Almost Human Review: Pilot, Part One

Karl Urban and Michael Ealy stand out amongst the crowd.

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers.  Read at your own risk.

The premiere of Almost Human marks another entry into the sci-fi genre from mastermind J.J. Abrams.  If you are not familiar with J.J. Abrams yet, he has gained some serious street-cred for being behind the new Star Trek films and Fringe (not to mention he is currently prepping for the distant, yet highly anticipated Star Wars flicks).  J.J. Abrams proves, for the most part, to be a "force" to be reckoned with in this genre.  See what I did there?

Much like the picture above, the performances by Karl Urban and Michael Ealy are what give this show its substance.  The dynamic between the characters, although not explored extensively in the first part of the premiere, provides the opportunity for interesting dialogue exchange and situations in which we see a level of trust slowly being established for one another.  The characters, while being dramatically different from one another, share the similarity of essentially being the "outcasts."

The show starts off with a bang, literally.  The opening action sequence is mesmerizing to say the least.  This sequence displays fantastic visuals (by television standards) and is a great way to begin the series.  After this brief sequence, we are slowly introduced to gruff, arrogant Detective Kennex (Urban) by learning about his PTSD and small glimpses of his past, which leads to my biggest gripe with the premiere: it's pacing.

The show, immediately after the rather slow intro to Kennex, seems to ramp up the speed at which the viewer has to follow along and initially it is jarring.  This fast forward progression is peppered with random flashback sequences, so it seems to be bouncing forward, back, then forward again, trying to fit as much as possible into its first hour.  It is certainly an interesting way to approach things, but can be very confusing if the viewer becomes lost at any point.

After a while, we are introduced to Dorian (Ealy).  As the show progressed, I began to find him very interesting.  Dorian, being an older version of the androids, is "almost human," making him incredibly different from the rest.  Dorian exists as an intelligent being, while Kennex serves more as the show's action hero, making them a great pair.

While not groundbreaking or new by any sense (parallels can be drawn between Terminator, I, Robot, Blade Runner...etc,) the first part of the premiere combined very interesting elements to deliver an, overall, above-average entry for sci-fi fans.  While there are some gripes with the speed at which the show is presented, and the fact that it is not an entirely new concept, there is bound to be a compelling new show here to tune in to despite its shortcomings.

Be sure to tune into the second part of the premiere, airing Monday, November 18th at 8:00 EST on FOX.

 

Rating:

7/10

 (7 out of 10)