J.J. Abrams Almost Human

[Locutus of Bored]

^ Maybe the question to ask is not "Why do they make so many of them if they are so cheaply constructed?" but rather, "Do they make so many of them BECAUSE they are so cheaply constructed?" Maybe the lack of armor allows for them to be less expensive for mass production. They're essentially expendable cannon fodder. Which of course doesn't mean they're so cheap that the Captain doesn't get pissed when Kennex blows them away for no reason, but still, cheap enough to be ubiquitous.

Then there's the other factor you already mentioned. You don't want them to be nigh indestructible physically because even with their relatively fragile bodies if they rebel they can still take out dozens of cops with their superior strength, speed, stamina, agility, and situational awareness. So that fear might have caused their creators to leave some disadvantages.

Now, you'd think with the DRNs where they were trying to make them more human, they would eliminate that weakness, but what if it's an essential part of making them think in more human and humble terms? If they were virtually indestructible, they might come to think of themselves as superior beings to humans. But if you engineer in a fragility to their existence, they might try and preserve it and consider their life, and the lives of others, precious. Obviously that didn't work out with the XRN, though.

 

[Nociod]

I like your rationalization of their weakness, but it still doesn't feel right to me. These androids are supposed to be a new line of defense against dangerous criminals and the evolving technologies that have changed the criminal landscape. Not much of a defense if any single shot can take them out.

I'm still enjoying the series though, and hope they won't get cancelled. Also hoping that we get a chance to see what is beyond the wall.

 

[Forbin]

The only thing I was having trouble with was the easy head transplant. I stretched my suspension of bisbelief.

We've seen the advanced droids without their skin, and they seem to be built as a single unit, with human-analogous "muscles" and "cartilage", just like a living creature.

This ep we saw the less advanced service bot's innards are wires and circuits and mechanical stuff. It doesn't seem to me that a "biological" droid could just pop her head onto a "mechanical" bot... well, at ALL.

 

[Nociod]

That part didn't bother me too much. The way I see it, Dr. Vaughn modified the mechanical bot so that it would be adaptable with the XRN's head.

Remember, both Rudy and that other tech guy was quite impressed with the mechanical droids head, and how it was designed. Dr. Vaughn is a master of the field, so why wouldn't he be able to make the droids compatible?

 

[FPAlpha]

That's L.A.? The construction industry must have gotten a whole lot more efficient if they could build all those shiny new buildings in so short a time...

Well.. the Chinese have built entire cities in less then 2 decades that rival the skyline of New York. It's all about the willingness to invest money.

Also since robotics have become so prevalent i guess most construction companies use them.. they're far cheaper in the long run, i.e. no salary, can work day and night, lesser safety regulations (reduced costs) and only need energy and regular maintenance.

With robots on the perfection scale of MXs and those in the current episode (minus the special engineering) i guess you could cut down construction time by half if not two thirds.

As to the episode:

Gina Carano

Ahem.. finally they start some longer story arcs and not episode of the week shows which are getting increasingly boring for many viewers. I hope the show gets renewed but chances are slim because while it may pull in more viewers than other shows it's also more expensive to produce so the bottom line is worse.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Granted, it's almost certainly a more expensive a show to produce despite certain cost savers like shooting in Vancouver (did anyone else notice Lt. Gaeta a couple episodes back? Canadian Content, baby!) and so on. I must say though that the CG in this show is masterfully used to cover over the present-day. If it weren't for all the contemporary cars in the background, much of it could pass for the near-future without much issue IMO.

Now, regarding the XRN, given that it was Vaughn's plan all along it made sense for him to equip the maintbot with the tech needed to break the head out of lockup, and then for him to have a suitable body ready when she came to him. Still, that body may not have been military grade and thus somewhat weaker, thus giving Kennex reason to believe he could go hand to hand with it. In any case they DID mention him using his leg to powerkick her into the street before she blew up (yeah right - think of the civvies and bystanders out there!), and he could have potentially used its power to jump behind her in the first place, so it wasn't forgotten.

I think the MX / DRN / whatevers were designed as much to complement human cops in NON hostile law enforcement as much as tactical use, so equipping them with armor or whatever could have been left as a deliberate option. Granted we haven't seen any MX on duty without a heavy uniform, but it could be viewed as good PR not to have hulking supersolider ED-209s on the streets if we don't need to. We don't know what the actual military bots look like, though...

Mark

 

[Q2UnME]

Finally got to watch this episode from my DVR last night*. I thought it was probably one of the best episodes so far. Tight script, decent acting and some fun character moments. Plus we finally get a little "Wall" mythos. I'm liking the direction the show is taking, I just hope it's not too late to dodge the cancellation chopping block.

Q2

*Friggin wife and daughter have been hoggin the TV for the last few days....

 

[TheSeeker]

^That's why we have two TVs!

 

[Taylirious]

Enjoyed the last EP alot. The show entertains me so I'd be sad if it ended. Bionic leg kick was cool. We needed more of this early one.

 

[Forbin]

Something about bionics addressed so far only in an Archer episode: The leg is still attached to a normal human skeleton.

 

[JD]

I didn't realize he kicked her with his bionic leg, but that would explain why she flew like that. That confused me.

 

[sojourner]

Something about bionics addressed so far only in an Archer episode: The leg is still attached to a normal human skeleton.

Actually, for the way the kick was done, I think it would have actually worked. She was kicked through a window, correct? It's not like she was bolted down or super heavy. So while superhuman strength was used in the kick I don't think enough was used to crush his bones. Now, if he tried to kick through a steel door....

 

[Taylirious]

Plus I am sure the leg is "smart"? I could be wrong. Given it took olive oil to help calibrate it? who knows. LOL.

 

[Guy Gardener]

If something was going to give, it wasn't going to be the robot girl or the robot leg.

He should have shattered his hips, or the leg would have ripped all Kennex's too human flesh.

 

[Corran Horn]

The 3rd or 4th time Kennex destroyed an MX and didn't get thrown in jail I started thinking maybe they weren't hyper-expensive.

 

[Guy Gardener]

If you shoot a human cop during the course of acting out crime... Do you have to pay his or her medical expenses?

If you shoot an MX during the course of acting out crime... Do you have to pay it's shop time, over haul, refit and depreciation?

(But then you don't have to pay for police car if it breaks while chasing you?)

 

[sojourner]

A civilian would get charged with destruction of city property if they damaged an MX.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

If the MXs weren't expensive, Maldonado wouldn't be popping a vein every time Kennex popped an MX. Remember he doesn't think much of sticking a knife into his robot leg either - he just doesn't ascribe much value to machines. :P

Speaking of which, talk about unsung heroes - Darren Scott, Garfield Wilson, and Joe Smith play the half-Asian MX, the African American MX, and the VO actor who voices both of them. For actors who basically have little to do but be set dressing and get frequently killed, these guys deserve a proper shout out for their constant presence, stunt work and multiple body double work. Especially since their IMDB credits (for the physical actors) list mostly background or day players in various Vancouver shows. Respect.

And they probably reconstructed Kennex's pelvis and at least his lower spine when they added his leg. Along with his muscles in all those area, tendons, sinew and the like. Good thing it's THE FUTURE, or else we would never be able to accept a man kicking a robot through an open door.

Mark

 

[Guy Gardener]

Do they cost more than a car?

The underlying technology has to be cheap, for it to be usable for prostitution.

 

[Taylirious]

Is an DRN worth more than an MX?