TV Show: Almost Human

In a way the show “Almost Human” reflects racial and gender diversity.  There are two main characters in the show: Detective John Kennex, and Dorian. There are four main supporting characters: Detective Valerie Stahl, Captain Sandra Maldonado, Rudy Lom, and Detective Richard Paul.

Main Characters:

1.      Detective John Kennex is played by Karl Urban, New Zealand actor from movies such as Star Trek, and Dredd.  John Kennex an American (White) Cop in the future that is suffering from depression, mental atrophy, trauma-onset OCD, PTSD and the “psychological rejection of his synthetic body part” after his leg was blown off in a raid.

Detective John Kennex is played by Karl Urban.

2.      Dorian played by Michael Ealy, African American actor from movies such as Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and 2 Fast 2 Furious. Dorian is a "flawed" DRN series android that was designed to be a partner for a human detective with the Police Department. He is flawed because is an android with a “soul”. This making him emotional (more human then he should be).

Dorian played by Michael Ealy.

 Supporting Characters:

1.      Detective Valerie Stahl played by Minka Kelly, American actress from TV series Friday Night Lights, and Parenthood. Detective Valerie Stahl is a chrome, meaning she was genetically enhanced in the womb.  She is very smart and involved in the show. She is more like a main character then a supporting one.'

 

    Detective Valerie Stahl played by Minka Kelly.

2.      Captain Sandra Maldonado played by Lili Taylor, American actress from movies such as The Conjuring, and Since. Captain Maldonado is a captain that is a strong woman that is capable of doing what needs to be done.  This shows that women can be in charge and have respect from peers and subordinates.

 

Captain Sandra Maldonado played by Lili Taylor.

3.     c, English actor and stand-up comedian from the movies of Pirates of the Caribbean. Rudy is in charge of the hardware end of the android partnering system. He is smart, super smart and British. He acts weird at time, but most people do.

 

Rudy Lom played by Mackenzie Crook.

4.      Detective Richard Paul played by Michael Irby, Hispanic American actor from The Unit and Law Abiding Citizen. Detective Paul has a complicated relationship with the two main characters. He dislikes the fact they are both still on the force. He is accomplished and highly-regarded officer.

 

Detective Richard Paul played by Michael Irby.

To prevent the portrayal of female or ethnic minority characters from being stereotyped, we would have to not go for the obvious. For females, you don’t want to be the typical “home wife” type, having them less intelligent or less capable of male. This also works for ethnic minority characters; don’t go for the obvious. Such as making the African American or Mexican American characters into or the bad guys. 

Howto tell if a character is a stereotype:

• Ethnic sidekick – the character lives only for the white hero, has no life of his own. Tonto, Spock, every single Mammy character.
• Fits a known stereotype – Asian martial arts expert, Muslim terrorist, Indian brave, black drug dealer, etc. But these are the easy cases because you already know the stereotype.
• Helpless Darkies – everyone is ethnic except for the white hero and the white bad guys. You are watching a white saviour film where the purpose of ethnic others is to prove how good white people can be.

Bonus: Almost Human - Trailer