Almost Human 1.04 Review: A Rooster in the Henhouse

Any of those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Almost Human, titled ‘The Bends’, that would like to do so without the threat of spoilers, the time to turn away from your screen would be now. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, this week’s episode wasn’t quite as good as the last two episodes, but it wasn’t all bad. I didn’t mind so much that it opened up with a scene that involved Rudy’s character in a tough situation, only to get set back twenty-four hours before to fill in all blanks. My one problem with the way they did that was that I find Rudy’s character isn’t quite as fully developed as he could be. The actor is great at portraying him as a geeky lover of science and technology, and all that entails, it’s just the really visceral emotions that he seems to have trouble with. I don’t really feel like everything comes across clear enough when it comes to his emotions, which is why I’m on the fence with this character; he’s great sometimes, but not others. It works as a secondary character, but when he’s used as a focus of an episode, it doesn’t quite come across.

The way this episode was written, it was a little predictable that it would turn out to be the narcotics Captain that was the Bishop. Honestly, Kennex is a character we’re shown to trust, so there was no way we wouldn’t be expected to trust his judgment of the fallen police officer, and thus that led to the aforementioned Captain being the villain of the piece. It was fun to watch Kennex shoot him dead, but I expect in a more dramatic series, that would’ve led to a darker moment for the character because he was definitely able to arrest the man – as proper police procedure dictates. Nonetheless it didn’t completely detract from the episode.

Overall, this episode had both comical moments, and slightly more heartfelt ones. There were a lot of great cinematographic shots to the episode that I really loved. I just wish this week’s episode could’ve been a little deeper, and less superficial. Basically, this week’s episode was weaker than that of the pilot, and much worse than the last two episodes. Still, I am liking this series.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

No memorable lines.

All right, I’m going to take a brief break for the moment, to try and recharge, and I’ll be back after to review The Blacklist. Later, check in for reviews of The Originals, Supernatural, and Trophy Wife.

Almost Human 1.03 Review: No One Wants to Die

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Almost Human, titled ‘Are You Receiving?’, now would be a good time to go and do that. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed at your own discretion.

Well, that was a jam-packed hour of entertainment (okay, so really between 40 and 45 minutes, discounting commercials). Only three episodes in and I’m already loving this series. It may even be the best new series of this season, even ahead of The Blacklist… But don’t quote me on that, because it’s still pretty early on.

This week’s episode was about a hostage situation that turned out to be a decoy for a precious metal heist. All of the characters really worked well in this high-pressure situation, and we got a lot of nice moments between Kennex and Dorian. These two work really well together. The mix of tension and new partner type reliability on each other is done astoundingly well.

There were a lot of wonderful moments to this episode. Dorian smiling after Kennex tells the one hostage he has on the phone that everything will okay. Also, Kennex chewing the used gum so he can fix Dorian. Kennex wearing the face disrupter and then saving Dorian’s life. And, obviously, the Benny and the Jets song, which Dorian sang along to. These were all just a few of my favourite moments of this episode. Also, the fact that they basically only included Kennex and Dorian goes to show just how much I love these two partners.

All in all, this series is really shaping up to be something special. The special effects are fantastic, I almost feel like I’m actually watching a basic cop show in the year 2048. The acting is also great, something rather abundant in our two leading males. And this episode just fit well into the last episode’s timeline, while the pilot may not have worked as well as this series is working after it. Suffice to say, if you’re not watching this show, you really should be.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“There’s- I can’t- Do you- Christmas.” – John pretends his call is breaking up with the Captain so he can ignore her order. Also, nice to know someone other than myself that uses the word Christmas randomly to get someone’s attention.

“Hello, I’m Detective John Kennex. I’m an automated police officer with a very difficult personality.” – Dorian mocks John by using his voice to answer a 911 call.

“There’s fifty shades of purple in there.” – John exasperates to Dorian, after he touches the wrong tendon in the AI’s wound.

Okay, I’m off to watch Sleepy Hollow now, and The Blacklist right after that. Check back soon.

Almost Human 1.02 Review: The Importance of Being Remembered

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Almost Human, entitled ‘Skin’, I suggest that you go do that before proceeding ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This series is kind of brilliant. While the pilot episode was a little tedious in that it had to set this world up for us, this episode kind of made me fall in love with this series. Just the way it began, that opening was perfectly wonderful for a futuristic cop drama that shows us more about people through the eyes of one synthetic (read: robot) than some people are able to express it today’s world.

Really, I kind of loved this episode. No, it didn’t share as much continuity with the previous episode as I like for my television, but I’m kind of okay with that because this episode was much better than the pilot. After watching this, I see more of a mix of many different series, blended together quite professionally. This is the kind of cop drama I can get into.

Can I just comment on the CGI work and special effects? They’re amazing! I mean, for someone who has watched Once Upon A Time for three years now, this sci-fi series blows their special effects out of the water. For a TV budget, I can find hardly anything remiss, and I tend to have an eye for seeking out terrible special effects. I feel like I stepped into a movie budget on television. That being said, that could worry me if this series doesn’t reach a high amount of viewership, more so than normal, it could mean unreasonable cancellation based on its likely high budget. I certainly hope that isn’t the case.

Karl Urban was much more interesting tonight as Detective John Kennex. The man has this strange kind of humour to him that I just find adorable. While I can see them eventually pairing him up with Minka Kelly’s Detective Stahl, I would like to see a bit more chemistry between them and scenes shared before that develops further. They could have something interesting, but at the moment it seems more one-sided in her awe for him, despite how he explained his ideal woman is basically her in a nutshell.

For me, Michael Ealy’s rendition of Dorian that was the star of the episode. The very subtle way in which he is able to play his emotions into what is basically a robot is simply phenomenal. Every time his face shows up on screen, I can’t help but watch the minute nuances that display emotional in the slightly stilted synthetic way. This is the man to watch in this series.

Also, I’m very much enjoying the partner relationship between Kennex and Dorian. They do seem to be coming along as a great team, and I am quite intrigued to watch this develop over the course of this series. I’m sure there will still be many obstacles to overcome, despite how they seem to have clicked more as partners since Sunday’s pilot episode. They are definitely a pair I can see watching over the long run.

All in all, I really love this series. While it is still soon to say if I will watch this series as long as it runs, especially being that I can find cop procedurals eventually tedious, as long as they keep an interesting and fresh take for my television to record each week, I will come back. There are definitely some mysteries to be solved, and some relationships to be watched over the course of this show. I’m just a little weary that there is something a little off with this show that I can’t put my finger on. Still, I am intrigued by the promos for the next episodes.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Maybe the cats are allergic to you. Did you ever think of that?” – Dorian relates to Kennex.

“Add him to the list of kids and cats.” – Kennex tells Dorian, regarding the list of those that don’t like Kennex.

“Who is going to remember me?” – Dorian asks Kennex, in an emotionally charged statement.

“Don’t scan my testicles. Ever again.” – Kennex says to Dorian.

All right, ladies and gents, I’m off to watch Sleepy Hollow now. Stay tuned.

Almost Human 1.01 Review: What Makes Us Human

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s series premiere of Almost Human, this is where I suggest that you do that before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

So, this week’s pilot episode of Almost Human set the scene for a not-too-distant future (it is only the year 2048) where technology has advanced to the point where crime has skyrocketed 400%. This means there are not enough cops to dissuade criminals, and thus each cop must be paired with a synthetic partner – basically a robot.

We meet up with our damaged hero of the piece, John Kennex, played by the wonderful Karl Urban. After seventeen months in a coma caused by the evil crime unit known as Syndicate that wiped out the rest of his command, he has spent the last seven months rehabilitating. But now it’s time for this detective to get back to work, and that’s where this series begins.

While I have never seen Blade Runner and thus cannot make the connections with that film, this series does appear to have equal parts I, Robot as well as the recent remake of Total Recall. The special effects were masterful, which is what I related to the latter of the two films, and the MX’s were brilliantly designed, and also had an air of the former film. That being said, there wasn’t much I saw in this pilot that could be deemed original, but it was fun to watch nonetheless.

Although I’m a big fan of Karl Urban from both The Chronicles of Riddick film, as well as the two latest Star Trek films, it was not he who shined in this series. It was Michael Ealy’s turn as the emotional synthetic known as Dorian, based on the model name DRN. His ability to play a robot with emotions, but still jilted in his acting was phenomenal, and will likely be one of the bigger reasons I come back next episode. The man did amazing, I’d almost believe he actually was a robot, and that is the mark of a truly talented actor. It’s good to know that this guy has the chops to bring to one-half of a crime fighting team.

That leads me to another thing. One of my favourite things about this episode, aside from the character Dorian and my natural-born curiousity when it comes to the Syndicate, was the relationship that has just barely had its surface scratched, in way of the cop-synthetic team of Kennex and Dorian. The way Kennex had a strong adversity to all things synthetic, and then he is eventually (that is, after throwing his MX out of his car into highway traffic) paired with one that has emotions and is as close to human as possible, especially in the way that he makes his own choices and his intuition leads him to make those decisions. These two are perfectly paired for one another, and I look forward to watching their relationship evolve. I’m sure, while they did seem to come to some sort of understanding in the end, that there will be difficulties and obstacles to overcome, and that is a rather exciting endeavor for myself as an audience member.

All in all, this wasn’t a disappointing premiere. There wasn’t much in the way of originality like I said, but the cast that has been brought together seems promising. I do look forward to learning more about John’s ex-girlfriend, as well as seeing the development of Minka Kelly’s character. There is no shortage of cop dramas on television, but this does have a slightly different spin on that, at the very least. I’m not sure if I will stick around for the entire season, but this episode does have my curiousity peeked. Also, Segway!

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Well, that last part is true.” – Kennex agrees with his psychologist defining him as hating his synthetic body parts.

“Amy, Audrey, Aquamarine…” – Dorian lists off possible A names.

Okay, folks, that’s all for tonight. Check back in tomorrow for my reviews of How I Met Your Mother, Sleepy Hollow, and Almost Human, which moves into its Monday night timeslot.