# New Series: Almost Human



## MPorter (Jun 19, 2013)

There's a new series in the fall called Almost Human that will be airing on Fox in the States. It stars Karl Urban (Dredd, Star Trek) as a police officer with cybernetic bits partnered with a robot that has feelings. The production value looks incredible. The series has some A-list talent. All of which will mean nothing as it is on Fox and will be cancelled halfway through the first series.

Check out the youtube trailer:  here

~Mike


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## J-Sun (Jun 19, 2013)

Agreed - I was turned on to this by the 2013 New Series - What Catches Your Attention? thread (it is a pretty impressive trailer) and I would be looking forward to it (and will give it a try) but expect everything to be shown out of order and generally screwed up and then - as long as it's good! - it'll be cancelled. (If it sucks, it might hang on for a few seasons.)


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## Lenny (Jun 20, 2013)

Eeee, I had a thread for AH all planned out that I was going to post closer to the time. That's the second time in a week that I've been beaten to the punch!  

---

As much as I agree that Fox is a channel to be hated, from this side of the pond they don't look as bad as they did (I'm saving that title for NBC, who manage to get it even though they're not cancelling shows for kicks - they're just generally terrible). Sure, they canned *Alcatraz* before its time, but they kept giving *Fringe* chances, even going as far as to let it finish on its own terms.

I have high hopes for *Almost Human*, and expect it to get at least two (if not three!) series, because of the calibre of its production team - it's coming from the stable of J. J. Abrams, and has been created, and will be produced, by a lot of the Fringe alum. 

Plus, Fox have a big Sci-Fi shaped gap in their schedule that needs to be plugged before NBC and (god forbid) Syfy run away with all the SF fans.


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## Lenny (Jun 29, 2013)

IGN have an interview with Joel Wyman on *Almost Human*, which sets up quite well what we're going to see from the show:



> *IGN: Having come off of Fringe, are you looking for a similar sort of balance -- at least, I should say early Fringe -- as far as somewhat procedural versus the overall mythology?*
> 
> *Wyman:* That’s a very good question, and we were just talking about that. Here’s the thing; it’s the age-old battle. The age-old battle is the networks want it to be standalones, and us guys want it to be mythology -- so that’s the problem. I don’t know if you remember, but I figured it out on [Fringe’s] “White Tulip.” For me, I thought it was the right balance. So yeah, we want that. We’re going to take everything that we learned from Fringe and bring it over to this and say, “Okay, we want to have a very compelling case of the week,” because these are really cool cases. Criminals in the future, murders aren’t the same. Yeah, sure, they murder -- the motivations are the same -- but how they solve it and how people are killing, it’s very, very interesting. So we have a chance to show some incredible cases that you’ve never seen before, but you also want to see the mythology. So we don’t want to short shrift either. We have a really rich, compelling mythology that we’re very proud of and that we can’t wait to roll out. But it’s going to have to take it’s time coming out and making it kind of “wow!”, you know what I mean? Because the fans -- what we want to avoid is the freak of the week. This isn’t like that, these are really compelling cop cases. In particular, Fringe had a very specific audience that was very loyal. This sort of has a much wider target, because this is a cop show. So it has all the vitamins and minerals of a police drama, but it’s a different spin. We’re hoping that it’s going to be reminiscent of Fringe, but it’s going to have its own feel to it.



The most interesting tidbits are on the second page, with the revelations that the entire *Fringe* crew in Vancouver, to a man, are working with Wyman on AH, and that some of the Fringe actors are going to appear in AH (and I wouldn't put it past Wyman and Abrams to throw in a couple of easter eggs that link the Fringe and the AH universes together - maybe something like Massive Dynamic having created the first android, etc.).

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/06/...-teaming-with-jj-abrams-for-foxs-almost-human

I'm starting to get tingles.  Only a few months until it airs!


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## Lenny (Nov 17, 2013)

Boy, that came around fast! The pilot airs tonight (November 17th), after a two week delay, and episode two airs in it's normal slot tomorrow evening (November 18th).

From the few previews I've read so far, it sounds like the pilot starts slow, and boring, but picks up towards the end, promising good things.

I'm looking forward to it!


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## alchemist (Nov 17, 2013)

Where is it, Lenny? I have satellite TV now, so feel all powerful until I realise I can't actually watch most of the channels on my guide.


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## Lenny (Nov 18, 2013)

Fox in the US, but there doesn't seem to be a date for a UK premiere yet.


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## Lenny (Nov 18, 2013)

So, first episode: not bad. Not quite as immediately awesome as the *Fringe* pilot, but  it was far from the "well, it could still be worse" territory that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently occupying. It starts alright, and definitely picks up when Dorian is introduced.

You can see the Fringe DNA in it from the universe (if not from some of the tech, then definitely from some of the biological weapons) and the effects (think a less unhappy Fringe Future), in particular, but it gives the impression, from the get go, of being a different beast to Fringe (it really doesn't feel like it's going to be anywhere near as serialised, for one, and there's unlikely to be a huge amount of mythology).

I'm looking forward to watching it grow - the dynamic between Karl Urban and Michael Ealy especially.


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## J-Sun (Nov 19, 2013)

Thanks to the idiots at FOX, I missed the premiere last night because I was watching the Chiefs and Broncos (along with as much as 6 points' worth of similarly minded audience - the pregame show got a 6.9 and the game itself got a 9.1 - almost twice what any other primetime show gets - while AH got a 3.1) but, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I was able to watch it tonight on hulu and caught the second ep on the real tube after that.

It's very derivative of a collision of Asimov's robot novels with Bladerunner and, underneath it all, it's a regular cop show (and a FOX-style police state cop show at that) but it actually is a future vision with tech toys (and television technobabble) unlike most fantasy or regressive/primitivist/dystopian (cheap because of fewer special effects) TV "sci-fi" shows these days. In other words, it raises interesting thoughts about the sort of thing that might actually be relevant someday if things don't (totally) fall apart. And the characters are interesting enough and the plots well enough done and I really had no major gripes with either of the eps I've seen. So far, I like it. I'll be there next week and, as long as they don't tank, for the weeks after that.


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## Lenny (Nov 19, 2013)

**SPOILERS FOR S1E02**







Part of me is kind of disappointed that Kennex and Dorian have a chemistry by episode two, because I would have liked to seen how Dorian might get around the wall that is Kennex's distrust and dislike of androids... but then again, Urban and Ealy fit together pretty well, and I'm rather enjoying their light-hearted scenes (particularly the extended car scene where Dorian was teasing Kennex about his new dating profile).

The second episode felt like a show that has already found it's footing, and made the pilot look kind of stilted in comparison (even more so than pilots usually are). It was a lot more fluid than the pilot, more fun, and overall simply a much better episode. The science fiction elements were also pretty awesome (the skin-growing lab was a highlight), and I like the fact that, as J-Sun has mentioned, *Almost Human* is a SF cop show that doesn't look like it will shy away from going all-out SF on a regular basis. Only time will tell, but I get the impression that the world-building might be of a fairly high standard (for two reasons: a lot of the *Fringe* alum working on AH have a ton of all-out SF experience; and that we have already seen evidence of new jobs that might arise in a future where tech offers more possibilities than we can think of today - the "Recollectionist" from the pilot, for example: a new kind of psychologist/psychiatrist who can actually take you back into your memories and uses them to help you overcome mental conditions).

I do worry, however, that there's a possibility that the show might reduce to thirty minutes of obvious detective work, a five minute gun battle, and a few minutes of tidying up at the end.

EDIT: Oh! Two more things.

First, I hope Minka Kelly's Detective Stahl gets more to do than be Kennex's love interest (particularly after the awesome female characters Fringe gave us).

Secondly, the episodes so far have been incredibly satisfying for their length. They don't feel like they're over in a flash, and whilst a lot happens in them they don't feel bloated. We'll know for sure if that's a trend after a few more episodes, but, again, I'm hopeful (I know I should stop with the comparisons, but Fringe episodes were similarly satisfying).


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## Perpetual Man (Nov 20, 2013)

Read the first line of Lenny's comments on episode 2, before I could stop myself, but agree with what was said, like Lenny I think the bonding between the two main characters has happened far too quickly. It would have been nice to see it develop over time.

From what I have seen of the first episode it look really promising. I like the design of the city and some of the little touches they have thrown in work really well. As has been said it owes a lot of its DNA to Bladerunner, especially in the look, and there is a touch of Robocop as well.

Much better than the average pilot, so lets hope it continues as well.


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## Christopher A. Gray (Nov 20, 2013)

I'm sure the leads will have conflict with each other to keep things interesting. I too hope the series lasts.


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## J-Sun (Nov 20, 2013)

Yep, I agree with Lenny and you, Perp. When Dorian started talking about Kennex's handling of kids and cats I had a momentary feeling of having missed one or more episodes. I will say that it would have been very easy and worse to go the other way and drag out conflict that was too severe for too long but I could have stood at least one uneasy, settling-in episode between the "I hate you"/"we're best buds" episodes.


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## Lenny (Nov 26, 2013)

We may not be shown Kennex slowly warming up to Dorian, but that doesn't mean we won't see their relationship grow.

I thought the third episode was another strong episode, with good amounts of humour, some great banter between Kennex and Dorian, and the introduction of some world-building elements that I really hope they explore. We also saw some of the tech the future police department uses (I do like the drones!), and Dorian showed off his 'droid skillz.

My only niggle is that, again, things were solved with a gunfight. I'm going to put it down to new show jitters for the moment, with the hope that future conclusions are different (it's definitely possible, particularly as solving the case-of-the-week this time round wasn't the standard: crime, go to crime scene, potter about, find criminal, potter about, GUNFIGHT. Maybe it's simply a case of waiting for the writers to feel comfortable enough to change it up).

Still, three episodes in and it's quickly made its way to the top of my Weekly Anticipation list, so something is being done right! I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a new show.


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## J-Sun (Nov 27, 2013)

Lenny said:


> We may not be shown Kennex slowly warming up to Dorian, but that doesn't mean we won't see their relationship grow.



Also, something I can't remember now in this episode made me think that it's possible FOX is up to their usual tricks and showing episodes out of order again.



> I thought the third episode was another strong episode, with good amounts of humour, some great banter between Kennex and Dorian



I don't know - I think the "bromance" was a little too heavy in this one, but not catastrophic.



> My only niggle is that, again, things were solved with a gunfight. I'm going to put it down to new show jitters for the moment, with the hope that future conclusions are different (it's definitely possible, particularly as solving the case-of-the-week this time round wasn't the standard: crime, go to crime scene, potter about, find criminal, potter about, GUNFIGHT. Maybe it's simply a case of waiting for the writers to feel comfortable enough to change it up).



Yeah, you mentioned earlier about the eps being "satisfying for their length" and I agreed with that except in this episode - it was way too slow for the bulk of it and then resolved too quickly and easily.



> Still, three episodes in and it's quickly made its way to the top of my Weekly Anticipation list, so something is being done right! I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a new show.



Agreed - my favorite show is still _Person of Interest_ by far (which has been turning up the volume especially these last few weeks) but, even though the third AH episode was my least favorite of the three, I can still see this easily becoming my second favorite.


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## J-Sun (Jan 8, 2014)

I might have enjoyed #7 ("Simon Says") if it wasn't such a direct copy of Homicide's "Homicide.com" (well, and something else - the coercion aspect was a direct copy of something else I can't think of right now) but it was still okay. This show is not getting very good ratings and people need to watch even if it isn't always all that great because it's at least pretty good and is doing things in a much more visually interesting and science fictionally serious way (while still being a cop show) than anything else on US network TV. I'd like it to have a chance to grow and not be another single-season FOX casualty.


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## Lenny (Jan 8, 2014)

I'm still watching, too, and still enjoying it. Can't agree more that it's doing interesting science fictiony things whilst still being a cop show.

It's starting to worry me that the only thing of real note might be the relationship between Kennex and Dorian (who is pretty awesome). The science fiction aspects are neat, and seem fairly well thought out (although I have to laugh that Bitcoin is a widely used currency), but they're starting to feel a little flat. The same goes for the supporting cast - it's great to see each of them getting some focus this early on, but they haven't yet reached the point where they feel like real people, the same way that Kennex and, ironically, Dorian do.

All that said, I have hope for the future - Fox have been doing their usual BS meddling, and aired the first seven episodes out of order (1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 3rd, 10th, with the 2nd next week). It's not cool that they've done this, because they've denied us seeing Kennex and Dorian's relationship gradually grow... but Wyman has been saying that doesn't totally matter that the first seven or so are out of order, because after that the order matters a lot. To me, that suggests we're going to begin to see the serialised side of AH come out, which excites me.

End of the day, the only thing that will stop me watching new episodes is cancellation.


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## J-Sun (Jan 13, 2014)

Lenny said:


> The same goes for the supporting cast - it's great to see each of them getting some focus this early on, but they haven't yet reached the point where they feel like real people, the same way that Kennex and, ironically, Dorian do.



Agreed - right now, it's Kennex and Dorian and "Cybergeek, Cute Girl, and Lame Cop". "Boss Lady" is the next most fully realized character.



> All that said, I have hope for the future - Fox have been doing their usual BS meddling, and aired the first seven episodes out of order (1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 3rd, 10th, with the 2nd next week). It's not cool that they've done this, because they've denied us seeing Kennex and Dorian's relationship gradually grow... but Wyman has been saying that doesn't totally matter that the first seven or so are out of order, because after that the order matters a lot. To me, that suggests we're going to begin to see the serialised side of AH come out, which excites me.



I knew it! I mean, I suspected it, but I didn't "know it" until you confirmed and I found an article about it. How stupid is FOX?? Why do they KEEP doing this when everyone calls them idiots and they keep cancelling the shows the screw up? One of the big ironies is that I saw in the search results some article sarcastically lambasting them for being able to wait two whole episodes before bringing on the sexbots. When FOX is who couldn't wait, moving ep5 to ep2. And I have to differ with the show runner - it may not screw up any multi-episode arc yet but it certainly screws up the character interactions and aspects of the story and people have noticed and been annoyed (and likely turned off entirely) so it certainly does matter in that sense. And, interestingly, he says the first seven but FOX has already aired 8 and 10. If I'm an SF/F guy, I am NOT working with FOX. Unless you're the X-Files or you cast a relative of Murdoch, you're screwed.

Anyway - hopefully things will settle down and it'll at least be able to finish out the season (more grace than Firefly got). And - who knows? - last week's episode got better ratings than the one before, so if that kept up, it'd even get renewed.


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## REBerg (Jan 27, 2014)

The humorous element in this show, I think, puts it a notch or two above what might otherwise be no more than a futuristic cop show. When Dorian took a slug and could only speak Korean, it cracked me up.

Is it just me, or does Karl Urban's John Kennex seem vaguely similar to David Hasselhoff's Michael Knight?


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## ctg (Feb 18, 2014)

IF you ever loved 2000 AD's Judge Dredd, you will lose this series that Karl Urban helms in same way as he did when he wore the iconic helmet and let his chin to do the talking. But it doesn't end there, as you can see parallels to many other comics, books, movies and televised series. It is almost as my geekest dream has come alive as the Almost Human is almost as good as the Continuum. 

Although I should say that both series stands above the rest, and it would be humongous shame if this series would see cancellation in this spring. Why?

Well, the reason is that this series tickles many points that the scifi lovers like as for example in the episode 11, the viewers get to see Gibson like cyberculture growing in the shadows of city that's almost parallel to the infamous Blade Runner scene. 

Of course, you can argue that the city Kennex and Dorian lives is much cleaner, but the world isn't, and in places you cannot but marvel the beauty of futuristic urban environment. And that is something you only see glimpses in the Continuum but get a full blast in the Almost Human. 

So, if you're a lover of Dredd, Androids, Cybernetics, Ai's, Crazy Scientist conducting ops in the back street clinics and so on, you will love this amazing series. Promise.


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## ctg (Mar 4, 2014)

The Final of Almost Human left me wanting me more and I wish they will never pull a plug on this series as it is amazing. And in every episode the world gets deeper, while the main characters grows extra layers so much so that I for one would love to go live in the world. Permanently. 

The outgrown technology doesn't bother me as everything they've shown in the series lies in the realm of extremely plausible. Our world is literally heading in that way. Although I have to say that maybe not everything will fall exactly as it has become reality in the play. The culture might be very different in the future.

But that is the thing as almost human offers viewers excellent escapism and plunge them directly in the middle of world we've seen so rarely in the television, or in the movies. It almost as if my dreams have come true. 

But ...

... as it's always with the most exciting new scifi drama in the states, the Almost Human stands on the brink of the existence. The ratings have been great but Fox has so much program on the schedule that this excellent series might get swiped off from the board. 

And that would be really sad.


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## Rafellin (Apr 6, 2014)

Anyone having trouble with inconsistencies and continuity? That's because Fox aired the series out of sequence. It should have been in this order:

 01 > S1E01 Pilot
  02 > S1E08 “You Are Here”
  03 > S1E06 “Arrhythmia”
  04 > S1E10 “Perception”
  05 > S1E02 “Skin”
  06 > S1E03 “Are You Receiving”
  07 > S1E04 “The Bends”
  08 > S1E05 “Blood Brothers”
  09 > S1E09 “Unbound”
  10 > S1E07 “Simon Says”
  11 > S1E11 “Disrupt”
  12 > S1E12 “Beholder”
  13 > S1E13 “Straw Man”


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## The Bluestocking (Apr 8, 2014)

Does anyone know if the series is going to have a second season?


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## Rafellin (Apr 8, 2014)

Nothing official as yet.

The general opinion, based on Fox's prior performance, seems to be negative. 

Although Fox has been hammered in the ratings lately, so this series - that could become cult (like so many others they have killed after season one) - may actually get renewed.


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## The Bluestocking (Apr 30, 2014)

Unfortunately, "Almost Human" has been cancelled:

Fox Cancels 'Almost Human' - Hollywood Reporter

This series was so promising and Fox goes and cancels it? What the what?!


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## ctg (Apr 30, 2014)

How long it will take for Amazon or Netflix to pick this up? I think Fox might continue creating these one year wonders in order to sell them to the web companies. Think it as a way of proofing that the series has followers, but it isn't allowed to have a life in their channel(s) as the series doesn't a) suit their political views or b) it's not suitable for the demographic they're after.


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## Lenny (Apr 30, 2014)

I can't believe they'd renew something as bland as *The Following* and cancel one of their few exciting new shows.

Actually, yes, I can...

Here's hoping someone else does pick it up. I'm not going to hold my breath, though, because it strikes me as an expensive show to make.


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## TL Rese (Aug 23, 2014)

has anyone else watched this series?  i recently began watching it on fox.com, but could only start at episode 9.  i'm pretty confused.  is it because i started watching the series nine episodes in, or is this how the show is?  it seems every episode has the detectives working on a case that gets resolved at the end; however, every episode also has a random subplot that ends on a cliffhanger and doesn't get picked up in subsequent episodes.

i'm wondering:  do the subplots ever continue on, or do the writers just forget about them and i shouldn't bother watching any more?  cliffhanger subplots that i've seen so far include:  1) talented android-maker stealing vials and going over "the wall" (whatever that is); 2) the main character finding out that he'd been infiltrated by his former girlfriend and she'd given him a russian doll that's actually a sophisticated spying device; 3) discovering that the android-cop had false memories implanted inside him

so do these loose ends ever get tied up?


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## J-Sun (Aug 23, 2014)

TL Rese said:


> has anyone else watched this series?



New Series: Almost Human



> i recently began watching it on fox.com, but could only start at episode 9.  i'm pretty confused.  is it because i started watching the series nine episodes in, or is this how the show is?  it seems every episode has the detectives working on a case that gets resolved at the end; however, every episode also has a random subplot that ends on a cliffhanger and doesn't get picked up in subsequent episodes.
> 
> i'm wondering:  do the subplots ever continue on, or do the writers just forget about them and i shouldn't bother watching any more?  cliffhanger subplots that i've seen so far include:  1) talented android-maker stealing vials and going over "the wall" (whatever that is); 2) the main character finding out that he'd been infiltrated by his former girlfriend and she'd given him a russian doll that's actually a sophisticated spying device; 3) discovering that the android-cop had false memories implanted inside him
> 
> so do these loose ends ever get tied up?



No, because it got cancelled in its first season. I wasn't exactly in love with it but I was definitely enjoying it and would have kept watching but, oh well - that's FOX.


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## TL Rese (Aug 23, 2014)

J-Sun said:


> New Series: Almost Human
> 
> 
> 
> No, because it got cancelled in its first season. I wasn't exactly in love with it but I was definitely enjoying it and would have kept watching but, oh well - that's FOX.



it felt disjointed to me, but i just read it's 'cause FOX aired the episodes out of order....


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## J-Sun (Aug 23, 2014)

Yep, again, that's FOX for you. They do that a lot and never to the good.


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## Kylara (Aug 23, 2014)

Fox cancelled it after 1 season. I felt that it was getting better as it progressed and was looking forward to seeing where it would go in a second season, but BLAM like many others CANCELLED! Which is a shame as other shows that got renewed really could have one bybyes


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## tinkerdan (Aug 23, 2014)

I watched this and never thought it to be too disjointed. I watched from the very beginning and yes there is a sub plot that runs through the whole thing that has to do with dirty cops and an assignment where he was hurt and a girlfriend that betrayed him and I think even possibly something about his father.

The upside is that Taxi Brooklyn took the plot and turned it into a contemporary cop show with a switch from a male lead to a female lead. And a taxi driver partner instead of an android.


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## markpud (Sep 8, 2014)

Just found this post.. I'd suggest General TV Discussion as a better place to post about newer shows. The ones over here seem to be somewhat dusty!

As for Almost Human.. I loved the concept and it had a great cast. But it was also aired in out of order so hanging plot threads got lost, and while they tried to set up some points to come back to, it was cancelled before they could. 

Not heard of Taxi Brooklyn, might have to check that out..


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