my guess - we’ll find out eventually that he is more machine than man, the next version of synthetics.
(sorry about the s word, I have a some synthetic friends, I’m really not a humanist, I just can’t think of a better word to describe them)
I almost drowned in a sea of clichés.
- Protagonist watching home-movie or equivalent of lost lady love over and over? Check.
- Gritty cop who doesn’t “follow rules?” Check
“- If it was good enough for my father, it’s good enough for me” dialogue? Check - Coworker who is hostile to the protagonist for no apparent reason? Check.
- Set-up and execution of symbolic words/actions that show that protagonist is coming to accept sidekick? Check
- Shadowy bad-guy gang with name that is a synonym of “group” or “organization?” Check.
There were many more, but those are the ones that spring to mind right now. I’m not sure if the bit where the android was making decisions on how to proceed in a crisis based on survival probabilities is a cliché exactly, but that bit felt like an I, Robot (movie) rip-off.
Nevertheless, put me in the “fair to middling, but has potential” group/organization/syndicate. I hope it doesn’t go too far into conspiracy land.
I’m glad they didn’t. Caves of Steel deserves a faithful adaptation.
Besides, I didn’t feel like it had anything in common with Caves of Steel other than “cop who doesn’t like androids is forced to partner with one,” though I did find myself wondering if they were going to touch on the Laws of Robotics in some form.
The setting was very cookie cutter. At night everything looked like Blade Runner and during the day everything looked like every other Sci Fi setting that isn’t Blade runner but the actors were good so I will watch it again.
One thing that was weird:
Didn’t the main character basically murder his first partner? Is it not against the law to “kill” an android? That could raise some interesting stories but seemed kind of cruel for what I guess was meant to be a joke.
Heck, at the very least, cite him for littering a public road.
We watched the first, and will watch the next one or two.
My main problem so far is it seems more like watching someone play a video game. Just shoot the bad guys. Then again, the only way to tell if it is a bad guy is because they look scary and ugly and have scowls - and if this were the case, most people on earth would be dead.
So, hoping they at least try to make plots, and not just “shoot 'em up” random killings of nameless villains.
Besides, one of those robots has to cost millions to replace.
I guessed almost from the start that the MX androids were going to be a problem. They were guaranteed to be either disabled or corrupted by the end, with only the special snowflake Dorian unaffected. Should have put money on it with the wife.
I know you were joking, but you touch on a good point. It’s more than litter. It’s a significant highway obstruction…a human-shaped highway obstruction. All sorts of carnage could easily have ensued as the people who struck it freaked out and pulled over thinking they had hit someone, and the other motorists swerved around trying to avoid bits and pieces.
Yeah, that bit was weak.
An uncharacteristically bland review from Alan Sepinwall.
His reviews, good or bad, are usually livelier than that. Not a good sign. He gave a good description of NewBones’ character though: “he’s stuck playing every cranky cop ever who doesn’t want to work with a partner who’s a robot/alien/immigrant/minority/woman/other…” Yep, that’s it exactly.
Hey, if crime’s gone up 400%, somebody jumping in front of your car is probably trying to steal it, so better to be safe and just run him over.
Biologically-challenged.
I’ve watched worse cop shows, and MUCH worse SF shows. I like the general feel of Caves of Steel/I Robot (the Will Smith version)/Blade Runner they’ve got going. It’ll be interesting to see if they can keep the tech level up once the Big Pilot Money umbrella goes away (we’ll probably see a lot fewer flying cars and futuristic motorcycles in process shots, in favor of having more tech stuff in close to the characters).
And as always, I get kind of annoyed at producers who feel the need to put bright LED displays on the chests of all the cops who are trying to avoid getting shot. Really? Just aim for the red light; it’s gotta be something important. Also, since all the droids are getting shot in the eye, maybe a Lexan helmet or two might be in order.
So in 2048 institutional toilets with have LED’s installed in the stainless steel flush handles?
Wow, I hope I live long enough to see those in person. So I can then kill myself over seeing something so stupid.
Dude. By 2050, everything will have LEDs on it. Even food.
EPISODE 2…OR PILOT PART 2, OR SOMETHING
I thought this was a big improvement over the first one. The story was pretty interesting, and it was a good move to make it have something to do with synthetic/human issues.
“Stop scanning my balls.”
“Copy that.”
It seems like Dorian is shaping up to be pretty unique amongst the androids we’ve seen. We’ve seen a few AIs with senses of humor, but I can’t recall another one who enjoys being a jerk for laughs. This was not a case of the logic-bot not realizing he was being inappropriate. He knew, but he couldn’t resist making NewBones squirm.
Still a lot of cliches, and I already despise moony-eyed cop girl (no, I don’t need a “love interest” in the story, okay?) But this episode makes me more optimistic.
It was funnier on Alien Nation:
“Matthew, are you hurt? Should I check your testicles for scratches and bruises?”
I liked Common Law. The partner conflict angle was a little over-the-top much of the time and I don’t think they every really clicked as partners, but I thought it deserved a second season.
I also got a Blade Runner vibe from the show. It wasn’t strong, but you could feel it in things like the black market medicine district and the basement lab. There was this occasional juxtaposition of decaying classical architecture and ultramodern high tech that really reminded you a lot of Blade Runner.
Any futuristic show is going to suffer from technology problems. For example if in 30 years we can’t routinely grow a new organs, let alone a new human leg, I’ll be very surprised. The groundwork needed for that is already being laid down and I seriously doubt perfecting it will take another 3 decades.
The programmable DNA was a nice touch since that is a fairly recent development, but I don’t think they used it properly here. Plus in 30 years, that technology will be much more advanced.
I’ll watch the show no matter what just because I love the genre.
I am not ashamed to say, I’d watch that.
In part 1 of the pilot, there was a scene with Dorian and Kennex eating steaming noodles at an outdoor cafe, while it was heavily overcast and raining, with neon signs and multicolored reflections off the wet surfaces. You really couldn’t visually copy Blade Runner any better short of spinner cars approaching a bronze-tinted glass pyramid. If you’re gonna steal, steal from the best.
I was going to pass on this until i found out Karl Urban was in it. I’m enjoying both his and Michael Ealy’s work so far. Not crazy about the stories yet. The Captain is odd: seems to have a mother-hen thing going on with Urban, and yet seems distant, talking around things, or in generalities.
I’m in until they cancel it. Urban & Ealy are worth watching, and now I’m a Michael Ealy fan as well.
I was somewhat shocked to find Urban was going to be in a TV series, and a sci-fi series on Fox at that. Thought he was a little above this, but I guess he subscribes to the Michael Caine school of thought, and wants to act. JJ Abrams executive produces, so maybe Urban’s work on Star Trek helped make this happen.
I thought it was interesting that when Dorian walked Kennex into the observation “You just described Detective Stall,” he had also just described the Captain.
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.
In 2048, they can make super realistic robots, but can’t grow skin in a vat? Or harvest from cadavers?