Thursday, February 6, 2014

Almost Human: The Sci-Fi Show We Need Now, Part 1


So I’ve been watching Almost Human for the last several weeks and I have to say (needlessly) that it’s become my favorite live-action TV show.  I love Dorian; he is very funny and great and he looks like he can be my cousin (I am mixed and my hair is a short afro as well).  But generally, the show has a good mix of action, suspense, humor and soft moments.  It can get really intense, to the point where I don’t realize I am holding my breath for the entire segment of the show until commercial time.  The episode “Arrhythmia” was hard for me to watch without feeling a little angry, maybe even my blood pressure raised a little bit.  But I love this show.
Even more important to me about Almost Human besides great characters are the powerful issues it touches on:

  • Civil rights, equality (MX’s priority to energy charging stations in an emergency, Dorian excluded)
  • Ethics (especially robot ethics…)
  • Derogatory words for robot (“synthetic” is neutral, but still offends Dorian in the beginning of the show because he is seen as fake).
  • Fear (human fear and even Dorian’s fear)
  • Crimes in the future (watch the show and see how scary crime is in this future!)
  • Jobs in the future (such as the Recollectionist who helps people recall forgotten memories with the help of a machine)
  • Money in the future (i.e. bit-coins)

I really enjoy Dorian and Detective Kennex’s car conversations.  They get to know each other, understand each other better during the drive and we as viewers get to learn about them both too…
When I think back about how they first worked together, Detective John Kennex has changed a lot.  In the beginning he called Dorian a “synthetic,” and Dorian responds “I am not a huge fan of that term.”  I can understand why: he feels human enough that being called a synthetic offends him, implies that he is not real and therefore his feelings and opinions don’t matter.
But they do matter because Dorian is not just an android cop, he’s a valuable friend.  Dorian saved John from quite a few tight traps so far.  Even volunteering to risk his functionality, his life, to save a human victim trapped in the middle of a crime.  He may be too altruistic for his own good.  It seems that in each episode that he gets into a fight, his injuries become more serious. 
I want to write a really good essay on Almost Human and the important issues and themes it brings up. It will have to wait a little longer. For now I want to say that that my guesses about the show (before I started watching it on its November 17, 2013 premiere) were fun to make and now I can enjoy the show as it is.  Of course I was wrong about the “experiment” thing…so far, I could be wrong and something might come up, right?  It repeats on Saturdays at 8:00pm if you can’t catch the regular airing on 8:00pm Mondays.
Please, I want to start a discussion!  If any of my readers want to say something about the show, your thoughts/feelings about it, share it in the comments or email me through Blogger.  Who else enjoys Almost Human?  Or who dislikes it?  I will be respectful of your opinions—just respect mine as well!   ;)


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