# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/41 "2013-11-20T01:12:05Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > In 2048, they can make super realistic robots, but can’t grow skin in a vat? Or harvest from cadavers? I was wondering about that too. They also said it was illegal to use any human DNA in androids. I’d like for clarification as to why other than for convenience of plot. If I was super hot with no other prospects I’d sell my DNA by the ton. I also like how in 2048 the police drive 2013 era Ford Fusions with minor body kits and silly looking hub caps (which is a shame, I love the rims on my '13 Fusion). Judging by the exhaust pipes they drive the Titanium level, meaning that their budgets are doing ok. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/42 "2013-11-20T01:16:19Z")
I think that’s part of the racist plot they ramrodded through–they didn’t want them getting too human. They shut down the DRN line because they were just as emotional and prone to irrational behavior as humans. They think they’re making robots, not people. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/43 "2013-11-20T01:24:10Z")
Getting around the human DNA problem should be pretty straight forward using [xenonucleic acids.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeno_Nucleic_Acid) A lot of work has already been done with them, to the point even of [being able to create the machinery needed for replication](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/finding-new-ways-spell-l-i-f-e). ---
**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 20, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/44 "2013-11-20T02:01:15Z")
It’s possible they _could_ have grown skin in a vat, but this was a cheaper/easier/less traceable way to do it. Yeah, that’s a total fanwank, but hey. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > I feel that they have peaked way too soon on a bunch of plot threads which could have been stretched out over an entire season: that the bots are disposable, sentient slaves, or the potential love interest with Stall. I kind of like that they’ve peaked too soon on a few things. We could have had to sit through a whole season of Kennex slowly and grudgingly coming to accept Dorian, but hey, we’re past that. Phew. ---
**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 20, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/45 "2013-11-20T03:19:06Z")
I thought the episode an improvement on the original, where they made some effort to deal with real SF themes (instead of plain old supercrooks/terrorists). The relationships were better and the situation was the type of speculation that always is at the heart of good science fiction. They’re also dealing with far more interesting themes. True, they were being done in the literature in the 60s, but TV SF is always behind written SF. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/46 "2013-11-20T03:21:34Z")
I thought the pilot was OK, but loved the second episode. Karl Urban’s character seemed to come into his own more in the second episode and I liked the interaction with his robot partner. Much, much better episode. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/47 "2013-11-20T14:30:22Z")
I want one of those animated giraffes…😃 ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/48 "2013-11-20T14:42:20Z")
I’m not sure how long they can keep up the banter between the two leads before it gets old. Time will tell. Plus there’s sex-bots, so I’m watching. Did anyone else catch the vibe that android rights will become a big issue? Cops bend every effort to find and save the pretty human girl. Pretty android girl is quietly disposed of because she has human DNA. White human says “[Damn it spock] you know androids can’t have human DNA.” Black android arches eyebrow. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/49 "2013-11-20T16:04:52Z")
Another one who wasn’t sure about the first episode, but actively liked the second. I enjoyed the banter, and I really don’t mind watching Karl Urban do just about anything. 🙂 I had a moment where I thought “Hey, where are the _boy_ sexbots?” And then one appeared on-screen–more suprisingly, one I’d totally bang if I were into robot-sex. Way to read my mind, show. I’m glad somebody else caught that the description of Kennex’s dream girl could fit either one of his fellow female cops. It seemed like there was a _moment_ with the Captain at the end of episode 2, but it was very fast and I got distracted almost immediately because Dorian was shoving Minka Kelly at him. Definitely will keep watching. Because my DVR isn’t full enough. ---
**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 20, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/50 "2013-11-20T17:00:56Z")
I don’t get what the potential market for a human-skinned sexbot would be. Wouldn’t it be easier just to hire a human prostitute that can _act_ like a sexbot? Or are we just to assume that in the future, the ultra-rich will create niche markets for any crazy damn thing, and be utterly indifferent to how that thing is made. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/51 "2013-11-20T17:41:33Z")
I’m digging the show. Sure, it’s not breaking totally fresh ground, but that’s okay, it’s doing it really well. The actors hooked me instantly. I like that, so far, they’re being relatively subtle about the slavery/racism allegory. By that I mean that they are showing it, rather than simply having the main characters talk it to death. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/52 "2013-11-20T22:55:37Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I don’t get what the potential market for a human-skinned sexbot would be. Wouldn’t it be easier just to hire a human prostitute that can _act_ like a sexbot? Or are we just to assume that in the future, the ultra-rich will create niche markets for any crazy damn thing, and be utterly indifferent to how that thing is made. Maybe to some sex with a robot is less immoral than sex with a prostitute. Or maybe they’re into stuff too kinky for even hookers. Or the robots are less likely to give them future AIDS. Or maybe real hos charge more. Maybe robosexuals are a big thing. Or something else. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/53 "2013-11-20T23:57:37Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Maybe to some sex with a robot is less immoral than sex with a prostitute. Or maybe they’re into stuff too kinky for even hookers. Or the robots are less likely to give them future AIDS. Or maybe real hos charge more. Maybe robosexuals are a big thing. Or something else. They probably have . . . _ahem_ enhanced abilities as well. I’m sure ‘shake that money maker’ means something a lot different to a sexbot. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/54 "2013-11-21T00:30:01Z")
One of the things I liked a lot was Kennex insisting he wasn’t bad with kids, then totally not screwing up talking to the kid. Just about any other show would have had him say something stupid then be at a loss as the kid started crying. The writers didn’t take the cliched easy route. And he’s totally not smooth with women, but had the compassion to hold the mother’s hand in the lab and say just what she needed to hear. I was worried that they’d go one of two ways: having the human teach the andriod how not to act too robotic, or having the android do the same for the human. Instead, they are allowing both to be human in their own way. It gives me hope for the series. ---
**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 21, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/55 "2013-11-21T01:15:36Z")
According to the fine folks at TWOP, this past episode was actually supposed to be Episode 5. I haven’t confirmed this nor do I know why they’re showing them out of order, but it does explain the huge jump from Kennex beginning to grudgingly accept Dorian and the comfortable banter we saw. > [@shiftless](#): > > Did anyone else catch the vibe that android rights will become a big issue? I hadn’t thought of that, but now that you mention it, I can totally see it. > [@Saltire](#): > > One of the things I liked a lot was Kennex insisting he wasn’t bad with kids, then totally not screwing up talking to the kid. Just about any other show would have had him say something stupid then be at a loss as the kid started crying. The writers didn’t take the cliched easy route. Yeah, I liked that, especially after he totally messed up his interaction with the group of kids by jamming a knife into his leg. > [@](#): > > And he’s totally not smooth with women, but had the compassion to hold the mother’s hand in the lab and say just what she needed to hear. Yep. It seems like he may be the stereotypical gruff cop who is also the stereotypical socially awkward guy. I could see him developing into an interesting character. I hope they don’t go too far into this conspiracy thing. It’s fine as a device to set the story in motion, but the last thing I want to see is another sci fi show that loses itself in some convoluted and boring conspiracy. I want to know what’s going on in the U.S. and the world in 2048. I want to learn about these characters. I want to see an interesting weekly plot. That’s plenty of material right there. ---
**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 21, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/56 "2013-11-21T06:00:09Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Maybe to some sex with a robot is less immoral than sex with a prostitute. Or maybe they’re into stuff too kinky for even hookers. Or the robots are less likely to give them future AIDS. Or maybe real hos charge more. Maybe robosexuals are a big thing. Or something else. Future episode: the cops discover an underground market for schoolgirl kidney pie, which is not actually pie made from the kidneys of schoolgirls but is a euphemism for beef stew, which has become the common streetname of accountant-brain-soup. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/57 "2013-11-21T19:25:19Z")
I also thought episode 2 was an improvement. I was not quite so clear on what advantage the human DNA provided but I may have missed something. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/58 "2013-11-21T19:54:00Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I also thought episode 2 was an improvement. I was not quite so clear on what advantage the human DNA provided but I may have missed something. Yeah, the whole human DNA thing seemed odd to me and added as a pseudo-scientific explanation, but somewhere along the line they said that the DNA was used to manufacture the skin and hair for the sexbots, so I can see that. Still seems like a bit of a stretch though. ---
**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 26, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/59 "2013-11-26T00:48:51Z")
I find myself really looking forward to tonight’s episode! ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155/60 "2013-11-26T02:58:29Z")
I think the partnership is really starting to work after tonight’s episode - especially the closing scene with the Elton John tune. That was classic. You can criticize some of the elements for being a little hackneyed but I think by and large it’s really working and I have to say this is fast becoming one of the shows I too am looking forward to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-human-whos-watching-open-spoilers/674155.md?page=4)