Almost Human at Comic-Con Report
Hello fellow Karl fans!
I was lucky enough to see the Almost Human pilot twice at Comic-Con this weekend: at the screenings of Warner Bros.-produced pilots on Wednesday night and at the Almost Human panel on Friday morning.
Here is a recap of the pilot, which is hidden for those of you who wish to remain unspoiled. It's far from 100% accurate and there are probably scenes out of order and the like, but it should give you a good idea of what happens. Lines in quotes are ones that directly from the ep and I'm pretty sure are accurate. Comments in parentheses are my own thoughts.
The episode starts with a voiceover narrating the on-screen text explaining that in 2048, gangs and drugs are rampant and crime is up 400%. All cops must now have an android partner.
We’ll soon learn these police androids are referred to as MXs. From what we see in this episode, there are apparently a few different models of them with different faces - different races, but all are males - at least the ones we see in the first ep. They appear human, but their eyes are cloudy and they have a few bumps on their faces where there are hidden inputs and they all wear the same blue jumpsuits and cowls with their ID numbers on their backs. When one of them is processing, you can see little lines of blue or red light on the sides of their faces.
Alley
John Kennex, wearing in body armor, is in the middle of a firefight. His partner has been hit and John rushes to him. The partner says the gang was waiting for them and it was an ambush. John asks the MX who is providing covering fire to check the injured man and a scan shows his artery is blown and he'll be dead soon. John won't accept that and the MX won’t help since there are other officers who can be saved and should be the priority. John tries to carry him to safety as the MX leaves to rejoin the fight.
They only get a few steps before something hits the back of John's upper right thigh, glowing white-hot before it explodes. Dazed, John sees that his leg is gone and his partner is dead. Through the smoke, he sees a hazy figure walk towards him and throw a small cylinder near him that lights up and explodes.
The next image is a soft-focus shot of John lying in bed with a pretty black woman. She's smiling at him as he gazes at her and brushes the hair from her face.
Doctor’s Office
Quick cut to John on of some kind hospital bed with electrodes attached to his temples and glowing disks on either side of his head. He's going through a memory recovery treatment since he can't recall the details of the ambush and he wants to remember every second so he can find the people responsible.
He did remember something new this time: his ex-girlfriend Anna. The doctor tells John that he was in a coma for 17 months and been awake for only a few months. Normally the treatment wouldn't be done until he'd been conscious at least a year. John points out that the doctor is unlicensed and running a black market clinic in Chinatown and that’s the end of that conversation.
The doctor notes that most people come to a rememberist to recover happy memories and John tells him that he needs to know what happened because they killed his whole team. As he says is, his nose starts bleeding and the doctor hands him a tissue.
Outside in his car, he swallows a little red pill just as an MX drives up on a motorcycle. They have a terse exchange and the MX scans John's mouth as they talk. (Looking for traces of alcohol?)
John’s Apartment
The next morning, John is watching a video message from Anna that is 700+ days old. Behind her we can see the sun setting over a city skyline. She talks about how much John's father would love the view and the sunset is beautiful and something about a ceremony. (A wedding maybe?)
The chief, Sandra Maldonado, calls and John tries to put off coming in for another day, but she's not having it. When he stands up, most of his right leg is a metallic-looking replacement with bands around the thigh and calf. A computer voice says that the synthetic calibration failed as John removes one of the bands and the metal changes color, now looking like a normal leg.
Police Department
Detectives Valerie Stahl and Pete Vogel are chatting and Vogel mentions he can't access his files as he taps away on a tablet. He tries to discuss the date he and Stahl went on last night and she reminds him they agreed not to talk about it at work. Another detective, Richard Paul, comes in and notices that John has arrived. This cop blames John for the death of the team that was ambushed and thinks he should have been kicked off the force.
John’s new MX partner greets him and begins explaining how it wants to make John’s return to the force less difficult. John ignores it and goes to meet with Maldonado, closing the door in the MX’s face. John initially refuses to work with an MX, but he’s told it's policy and can't be changed. She explains that the department psychologist thinks John is suffering from host of problems including PTSD and psychological rejection if his synthetic body parts. As a result, it's recommended that John be dismissed from the force, but she ignores the report because John's the only one she trusts.
John resigns himself to having the MX following him everywhere. Maldonado tells him about an armored car heist that happened that morning and looks like it was done by the same syndicate who ambushed John and his team. She tells him to keep the possible syndicate connection to himself and John asks if she thinks there's a mole in the department.
On the Street
John and his MX get to the scene of the crime to see that Stahl has already arrived. She tells him that she believes it's not the local gang since that gang is Cambodian and today is a sacred day on the Cambodian calendar. He asks the MX what was stolen and it says programmable DNA and Myclon Red were among the items in the armored car. John has a flashback of seeing canisters of Myclon Red during the raid where he was injured and his team was killed. He's visibly shaken and takes a moment to recover.
In the Car
John and the MX drive off and the MX quizzes John about his flashback, saying it looked like a petit mal seizure and has to be reported. He also comments on how the other MX saw him in Chinatown, an area known for nefarious activities. John counters that it also contains many tasty noodle joints and the MX states that the other MX detected no traces of food around his mouth. By now, they're driving down the highway and John opens the passenger side door and pushes the MX out where it's promptly run over by several cars and a truck. John drives on.
In the Lab
Next we meet Rudy, the resident android expert. He’s doing delicate work on a beautiful mechanical butterfly when John arrives. John's got a requisition for a new android and Rudy has a hard time believing the old one just fell out of a moving car. The order states John is to get one of the decommissioned DRN models that had been designed to be more human and ran an operating system called "synthetic soul". The DRNs were prone to “bugs” that made the somewhat unreliable. But Rudy figures that since they were supposed to be as close to human as possible, their fallibility means the DRNs were actually a success.
The DRN John is issued was due to be sent to work on a space station and the metals that make up his skeletal system are worth more than the unit as a whole. The DRN looks more natural than the MXs, with nothing on its face to make it stand out except that its eyes are completely black. Rudy calls this model Dorian and gives John the honor of waking him up by touching his left ear with a metal rod. Dorian gasps and his eyes change from all-over black to natural-looking with green irises. After he wakes, Dorian’s first question is how long he's been gone and is told it's been four years.
Dorian then sees John and runs him through facial recognition before accessing his records. He introduces himself, saying it's a pleasure to meet John and that he has an impressive record. John tells Dorian to update his files and leaves without shaking Dorian's outstretched hand.
In the Car
Dorian asks what he should call John and John says he should call him Detective. Dorian also notices the St. Christopher medal hanging from the rear view mirror and says that about 80% are given as gifts. John notes the use of "about" in the sentence and says that "synthetics" are precise. Dorian says he isn't a big fan of that term, gives the exact percentage and explains that he's using a colloquialism program, man.
Dorian also notices the A engraved on the back of the medal and begins reciting a list of possible names it could represent. John understandably gets annoyed and says "Synthetic off" and Dorian asks if this means John wants him to be quiet. When John tells Dorian to just go into quiet mode or whatever, Dorian tells John that if he wants him to be quiet, he can just ask, man.
Again we hear the "calibration incomplete" message and Dorian can see the red light on John's synthetic leg flashing through the fabric of his trousers. He tells John he has a fix for that and is again ignored.
Unknown Location
Our villain, Reinhardt, is told "he's on the move” by one of his men; as they all leave we see someone working on a headless android. Elsewhere, we see Vogel getting coffee from an outdoor vendor when a group of men drive up, shoot his MX and kidnap him.
Police Department
John and Dorian show up and the Det. Paul remarks that now there are two basket cases working together. Dorian sees the new androids that replaced him and tells John, “They’re intimidating.”
Maldonado tells John that Vogel has been kidnapped but they have a suspect, Trevor, in custody who was shot in the leg during the armored car robbery earlier in the day. The interrogation room has glass walls, and as John's questioning becomes more and more violent, Dorian activates a panel that makes the glass opaque. He insists there's another way but John continues beating on Trevor until his synthetic leg suddenly gives out when the calibration fails again.
As he's dealing with the pain in his leg, Dorian is reviewing Trevor’s medical file; looking at the angle of the wound he realizes that the man shot himself, something nobody else noticed. When he mentions it, Trevor finally cracks and explains he wants out but that the people he works with are ruthless. John promises to keep him safe if he'll tell them where Vogel is. Trevor gives them an address.
Later we see Trevor being led away by two cops when he tells them he's not feeling well. In the bathroom stall, he sticks his fingers down his throat and brings up a thread that, after some pulling and gagging, we see is attached to a small sphere. Inside is a metal disc which he twists, activating it, and attaches it to the metal pipe behind the toilet.
In the Car
On the way to the address they were given, Dorian points out that John "violated the crap" out of the suspect's civil rights. John insists he's not going to be lectured in humanity by a synthetic and Dorian again notes the use of "that word."
Apartment Building
John and Dorian are at the location Trevor gave them, accompanied by several officers both human and not. On the landing is a large canister with a wire leading from the top, down the hall around the corner and out of sight.
One of the MXs states it's a bomb and orders the humans to evacuate. Dorian moves forward and notes that the wire carries an electric charge. He says it's not a bomb and looks at John, who follows despite the warnings of the MX. They follow the wire to where it disappears into a hole in the wall. Opening the door next to the hole, they find Vogel handcuffed and kneeling inside a large box made of bulletproof glass. The wire is connected to a canister inside the box and there is some kind of electric charge running from the wire to the canister.
On the wall is the word "payback" in spray paint. John notices a security camera mounted on the ceiling and calls the officer transporting Trevor to the safe house to tell her it's a trap and to turn around. He's too late and he can hear the gunfire over the phone as the bad guys kill the officers and free Trevor.
At the same time, the wire disengages from the canister, breaking the electrical field and causing the gas in the canister to discharge into the glass box. The officer begins to choke and his face quickly turns red and misshapen. In moments, he's dead and his head thuds against the glass leaving a bloody smear.
Outside, the body is on a gurney and John asks Dorian to get a kit to take a sample to Rudy. Dorian grabs a syringe, draws blood from Vogel’s neck, injects it into his own neck and tells John there's no need for a kit since the sample has already been uploaded.
Police Department
John wants information on anything suspicious about any of Vogel’s previous cases. Stahl mentions he wasn't able to access his files and Dorian quickly pages through the files on a large screen, pointing out that case #6663 has been completely erased.
John ignores Dorian and tells Stahl to have IT try to recover the file. Dorian confronts John about his attitude toward him and they argue when Dorian explains that John doesn’t know who he is. He doesn’t blame him, considering everything he’s been through, man. John tells Doran to stop saying "man” and to go away and reboot himself. Dorian tells John that he read his report of the ambush where John stated that the MX abandoned them and that his partner would have lived if that hadn't happened. But Dorian also read all the other reports and it's clear his partner would have died no matter what. So John can blame the MX or he can blame himself.
Not long after, Rudy calls with the results of the tests on Vogel’s blood. He explains that all cops are inoculated to protect them from certain biological agents. He says the blood sample contained programmable DNA and Myclon Red which, when combined with the inoculation, caused the victim's DNA to change (or something like that) and that's what killed Vogel. He says he thinks it was a test and John realizes these guys are going after cops.
Doctor’s Office
John insists the doctor take him deeper since a lot of cops' lives are on the line. We see his memory of parts of the ambush again: John's partner, the loss of his leg, the bomb. This time, John also finally sees the hazy figure that walked through the smoke to throw that bomb.
Anna, John's ex-girlfriend.
John's bleeding from both nostrils and he appears to be having a seizure when the process is stopped and we see Dorian holding a device on John's chest, presumably because he's having a heart attack. The doctor is explaining that he tried to talk John out of it and John realizes that Dorian tracked him down using the chip he has imbedded in him. Dorian confirms that and says Maldonado wanted him to keep an eye on John.
Outdoor Noodle Stand
John tells Dorian he saw Anna throw the bomb that almost killed him. He'd like to believe it's a false memory but he knows it's not. She disappeared as soon as he woke from his coma and now he knows why. He also haltingly says that he probably should acknowledge the fact that Dorian saved his life. Dorian just smirks and tells John he's lucky Dorian wants to be a cop so bad.
The calibration on John's synthetic leg fails again and Dorian tells him to rub some olive oil on the joint and it'll help. John is skeptical and tells Dorian that he's not like the others, meaning the MXs. Dorian wonders if he should take that as a compliment and John says he should.
Dorian explains that the MXs are all about logic - experience is simply data to them. Dorian was programmed to extrapolate from the given data and draw conclusions based on it, just like a human. John mentions Vogel’s destroyed MX and the fuzzy video they were able to pull off it. Maybe Dorian could use the same data and extrapolate more information from it.
Police Department
On the roof, Reinhardt supervises his men, including Trevor, as they unplug some hoses in the ventilation system and hook them up to canisters like the one used to kill Vogel. They also set up a device that appears to send out some kind of sonic pulse.
Rudy’s Lab
The old MX is just another piece of junk and he hauls it out and Dorian accesses the memory. Eventually he is able to piece together some audio to go with the video of Vogel’s kidnapping. We hear Reinhardt tell Vogel about that he once arrested someone and there's something he took that Reinhardt wants and they're going to get it back tonight. Vogel may remember it as case #6663.
John calls Maldonado to tell her they need to lock down the police department now because there's something in the evidence room and the bad guys are coming for it. As he says this, the device on the roof activates the small disc Trevor had placed in the bathroom. Immediately all the MX units inside the PD drop to the ground, inactive.
Cops of both kinds rush into the building, but the MXs drop as soon as they're through the door. John and Dorian enter but Dorian remains operational. John just looks at him and Dorian mentions he's on a different frequency and that sometimes newer isn't necessarily better.
On the roof, the bad guys are about to start pumping the gas into the ventilation system when Maldonado and several officers arrive and start shooting. They take out everyone but Reinhardt who grabs a canister and heads downstairs. He runs into another cop and sprays him in the face, causing him to die the same way Vogel did.
When Reinhardt gets to the offices, John and Dorian appear and start shooting. John takes cover but Dorian keeps advancing. Reinhardt sprays him with the gas but the narrow lines of blue light flashing down the side of Dorian’s face make him realize he's a synthetic. Stahl enters and Reinhardt is just about to hit her with the gas when he's shot in the shoulder and falls, dropping the canister. In the background, we see John had fired the shot and still has his gun trained on him.
Reinhardt is now in custody and we see a vast evidence room (not as big as the warehouse in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I'd bet you good money that was the inspiration for the shot). Inside, officers are going through every piece of evidence by hand trying to find what it was the bad guys were willing to kill for.
Maldonado, John and Dorian overlook the room from a glass-walled office and discuss the case and how much time it will take to double check all of the thousands of items in storage. Dorian says he's tried to recover the deleted files for case #6663 but they were very thorough. John looks at him for a moment and Dorian says he'll keep trying, to which John just nods and says "Thanks, man." Dorian and Maldonado exchange a look.
Down in one of the thousands of large plastic tubs in the evidence room, a synthetic head, wrapped inside a plastic bag marked "Evidence" is activated, red lines of light flickering along the side of its face.
On the landing overlooking the lobby, John re-watches Anna's message and Maldonado tells him they'll find her. He tells her that he knows Maldonado specifically ordered Dorian to be his partner and he wants to know why. She says it's because Dorian is special, just like John.
In the Car
Dorian says he assumes John would like "quiet mode, Detective." John tells him not necessarily and then says "Call me John." Dorian smiles.
THE END
I really liked the episode and think the series could be very good if they don't mess with it too much. The audience reaction was good, though it was hard to tell with the Friday audience since I think a lot of people (including me) was still buzzing from the surprise screening of the Agents of SHIELD pilot.
As for the panel, it was short since the majority of the time was taken up with showing the pilot. The video is on the Fox site, though I'm not sure if it's all the panel or just snippets. Karl, Michael, Minka and Lily attended, along with the series creator who also did Fringe and the series definitely looks like it has many Fringe-like elements to it.
Karl was introduced last and got a huge ovation and a big cheer when he ran up to the mic and said "Are you out of your Vulcan *minds*?" He was, of course, his usual gorgeous self.
He talked about how JJ had approached him with the series and he wasn't looking to do a regular TV gig but loved the idea and the people involved.
Michael said the inspiration for his performance was a combination of Jason Bourne, Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 and Jeff Bridges in Starman. When the moderator asked if there would be any human/robot sex and responded to the resulting laughs from the panel by pointing out how attractive Michael is, Michael blushed. He was adorable.
The moderator told Minka he doesn't trust Stahl for some reason and Minka appeared surprised by that and gave a rather cagey answer which may or may not mean the moderator is on to something.
Lily said that Maldonado was originally a male but the producers were willing to consider a woman which she considered a good idea of how open-minded and amenable to change they are.
When the moderator mentioned the John/Dorian bromance, Karl threw his arm around Michael and gave him a quick one-armed hug.
As the panel wrapped up, Karl took a couple of minutes to thank the audience for coming out and for their support and how much he appreciates the fans. After they had all stood up from the table, Karl leaned back into the mic and said "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
A fine time was had by all and I really hope the series does well, both for Karl and for our enjoyment.
I'm sure there was more that was said, but these are the parts that stick out in my mind. It was a great day at SDCC and hopefully we'll see Karl and the gang for another AH panel next year. I have several pics of the screen, but there have been far better images already posted online. Even though I was in the front row, I just had my phone and the camera wasn't good enough to take a picture of them on stage. :/
Thanks for reading! :)
I was lucky enough to see the Almost Human pilot twice at Comic-Con this weekend: at the screenings of Warner Bros.-produced pilots on Wednesday night and at the Almost Human panel on Friday morning.
Here is a recap of the pilot, which is hidden for those of you who wish to remain unspoiled. It's far from 100% accurate and there are probably scenes out of order and the like, but it should give you a good idea of what happens. Lines in quotes are ones that directly from the ep and I'm pretty sure are accurate. Comments in parentheses are my own thoughts.
The episode starts with a voiceover narrating the on-screen text explaining that in 2048, gangs and drugs are rampant and crime is up 400%. All cops must now have an android partner.
We’ll soon learn these police androids are referred to as MXs. From what we see in this episode, there are apparently a few different models of them with different faces - different races, but all are males - at least the ones we see in the first ep. They appear human, but their eyes are cloudy and they have a few bumps on their faces where there are hidden inputs and they all wear the same blue jumpsuits and cowls with their ID numbers on their backs. When one of them is processing, you can see little lines of blue or red light on the sides of their faces.
Alley
John Kennex, wearing in body armor, is in the middle of a firefight. His partner has been hit and John rushes to him. The partner says the gang was waiting for them and it was an ambush. John asks the MX who is providing covering fire to check the injured man and a scan shows his artery is blown and he'll be dead soon. John won't accept that and the MX won’t help since there are other officers who can be saved and should be the priority. John tries to carry him to safety as the MX leaves to rejoin the fight.
They only get a few steps before something hits the back of John's upper right thigh, glowing white-hot before it explodes. Dazed, John sees that his leg is gone and his partner is dead. Through the smoke, he sees a hazy figure walk towards him and throw a small cylinder near him that lights up and explodes.
The next image is a soft-focus shot of John lying in bed with a pretty black woman. She's smiling at him as he gazes at her and brushes the hair from her face.
Doctor’s Office
Quick cut to John on of some kind hospital bed with electrodes attached to his temples and glowing disks on either side of his head. He's going through a memory recovery treatment since he can't recall the details of the ambush and he wants to remember every second so he can find the people responsible.
He did remember something new this time: his ex-girlfriend Anna. The doctor tells John that he was in a coma for 17 months and been awake for only a few months. Normally the treatment wouldn't be done until he'd been conscious at least a year. John points out that the doctor is unlicensed and running a black market clinic in Chinatown and that’s the end of that conversation.
The doctor notes that most people come to a rememberist to recover happy memories and John tells him that he needs to know what happened because they killed his whole team. As he says is, his nose starts bleeding and the doctor hands him a tissue.
Outside in his car, he swallows a little red pill just as an MX drives up on a motorcycle. They have a terse exchange and the MX scans John's mouth as they talk. (Looking for traces of alcohol?)
John’s Apartment
The next morning, John is watching a video message from Anna that is 700+ days old. Behind her we can see the sun setting over a city skyline. She talks about how much John's father would love the view and the sunset is beautiful and something about a ceremony. (A wedding maybe?)
The chief, Sandra Maldonado, calls and John tries to put off coming in for another day, but she's not having it. When he stands up, most of his right leg is a metallic-looking replacement with bands around the thigh and calf. A computer voice says that the synthetic calibration failed as John removes one of the bands and the metal changes color, now looking like a normal leg.
Police Department
Detectives Valerie Stahl and Pete Vogel are chatting and Vogel mentions he can't access his files as he taps away on a tablet. He tries to discuss the date he and Stahl went on last night and she reminds him they agreed not to talk about it at work. Another detective, Richard Paul, comes in and notices that John has arrived. This cop blames John for the death of the team that was ambushed and thinks he should have been kicked off the force.
John’s new MX partner greets him and begins explaining how it wants to make John’s return to the force less difficult. John ignores it and goes to meet with Maldonado, closing the door in the MX’s face. John initially refuses to work with an MX, but he’s told it's policy and can't be changed. She explains that the department psychologist thinks John is suffering from host of problems including PTSD and psychological rejection if his synthetic body parts. As a result, it's recommended that John be dismissed from the force, but she ignores the report because John's the only one she trusts.
John resigns himself to having the MX following him everywhere. Maldonado tells him about an armored car heist that happened that morning and looks like it was done by the same syndicate who ambushed John and his team. She tells him to keep the possible syndicate connection to himself and John asks if she thinks there's a mole in the department.
On the Street
John and his MX get to the scene of the crime to see that Stahl has already arrived. She tells him that she believes it's not the local gang since that gang is Cambodian and today is a sacred day on the Cambodian calendar. He asks the MX what was stolen and it says programmable DNA and Myclon Red were among the items in the armored car. John has a flashback of seeing canisters of Myclon Red during the raid where he was injured and his team was killed. He's visibly shaken and takes a moment to recover.
In the Car
John and the MX drive off and the MX quizzes John about his flashback, saying it looked like a petit mal seizure and has to be reported. He also comments on how the other MX saw him in Chinatown, an area known for nefarious activities. John counters that it also contains many tasty noodle joints and the MX states that the other MX detected no traces of food around his mouth. By now, they're driving down the highway and John opens the passenger side door and pushes the MX out where it's promptly run over by several cars and a truck. John drives on.
In the Lab
Next we meet Rudy, the resident android expert. He’s doing delicate work on a beautiful mechanical butterfly when John arrives. John's got a requisition for a new android and Rudy has a hard time believing the old one just fell out of a moving car. The order states John is to get one of the decommissioned DRN models that had been designed to be more human and ran an operating system called "synthetic soul". The DRNs were prone to “bugs” that made the somewhat unreliable. But Rudy figures that since they were supposed to be as close to human as possible, their fallibility means the DRNs were actually a success.
The DRN John is issued was due to be sent to work on a space station and the metals that make up his skeletal system are worth more than the unit as a whole. The DRN looks more natural than the MXs, with nothing on its face to make it stand out except that its eyes are completely black. Rudy calls this model Dorian and gives John the honor of waking him up by touching his left ear with a metal rod. Dorian gasps and his eyes change from all-over black to natural-looking with green irises. After he wakes, Dorian’s first question is how long he's been gone and is told it's been four years.
Dorian then sees John and runs him through facial recognition before accessing his records. He introduces himself, saying it's a pleasure to meet John and that he has an impressive record. John tells Dorian to update his files and leaves without shaking Dorian's outstretched hand.
In the Car
Dorian asks what he should call John and John says he should call him Detective. Dorian also notices the St. Christopher medal hanging from the rear view mirror and says that about 80% are given as gifts. John notes the use of "about" in the sentence and says that "synthetics" are precise. Dorian says he isn't a big fan of that term, gives the exact percentage and explains that he's using a colloquialism program, man.
Dorian also notices the A engraved on the back of the medal and begins reciting a list of possible names it could represent. John understandably gets annoyed and says "Synthetic off" and Dorian asks if this means John wants him to be quiet. When John tells Dorian to just go into quiet mode or whatever, Dorian tells John that if he wants him to be quiet, he can just ask, man.
Again we hear the "calibration incomplete" message and Dorian can see the red light on John's synthetic leg flashing through the fabric of his trousers. He tells John he has a fix for that and is again ignored.
Unknown Location
Our villain, Reinhardt, is told "he's on the move” by one of his men; as they all leave we see someone working on a headless android. Elsewhere, we see Vogel getting coffee from an outdoor vendor when a group of men drive up, shoot his MX and kidnap him.
Police Department
John and Dorian show up and the Det. Paul remarks that now there are two basket cases working together. Dorian sees the new androids that replaced him and tells John, “They’re intimidating.”
Maldonado tells John that Vogel has been kidnapped but they have a suspect, Trevor, in custody who was shot in the leg during the armored car robbery earlier in the day. The interrogation room has glass walls, and as John's questioning becomes more and more violent, Dorian activates a panel that makes the glass opaque. He insists there's another way but John continues beating on Trevor until his synthetic leg suddenly gives out when the calibration fails again.
As he's dealing with the pain in his leg, Dorian is reviewing Trevor’s medical file; looking at the angle of the wound he realizes that the man shot himself, something nobody else noticed. When he mentions it, Trevor finally cracks and explains he wants out but that the people he works with are ruthless. John promises to keep him safe if he'll tell them where Vogel is. Trevor gives them an address.
Later we see Trevor being led away by two cops when he tells them he's not feeling well. In the bathroom stall, he sticks his fingers down his throat and brings up a thread that, after some pulling and gagging, we see is attached to a small sphere. Inside is a metal disc which he twists, activating it, and attaches it to the metal pipe behind the toilet.
In the Car
On the way to the address they were given, Dorian points out that John "violated the crap" out of the suspect's civil rights. John insists he's not going to be lectured in humanity by a synthetic and Dorian again notes the use of "that word."
Apartment Building
John and Dorian are at the location Trevor gave them, accompanied by several officers both human and not. On the landing is a large canister with a wire leading from the top, down the hall around the corner and out of sight.
One of the MXs states it's a bomb and orders the humans to evacuate. Dorian moves forward and notes that the wire carries an electric charge. He says it's not a bomb and looks at John, who follows despite the warnings of the MX. They follow the wire to where it disappears into a hole in the wall. Opening the door next to the hole, they find Vogel handcuffed and kneeling inside a large box made of bulletproof glass. The wire is connected to a canister inside the box and there is some kind of electric charge running from the wire to the canister.
On the wall is the word "payback" in spray paint. John notices a security camera mounted on the ceiling and calls the officer transporting Trevor to the safe house to tell her it's a trap and to turn around. He's too late and he can hear the gunfire over the phone as the bad guys kill the officers and free Trevor.
At the same time, the wire disengages from the canister, breaking the electrical field and causing the gas in the canister to discharge into the glass box. The officer begins to choke and his face quickly turns red and misshapen. In moments, he's dead and his head thuds against the glass leaving a bloody smear.
Outside, the body is on a gurney and John asks Dorian to get a kit to take a sample to Rudy. Dorian grabs a syringe, draws blood from Vogel’s neck, injects it into his own neck and tells John there's no need for a kit since the sample has already been uploaded.
Police Department
John wants information on anything suspicious about any of Vogel’s previous cases. Stahl mentions he wasn't able to access his files and Dorian quickly pages through the files on a large screen, pointing out that case #6663 has been completely erased.
John ignores Dorian and tells Stahl to have IT try to recover the file. Dorian confronts John about his attitude toward him and they argue when Dorian explains that John doesn’t know who he is. He doesn’t blame him, considering everything he’s been through, man. John tells Doran to stop saying "man” and to go away and reboot himself. Dorian tells John that he read his report of the ambush where John stated that the MX abandoned them and that his partner would have lived if that hadn't happened. But Dorian also read all the other reports and it's clear his partner would have died no matter what. So John can blame the MX or he can blame himself.
Not long after, Rudy calls with the results of the tests on Vogel’s blood. He explains that all cops are inoculated to protect them from certain biological agents. He says the blood sample contained programmable DNA and Myclon Red which, when combined with the inoculation, caused the victim's DNA to change (or something like that) and that's what killed Vogel. He says he thinks it was a test and John realizes these guys are going after cops.
Doctor’s Office
John insists the doctor take him deeper since a lot of cops' lives are on the line. We see his memory of parts of the ambush again: John's partner, the loss of his leg, the bomb. This time, John also finally sees the hazy figure that walked through the smoke to throw that bomb.
Anna, John's ex-girlfriend.
John's bleeding from both nostrils and he appears to be having a seizure when the process is stopped and we see Dorian holding a device on John's chest, presumably because he's having a heart attack. The doctor is explaining that he tried to talk John out of it and John realizes that Dorian tracked him down using the chip he has imbedded in him. Dorian confirms that and says Maldonado wanted him to keep an eye on John.
Outdoor Noodle Stand
John tells Dorian he saw Anna throw the bomb that almost killed him. He'd like to believe it's a false memory but he knows it's not. She disappeared as soon as he woke from his coma and now he knows why. He also haltingly says that he probably should acknowledge the fact that Dorian saved his life. Dorian just smirks and tells John he's lucky Dorian wants to be a cop so bad.
The calibration on John's synthetic leg fails again and Dorian tells him to rub some olive oil on the joint and it'll help. John is skeptical and tells Dorian that he's not like the others, meaning the MXs. Dorian wonders if he should take that as a compliment and John says he should.
Dorian explains that the MXs are all about logic - experience is simply data to them. Dorian was programmed to extrapolate from the given data and draw conclusions based on it, just like a human. John mentions Vogel’s destroyed MX and the fuzzy video they were able to pull off it. Maybe Dorian could use the same data and extrapolate more information from it.
Police Department
On the roof, Reinhardt supervises his men, including Trevor, as they unplug some hoses in the ventilation system and hook them up to canisters like the one used to kill Vogel. They also set up a device that appears to send out some kind of sonic pulse.
Rudy’s Lab
The old MX is just another piece of junk and he hauls it out and Dorian accesses the memory. Eventually he is able to piece together some audio to go with the video of Vogel’s kidnapping. We hear Reinhardt tell Vogel about that he once arrested someone and there's something he took that Reinhardt wants and they're going to get it back tonight. Vogel may remember it as case #6663.
John calls Maldonado to tell her they need to lock down the police department now because there's something in the evidence room and the bad guys are coming for it. As he says this, the device on the roof activates the small disc Trevor had placed in the bathroom. Immediately all the MX units inside the PD drop to the ground, inactive.
Cops of both kinds rush into the building, but the MXs drop as soon as they're through the door. John and Dorian enter but Dorian remains operational. John just looks at him and Dorian mentions he's on a different frequency and that sometimes newer isn't necessarily better.
On the roof, the bad guys are about to start pumping the gas into the ventilation system when Maldonado and several officers arrive and start shooting. They take out everyone but Reinhardt who grabs a canister and heads downstairs. He runs into another cop and sprays him in the face, causing him to die the same way Vogel did.
When Reinhardt gets to the offices, John and Dorian appear and start shooting. John takes cover but Dorian keeps advancing. Reinhardt sprays him with the gas but the narrow lines of blue light flashing down the side of Dorian’s face make him realize he's a synthetic. Stahl enters and Reinhardt is just about to hit her with the gas when he's shot in the shoulder and falls, dropping the canister. In the background, we see John had fired the shot and still has his gun trained on him.
Reinhardt is now in custody and we see a vast evidence room (not as big as the warehouse in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I'd bet you good money that was the inspiration for the shot). Inside, officers are going through every piece of evidence by hand trying to find what it was the bad guys were willing to kill for.
Maldonado, John and Dorian overlook the room from a glass-walled office and discuss the case and how much time it will take to double check all of the thousands of items in storage. Dorian says he's tried to recover the deleted files for case #6663 but they were very thorough. John looks at him for a moment and Dorian says he'll keep trying, to which John just nods and says "Thanks, man." Dorian and Maldonado exchange a look.
Down in one of the thousands of large plastic tubs in the evidence room, a synthetic head, wrapped inside a plastic bag marked "Evidence" is activated, red lines of light flickering along the side of its face.
On the landing overlooking the lobby, John re-watches Anna's message and Maldonado tells him they'll find her. He tells her that he knows Maldonado specifically ordered Dorian to be his partner and he wants to know why. She says it's because Dorian is special, just like John.
In the Car
Dorian says he assumes John would like "quiet mode, Detective." John tells him not necessarily and then says "Call me John." Dorian smiles.
THE END
I really liked the episode and think the series could be very good if they don't mess with it too much. The audience reaction was good, though it was hard to tell with the Friday audience since I think a lot of people (including me) was still buzzing from the surprise screening of the Agents of SHIELD pilot.
As for the panel, it was short since the majority of the time was taken up with showing the pilot. The video is on the Fox site, though I'm not sure if it's all the panel or just snippets. Karl, Michael, Minka and Lily attended, along with the series creator who also did Fringe and the series definitely looks like it has many Fringe-like elements to it.
Karl was introduced last and got a huge ovation and a big cheer when he ran up to the mic and said "Are you out of your Vulcan *minds*?" He was, of course, his usual gorgeous self.
He talked about how JJ had approached him with the series and he wasn't looking to do a regular TV gig but loved the idea and the people involved.
Michael said the inspiration for his performance was a combination of Jason Bourne, Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 and Jeff Bridges in Starman. When the moderator asked if there would be any human/robot sex and responded to the resulting laughs from the panel by pointing out how attractive Michael is, Michael blushed. He was adorable.
The moderator told Minka he doesn't trust Stahl for some reason and Minka appeared surprised by that and gave a rather cagey answer which may or may not mean the moderator is on to something.
Lily said that Maldonado was originally a male but the producers were willing to consider a woman which she considered a good idea of how open-minded and amenable to change they are.
When the moderator mentioned the John/Dorian bromance, Karl threw his arm around Michael and gave him a quick one-armed hug.
As the panel wrapped up, Karl took a couple of minutes to thank the audience for coming out and for their support and how much he appreciates the fans. After they had all stood up from the table, Karl leaned back into the mic and said "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
A fine time was had by all and I really hope the series does well, both for Karl and for our enjoyment.
I'm sure there was more that was said, but these are the parts that stick out in my mind. It was a great day at SDCC and hopefully we'll see Karl and the gang for another AH panel next year. I have several pics of the screen, but there have been far better images already posted online. Even though I was in the front row, I just had my phone and the camera wasn't good enough to take a picture of them on stage. :/
Thanks for reading! :)