I was replying to Guy.
J.J. Abrams Almost Human
- Thread starter yenny
- Start date
I enjoyed the show. Looks like it is going to be a winner. It had a Blade Runner feel to it when he was at the Doctors office
^ And with that giraffe even though it wasn't origami.
That actually reminded me of the future toys from Continuum.
I saw something last night... "I am a master of origami... Look! It's a snow ball!"
This show is pretty cool. 
Well, um, considering that this show lost a quarter of its viewership from the first to the second night, I'm uncertain that it's gonna last very long (for comparison: Fringe's viewership actually increased from its first to its second episode back in 2008 and it didn't fell to the level Almost Human hit with its second episode until its second season).
But I do like it. I appreciate their efforts in imagening a consistently futuristic world and then exploring what kind of crimes might be committed in such a world. Plus, it has two likable lead characters portrayed by two skilled actors.
But I do like it. I appreciate their efforts in imagening a consistently futuristic world and then exploring what kind of crimes might be committed in such a world. Plus, it has two likable lead characters portrayed by two skilled actors.
And for me the most memorable scene was in the second episode when the white cop insisted to know from the black android women who her owner was, causing some umcomfortable looks by the black android cop. Maybe not the most subtle message, but I still appreciate the allegory.
This made me think whether the android character was cast with a black actor on purpose. Because it could make some viewers slightly more uncomfortale to see how he's treated by humans.
This made me think whether the android character was cast with a black actor on purpose. Because it could make some viewers slightly more uncomfortale to see how he's treated by humans.
Isn't a drop in viewership from episode one to episode two the norm, and the Fringe increase in viewership being kind of a fluke?!
Well, as I've said before, despite the "FOX kills genre shows" myth, the fact is that FOX hasn't cancelled a genre show midseason in eight years. This show has a better chance of reaching the end of its season on FOX than it would on another network. At this point I'm not entirely convinced it deserves longevity, but I expect FOX to give it a reasonable chance to win an audience.
I'd like to think we're past the point where actors are cast because of their race, and that these actors were cast simply because they were the best ones for their roles. Honestly, the racial issue didn't even occur to me in that scene.
Didn't say that FOX is gonna cancel it mid-season. But it's possible that it won't be renewed for a second one.
Well, racial casting is certainly okay when it's serves a purpose within the context of the show.
Just saying that both Fringe and Almost Human started with roughly the same number of viewers (9.13 million in case of Fringe's pilot and and 9.10 million in case of Almost Human's pilot). By the second episode, Almost Human had dropped to the level Fringe had reached by its 22nd episode (Season 2, Episode 2). If AH stablizes its viewership soon everything could be okay though.
That things are working well between Ealy and Urban would suggest that race didn't have anything to do with the casting For Dorian as much as "chemistry"
Another thing I like in that show is probably the music. I think they took a cue from the TRON Legacy/Daft Punk collaboration and hired a professional electronic music duo with "The Crystal Method". So far, the soundtrack of course isn't as awesome as Daft Punk's, but I like it.
That's possible for any show. I'm just saying its odds are better on FOX than they'd be on, say, NBC or ABC, given their recent tendency to cancel new genre shows after only 3-4 weeks.
But it's more okay if actors can get cast in any role because of their talent rather than their complexion.
Well, Zoe Saldana was cast as Uhura because she's black and Karl Urban was cast as McCoy because he's white. Jamie Foxx was cast in Django Unchained because he's black and Christoph Waltz was cast in the same movie because he's white. Sometimes the role requires it. Therefore a fully "color-blind" casting process will never be possible. Personally, I do support a color-blind casting in cases where a specific "race" isn't a necessity for the role though.
Now if it turns out to be the case that they really go with a slavery allegory in Almost Human, it might be considered a "soft" example where the casting wasn't absolutely necessary, but done for a purpose nonetheless. Of course it could also turn out to be the other way around... Michael Early was cast "color-blind", but because of his skin color some scenes will create an additional sub-text.
It also occurred to me that they use the line "but not all are created equal" in the show's intro. This could carry a double meaning. On one hand, Dorian is of course different from other android models. On the other hand, the U.S. Declaration of Independence postulated that "all men are created equal", while in practice not all men were treated equal, but rather according to their skin color.
The bottom line is that Dorian is property of the Police Department. He claims that unlike the MX series he was created with a free will and emotions. At the same time, he doesn't even have the freedom to decide when he's concious or unconcious, since he had been deactivated for four years prior to the events of the show. This makes his treatment inherently immoral.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if InSyndicate turns out to be some kind of radical "android's rights" group. The finale scene of Almost Human's pilot episode at the very least implied that they tried to "liberate" an android who's deactivated and in police storage.
Whether I'm correct with my theory will be seen over the course of this season, I guess.
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I saw that scene more as an android being uncomfortable as one of his kind being referred to as property. I'm sure his reaction would have been the same had it been a white android.
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