Humans Season 1

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

In a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a ‘Synth’ – a highly-developed robotic servant that’s so similar to a real human it’s transforming the way we live.

I’m an engineer and I am the one who has always dreamed of building androids such as these. I say that because it makes me a little biased in that I overlook some of the flaws of the series. I will correct one other person’s review about flaws though: he questions why someone has been able to create the synths, but not much other tech has progressed to the same level. That one’s easy-it’s because of one man’s genius, plain and simple. That is plausible because this person spent his entire life developing the synth family. That could definitely happen. In other words, we have no idea what is being cooked up in some secretive lab somewhere all the time. It’s naïve to think that tech progress flows in such a group, linear fashion. He also questions why the synths use cellphones and laptops. Its just easier to transfer and store data that way. They could do without the cells, but the laptops are vital to the plot.

That said, this is a riveting, relentlessly amazing series and I can’t wait to watch season two…even though I may have to pay for it!

-Rohb Vogue

I wanted to add something not talked about often in other reviews of stories about human – artificial human interactions. Like in Bladerunner – an obvious comparison and the benchmark – there is an underlying theme about how most humans instinctively reject human replicas (replicants, synths) due to their uncanniness. This rejection is very much the same when humans discriminate against other humans – dehumanizing them to justify atrocities committed upon them – “they’re just machines.” But more on this later. In Humans, the synths have repeatedly crossed this uncanny valley and returned convincingly with excellent, precise acting. You can so clearly tell the difference between Anita and Mia, even for just a few seconds. In fact, even when the special synths try to pretend they are ordinary synths, the actors are able to still show that they are walking just to one side of that line. Witness Max trying to pretend he’s an ordinary synth – he can barely do it, yet he remains uncanny – not quite human, not quite a robot.
The Humans story depicts society’s rejection of synths – protests, outrage, fear – unlike Bladerunner, where they are accepted, but hunted when they break free of their shackles. Even so, “more human than a human” was not good enough for the replicants to be accepted as humans even though they are made of the same tissues as ordinary humans, same DNA. In Bladerunner, replicants are basically genetically engineered humans, but with no rights and treated like chattel (property) – very much like the real people who were enslaved, abused, bought and sold.
The more interesting challenge for the writers of this show is showing how individuals are able to overcome their initial dehumanizing of synths and recognize them as sentient beings, worthy protection from termination and abuse and to be celebrated as one of mankind’s greatest achievements – the singularity.
But wait, there’s more…
I think what Humans does is go even further – showing how sentient beings, humans or synths with consciousness – are less than perfect. Endowed with emotions, motivations, and all the qualities that we hold dear as the distinctions from lower animals – synths with consciousness make mistakes, feel hurt, longing, regret, even moral dilemmas. At that point, where is that line between us and them?

– J. Lin

Warning – I tend to look at things through spiritual goggles.
What does it mean to be human? Have you ever felt different or misunderstood or like an outcast? What is a soul? What does it mean to grow or mature as a person? If you have ever wrestled with any of these questions about being human this is a very well done story dealing with these issues in ways that pull you in and make you care.
Late in season one there is an episode (working hard to not give away which episode or too many details to ruin your experience) that I found very moving as a ‘synthetic human’ pondered and acted on the possibility that there may be a spiritual component to life/existence.
Sure there are a few moments and elements that don’t quite work but only a few…Great show! Well done writers, cast and crew!!!!

-Guy

DVD Wholesale Main Features :   

Actors: Gemma Chan, Katherine Parkinson, Tom Goodman-Hill, Lucy Carless, Theo Stevenson
Directors: Sam Donovan, Daniel Nettheim, Lewis Arnold, China Moo-Young
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 3
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: ACORN MEDIA
DVD Release Date: March 29, 2016
Run Time: 344 minutes
ASIN: B015JLUO5A