Episode 1 (Humans Series 1)
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"Episode 1" is the first episode of the first series of ''
Humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
'', a show based on '' Real Humans'' and co-produced by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
and
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...
. It originally aired in the UK on 14 June 2015 and in the U.S. on 28 June 2015. In this episode, Joe buys a "synth" (synthetic human) for his family, to his wife's horror. Meanwhile, George cannot bear to abandon his outdated synth Odi. The episode was watched live by 5.47 million people in the UK and 1.73 million people in the U.S. It received mostly positive reviews.


Plot

Joe Hawkins decides to buy an android called a synth to help take care of household responsibilities for his family, due to his wife Laura's constant work-related absences. He purchases a synth and his young daughter Sophie immediately becomes close friends with it, choosing to call it "Anita". Joe's son Toby is attracted to Anita, while Mattie, the eldest daughter, strongly dislikes it, fearing synthetic technology will soon render her education useless. Laura returns home and becomes angry at Joe for getting a synth without consulting her; she is afraid of them and becomes paranoid around Anita, especially when she continues to laugh at Joe's microchip joke. At night, Laura finds Anita watching Sophie sleeping; she finds this disconcerting and firmly tells Anita that that is her job. Anita then goes outside and admires the stars, until Laura tells her to go back inside. She becomes suspicious about the android's query about the moon as well as her accidentally scalding her arm. Later, Anita watches Sophie sleeping again and is seen carrying the little girl out of the house and kissing her head into the night. A flashback shows the synth hiding out in a forest with Leo, Max and several other characters; everyone other than Leo and Max are captured and taken to London. One of their contacts in London, a synth, is taken in by Hobb for investigation. Leo tracks down one of the synths, a female synth called Niska now forced to work as a
prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
in a brothel. Leo advises her that he is planning to rescue her and the other synths that were captured. This inspires Niska to plan an escape from the brothel. Meanwhile, George's synth Odi malfunctions in a supermarket and injures a woman. DS Drummond comes to investigate and orders George to recycle Odi, as he is expirable, and glitchable. George is shown in his home talking to Odi, who recalls memories that George has been unable to since his stroke. He does not recycle him, even when a new synth called Vera arrives to take care of him. George dislikes Vera and resents her controlling nature.


Reception


Ratings

On 14 June 2015 in the UK, the episode garnered 5.465 million viewers on Channel 4 and 0.655 million viewers on its timeshift service. It was the highest-rated show on the channel that week. A total of 6.814 million viewers watched the show including recorded views. In the U.S., the episode aired on 28 June 2015 and received 1.73 million live viewers. Three days later, 2.5 million viewers in total had watched the episode.


Reviews

Brandon Nowalk of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a B, describing most of the adaptation changes from ''Real Humans'' as "inexplicable" and the final scene as "a plea to please keep watching". Neil Midgley of ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' said that the episode didn't "
each Each may refer to: *''each'', a determiner and indefinite pronoun in the English language *EACH, Educational Action Challenging Homophobia, a UK charitable organisation See also *Every (disambiguation) Every may refer to: People * Every (surnam ...
''
Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
'' standards of greatness", but "offered a pretty good start". Midgley described it as "rather beautifully put together too", although he commented, "''Humans'' wasn't perfect. Some of the dialogue needed declunking and, for me, the incidental music was a bit too obviously futuristic-spooky-woo-woo." Morgan Jeffery of ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'' said that the pilot was a "remarkable success", praising the "comprehensively brilliant" cast and "plausible" world created by the writers. Matt Fowler of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' rated the episode 7.6 out of 10, calling it "a good start" but noting that the show was "rushing into the A.I. territory at the expense of some of the excellent subtleties featured in the other stories". Neela Debnath of ''
Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...
'' complimented the "convincingly creepy" acting, described the episode as a "less bleak" version of ''
Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...
'' and said the series was "likely to do very well."


References


External links


Episode 1
on AMC's official website
Episode Guide for ''Humans''
on Channel 4's official website * {{Humans (TV series) Humans (TV series) episodes 2015 British television episodes Television episodes about androids British television series premieres