Almost Human S1 Ep 10 – Perception

I checked, and this episode was another that was aired out of order (should have been a lot earlier in the season). That makes sense, because here’s a whole bunch of continuity I was wondering what had happened to, earlier on. And it’s quite the decent episode, overall – some absolutely awful dialogue notwithstanding.

So that’s what music looks like? Eh, Fantasia is better.

I enjoyed the literally trippy, interesting teaser. The teen actors were all pretty decent, too, which is not something to be taken for granted. I also got another kick out of seeing more fun Vancouver architecture – this time, the building doubling as the school for gifted and genetically engineered kids (actually part of the UBC campus).

Speaking of, that was another nice note of world-building for the show – “Chromes” and “Normals”. Kind of Gattaca, which isn’t a bad thing. I can imagine the parallels being drawn between that distinction, and that of the MXs and DRNs. Also, good to know there is something to Detective Stahl’s character. And she is believably flawless, physically. Too bad the actress’s range of emotions still leaves much to be desired.

Back to the continuity: Kennex’s flashbacks, memory retrieval, and drug use. While I’m glad they actually aren’t pretending these things aren’t issues, I have to say I was basically bored of this when Fox Mulder was doing it (minus the addiction). I’d be totally fine if we never saw John go to see the recollectionist again, since we always just see the same images with perhaps a few new memories of his traitor ex interspersed. At least this wish might come true, since John seems to want to try not to let this consume him anymore – especially if he doesn’t want to keep letting Dorian drive.

If I took some of John’s pills, would it make the dialogue seem less clunky?

I can’t forget to address some of the terrible dialogue here, since it was so distractingly bad. My favorite example: John defending his use of the drugs and memory retrieval to Dorian by saying they, “open up memory clusters so I can remember things.” Oh, really? Do they? I thought maybe they had opened up new memory clusters to help you invent a new flavor of breakfast cereal. None of the other examples were as bad, although I also snorted at the Captain explaining to Det. Stahl what “Chromes” are – even as she said Stahl is one, too.

Though I wasn’t bored by this episode, I’ll be disappointed if the plotline with Dr. Vaughn that we saw last week isn’t tied to the ambush and John’s coma. Frankly, I’m far more interested in the former than the latter, although I’m still willing to be surprised. In a sci-fi show about androids and the future, with a character as compelling as Dorian, I don’t care about the same kind of infiltration and betrayal stuff we’ve seen on a dozen other shows. Let’s hope Almost Human gets a chance to show it deserves to keep telling stories.

What did you think? Let us know if you’re praying for this show to be saved or canceled in the comments.

Watch “Perception” on Amazon Instant Video.