Almost Human
Watching Almost Human, and enjoying it very much so far.
How do I love thee, Almost Human? Well, not very heatedly - love is overstating the case at this point - but I am very well entertained and:
- I like how John is so adamant and absolute in his hate for synthetics at the start, and then caves utterly and completely upon getting to know Dorian. There's hardly any transition. This is a man who doesn't know how to deal with non-absolutes, or what emotional middle ground is. Partly this is no doubt a result of psychological trauma, but it also seems like a more integral part of his personality. I hope we'll get some more insight into this, perhaps by way of a bit more of John's background beyond the "dead partner" and "treacherous lover" part. (BTW, does anyone know whether this actor can actually act? He clearly enjoys looking steely and dangerous, and he is nice enough to look at, but I honestly can't tell if he's a good actor from what I've seen so far.)
- I like everything about Dorian. His curiosity, how he grows into himself or perhaps rediscovers himself as a person, how he literally feels his way into the partnership with John, how he so very clearly slowly grows to like John as he gets to know him... his vulnerability and his toughness, his self-sufficiency and the way he automatically tries to connect with others, both humans and synthetics. Of course, this is a character who pushes many of my buttons merely through existing (massive identity issues! omg sign me up!!).
- I like the captain and how competent and badass she is, and how much John trusts and respects her.
- I like the way the relationship between Dorian and John is progressing, with Dorian the relentless partner who keeps teasing and prodding and pushing the envelope, and John the gruff reticent one who is initially mostly taken aback, and then increasingly and transparently pleased that someone is making the effort, trying to reach him and prying him out of his shell. It's adorable how John never retaliates and never puts up any real fight. He just grumps a bit, not-so-secretly soaking up the familiarity and affection Dorian's teasing implies. This - teasing, affectionate insults, gentle bullying - is probably the only way John can accept affection right now, and Dorian picks up on it immediately.
How do I not love thee:
- Not terribly impressed by the doe-eyed cop clearly marked love interest, mostly because so far, the only thing she is is pretty and (supposedly) smart. She sticks out in that precinct in a ridiculous manner, all soft focus and long flowing hair in an otherwise sober, hard-edged environment. Can't a love interest still be presented as a cop like the others, rather than a misplaced fashion model?
- I do not think that calling the synthetic character Dorian was a good idea. The reference to The Picture of Dorian Gray seems intentional, but wow, it really doesn't work one bit. Maybe it's a coincidence after all...? Whatever the case may be, I'm going to deal with it by simply ignoring the nonsensical literary allusion. (Except, of course, for the blatant homoeroticism. *g*)
What else do I think?
Initially, I speculated that this might be a Blade Runner set-up, where the bitter android-hating/-hunting cop (in this case, John) turns out to be an android himself. For example, they could have copied the original human John's memories into a synthetic body after the catastrophic raid that killed John's partner (and John, in this version), with the 2-year "coma" and the gaps in John's memory suddenly taking on a different cast. OR, John could have been a synthetic all along; a new model with artificial memories à la Blade Runner.
But I don't see how that would work in terms of technology. Even Dorian is still very clearly physically non-biological, for all that he is emotionally human; everyone identifies him as a synthetic with a quick scan, if not on sight. The sex worker synthetics in ep 2 even get outfitted with real human skin because there is no synthetic version that feels remotely the same. An android who was physically all but indistinguishable from a human seems implausible because it would be too huge a leap in technology.
Also, as of now there seems to be no point to making John an android in narrative terms. So far, the series is going solely with the dichotomy of emotionally competent, empathetic android <-> emotionally stunted human, which would obviously be a complete loss if John were also an android.
It's too bad. There would have been such lovely potential for more massive identity issues. Also nice plot twist opportunities.
In other news...
OMG, bring on the slash.
I hear the show isn't doing terribly well in the ratings, which is a shame. It's taking its time in setting up, which is a good thing in my book, and it looks like it could grow to be something special if given the chance.
How do I love thee, Almost Human? Well, not very heatedly - love is overstating the case at this point - but I am very well entertained and:
- I like how John is so adamant and absolute in his hate for synthetics at the start, and then caves utterly and completely upon getting to know Dorian. There's hardly any transition. This is a man who doesn't know how to deal with non-absolutes, or what emotional middle ground is. Partly this is no doubt a result of psychological trauma, but it also seems like a more integral part of his personality. I hope we'll get some more insight into this, perhaps by way of a bit more of John's background beyond the "dead partner" and "treacherous lover" part. (BTW, does anyone know whether this actor can actually act? He clearly enjoys looking steely and dangerous, and he is nice enough to look at, but I honestly can't tell if he's a good actor from what I've seen so far.)
- I like everything about Dorian. His curiosity, how he grows into himself or perhaps rediscovers himself as a person, how he literally feels his way into the partnership with John, how he so very clearly slowly grows to like John as he gets to know him... his vulnerability and his toughness, his self-sufficiency and the way he automatically tries to connect with others, both humans and synthetics. Of course, this is a character who pushes many of my buttons merely through existing (massive identity issues! omg sign me up!!).
- I like the captain and how competent and badass she is, and how much John trusts and respects her.
- I like the way the relationship between Dorian and John is progressing, with Dorian the relentless partner who keeps teasing and prodding and pushing the envelope, and John the gruff reticent one who is initially mostly taken aback, and then increasingly and transparently pleased that someone is making the effort, trying to reach him and prying him out of his shell. It's adorable how John never retaliates and never puts up any real fight. He just grumps a bit, not-so-secretly soaking up the familiarity and affection Dorian's teasing implies. This - teasing, affectionate insults, gentle bullying - is probably the only way John can accept affection right now, and Dorian picks up on it immediately.
How do I not love thee:
- Not terribly impressed by the doe-eyed cop clearly marked love interest, mostly because so far, the only thing she is is pretty and (supposedly) smart. She sticks out in that precinct in a ridiculous manner, all soft focus and long flowing hair in an otherwise sober, hard-edged environment. Can't a love interest still be presented as a cop like the others, rather than a misplaced fashion model?
- I do not think that calling the synthetic character Dorian was a good idea. The reference to The Picture of Dorian Gray seems intentional, but wow, it really doesn't work one bit. Maybe it's a coincidence after all...? Whatever the case may be, I'm going to deal with it by simply ignoring the nonsensical literary allusion. (Except, of course, for the blatant homoeroticism. *g*)
What else do I think?
Initially, I speculated that this might be a Blade Runner set-up, where the bitter android-hating/-hunting cop (in this case, John) turns out to be an android himself. For example, they could have copied the original human John's memories into a synthetic body after the catastrophic raid that killed John's partner (and John, in this version), with the 2-year "coma" and the gaps in John's memory suddenly taking on a different cast. OR, John could have been a synthetic all along; a new model with artificial memories à la Blade Runner.
But I don't see how that would work in terms of technology. Even Dorian is still very clearly physically non-biological, for all that he is emotionally human; everyone identifies him as a synthetic with a quick scan, if not on sight. The sex worker synthetics in ep 2 even get outfitted with real human skin because there is no synthetic version that feels remotely the same. An android who was physically all but indistinguishable from a human seems implausible because it would be too huge a leap in technology.
Also, as of now there seems to be no point to making John an android in narrative terms. So far, the series is going solely with the dichotomy of emotionally competent, empathetic android <-> emotionally stunted human, which would obviously be a complete loss if John were also an android.
It's too bad. There would have been such lovely potential for more massive identity issues. Also nice plot twist opportunities.
In other news...
OMG, bring on the slash.
I hear the show isn't doing terribly well in the ratings, which is a shame. It's taking its time in setting up, which is a good thing in my book, and it looks like it could grow to be something special if given the chance.