This could be really good. Hopefully the planets will align and it’ll happen.

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First off, and starting tonight, is Apparitions. Martin Shaw plays an exorcist in what could be a great new horror series from the BBC. It’s being hyped as TV’s most controversial drama ever, and the first episode is supposed to feature a particularly grizzly murder. Writer Joe Ahearne created the superb channel 4 Vampire drama Ultraviolet, so it’s got a good pedigree. It’s sure to be worth checking out for fans of this sort of thing, and it’s also on in HD, if you’re that way inclined.

Second, and starting on the 19th, is The Devil’s Whore. Channel 4′s period drama stars John Sim and is set during the English Civil War. The trailer looked good when I caught it the other day, but unfortunately I can’t find anything to link to on the Channel 4 site for more info. So I’ll send you here instead.

Finally, on Sunday the 23rd, Terry Nation’s Survivors returns to UK screens albeit in updated form. Starring a number of recognisable faces from Who’s Freema Agyeman and Shaun Dingwall, to Hotel Babylon’s Max Beesley, it also features potential new Dr Who Paterson Joseph. I’m a sucker for end of the world drama, so I’ll definitely be giving this a go. More info and a trailer at the BBC’s site here.

Sadly, it looks like only a single member of the cast will be returning: the awesome Russell Tovey will be reprising his role as the Werewolf George. If I had to pick one of the three Tovey would have been it, so that’s good news.

Beyond that Aidan Turner will be playing the Vampire, and Lenora Crichlow is the ghost. That last one worries me, Andrea Riseborough was superb as Annie and it’s a shame she’s not coming back. Guy Flanagan didn’t exactly do a bad job as Mitchell either, but he’s perhaps more easily replaced.

Crichlow is best known for her part in Sugar Rush, and appeared in the Gridlock episode of Doctor Who. Turner….I have no idea.

Being Human will be shown on BBC in 2009.

And having watched the first hour on E4 last night, I’m still enthused. The show had a great opening. It might work better without adverts, in full two and a half hour movie format, but it’s already managed to push the envelope for televisual horror and gore.

What’s most pleasing about the show is that it’s not a “look how bloody clever I am” satire. I love Romero to bits, but being subtle isn’t one of his strengths. Thankfully Dead Set managed to avoid such heavy handed imagery and subtext for most of its initial 45 minutes. What it didn’t avoid were two things nicked from 28 Days Later: fast moving zombies and an accompanying erratic bit of camera work. For fans of zombie cinema the creatures themselves were probably nothing new, but the format certainly was.

As much as the show isn’t heavily a satire, it’s probably not really a comedy either. Anyone expecting Shaun of the Dead cuteness will be disappointed. There are darkly funny moments – is it bad that I laughed during the wheelchair zombie scene? – but on the whole the mood has so far been serious.

Performance-wise special mentions have to go to two people: Jaime Winstone for a convincing, and thankfully likeable, strong central character, and Davina McCall for a bloody brilliant zombie performance. Hopefully there’ll be more zombie Davina in tonight’s second episode.

I’ll try to keep posting about Dead Set as the series progresses. Andy Nyman – who plays Patrick the mustachioed producer – is presenting an on-set diary at FrightFest this weekend too, so I’ll be mentioned that, in addition to all the other films shown at this year’s all-nighter, next week.

One other thing: See if tonight’s episode drops any horror movie names into the script. Episode one contained both “Manchester Morgue” and “Ginger Snaps”. There may have been more. I suspect episode two will do the same.

Being Human is currently airing on BBC3 as a one off drama (and is available for the next four days on iPlayer here) and if the idea of a cleverly written, Brit made, supernatural drama series appeals to you then I urge you to check it out and make sure the BBC know you’ve enjoyed it (either by commenting here, or over on another review I found online).

The premise is neat: Mitchell is a vampire, George is a werewolf. Tired of living the unsettled life so typical of their kind, they decide to buy a house together and try to make a go of settling down. Mitchell suggests he’ll go on the wagon (ie, not drink blood), and George is adamant that he’ll lock himself away every full moon to avoid causing any trouble.

Things take an interesting turn when the couple find their new home comes with a little bit more than just fixtures and fittings, George bumps into an old girlfriend at the hospital that he and Mitchell work in (who thought he was dead), and Mitchell’s vampire buddies put in an appearance (who disapprove of his friendship with George).

The characterisation is a joy, and there’s so much potential with the characters that this pilot introduces. The performances are spot on, particularly George (Russell Tovey) who is totally convincing throughout, whether he’s being brilliantly menacing the night before the full moon, or bursting with excitement at the prospect of getting their own house. It’s also nice to see an old fashioned Werewolf transformation too…none of that CGI nonsense here, thankyouverymuch.

So if you’ve not seen it, go an have a look. It’s probably repeated on BBC3 again anyway, but as mentioned (and linked) above, you’ve got four iPlayer days left.

I just hope my prayers get answered, and the BBC finally realise that UK audiences would lap something like this up. We’ve not had a home-grown vampire series since Ultraviolet.

Up to now, I’ve managed not to blog about it, but I’m slightly stunned and can no longer keep from mentioning what must surely be the BBC’s flagship reality TV offering. Fans of the show will know precisely why I’m stunned: Katie removed herself from the competition at the last possible moment!

For anyone that doesn’t watch the show: Katie has bitched, back-stabbed, pouted, and schemed her way through the entire series. She has a face like a smacked arse, and yet has the most mesmerizing eyes. She’s eminently dislikable, and yet somehow difficult to not be impressed by. And, when faced with the prospect of being in the final, she turned it down because it wasn’t fair to ask her children and parents to support her in the endeavor.

You’d check first, wouldn’t you? Before even applying for the contest, you’d make sure Mum and Dad were OK with the implications of you winning. Unless, of course, you never intended to win. Did Katie just plan on becoming famous, then walking out at the last moment? Perhaps she intends to follow in the footsteps of previous pantomime reality TV dropouts, like Nasty Nick and all the other useless types whose names have long since dropped out of the accessible recesses of my memory, never to return.

Who knows. But it was a twist I didn’t see coming, and perhaps the reason why The Apprentice is a cut above the usual reality TV nonsense. Next weeks final sees the essentially useless Simon up against the impressively organisation Kristina. It’s a forgone conclusion, but the show is always so enjoyable that it really doesn’t matter.