interesting once Being Human’s latest creature feature is revealed. As with Type 4 last year, which introduced zombies to the show, it tackles this particular “monster” in a more human way than they are usually portrayed.
Without going into detail, the monster causes some housemates to begin acting a little strangely. In the case of Tom this leads to several comedic moments which play to Michael Socha’s strengths. Hal is lured to the darkside once more and delivers one of the biggest shocks. Is all as it seems though? To talk about it further would venture beyond the realms of “spoiler-free”, so we’ll have to leave it there.
It’s nice to see Craig Roberts return as Adam, though he’s a little side-tracked this time for the aforementioned main attraction. Adam is the largely same since we last saw him, he’s still as filthy minded and sex-obsessed as ever. It may be a hormonal teenager archetype, but there’s also a tender side to the character which comes out at the right moments and Roberts does some solid work.
Selina Griffiths is very good as Yvonne and brings credibility to a tricky role. To say she has a bizarre relationship with Adam would be an understatement. After all, he’s a 16-year-old vampire and she’s woman in her fifties. But Yvonne also hides a secret that leaves you questioning her true motivations until the last moment.
There’s also Sacha Dhawan as Pete, a journalist who gets a little too close to the truth for his own good. This leads him to Cutler’s path, who is putting the final phases of his plan into action. By the ending, things won’t be the same for journalists and Werewolf-kind. Andrew Gower is, as ever, a fun character to watch.
So then, it’s a decent enough instalment, with an intriguing new monster livening up things considerably. Even if it does verge on some familiar ground.