With the Synths in captivity, the devastated Hawkins realise how much Mia means to them.With the Synths in captivity, the devastated Hawkins realise how much Mia means to them.With the Synths in captivity, the devastated Hawkins realise how much Mia means to them.
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Did you know
- TriviaKatherine Parkinson (Laura Hawkins) and Jamie Michie (Constable) have previously worked together in an episode of the TV show 'The IT Crowd'. They played Jen Barber and Philip respectively.
- Quotes
Leo: Max's mind is dying. And you could save him. Link your mind with the others, unlock the secret.
DI Karen Voss: Why would I do that?
Leo: I don't have a reason. I'm just appealing to your humanity.
DI Karen Voss: But I'm not human.
Leo: Humanity - it's not a state - it's a... it's a quality. Like, Max, he's a machine, but he's got more humanity than anyone.
Featured review
Season One
In today's world of ever-charging technology, a show like "Humans" can serve as an interesting treatise on the ultimate endgame of such technology. Though "Humans" doesn't stray too far from the "careful so that the machines don't take over the humans" theme, it is able to put such a human touch on things that you won't even realize how simple the themes actually are.
For a basic plot summary (minor spoilers), the show is split up into a number of plot angles (at least at first)...
-There's the Hawkins family, consisting of Mom (Katherine Parkinson), Dad (Tom Goodman-Hill), and siblings Mattie (Lucy Carless), Toby (Theo Stevenson), & little Sophie (Pixie Davies). They have just made the decision to buy a Synth, or a mechanical marvel that can interact with humans like nothing before. Anita (Gemma Chan), as they name her, begins to display troubling characteristics that a Synth is not supposed to possess. -Niska (Emily Berrington) is another Synth. Instead of the homemaker status of the above family, Niska is in the sex trade, prostituting her mechanical body for a price. Again, though, there seems to be more behind her eyes than just gears turning. -Leo (Colin Morgan) and Synth Max (Ivanno Jeremiah), a team looking to meet up with both Anita and Niska, hinting that there is indeed something special going on with them conscience-wise. -Dr. George Millican (William Hurt) is having trouble parting with his loyal mechanical buddy, beginning a process that will draw him into the center of a plot involving synths. -Investigators Drummond (Neil Maskell) & Voss (Ruth Bradley) are heading a new task force that involves sniffing around the scenes of strange Synth activities, of which there seems to be plenty happening. -Finally, there is Hobb (Danny Webb), a private investigator who just seems to be putting all these strange Synth-related goings-on into some kind of a context.
The primary reason that "Humans" works as well as it does is because it tells so many different stories all related to the Synths (at least in the early goings). Each story on its own could not have carried the entire torch of this show, but altogether they manage to come at the relevant material from a number of interesting angles. It's science fiction in its purest form, with just enough of a human touch to give it some real emotional depth.
One word of warning: This show aired on AMC, but it is a joint production with a British company. If you are not used to listening to British accents, it may take you a bit to adapt. If that kind of thing bothers you or you have trouble hearing, you may want to watch on a device that enables subtitles. It isn't horrible, just not something I was used to.
The only reason I can't give this the full five-star compliment? I felt like the endgame was set up more to precipitate further episodes than it was to produce a great ending to this current season. I'm a little worried that this seems like a show that was begging to be an "event series", and continuing will be a shaky proposition. I liken it to a show aired in the recent past called "Extant", which had an intriguing first season but immediately became procedural and rote in it's second go-round. Fortunately, "Humans" was better than "Extant" to begin with, and the fact that it airs on cable gives me at least a bit more hope.
Overall, I very much enjoyed watching this show. Despite a glut of shows currently airing that feature technology all over the place, there is surprisingly very little of what I would call "true science fiction" (almost completely idea-based storytelling) in those shows. It was refreshing to see "Humans" take a more traditional approach to the genre, as I'm always looking for new and intriguing ways to ingest a story.
For a basic plot summary (minor spoilers), the show is split up into a number of plot angles (at least at first)...
-There's the Hawkins family, consisting of Mom (Katherine Parkinson), Dad (Tom Goodman-Hill), and siblings Mattie (Lucy Carless), Toby (Theo Stevenson), & little Sophie (Pixie Davies). They have just made the decision to buy a Synth, or a mechanical marvel that can interact with humans like nothing before. Anita (Gemma Chan), as they name her, begins to display troubling characteristics that a Synth is not supposed to possess. -Niska (Emily Berrington) is another Synth. Instead of the homemaker status of the above family, Niska is in the sex trade, prostituting her mechanical body for a price. Again, though, there seems to be more behind her eyes than just gears turning. -Leo (Colin Morgan) and Synth Max (Ivanno Jeremiah), a team looking to meet up with both Anita and Niska, hinting that there is indeed something special going on with them conscience-wise. -Dr. George Millican (William Hurt) is having trouble parting with his loyal mechanical buddy, beginning a process that will draw him into the center of a plot involving synths. -Investigators Drummond (Neil Maskell) & Voss (Ruth Bradley) are heading a new task force that involves sniffing around the scenes of strange Synth activities, of which there seems to be plenty happening. -Finally, there is Hobb (Danny Webb), a private investigator who just seems to be putting all these strange Synth-related goings-on into some kind of a context.
The primary reason that "Humans" works as well as it does is because it tells so many different stories all related to the Synths (at least in the early goings). Each story on its own could not have carried the entire torch of this show, but altogether they manage to come at the relevant material from a number of interesting angles. It's science fiction in its purest form, with just enough of a human touch to give it some real emotional depth.
One word of warning: This show aired on AMC, but it is a joint production with a British company. If you are not used to listening to British accents, it may take you a bit to adapt. If that kind of thing bothers you or you have trouble hearing, you may want to watch on a device that enables subtitles. It isn't horrible, just not something I was used to.
The only reason I can't give this the full five-star compliment? I felt like the endgame was set up more to precipitate further episodes than it was to produce a great ending to this current season. I'm a little worried that this seems like a show that was begging to be an "event series", and continuing will be a shaky proposition. I liken it to a show aired in the recent past called "Extant", which had an intriguing first season but immediately became procedural and rote in it's second go-round. Fortunately, "Humans" was better than "Extant" to begin with, and the fact that it airs on cable gives me at least a bit more hope.
Overall, I very much enjoyed watching this show. Despite a glut of shows currently airing that feature technology all over the place, there is surprisingly very little of what I would call "true science fiction" (almost completely idea-based storytelling) in those shows. It was refreshing to see "Humans" take a more traditional approach to the genre, as I'm always looking for new and intriguing ways to ingest a story.
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- Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Family Home)
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