Almost Human

[GeekDavid]

I dunno about you, but this new show from Fox has me really intrigued.

The year is 2048. Meet Detective JOHN KENNEX (Urban), a cop who survived one of the most catastrophic attacks ever made against the police department. After waking up from a 17-month coma, he can't remember much – except that his partner was killed, he lost one of his legs and he is now outfitted with a highly sophisticated synthetic appendage.

Suffering from depression, mental atrophy, trauma-onset OCD, PTSD and the "psychological rejection of his synthetic body part," John returns to work at the behest of longtime ally Captain SANDRA MALDONADO (Emmy Award nominee Lili Taylor, "Six Feet Under," "The Conjuring"). By mandate, every cop must partner with a robot. And despite his passionate aversion to androids, John is paired up with a battle-ready MX-43. But he abruptly terminates his partnership after the robot discovers incriminating information about him. So technician RUDY LOM (Mackenzie Crook, "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise) introduces John to DORIAN (Ealy), a discontinued android with unexpected emotional responses. Although such responses were deemed flaws, it is in these "flaws" that John relates to Dorian most. After all, John is part-machine now, and Dorian is part-human. John and Dorian's understanding of each other not only complements them, it connects them.

 

[Sparkie]

So far I've seen the first three episodes, and I like what they've done with it so far. Kennex and Dorian are written well enough and acted well enough to play off of each other nicely. It's a buddy cop show more than a sci-fi/fantasy show, at least so far. The futuristic backdrop in the third episode, however, is just that - a backdrop. I really liked the first and second episodes and how they showcased the world being built, and I'd like to see more of that.

I don't get to watch a lot of prime time TV, as I work a second-shift job, but this show will stat on my DVR list. And I'll actually watch these episode as opposed to letting them collect in the hard drive.