Humans(2015) TV series

[Starkers]

Well the second episode showed no decline in quality, although the tone seems a little off at times. The William Hurt sections are almost being played for laughs and the next you’ve got a very gritty prostitution scenario. Paul Kaye’s character seemed off as well, like he’d stepped out of Almost Human or something!

So is Colin Morgan

Spoiler: spoiler

a synth then? That did surprise me, although he bleeds red rather than blue so is he some kind of hybrid?

Anita seems creepier by the minute; I’m surprised Katherine Parkinson hasn’t just sent her back already. The teenage daughter is still annoying but I liked the scene at the golf course, even she seems to halfway understand that the synths are potentially the next stage in evolution. I think my favourite character so far though is the guy hunting them all down, if only because its unusual to find a bad guy (assuming he is) who’s so humane, even to robots. I also think Niska is more human than Anita, I’ll even forgive her for

Spoiler: spoiler

killing

Tarrant from Blakes 7, always nice to see Steven Pacey.

 

[hux]

Paul Kaye’s character seemed off as well, like he’d stepped out of Almost Human or something

I think he came directly from the set of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I think that's the only character Paul Kaye is capable of playing now.

Humans still intrigues despite its formulaic nature. The atmosphere is the thing keeping my attention.

 

[Starkers]

Either that or its the only character he's offered. I'm pretty sure he was the same in Game of Thrones a couple of years ago, be interesting to see if he's doing the same shtick in Doctor Who later this year...

 

[davejames]

Huh, according to my DVR this doesn't start on AMC until this upcoming weekend. Guess it must have premiered earlier elsewhere.

 

[Borgminister]

UK on the 14, here on the 28 of June. Can't wait, looks interesting.

 

[JD]

I just got around to checking out the previews for this a couple days ago. It looks like it could be pretty good, I'll definitely be checking it out.

 

[dansigal]

A pretty good review from Time

http://time.com/3932168/review-humans-amc/

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Reposting my review from TNZ:

It doesn't premiere in the US until June 28th on AMC (it already aired in the UK), but I watched the first two episodes of Humans online and enjoyed it a great deal.

It's not breaking any new ground on the concept of androids living among us as servants and some evolving AI, but I am liking the Hawkins family dynamic and seeing how the arrival of their new synth Anita shakes things up. Anita seems to be trolling the mother at times, making her feel replaced and more distant from the family. There was a great scene of her watching the mother from a reverse angle in a mirror, with Laura Hawkins saying she's watching me and creeps me out, and her husband thinking she's being paranoid and projecting her feelings about being away and feeling disconnected from her kids onto the android.

The daughter is a genius delinquent who is failing school and lashing out because the recent (less than a decade) introduction of synths into everyday life makes her think human personal achievement is meaningless. Why study eight years to become a doctor when by that time they'll have just programmed a synth to do it better and cheaper than a human could?

It definitely borrows heavily from Spielberg's AI, Bicentennial Man (the asshole older daughter tormenting the android while the younger daughter loves it dearly), and I. Robot but in an alternate present day London setting, and in the case of AI going so far as to cast William Hurt as one of the creators of the synths again, now older and in the early stages of dementia and rebelling against the rather fascist home nurse robot the NHS has involuntarily foisted on him, all while hiding the defective android he treats like a son so that it won't be recalled.

The third story element borrows heavily from Blade Runner and features a group of fully sentient runaway synths (who knew Anita) and a mysterious agent or mercenary from an undisclosed group tasked with bringing them in since they represent the threat of the Singularity. He's unusual in that he admires them a great deal and treats them as more human than any of the other people do, concerning himself with preserving their dignity when the humans have one on a lab table naked, and wanting to talk them into surrendering before using non-lethal force to subdue them. But at the same time he also considers them a grave threat to human existence in a way that no one else does. There's even a sexbot who rebels against her mistreatment, much like Blade Runner's Pris.

If you're looking for action, this isn't that kind of show, but if you'd like a slow burn exploration of how sentient and non-sentient android slaves introduced into various present day settings would affect our lives in different ways, or serving as stand-ins for very real debates over immigrant labor, automation, and our over-reliance on smartphones and the internet stunting our normal human interaction, you will enjoy this show.

 

[Starkers]

That's a pretty spot on review

Paul Kaye was actually in Suntrap this week playing a Spanish Freddie Mercury tribute act...so he can do something different

 

[hux]

^He'll always be Dennis Pennis to me

Ep 3 - More of the same. The William Hurt strand needs to go somewhere soon before I totally lose interest, though I do like Rebecca Front's nurse Ratched routine. It's a very slow build, that's for sure.

Psycho Niska is getting interesting.

 

[JD]

Tonight's the premiere for the US. I'll have to watch online later in the week though, because I work late again.

 

[sojourner]

Watched the first ep. tonight. I'll take one of the non-sentient synths please.

 

[yenny]

If you don't want to get spoil. Don't click the link. Except for a few changes. It give you in what might take place in the first 20 episode.
If y'all want to know? It's Caprica rebooted, but take place on Earth instead of Caprica and has the feel of Westworld and Blade Runner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Humans

 

[Borgminister]

If you like a genre, leave it to AMC to present it in the right way. Aside from the "look at her ass" moments, a good story is unfolding. I'm in.

 

[Starkers]

^He'll always be Dennis Pennis to me

Ep 3 - More of the same. The William Hurt strand needs to go somewhere soon before I totally lose interest, though I do like Rebecca Front's nurse Ratched routine. It's a very slow build, that's for sure.

Psycho Niska is getting interesting.

They must be going somewhere with William Hurt, I'll be very disapointed if they're not.

For a while I thought we were going to get a really contrived moment when Katherine Parkinson walks in on hubby examining Anita. It reamins interesting, and the whole Niska storyline can only end in tragedy, you would have thought the designers wouldn't have made synths that easy to disguise as humans, just some contacts that's it?)

 

[davejames]

Have to say the first episode didn't really grab me as much as I was expecting (especially compared to the gripping Mr Robot premiere), but I like the premise well enough and I'm a huge fan of the subject matter, so I'll stick with it a while longer. And hope it becomes a lot more compelling as it goes along.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Okay I'm all caught up, have watched the first 3 episodes and am ON BOARD. Excellent so far.

But for the love of common sense why doesn't that family just return the damn thing to the shop?! If I thought my toaster was playing head games with my kid I'd trash it in one second. Even if it was a very pretty toaster with boobs.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I've been wondering what is so creepy about Niska's name and I realize, yes it's NISKA from Firefly. Not the person obviously, just the name.

 

[Starkers]

Okay I'm all caught up, have watched the first 3 episodes and am ON BOARD. Excellent so far.

But for the love of common sense why doesn't that family just return the damn thing to the shop?! If I thought my toaster was playing head games with my kid I'd trash it in one second. Even if it was a very pretty toaster with boobs.

Because it's only really the mum who thinks this (well older daughter clearly does yet for some reason isn't backing her mum up) and she did try and take it back. It was hard to do that after it'd saved the sons life, and once it'd been damaged, wonder if that voids the warranty.

PS, where can I get a pretty toaster with boobs? (Guy Gardner's probablty going to appear now with a link!)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I still can't get past that if the synths had no faces and their bodies looked like giant toilet paper tubes no one would love them.

The interaction with the children is creepy. I mean kids love tv but they don't love tv like a person and this piece of entertainment and bedtime ritual is being loved like a person by the little girl.