ALMOST…

On 17 November 2013, a new drama aired on Fox television network -- Almost Human. (Which is, unfortunately, also the name of what looks to be a very bad horror movie.) The premise behind the show rests on a run-of-the-mill science-fiction plot: a future dystopia -- in this case, a high-tech world where the crime rate has soared 400%. In order to battle the bad guys, the overwhelmed police force is augmented with androids. Fox cancelled the show after the first season, pulling the plug on 3 March 2014 after just 13 episodes.

Normally, police-based programs immediately provoke a channel-changing response from me. Because I grew up reading science-fiction, though, this one caught my attention.

Starring Karl Urban and Michael Ealy, the premise of the show revolves around human Detective John Kennex and his android partner, DRN-0167, aka Dorian. Created by J. H. Wyman, the basic premise seems a mash-up of Robocop and Terminator. Almost Human, however, maintains a much higher standard of quality than either film. Its main strength comes from the interpersonal back-and-forth of the two main characters, which at times can be surprisingly funny.

I applaud The CW for making this series available. With not even a hint of any new episodes, we can at least appreciate those we have.