(TV REVIEW) ALMOST HUMAN - Pilot (11.17.13)

I have been waiting on this show for months now. While the dystopian future concept is nothing new, in this version technology and crime have risen beyond the control of human cops alone and the requirement of a synthetic partners becomes law, the manner in which this show presents it FEELS like it is a new concept. There series starts off with Detective John Kennex (Urban) under heavy fire and trying to save his partner who has been mortally wounded. After an explosion ends the life of his partner and knocks Kennex into a semi -unconscious state a mysterious figure that Kennex can't seem to remember throws a grenade and causes  the loss of Kennex's leg. We then find that this is just Kennex's attempt to remember the past incident and he is currently undergoing a treatment by a "Recollectionist" (Kanagawa) to help him solve the mystery of who the person was that killed his partner and caused the loss of this leg.

Kennex is forced to use a synthetic leg and is finally going back to work on the force. He is reluctant to do so. But under the direction of his boss, Captain Sandra Maldonado (Taylor), he rejoins. Upon arrival he is partnered with an MX Synthetic. Their is a clear disconnect and Kennex shows his distrust for the synthetic by throwing it from his moving car and destroying it.

He is then partnered up with decommissioned model of synthetic called DRN / Dorian (Ealy). Dorian does not follow the orders that most synthetics would. He emotes. He empathizes. He was created to feel human emotions and was made to have the closest replica to a "soul" that a machine could. He gets offended, mad, happy, and has a full range of human emotions that the soulless MX models do not have. Although their partnership starts out rocky they quickly learn to trust and rely on each other. While I won't give away what happens in the pilot, the two become a great team and the series suggests that they will continue to grow to be friends.

Thoughts? So many shows end up disappointing me. Agents of SHIELD is the biggest offender lately. The previews hype them up so much that they can never deliver. I was never worried about that with this series. Not only are the actors fantastic (Karl Urban, Michael Ealy and Lili Taylor are PERFECTION) but the creators are some of my favorite in TV (J.J. Abrams can do no wrong). I think that the most refreshing thing about this series, other than the actors, is that it make "old ground" feel like a new concept. Not only has the "odd couple" thing been done a million times for cop dramas, but the "android partner" thing has been done a good bit too. But somehow, this show feels new and fresh.

In closing, the last thing I will praise with the pilot is just how well shot the thing was. I mean, really. It was movie quality. Obviously FOX and Bad Robot have a lot of faith in this series and it looks like that faith is rightfully placed. The pilot (and 2nd episode) have been well received and I can't wait for more. Do yourself a big favor and check it out.