Here's the thing about Almost Human: The entire season was a long, unsatisfying tease. Fascinating topics were briefly mentioned and then immediately dropped again
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What I heard is thus: Fox, in their infinite fuckwittery, has done with Almost Human what they did with Firefly. To wit: they've shown episodes out of order, not shown other ones, and basically ballsed up the whole thing more or less on purpose. I love the show a lot, but have few hopes of it being renewed.
Yes, airing the eps out of order was another decision that I totally do not understand; it seriously messed with the development of key relationships and confused the narrative as a whole. Several things just did not make sense at all the way the eps were actually aired.
However, even if the eps had been shown in order, I would still have had major issues with the way the show never really goes anywhere with the themes it touches upon. It's one of those things where I would truly love to hear the people behind the show explain what they were trying to do here - there clearly is a concept of some kind, I just think it really doesn't work.
And, yeah, the result is that it's likely the series will be cancelled. :-/
One of my issues was they aired the episodes out of order, which was a fucked up thing to do. For example the episodes with Stahl and her Chrome heritages was planned as episodes four, instead it was aired as tenth episode and it totally fucks up the building relationship thing with her and Kennex. They were exchanging telephone numbers old-fashioned via paper the other in one and then Stahl is dating a fellow chrome the other episode and that makes only sense if you know that they changed the order.
Another issue that I have the general blandness, the show is lacking original ideas and comes mainly with overused clichés like the disgraced but morally righteous father figure whose reputation the son needs to rescue postmortem. Urgh, I barely made that episode.
The Wall on the other hand, that storyline had potential; I would have loved to know more about the wall and what lies behind.
I’m disappointed that they wasted good potential and made such an generic TV series.
The out of order eps were definitely another factor that actively hurt the show (and another decision I simply do not understand, and would love to hear a reason for by the people responsible).
Another issue that I have the general blandness, the show is lacking original ideas and comes mainly with overused clichés
This sounds like it might be related to the problem I had with the fact the show never goes into any of the truly interesting issues, but remains on the surface and fills up the time with chases, fighting, and the usual paraphernalia of cop shows that I wasn't actually there to see in a high concept scifi show with androids. In the end, this does come across as a collection of unoriginal tropes, with the unique and interesting aspects only briefly mentioned and then dropped again.
WTF, seriously. WTF.
the disgraced but morally righteous father figure whose reputation the son needs to rescue postmortemInterestingly enough, that was one plot point I rather welcomed. Original or not, the disgraced/absent cop father plot
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I ticked I love it, but that's not quite it, I like it, because I find the procedural cop bits not that intersting half the time, I'm in for the relationships and world building.
I don't mind the 'teasing', I actually like it if stories develop slowly and things are mentioned not because they are goint relevant in the next 10 min but to for a 'later date'. I also like the intrigue of things being mentioned or introduced, but not explained, and leaving me to speculate. Obviously, all this only works if we get another season (or 4), otherwise it all really backfires and becomes a tease. Which I guess is why show runners don't like the slow-burn information dissimination, because you never know whether there is another season.
But I would agree that would have hoped that last episode had been a bit more stronger and unusual, I wasn't even aware that that was the finale until the week later when there was no new ep. So that was a bit disappointing.
You know, I think if they do eventually get around to exploring all the issues they've merely teased us with so far, then I will not mind the delay anymore, either. I actually consider myself a friend of the slow build, as well... I've merely never seen such a slow build on a series of this kind, which is probably why I've been assuming that if they haven't gotten anywhere by now, they are never going to.
Still, you're right that this may be unfair. It's fairly clear that the show is aware of all the narrative potential it's inexplicably not utilizing; maybe they are playing a really long game. Probably not wise in terms of ensuring the series gets off the ground and is extended, though...
I very much hope that we get another season (or, indeed, 4 *g*) and have the chance to find out!
I find the procedural cop bits not that intersting half the time, I'm in for the relationships and world buildingSame here! There are so many procedural / action cop shows out there - this show has (or should have) other strengths, and a different
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this show has (or should have) other strengths, and a different focus. I'm so with you there. Unfortunately, I think poor performance in the ratings means more procedural stuff, in an attempt to play it safe. So here's hoping next season gets good ratings so that the writers and producers feel safe to go 'off the reservation' and put the sci-fi in the centre of the show.
You may well be right - and IMO, this would be a definite and disheartening sign that some of the people driving this wagon have no idea of what they're doing. Viewers tuning into this show aren't going to be looking for a procedural cop show, for god's sake (and conversely, I very much doubt that friends of fast-paced cop action are going to be looking into an android scifi show to get their fix).
I checked BOTH "I love it" and "What a tease" because there are so many things I reallllly love about the show: IT'S SCIFI (not enough scifi on tv) with robots and cool future tech and DID I MENTION ROBOTS ESPECIALLY ONES WITH ARTIFICIAL SOULS? AHHHHhh. I also really like the characters that they've managed to develop so far. I mean Dorian is just.. a+!!
But I do have a lot of problems with the show too, many of which you went over in your entry. I was pretty much over the boring case-of-the-week stuff about 3 episodes into the show and I kept waiting for them to, like, rip off the sheet and reveal the heart and soul of what Almost Human is about. Did you watch Fringe? I kept expecting a Fringe-like moment ala end of Fringe season 1 to happen. Up til then, Fringe was very similar, lots of cases of the week, lots of hints of more stuff, but never really delving into anything. Until they finally did, and Olivia went to an alternate dimension, and bam, Fringe had a purpose from then out. I was waiting for that to happen with AH, and it
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I did (though I am still stuck in the middle of the last season)! And YES, something that kicks the show into gear, the way the alternate dimension did for Fringe, would be wonderful for Almost Human. It could be The Wall, absolutely; or Dorian's mysterious memories; or...
Just as long as the android/human dichotomy remained central to the show, and as long as the show settled down to actually go into some of the issues is so far skips over like a hyperactive hummingbird, I would be very willing to go along with any good scifi premise.
I was interested in this show because of the setting, which brought with it interesting topics, eg artificial life with souls, ethics of enslaved robots, and I'm also very interested in the society portrayed in the showI feel exactly the same way. They created a scifi world full of multi-faceted, exciting topics just waiting to be explored; then they failed to explore either the world itself, or any of the topics, and instead tried to make a buddy action cop show in a
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Yes to all of this. I admit I quite loved this season, but the show has so much more potential. Someone said in a comment at my LJ that the season ending feels like a mid-season ending and I agree. There should definitely been a longer season with room to dwell and explore.
Also airing the episodes out of order was no smart move!
I don’t want to contemplate the show ending here, I have to learn and know more.
the season ending feels like a mid-season ending and I agree
Absolutely! And as I mentioned in a comment above, I'm pretty sure that's what it was intended to be - the creators of the show must have assumed the network would order a full season, instead of just leaving it at the 13 eps they'd initially ordered.
Even so, the ep should have been far better set up as a potential season ending. As it was, it just... fizzled.
I don’t want to contemplate the show ending here, I have to learn and know more.
Me too - so much! This show could become one of my favorite things ever, if only it does finally explore all the issues it's been skirting so far. I so, so want it to have the chance.
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However, even if the eps had been shown in order, I would still have had major issues with the way the show never really goes anywhere with the themes it touches upon. It's one of those things where I would truly love to hear the people behind the show explain what they were trying to do here - there clearly is a concept of some kind, I just think it really doesn't work.
And, yeah, the result is that it's likely the series will be cancelled. :-/
Reply
Another issue that I have the general blandness, the show is lacking original ideas and comes mainly with overused clichés like the disgraced but morally righteous father figure whose reputation the son needs to rescue postmortem. Urgh, I barely made that episode.
The Wall on the other hand, that storyline had potential; I would have loved to know more about the wall and what lies behind.
I’m disappointed that they wasted good potential and made such an generic TV series.
Reply
Another issue that I have the general blandness, the show is lacking original ideas and comes mainly with overused clichés
This sounds like it might be related to the problem I had with the fact the show never goes into any of the truly interesting issues, but remains on the surface and fills up the time with chases, fighting, and the usual paraphernalia of cop shows that I wasn't actually there to see in a high concept scifi show with androids. In the end, this does come across as a collection of unoriginal tropes, with the unique and interesting aspects only briefly mentioned and then dropped again.
WTF, seriously. WTF.
the disgraced but morally righteous father figure whose reputation the son needs to rescue postmortemInterestingly enough, that was one plot point I rather welcomed. Original or not, the disgraced/absent cop father plot ( ... )
Reply
I don't mind the 'teasing', I actually like it if stories develop slowly and things are mentioned not because they are goint relevant in the next 10 min but to for a 'later date'. I also like the intrigue of things being mentioned or introduced, but not explained, and leaving me to speculate. Obviously, all this only works if we get another season (or 4), otherwise it all really backfires and becomes a tease. Which I guess is why show runners don't like the slow-burn information dissimination, because you never know whether there is another season.
But I would agree that would have hoped that last episode had been a bit more stronger and unusual, I wasn't even aware that that was the finale until the week later when there was no new ep. So that was a bit disappointing.
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Still, you're right that this may be unfair. It's fairly clear that the show is aware of all the narrative potential it's inexplicably not utilizing; maybe they are playing a really long game. Probably not wise in terms of ensuring the series gets off the ground and is extended, though...
I very much hope that we get another season (or, indeed, 4 *g*) and have the chance to find out!
I find the procedural cop bits not that intersting half the time, I'm in for the relationships and world buildingSame here! There are so many procedural / action cop shows out there - this show has (or should have) other strengths, and a different ( ... )
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But I do have a lot of problems with the show too, many of which you went over in your entry. I was pretty much over the boring case-of-the-week stuff about 3 episodes into the show and I kept waiting for them to, like, rip off the sheet and reveal the heart and soul of what Almost Human is about. Did you watch Fringe? I kept expecting a Fringe-like moment ala end of Fringe season 1 to happen. Up til then, Fringe was very similar, lots of cases of the week, lots of hints of more stuff, but never really delving into anything. Until they finally did, and Olivia went to an alternate dimension, and bam, Fringe had a purpose from then out. I was waiting for that to happen with AH, and it ( ... )
Reply
I did (though I am still stuck in the middle of the last season)! And YES, something that kicks the show into gear, the way the alternate dimension did for Fringe, would be wonderful for Almost Human. It could be The Wall, absolutely; or Dorian's mysterious memories; or...
Just as long as the android/human dichotomy remained central to the show, and as long as the show settled down to actually go into some of the issues is so far skips over like a hyperactive hummingbird, I would be very willing to go along with any good scifi premise.
I was interested in this show because of the setting, which brought with it interesting topics, eg artificial life with souls, ethics of enslaved robots, and I'm also very interested in the society portrayed in the showI feel exactly the same way. They created a scifi world full of multi-faceted, exciting topics just waiting to be explored; then they failed to explore either the world itself, or any of the topics, and instead tried to make a buddy action cop show in a ( ... )
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Also airing the episodes out of order was no smart move!
I don’t want to contemplate the show ending here, I have to learn and know more.
Reply
Absolutely! And as I mentioned in a comment above, I'm pretty sure that's what it was intended to be - the creators of the show must have assumed the network would order a full season, instead of just leaving it at the 13 eps they'd initially ordered.
Even so, the ep should have been far better set up as a potential season ending. As it was, it just... fizzled.
I don’t want to contemplate the show ending here, I have to learn and know more.
Me too - so much! This show could become one of my favorite things ever, if only it does finally explore all the issues it's been skirting so far. I so, so want it to have the chance.
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