“Could you use some extra help around the house ? Introducing the world’s first family android. This mechanical maid is capable of serving more than just breakfast in bed. What could you accomplish if you had someone, something like this ? These machines will bring us closer together.”

These are the words we can hear during the opening scene. You understand it, today, I am going to talk about a new british-american drama series I recently watched : it is called “Humans”. It is based on another Swedish science-fiction drama series named “Real Humans” (“Äkta Människor” in original language) that I watched long ago too. Humans has one season and soon a second while Real Humans has two seasons and it stopped. Since people say that these two series are completely close (from the plot to the characters) and that “Humans” is just a poor copy of the other series, I was able to see it by myself even if I have forgotten a few things about the first series but we’re crazy or we’re not, right ?

So, “Humans” bring us in an alternative world to ours where people can buy advanced machines named “Synth” (for Synthetics). These Synths are not the sort of “robot cube-face” that we all know. I can rather say that they look like anthropomorphic machines (= it means they have humans characteristics as talking, walking and these machines are designed as human bodies). These Synths are made to help and serve the humans in daily tasks as cleaning the house, shopping, taking care of children, driving the car so they make life easier… Although they look insanely human, they have an artificial intelligence and can’t feel feelings like love, emotions, scare… And, here is the point.

At the beginning, the series follows the every-day life of the Hawkins family : the mother, Matilda, is working all the time and her husband is tired of taking care alone of their children. One day, the father, Joe, bought a Synth that the family call “Anita” to help him. But, the mother, Matilda, don’t see with a good eye the integration of a Synth in their life. Especially when Anita behaves in a strange and unusual way. Meanwhile, a mysterious group emerges : it is composed of a human and several “conscious” Synth that possesses consciousness, the ability to feel feelings but also the capacity to hurt and kill people (in contrary to the normal Synths who can’t do that). The human, named Leo, is seeking for his past and for a secret that the discover could change the entire world.

More generally, “Humans” focused on the impact of these machines in our society. However, the series puts a thought : these machines are made in our image but they can reveal to be out of our control too. Now, I can also say that the two series are quite different on various aspects : “Humans” inspired itself from his model but succeeded in developing quickly new and refreshing characters (as the teenage hacker girl) and different reflections than the previous series. This is more darker, with a ton of psychological thriller. I really enjoyed watching “Humans” as well as watching “Real Humans” but I admit that I now prefer the first one. This is exciting, intriguing and scary at the same time.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU4mwlTUXnc[/youtube]