Almost Human's pilot (all that has aired at the date of me writing this review) depicts a veteran cop in a futuristic setting struggling with an apparent rise in crime and violence.
The show comes out with strong acting, a solid enough plot and even some messages about class structure. However the show isn't flawless.
The protagonist is paired with one of the last remaining (decommissioned 4 years ago) synthetics that was designed to be as human and embody as much emotion as possible, characteristics which the characters allude to being their downfall as the entire series of synthetics goes crazy. Yet inexplicably (likely explained later) one survives and despite the models being at one time commonplace amongst the police force, this one (named Dorian) has unique abilities that seem to far transcend the plethora of models 4 years newer that are commonplace.
All of the side characters are generic caricatures. There is an obvious love interest, an illegal shady Asian doctor, a nerdy scientist that interacts better with computers than humans and a bitter rival cop that appears long enough to make generic bully remarks to the protagonist and declare "he wont last" before going quietly into the night. Lastly the plethora of newer generation synthetics are practically robots, im not sure why this show distinguishes them several times from standard robots, they have no emotion are purely logical, follow protocols and rules to the letter and are made entirely from fiberglass and metals. Robots.
The show also could have spent a little more money on sets and CG work. The only things that set this world apart from present day are a few LED lights that seemed to be completely superfluous and the occasional brief CG of a sky with a nondescript flying vehicle passing over it for a split second. Apparently 30 odd years in the future cars look identical to today's models but have strange hubcaps and make vaguely futuristic noises.
That said the show was enjoyable and set a pace that showed great promise for future plot development. Largely shows like this fall into ignominious defeat or rise to glory on their ability to produce cohesive story arcs that don't involve episodic drivel. I desperately hope this show can continue delivering plot advancements, no one needs ncis 2040.
The show comes out with strong acting, a solid enough plot and even some messages about class structure. However the show isn't flawless.
The protagonist is paired with one of the last remaining (decommissioned 4 years ago) synthetics that was designed to be as human and embody as much emotion as possible, characteristics which the characters allude to being their downfall as the entire series of synthetics goes crazy. Yet inexplicably (likely explained later) one survives and despite the models being at one time commonplace amongst the police force, this one (named Dorian) has unique abilities that seem to far transcend the plethora of models 4 years newer that are commonplace.
All of the side characters are generic caricatures. There is an obvious love interest, an illegal shady Asian doctor, a nerdy scientist that interacts better with computers than humans and a bitter rival cop that appears long enough to make generic bully remarks to the protagonist and declare "he wont last" before going quietly into the night. Lastly the plethora of newer generation synthetics are practically robots, im not sure why this show distinguishes them several times from standard robots, they have no emotion are purely logical, follow protocols and rules to the letter and are made entirely from fiberglass and metals. Robots.
The show also could have spent a little more money on sets and CG work. The only things that set this world apart from present day are a few LED lights that seemed to be completely superfluous and the occasional brief CG of a sky with a nondescript flying vehicle passing over it for a split second. Apparently 30 odd years in the future cars look identical to today's models but have strange hubcaps and make vaguely futuristic noises.
That said the show was enjoyable and set a pace that showed great promise for future plot development. Largely shows like this fall into ignominious defeat or rise to glory on their ability to produce cohesive story arcs that don't involve episodic drivel. I desperately hope this show can continue delivering plot advancements, no one needs ncis 2040.