Humans vs Real Humans: Remake Talk

[ApathyMonger]

I think in order to keep possible spoilers out of the episode threads, we should probably have a topic for discussing the changes made in the English version compared to the Swedish one?

 

The main difference early on, in terms of the characters, seems to be that William Hurt isn't playing Katherine Parkinson's father.

Edited June 25, 2015 by ApathyMonger

[henripootel]

The biggest difference to me is that the Synths seem much more human than the hubots.  I think this is clearly meant to cloud the issue of whether the way people relate to them is a problem.  The hubots seem so obviously robotic (kudos to the actors) that people seeing them as human seems ... odd.  Quaint for some (like the old folks who seem to think they're a friend) and possibly troublesome for others (like the folks who come to eschew human relationships to shag a hubot).

 

Synths really do seem almost human so it's easier to make the leap that them thinking that they're human means they kinda are.  They've even had Anita keep her kit on, which they didn't with hubot Anita.  Her lack of concern with being nude was another of those things that made her (interestingly) alien.Seems like if the writers want to explore how people can stretch themselves to see strange others as human, they're really lowering the bar here.

 

They've also updated the tech a good deal.  Hubots seem to be like phones from 10 years ago - shit battery life and no wireless data.  Synths are apparently wifi-enabled and don't seem to fret constantly about running out of juice, which again makes them easier to mistake for human.  I do like that you can download a synth's memories and watch them yourself, kinda seemed an odd omission for the hubots.  

[C76]

Yesterday I finished watching the first seven episodes of Humans online. Once I found out about Real Humans, I had to check out the source material. I'm only on episode 4 and I'm looking forward to watching the series develop. 

 

I don't know about anyone else, but Real Humans seems...Creepier to me, somehow, than its copy.

[EverCat]

I'm up to episode 5 of Humans and have only watched Season 1 of Äkta människor (Real Humans). So far, I really

prefer the original version and its taken me up until now to really appreciate the different story being told in the new version.

In the original version the hubots have a limited number of models; in this version no two synths are the same,

which doesn't seem very realistic for a mass-produced commodity. Also, the hubots have certain roles they are built for like workerbot, caretakerbot, sexbot, etc.

Leo in the original is a more sympathetic character. Merlin comes across as a jerk. And I guess Niska in Humans is a combination of Niska and Flash from Real Humans?

I agree, the Hubots are creepier...maybe because they look and act less human?

Edited July 31, 2015 by EverCat

[Schweedie]

And I guess Niska in Humans is a combination of Niska and Flash from Real Humans?

 

Yeah, that was my first thought, too. It's been a while since Real Humans, but if I remember it right Flash was a sort of nanny-hubot, right? On a related note, I preferred how there was a limited amount of different models in the original show. That made sense.

 

One thing I find interesting/a bit weird is the change in having the Pete character (Roger in the original) be a policeman. The change from having William Hurt's character be related to the others, I can see why they chose to do that, but this not so much. It kind of takes away from his story a bit - in the original you could almost (just almost) sympathise a bit with him and his being replaced by hubots both in his already dead-end job and at home. Actually, I think everything about that part of the story was better in the original, like the development of the wife's relationship with their hubot and their son's reaction.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Schweedie

[C76]

Yeah, that was my first thought, too. It's been a while since Real Humans, but if I remember it right Flash was a sort of nanny-hubot, right? On a related note, I preferred how there was a limited amount of different models in the original show. That made sense.

 

One thing I find interesting/a bit weird is the change in having the Pete character (Roger in the original) be a policeman. 

Interesting. I thought of Pete as a combination of Roger and Ove, who is a cop in the original series. As I watch Real Humans, I'm intrigued as I notice what the people behind Humans have chosen to borrow, recycle, or eliminate altogether. 

 

EverCat, I see your point about the hubots seeming to be less human. I was also going to mention that one thing I noticed about Real Humans is that it's darker than Humans. I found that out as episode 5 progressed. From what I've seen of Humans, it's not yet quite as violent as RH.  

Edited July 31, 2015 by C76

[EverCat]

Yeah, that was my first thought, too. It's been a while since Real Humans, but if I remember it right Flash was a sort of nanny-hubot, right? On a related note, I preferred how there was a limited amount of different models in the original show. That made sense.

 

One thing I find interesting/a bit weird is the change in having the Pete character (Roger in the original) be a policeman. The change from having William Hurt's character be related to the others, I can see why they chose to do that, but this not so much. It kind of takes away from his story a bit - in the original you could almost (just almost) sympathise a bit with him and his being replaced by hubots both in his already dead-end job and at home. Actually, I think everything about that part of the story was better in the original, like the development of the wife's relationship with their hubot and their son's reaction.

Some of my reply is going to be spoiler-tagged for plot/episode reasons (especially after ep5 of Real Humans).

I agree - Many of the characters stories are better fleshed out ;) in Real Humans. (This could also be

because the episodes run longer than Humans). Still, I think a lot of the characters were more

sympathetic. One could see how much Odi and lonely Lennart needed each other. And Gordon

reading the Bible and wanting to be accepted as a God-loving being.

 Flash is the one with long blonde hair/sister to Gordon.

I remember her being kidnapped later on and forced to work as a sexbot with Odi.

 

C76 - I barely remember Ove.  Was he one of the good guys?  Did he have a moustache?

 

Just read in the other forum Humans was getting a second season.  I better start watching season 2 of Real Humans.  (I'd rather see that first).

 

[C76]

EverCat - Yes, Ove has a moustache. He works with the branch of the police that monitors hubot-related crimes. He seems shady. The last time I saw Ove, he was talking with the investigator who (I believe) wants to kill Leo.

Edited August 2, 2015 by C76