Television: Almost Human and Intelligence

Normally I would do separate posts for each of these shows. But last night, though I watched them, I found I wasn't particularly interested in either.

Almost Human's episode "Beholder" has a pseudo Twilight Zone thing going on. A man was killing exceptionally good-looking people by stealing their DNA and taking it to an underground doctor to have it implanted in himself. He was doing it all for a woman he'd met online, but of course the twist was, when they finally did meet, she was blind. Is it a bad joke to say I "saw" it coming? The episode also furthered a bit of the whole Chrome thing . . . One of the murder victims was a Chrome, and that was the point where the police got involved. They'd managed to miss the fact these victims hadn't just died of natural causes, but since Chromes don't die young, this one's "heart attack" was suspicious. The heart failures were a side effect of having the DNA taken by nanotech. Geez, we sure do love nanotechnology in our television shows these days. But anyway, the plot let us know that Chromes generally have superiority complexes and, because they are intelligent and tend to rise high in the world, a lot of power. Not sure how I feel about Minka Kelly being held up quite literally as an example of perfection, though.

The sum total of the episode's theme was that we all fall short of our own personal expectations. We are our own worst critics. "Flaws make you human," Dorian tells Kennex. I don't know about human, per se, but I know that flaws make people interesting, and that's always been more important to me than looks.

As for Intelligence's "Delta Force," meh. It was even less interesting than Almost Human. Something to do with a Bolivian political candidate that needed protection from an assassin. Turned out the assassin was Gabriel's old Delta Force compatriot, and that this guy was also acting on government orders. Again we're left with that whole, "Right Hand, I'd like to introduce you to Left Hand. Why don't you two catch up?" thing. But whatever. I just couldn't find it in me to care about what was happening.

I see-saw on both these shows. Each is just very uneven, with some good, engaging episodes and some that fall flat. Look, I know not every episode will be a winner, but let's at least try for some consistency. I'm not ready to drop either show yet (and it may be the networks make that decision for me in a few weeks), but I'm not particularly attached either. The whole Monday night lineup could disappear (including Sleepy Hollow) and I wouldn't cry for it. That's a bad sign because it means if someone has something better come fall, I'm willing to jump ship. I might still DVR the shows, but if my schedule fills up—and it has been pretty solid lately—I won't bother. Not exactly the place these shows want to be, which is, in short, "on the bubble." As Methos once told Caspian: "If I have to lose one, it will be you."