The first run of Being Human (North America) was clearly a blending of all three seasons of its BBC-original. Unfortunately, the adaptation has fallen short on multiple levels, despite the clear advantage of having a ready-made audience.
The character of Josh (aka George) played by Sam Huntington loses his appeal without the good-intentioned goofiness brought to the table by Russell Tovey. Huntington is a native New Englander and nephew of the incomparable Ralph Bellamy. Though you may see Huntington as a relatively fresh face, his list of film credits includes Bryan Singer's Superman Returns and fan-favorites like Not Another Teen Movie. Even with an inherited Academy Award, Huntington struggles to achieve a sense of balance with Josh.
Sam Witwer, whose acting credits include Star Wars and Smallville, is a good Aidan (aka Mitchell). Where Turner falls short on the grace and composure of a very old vampire, Witwer's portrayal of a 200+ year old vampire is altogether believable. He convincingly plays to the innate conflicts his character faces. But Witwer's performance can't negate the sometimes flimsy writing...like Aidan's too-easy manipulation into killing the boy-vampire created by Rebecca or his giving up on the love-of-his-life in apparent afternoon.
Meaghan Rath plays Sally (aka Annie). The writers treat her character with timidity. Rath can certainly pull off a greater role. Her dialogue is too glib--"Americanized"--for a strong, confident woman who's transitioned to life after death with the kind of grace and dignity rarely seen among the living.
The writers went for the obvious upset in the finale by changing Bishop's (aka Herrick's) long-overdue fate from what was originally George vs. Herrick to Aidan handling his own problems, with the help of Sally--a consistent cohort in either storyline. What this means is that the season 3 BBC storyline with Herrick's unprecedented return from the undead simply won't apply as Being Human (North America) moves forward.
Mark Pellegrino plays Bishop; the actor has a bit of a pop culture mythology to rely on when playing supernatural characters. Pellegrino was the elusive Jacob on Lost and later, played Satan himself as Lucifer on the ever-popular Eric Kripke keeper, Supernatural.
The adaptation-factor is the hook the writers relied on to sell the finale of Being Human (North America). With props to Witwer, Rath, and Pellegrino, as well as Kristen Hager who plays the foil to Josh as Nora (aka Nina), the second season has hope...even though the first season ended without much of a bang.
On the Housel-scale, the finale gets a generous 8/10 with nods to Witwer, Pellegrino and Rath.
Good luck in season two to the dynamic duo of Fricke and Carver--the husband-and-wife team who developed the series for the North American audience.