# Almost Human - Who's Watching? \[Open spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155 "2013-11-18T00:47:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/1 "2013-11-18T00:47:51Z")
They’ve been advertising the heck out of this show, and I’m on board to see what it’s all about. It’s a JJ Abrams thing, on Fox, set in some future where a cop played by New Bones is forced to partner with an android (or something of that nature), played by some guy I don’t know. Sounds like a show that was pretty much custom-made for me. I’ve tried not to read any reviews, but if nothing else, this show will provide a double-shot of eye candy the likes of which we haven’t seen in recent memory. Unless I’m forgetting something, which I probably am. Who else is watching? P.S. SPOILERS BELOW! WHEEE! ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/2 "2013-11-18T00:49:31Z")
The two part premiere starts tonight at 8 and finishes Monday on Fox. I’m planning to try it out for a few episodes. [It looks like it might be fun.](http://www.accesshollywood.com/almost-human-4-reasons-to-watch-foxs-new-drama-starring-karl-urban-and-michael-ealy_article_86831) Any body else in? **From the Article:** > [@](#): > > Futuristic cop drama “Almost Human,” from J.H. Wyman and J.J. Abrams, premieres tonight on Fox. > > The series stars Karl Urban as detective John Kennex, who wakes up 17 months after being caught in an ambush that took out his whole team. Unable to get along with his new, top-of-the-line android partner, John is paired with Dorian (Michael Ealy) a highly emotional discontinued robot, barely spared from the scrap heap. Under the command of Maldonado (Lili Taylor), the two work cases with help from lab rat and android guru Rudy (“Game of Thrones’” Mackenzie Crook). ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/3 "2013-11-18T00:50:03Z")
Is it based on the “Caves of Steel” trilogy by Isaac Asimov? I’m too time-limited to look it up. Gotta’ run! ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/4 "2013-11-18T01:00:30Z")
Oooooh count me in!! ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/5 "2013-11-18T01:02:39Z")
Who’s watching? Probably at least two other Dopers, since that’s how many other threads on it have been started in the last few minutes 🙂 ( I sent a mod report). I’ll give it a try, though the genre of near-future sci-fi on TV has had a pretty grim history. But maybe this one will buck the trend. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/6 "2013-11-18T01:27:50Z")
i’m watching. my remote vexes me however and i’ve missed a bit. ah, well, that’s what on demand is for, eh? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/7 "2013-11-18T01:47:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’ll give it a try, though the genre of near-future sci-fi on TV has had a pretty grim history. But maybe this one will buck the trend. I’m in that camp. I’m a sucker for SciFi, and I’ll watch the pilot, but I have very low expectations. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/8 "2013-11-18T02:19:24Z")
Karl Urban’s always worth a watch. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/9 "2013-11-18T02:22:55Z")
We watched - thought it was pretty good - curious to see where they take it, the previews for next week were ‘cliche’ for this genre, but, thats ok too. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/10 "2013-11-18T02:40:00Z")
Me me me! Been planning on watching for months! Loved it! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/11 "2013-11-18T02:47:54Z")
We watched it. My wife had liked Michael Ealy (who plays Dorian) in a short-lived series called “Common Law”, and I’ve always liked Karl Urban. The premiere was interesting enough to give it a few more weeks, at least. It has a Blade Runner feel to it in parts. And, I’ve decided that, between the haircut and the voice he’s using, Urban is channeling Jensen Ackles. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/12 "2013-11-18T02:55:00Z")
Watched the first episode. Good points: The two main characters are interesting and well drawn and the relationship works and has some nice possibilities. Bad points: The tedious and cliched dystopian future and, other than the lead and his boss, the cops are deeply stupid. Evidently, in the future, the technology to make off-site backups of important data has been lost. Hopefully thing will improve. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/13 "2013-11-18T05:21:22Z")
I thought it was “fair-to-middling.” I’ll give it a couple more episodes but the pilot didn’t live up to the hype. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/14 "2013-11-18T06:29:11Z")
Struck me as a grittier version of _TekWar_. i.e. an American version. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/15 "2013-11-18T06:36:23Z")
Im in. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/16 "2013-11-18T12:40:07Z")
I’m in the “fair to middling” but willing to give them a few more episodes. My wife hated it. There’s way too much special effects sci-fi background stuff, and not enough character. John rakes up sympathy for what he experienced (loss of leg, etc) but not for who he is (nasty, arrogant, unfriendly, macho.) Destroying the synthetic cop because it asked too many question?? Sheeesh. Didn’t make him likeable. And Dorian needs to LOOK a little bit (just a little bit) like an android – little sparkles on his skin from time to time don’t do it. Plus, there’s a really nasty racist undertone: the black guy has to prove that he’s not just sub-human? And resents being called a ni-- um, a synthetic? And the synthetics are expendible, even on a whim. I’m hoping they overcome that real, real soon; or that they’re using it as a deliberate condemnation of racism. But we haven’t seen that… yet. PS [Mod hat on] - I’ve closed the other threads with links here, and I’ve edited the title to allow spoilers. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/17 "2013-11-18T15:27:01Z")
I loved the “Caves of Steel” vibe, too. Makes me wish that they had just optioned the novels. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/18 "2013-11-18T15:38:49Z")
Yeah, human cop is pretty much cop stereotype 101 - pining for the old days when you could tune up a suspect because, dammit, he cares more about _justice_ than the law, and he cares more about his dead partner than all the pencil-pushers at police HQ. May as well have made a series called _Dinosaur Cop_ set just after the end of the Cretaceous Period about a detective who pines for the days when law enforcement wasn’t run by a bunch of damn herbivores. Of course, it seems to me that in the semi-dystopian future depicted, torturing suspects for information would not only not be illegal, it would be considered fully acceptable. Heck, I’m vaguely surprised prisoners being transferred aren’t equipped with something akin to high-tech tracking-and-exploding collars, a la _Running Man_. Given the level of tech we’ve seen, they have to make up excuses to _not_ have them. It was pretty polite of the bad guy to announce to the kidnapped and eventually _Saw_-trapped cop what the evidence tag number was. Did he think the cop would have Item 6665 (or whatever the number was) on him, or something? Why tell him anything, since they plan to put in an inescapable deathtrap anyway? Why put him in a deathtrap where other cops can (indeed, it seems the plan was for them to) find him? What if he blurts out “Hey, the bad guys are looking for Evidence Item 6665!” instead of just “Get me outta here!” And his partner is synthetic but sweet. Probably manufactured by the Oreo conglomerate. I’ll watch the second episode, but I suspect my enjoyment of this series will stem from its mockability. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/19 "2013-11-18T15:53:28Z")
I watched the first episode and will watch tonight. I’ll give it a few weeks to see if it worth my time. I might have missed something, but isn’t the cop in pretty good physical shape, except the leg, for someone who has been in a coma for so long? Most people bedridden for any long length of time have their muscles atrophy badly. Maybe you get to walk on a treadmill when in a coma in the future or they use electric muscle stimulus? ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/20 "2013-11-18T16:00:04Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > I might have missed something, but isn’t the cop in pretty good physical shape, except the leg, for someone who has been in a coma for so long? Most people bedridden for any long length of time have their muscles atrophy badly. Maybe you get to walk on a treadmill when in a coma in the future or they use electric muscle stimulus? I think it was explained right in the beginning that he’s been out of the coma for 6 months or so. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155.md?page=2)