Why ‘Almost Human’ is the ‘Agents of SHIELD’ I always wanted
The first episode of AOS had great promise. Cool effects, dropping tidbits for the diehard nerds in the crowd (LMD’s anyone?) and characters both cool and mysterious.
But the after glow faded pretty freaking fast. SHIELD has gone from fun to watch, to a show I have to talk myself into watching. Why? Well, I could list all the places that AOS has fallen down on the job, but I’d rather tell you where Almost Human is winning.
1) Relatable characters that we both root for and feel for. I’m sorry, but I don’t give a crap about anyone on AOS or their piddly-ass problems. I don’t give a rats fuzzy behind about Skye’s parents or anyone else for that matter. I MIGHT care about Coulson, if only he would stop hitting me over the head with the fact that he is a LMD. For the love of GOD let it go.
However AH has great strength in both it’s male leads and it’s supporting cast. It’s humorous without trying too hard, has great dialogue, and also had morals and a heart that makes the viewers want to follow them. We care about them. They accomplished that in one episode. AOS still hasn’t gotten us there.
2) Depth of story. In AOS we have basically a creature feature show, only without the creatures. There’s no over reaching story arc or even foreshadowing (Again, except for the pesky LMD thing). They made Skye’s mysterious past the long line, and to be frank, no one likes her enough to care. The coolest female on that show is Agent May who is little more than set dressing 90% of the time.
In AH, we have the classic moral conundrum of man versus machine, science versus reason. How far is too far? When does something meant to help humanity begin to destroy it? Yes it’s a heavy subject, but it’s done with subtle, masterful strokes. And because we already care about Dorian and John, their struggles mean something to us. When Dorian feels empathy for the other bots, we feel it for him. That is a character WIN.
and last but never least,
3)A world we can believe in. Now, you may say they are on two different levels, world building wise, but I disagree. Yes, AOS takes place in a post Avengers world where men in metal suits can fly and Norse Gods can get drunk in desert taverns. It’s our world, only after a great tragedy which society is now trying to deal with. Only, as it’s presented, it’s just the normal world where people occasionally get to see superheros. What we don’t get is the fear, the absolute panic that would really be ripping the world apart. Can you imagine how many die hard religious people would react to actually seeing ‘gods’ from other worlds? The state of sheer terror people would be living in if they knew at any moment a giant cloud could open up over Manhattan and spit out a few thousand demons and giant ass robots? It wouldn’t be another day in the park, I promise you that. And while occasionally they tell us “the world has changed” we never really get to see it, do we? This is where they need to take the cardinal rule of writing to heart. SHOW, don’t TELL.
On the flip side of that we have the urban near future of AH, complete with drones flying over the city, artificial intelligence used in warfare and urban defense, and amazing scientific progress. Basically, a place we could easily find ourselves in ten years. Look at how far we’ve progressed in the last 15 years alone. The world they have created is both reasonable, and dark enough to set the scene as a cautionary tale. What does it mean to be human? What path are we headed down if science continues to grow exponentially and without conscience? Basically, Almost Human is everything I expect from a brilliant writer like Joss Whedon, and it’s everything I want in a TV show. I even see elements of Malcolm Reynolds in John Kennex’s character. He’s smart, gutsy, and quick to take a risk–but he is also a damaged man with a solid moral compass. Basically, Almost Human is the show Firefly fans have been waiting for.
Which means, just like the last show I loved this much, Fox will cancel it after the first season.
