Humans S01E01: "Episode 1" One day you'll be able to own a robot in your house that will do all the dirty chores, like clean the litter box, pay attention to your kids, and nod your head when your wife is talking at you. But what if this technological inevitability was science fact, and you could go to your local Apple Store and come away with a fully functioning android slave RIGHT NOW? How would society change? How much do you tip a robot? Can robots be the new TV and raise your kids? That's what AMC's new series Humans, a co-production with U.K. network Channel 4, asks. Set in an alternative (and let's face it, better) contemporary time where pretty much everything we know and love is the same except for the existence of purchasable customizable robots that serve a multitude of purposes, the premiere of Humans was intellectual science-fiction poking around all our deepest concerns about integrating lifelike androids into our homes. Namely, when is it acceptable to have sex with your robo-slave, judging by the amount of ogling some characters did at the behind of very sexy robot Anita who was at the center of Humans. You may laugh, but these are serious questions that my, uhhh, friend really wants to know the answers to. The issue with Humans was that these were questions that have been explored by man ever since the first tinker toy was invented. Sci-fi authors Isaac Asimov (who wrote I, Robot) and Philip K. Dick (whose story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was adapted into Blade Runner) have definitely wondered about the bangability of sexy robots (as well as other robo-related queries), the viability of androids as human replacements have been tackled recently by the excellent Black Mirror and Ex Machina (which I have not seen yet), and in between, there have been countless books, films, and shows about human-robot co-existence. Luckily, about 10 minutes into Humans, the series showed that it had a dramatic backbone among all these previously tread themes. By now you all know Humans was marketed as a story of a family who gets an android to help out around the house, but what shocked me (in a good way) was the storyline that popped up less than 10 minutes into the pilot. A flashback showed us a quartet of robots was on the run with their... hmmm, let's call him a handler, Leo (played with intensity by Merlin's Colin Morgan). These four bots were all super-robots, with the bonus ability to think and feel like humans, and their pasts were clouded in mystery thanks to ignoring any painful exposition. Fast forward to present storytelling time, and one was still with Leo, one was working as the most advanced Fleshlight in a robo-brothel, one had been captured by the "bad" guys, and one was the previously mentioned Anita, who was purchased as a maid for the central Hawkins family. This whole story worked really well, and dammit, I really want to know what's going on with these guys. That's what separates Humans from a show with a singular idea of, "Gee, what's the deal with robots and humans in the future?" to the much more sustainable and interesting idea of, "How did these four robots get to be so advanced and what's going to become of them?" Working in tandem, you have a fascinating series that instantly appealed to our sense of wonder about the sci-fi of it all, and also delivered straight action-adventure plot to keep us interested in what was happening. Having one or the other wouldn't be nearly as impressive, but both? Sure! Let's take a look at the Hawkins family since that will likely be the bulk of the series. Overworked Joe made a ballsy decision by not consulting his wife and moving forward with the purchase of a synth, because he felt overworked as the parent who stayed home while his wife Laura was constantly on extended work trips and because his kids were lazy as hell. Seriously, Matilda and Toby were worthless teens that did nothing, and Matilda might take the trophy of WORST TEEN EVER from Homeland's Dana Brody. But Joe's decision was doubly gutsy because Anita (model/actress/model/model/hot model Gemma Chan) was hot like fire and a threat to everyone's robo-virginity. I mean, it's one thing to buy a robot while your wife is out of town on business, it's another to come back with one that looks like a Pleasurebot from the planet Sexotron. And both Joe and Toby should look for a good chiropractor given how many times their necks swiveled to look at Anita's robo-rump. Just sayin', fellas, be smarter about your android purchases. Yes, I have thought this out plenty. From there we saw the typical problems inherent with a sexy robot assistant. Laura flashed some jealousy, and rightfully so, Laura also felt threatened to lose her mothering duties, and rightfully so, and Laura wondered aloud whether or not they even needed Anita, and rightfully so. Matilda hated everything, but Sophie loved her new play pal. And Toby watched TV and probably spent some alone time in his room thinking about Anita. Joe, on the other hand, was totally down. Guys with their gadgets, amirite? It set up plenty of family drama, especially since Joe pocketed the "adult options 18+" portion of the instruction manual. It's all inherently creepy because the idea of androids helping out around the house was creepy, and Humans played that icky feeling well while also acting as a proponent for domesticated androids. But the most interesting bit of Anita and the Hawkins was Anita herself. We know she's a runaway robot who can think and feel thanks to a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. But did this version of Anita know that? If she did, she played it off very well, replying to Laura's insults of being a dumb machine with a simple, "Yep," and mustering up a broken-record laugh at Joe's incredibly lame "microchips" dad joke. But Anita also went outside to look at the moon and had an accident with a hot pan, two things that weren't supposed to happen. It would seem that she's in hiding until Leo finds her, forcing her to suppress the gift of emotions and thought while she cleaned up after the kids, made extravagant breakfasts, and ignored Joe and Toby's wandering eyes. But there's also just enough doubt there to make the viewer wonder if Anita had her memory wiped at the android warehouse or if she's playing robo-possum. Well, at least until the very end, when Anita grabbed Sophie and booked it. That's going to cause some problems! On a more emotional level, George (William Hurt) and Odi's ( Game of Thrones' Will Tudor) story is primed to wring out your eyeballs. George, an American former scientist, just didn't want to part with the outdated Odi, who has turned from help around the house to surrogate son after the death of George's wife. Odi knew George better than anyone else, and even served as a backup for George's own fading memory. But the government robot services wanted George to upgrade to a new synth model, one with the personality of a lunch lady. It's a hell of a predicament for George, and I felt for him. I used to love my old flip phone and never wanted to upgrade to a smartphone, too. Poor George. Poor Odi. It was a good start for Humans, which spiced up familiar territory by adding a dramatic edge. And it's already asking the right questions, like, "Is it okay to have sex with a robot?," features plenty of good performances, and has a clean fresh-out-of-the-box look at technology. TERMS & CONDITIONS – Man, William Hurt was great in this, wasn't he? He really sold his character's plight. That scene when he was trying to get Odi to remember his wife was (sad crying face). – Also fantastic: Will Tudor doing the robot really well. In fact, all the robot actors were great. – Sophie asked if the Hawkins could exchange their synth if it wasn't pretty. Phew, Joe has an out when Laura asks, why her? "It was Sophie's pick, not mine!" – The music in Humans is grrrrrrreat! – New pickup line at a bar: "Hello, I'm now securely bonded to you as my primary user." – Are these robots the beginning of the "singularity" or are they just misunderstood computer boxes?



More...