Humans

Gaah! I can't wait for the next episode! It is building tension ju-u-u-st right: Creepy, heart rending, asking the big questions about life and love and what constitutes consciousness, in other words it just couldn't be better. It also feels like perhaps it actually is building towards a specific future point, rather than just bumbling along and making stuff up as it goes. I am very excited to see where they're taking us, and how current loyalties may shift..? (I hope so!) Very well made, very well acted, just well-crafted in every way. Who said the art of good Science Fiction is dead? It seems to be experiencing a renaissance right now in response to all the boring 'miserealism' of recent times - huzzah!

First, this is the kind of series the Brits have shown a knack for, riffing off normal life situations into something creepy and unexpected. (See for example UTOPIA, the original UK version, also reviewed by this scribe.) So even though this is a clone of a European show, it is a natural for English audiences.

Second, the casting of Bill Hurt suggests to the cynically-minded that series was done with a pre-sale to the US market already in the works, with Hurt's job to make the transition more comfortable and discourage yet another "forced cloning" of the show in the US market, a move that more often than not wastes money and creates an inferior product.

Third, the casting is to die for. Gemma Chan is perfectly cast as the main "bot" and reminds this cranky old reviewer of what happened when Barbara Eden first appeared as a family "genie" in the US decades ago. It is now agreed by TV historians that subliminally this appealed to many male viewers who stayed loyal to the show for reasons well beyond the story arc.

And Colin Morgan, once the Merlin of legend, is an under-rated actor who can only make the show better over time.

Looks like a winner to me.

Humans is an unexpectedly great show. The reason for this is that it's understated in the technology an emphasizes the humanity. The cast are all from UK and mostly unknown and it allows us to get to know the characters more. Gemma Chan who plays Anita/Mya led me to this series via her Twitter. I first saw her in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

This series is dark and brooding. It raises more questions than it answers with the interaction between the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Synths and the Humans who "employ" them to do ordinary household tasks.

The origins of the core group of Synths is a mystery that is weave through the course of this series. There is some limited action, violence and beneath all of that big question about the ghost in the machine. This may be the best follow-up on ideas of sentient robots first presented since Blade Runner.

Another fantastic show canceled while reality rubbish keeps on spewing.

This is an excellent series, with great scripting, terrific acting and lots to think about. The focus is totally on the humanity and morality aspects, and not the sci-fi aspects.

Analogies may be drawn between the synths and any other minority you care to name (anything with the label 'different' or 'other'). And that is the show's strength - how do we as a community react to outsiders entering our world? Do we accept and embrace, or do we fear and reject?

Having an average middle-class family being the central focus of the story keeps everything grounded, rather than dealing with leaders and renegades. Everything keeps gravitating back to them.

If you are looking for whizzy special effects and explosive action pieces, go elsewhere. If you are looking for thoughtful storytelling and an exploration about what it means to be human, you have come to the right place.