Dear Almost Human, You're Almost Perfect, but...
Dear Almost Human,
It feels weird and somewhat unproductive to write a letter specifically to a show, but I feel that it's the only way to fully address my issue. Let me start things off by saying there are many things about you that are fantastic. The back and forth dynamic between Michael Ealy and Karl Urban has reached a point where it's difficult to say who outshined the other come the end of the episode. The score provided by The Crystal Method has always felt within the time period of the show, and while I'm still not crazy about the call backs to music (minus Elton John, that was badass) I've come to find them endearing. The innovative ways you find to make the distant future look so real and plausible continue to astound me, and unlike many other shows, I eagerly awaited your return from Winter break. So what could be the issue when I have so many glowing things to say about this fantastic show?
The days of let the series run its course until the numbers kill it television are done, and you guys are driving the final nail in the coffin. When I saw the pilot to this show I was excited for two reasons. One: Karl Urban on tv. The other? In one hour's time you made me empathize and get into the head of a broken cop who lost everything due to a bad judgement call to nail a dangerous organization. That organization was responsible for the loss of his leg, and I want to believe the girlfriend that he had two years prior. I wanted to see him go after them. I wanted to see him fight back. I wanted Detective John Kennex to get revenge.
So when we are what I would believe halfway through the first season and there has been little mention of the events that drove John back to the force, I'm a little confused. I realize throwaway episodes are a part of any television series, but every episode? Character development is important, I know, and for what it's worth the episodes have been fantastic. But right now it all feels like a lot of flash with no big picture at the end. It's turned several of my friends off of the series, and clearly the numbers are showing they aren't the only ones.
I love this show, but like so many series on network television right now, it suffers from a dying formula in television. At the very least there needs to be an arc to tie events together from the beginning to the end of the season, if not something to tease you every other episode about the overall main story. Kennex joined the force again to catch these guys, and while he's a damn good cop who will do what it takes to get the job done, someone like that doesn't so easily forget the demons that haunted for 2 years like you would have us believe. You fix that, and I believe you can win a lot more people over.
Mick
P.S.: Glad Dorian finally got a place to live!