Almost Human was a brilliant sci fi series that lasted only thirteen episodes, one season! It was executive produced by J.J. Abrams and of course there is a Star Trek connection with Urban. The series features music composed by electronic musicians The Crystal Method. The pilot opens with text explaining the world of 2048; “unknown drugs” and criminal organizations. To combat this, there is a new policy, police officers are partnered with “an Advanced, Combat-model Android.” This shifts to the war zone of Los Angeles streets as we get Detective John Kennix (Karl Urban) firing with his rifle that has laser-like sounding blasts.
Urban is known for playing Eomer in The Lord of the Rings films and is currently in The Boys. John Kennix is a flawed human, but operates as a rogue element. Kennix has two androids lead an assault with the report of his fellow officer, Detective Pelham (Chad Riley), who is injured. He has an android analyze his par†ner’s wounds and the android sees that it is hopeless. The androids have almost plastic faces. Kennix tries carrying him away, but an explosive shot strikes his right leg and he goes down. He is in shock, sees his partner has died, and then that his leg is severed. Shadowy gunmen throw another explosive, Kennix drags himself away, then there is a detonation.
Kennix dreams of his lover, Anna (Mekia Cox), and then regains consciousness in a medical unit. The Recollectionist (Hiro Kanagawa) asks him what he remembers. He is in a machine checking his memory. He notes that Kennix was in a coma for 17 months! Kennix is trying to shift through his memory to try to identify the Syndicate killers. He says to the doctor that he just recalled a memory of Anna. Kennix walks out to the street sleek designs that remind me of a different shade of a Blade Runner future that is more grounded. He enters his car and takes a pill.
The future also resembles another sci fi police movie, Minority Report (2002). At his apartment, Kennis plays the last recorded message left by Anna, one week before he revived. Then he gets a call from his police chief, Captain Sandra Maldonado (Lili Taylor) in her office. Taylor was Carolyn Perron in the horror film The Conjuring (2013), and stars in the 2020 Perry Mason series. The police chief is a standard, but here Maldonado looks at Kennix and his partner to work outside of procedures, a strategist who cares about human life, and also can use her gun.
She demands that he return to work, an armored robbery was committed by the Syndicate. Kennix starts walking, his right leg is artificial, he takes off a device that was not finished with its “synethic calibration.” A drone flies past police headquarters. In the halls, is Detective Valerie Stahl (Minka Kelly), talking to Detective Vogel (Toby Levins) about his lockout from the computer system. Kelly played Jacqueline Kennedy in Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2011) and starred in the Titans series as the superhero Dove. She researches cases and data, but also handy with a gun.
Their attention is taken by the arrival of Kennix. Another officer, Richard Paul (Michael Irby), mistrusts him since every officer died in the Syndicate attack except Kennix. An android officer, 785, introduces himself as his new partner, but Kennix just walks away. He enters the office and refuses to work with an android partner. Maldonado reads the report of the psychologist who rejects his return to duty. Captain Maldonado shows Kennix the video of the robbery that used “parabolic charges” like in the raid. She wants him to investigate to uncover how the Syndicate knew about the raid and says she only trusts him.
They drive into the city, Kennix drives across a bridge, a tunnel has many images on its roof. Kennix is debriefed by an officer that truck was carrying “programmable DNA.” Stahl introduces herself. 785 explains what was stolen in the robbery and Kennix has flashbacks of the raid, one of the items at the raid is Myklon Red which was in the robbery! Valerie checks on Kennix who is lost in the memory. She says that she suspects a new gang involved in the robbery. At his car, 785 says he has to report Kennix, on the highway, Kennix throws the android out to be crushed by trucks!
This shifts to a close-up of an android technician, Rudy Lom (Mackenzie Crook), examining robotic butterflies. Crook is known for playing Gareth Keenan in the British comedy series The Office and was in Veran in the fantasy series Brittannia. Rudy is a lonely tech stuck in the basement, but a genius at his work and he gets a chance to do some field work. Kennix shows him the order for a synthetic. Rudy says there are no MX models and takes him to a storage area with body bags. Kennix is worried about the DRN model, Dorian (Michael Ealy), because he says that model is “crazy." Dorian of course has normal skin, but the side of his face is laced with blue circuitry when he is analyzing or sending data.
On a table, Rudy starts to activate Dorian, and warns Kennix about the “bugs” in his programming. He says that model was an attempt to duplicate human emotions, but the DRNs were overloaded wth emotion. Rudy gives Kennix a metal tunning fork to activate Dorian. It sends a charge that wakens Dorian and Rudy informs him that he was inactive for four years. Dorian introduces himself and is impressed wth Kennix’s record which Kennix says needs an update. A Syndicate leader gets an update on Kennix and orders his men to leave. This picks up with Kennix driving with Dorian who is making expressions, very funny.
Kennix explains he was ordered to have an android partner and Dorian expresses his dislike of the term, “synthetic.” In a way, it deals with a sort of prejudice on a sci fi level. The partnership of Kennix and Dorian is perfect, very funny, and both actors can handle the action. There is friction, but they really need each other to work on cases and on personal levels. The series has some crimes at the Twilight Zone-level, exploring the future while reflecting on our day now. Almost Human was a short lived, Fox, sci fi procedure show that gives an interesting glimpse into the future!
Five DRNs out of Five!
#AlmostHuman, #KarlUrban, #MichaelEaly, #MinkaKelly, #LilyTaylor
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