“There may be some bugs”
Karl Urban definitely didn’t disappoint in last night’s first half of JJ Abrams’ latest sci-fi drama Almost Human, playing the futuristic and psychologically stressed detective John Kennex (who’s also been asleep for the last two years). And in this world of inflated crime where droids are also your micro-monitoring assistant it can get pretty aggravating, especially when you’re just trying to get the job done.
In this particular case Kennex has been paired with the DRN Dorian (Michael Ealy)—after pushing out his previous assistant out the window (DRNs have breaking points too!)—to solve an armed robbery and raid of a truck filled with a bunch of stuff that’s been linked to what looks like an illegal cloning for sex bots.
Oh, and what’s up with all the flashbacks of Kennex’s ex? We get a sense of his extreme psychosis when he has a bit of a panic attack, but nothing is revealed about his past—leaving us with something more to look forward to other than what looks like an inevitable romance with Detective Valerie Stahl (Minka Kelly).
The whole show in a nutshell felt very Avatar meets Minority Report with a weird Silence of the Lambs undertone (or if you’ve ever read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World you’d pick up this sort of vibe right away). I kept thinking to myself: when is Michelle Rodriguez going to appear out of nowhere in a helicopter? (she never did). But whatever cliches Almost Human might bring to the table, don’t let that be any reason to believe the show’s not worth an hour of your time.
(photo via Entertainment Weekly)
