I can't remember, exactly, but I believe we saw Kennix in that bar in the pilot. If I'm remembering correctly and this was intended as the season finale, it was a nice way to tie the pilot and the finale together. I was really taken by the song used at the beginning of "Beholder." I looked it up and it's "Worlds Away" by 80's New Wave band Strange Advance. I thought it set the tone really nicely. I actually thought it was a recent song made to sound retro, when in fact it was an older song that sounds modern. The episodes first two victims were both described as recent runaways. It makes sense, given Dunbar's M.O., as those who have been homeless for a while would probably know that he wasn't telling the truth about the Abbott Shelter. As for the guy that got abducted at the end, given the glasses (unless they were stolen), I'd guess he was a recent runaway, as well. Though, that was a strange scene. It was nice to give Paul some humanity, but it was odd that he decided to give him money (or cruel, since, as others have pointed out, Bitcoin looks to be headed towards obscurity in 2014). It was also a bit convenient that it was the same guy Dunbar ended up abducting (probably since the glasses gave the writers a way for Paul to figure out he had been abducted). As I said earlier in this thread, that is one of my gripes with the show, the fact that we have multiple plot threads and it's only exacerbated by this episode giving us some bits about John's father. So, unless I haven't been paying attention somewhere along the line, we have the following mysteries (let me know if I've missed some/some on my list have been fully explained): The full details behind what happened 3 years ago, including the full story behind Kennex's ex-girlfriend, and who's bugged his apartment How does Dorian have the fake memories? Where did they come from? What do they signify? What is the Wall? What was Nigel Vaughn's plan? As far as mysteries solved, did I misunderstand, or did they finally say where the show takes place, when Dunbar asked the first victim how she likes New Pittsburgh?
Here's the dialogue from the scene: The city is a completely new one that matches no existing American West Coast city architecturally or geographically (and we'll just pretend it doesn't look like Vancouver), so calling it "new" makes sense. But New Pittsburgh is kind of a terrible name, IMO. So, if that is in fact the name of the city, that solves one mystery. Although, it opens up another one by making you wonder what happened to the original Pittsburgh, unless they're really uncreative about naming new major cities in the same country and old Pittsburgh's still around too (No, no one needs to list major cities with identical/similar names in the US. I'm aware).
If that city really is completely new, construction methods must be way more efficient in 2048 to build a city that large that fast...I'd more expect it to take at least a century.
New Pitsburg doesn't have to be built on the ruins of old Pitsburg. Imagine cities filing for bankruptcy, sure fine, and they're selling their name, could old Pitsburg have sold the rights to the name Pitsburg? Is there some sort of limiting article that stops too many cities form having the same name, especially in the same state? Detroit's bankruptcy seems like a major fail, until you realize that it's tying into the Robocop backstory.
There is a theory that urban sprawl will effect to such a degree that neighbouring cities now separated by hundreds of miles of farmland, with eventually touch, then fornicate until one is dominant and the other is dead and forgotten eaten by the other. Imagine a termination point where the rims of three of four cities overlap and converge. What's going to happen there?
MLB, I just meant new as in not corresponding to any existing US city, rather than newly constructed. If it's not "New Pittsburgh," it could be a completely fictional city with a long history, like Gotham. If it is New Pittsburgh, and the show is meant to be set within our real world but ahead a few decades, then it would have to be newly constructed, somewhere between now and the 2020s (I think 2032 or the early 2030s are the first in-show reference to events taking place within the already well-established city). So, probably a lot of robotic and modular construction. Or they built and expanded on an existing city and renamed it to honor (the destroyed?) Pittsburgh. One thing that adds to the last idea is that the area behind the Wall was referred to as "Old Town" when Kennex's dad was there before the Wall went up. I doubt you'd call it that if it was only a decade old. Of course. Since this is a city on the west coast of the US, it clearly can't be built on the ruins of Pittsburgh.
My guess is that it's just a Fringe-style alternate universe and it's just being kept under wraps for the audience at the moment. Could explain the Wall, blocking off an area that had some weird phenomenon ala the amber stuff. Not a good chance, of course, but hey, you never know. Would be cool if this turned out to be a sequel to Fringe.
I did wonder what it would take for in the next 30 years to build a city and name it after an existing city. 30 years doesn't seem like long enough for something to happen to a city and then for people to build a new one and name it after the original.
If not for the references to "new" versions of Pittsburgh and Tokyo, I might have thought that this city is on one of the Twelve Colonies.
Often enough TV shows are given a 13-episode order with the hope that ratings would be good enough to order the so-called "back nine", bringing the total up to 22 episodes or what is usually the minimum for a full season. Obviously there was no back nine ordered here, however this may not have been the intention. Either way, I'm sure the writers have plenty on tap ready to go; I only hope they're given their chance. Mark
be interesting to see what it gets replaced with for the rest of the season and whether that show will rate any higher. though last saw in Canada a repeat of Almost Human was scheduled.
If they get a season two, I see one of two things, the writers get a promise that the idiots at the network will not air their programming out of order, or because the network would NEVER promise that, they will either make season two with so much less continuity that it doesn't matter what order you air them in, or so, so much more continuity that the Network would have to be idiots and assholes to dare air it out of order... Let's just assume why the Suits aired the die hard rip off early, first after the pilot, it's because 25 years later, the Suits think that Die Hard the height of entertainment, which is close to the truth, but not really the truth. NASCAR anyone? President Lohan is on the 7 dollar bill.
I believe (IIRC) that Almost Human was intended from the start, to be a 13 episode season series. Fox has embraced this format as a means to have as much programming on throughout the season as possible. With fall baseball, and January American Idol occupying huge chunks of the fall and mid season schedule, they've turned to this format as a means of insulating shows from too many disruptions. They held the show back until late November, in order to avoid baseball preemptions. The influence of shorter season cable shows was also a factor in their going this route.
If they think they can make money, especially if they have to make money because the alternative is a bread line, they will force another 9 episodes down an unsuspecting producer's throat whether s/he wants is or not. Logically, everytime they cancel a show after two horrible episodes, not that this really happens all that often, they have to consider adding another 9 to something that's doing well, other wise they're just airing reruns and attracting minimal ad revenue.
Sleepy Hollow-a ratings success, held to the original 13 episode season order. So, no forcing another 'back 9' was done to take advantage of it's good fortune.
Recent shows that got their back 9. The Black List, the Tomorrow People, Reign, Brooklyn 99, the Crazy Ones, Dads, the Goldbergs, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Millers, Mom, Trophy Wife, Being given an extra nine episodes shouldn't sound like a surprise or a punishment. If Sleepy Hollow had been given another nine, then they would have just brought their season 2 stuff forward, and the actors could have all bought beach houses. If you are doing your job right, it should feel like a kick in the nuts not to get your back-nine.