Characters from the sci-fi series Almost Human.
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Detective Kennex
Det. John Kennex
Portrayed By: Karl Urban
A legendary detective...until he led his team into an ambush. He spent seventeen months in a coma, and then a few more after that on leave from the force. He is called back in the pilot when there is an attack suspiciously similar to the one that took out his team.
- Anti-Hero: Of the Pragmatic bordering on Unscrupulous variety.
- Artificial Limbs: His leg was blown off in the ambush. The synthetic replacement glitches on him pretty often in addition to his own psychological rejection of it.
- On the other hand, his artificial leg can also kick an evil android through a room which impresses even him.
- And then Dorian gives him an upgraded prosthetic in the finale, which he actually seems kind of excited about.
- Celibate Hero: Dorian notes that he has not had sex in a while.
- Cowboy Cop: Tends to break the rules pretty often. Dorian tries to keep him in check, but it doesn't always work.
- Deadpan Snarker: Frequently.Medical Examiner: Detective Kennex? Here's the preliminary report. Detective Paul is up there, sir.Kennex: Oh, I'm sorry, there's not much we can do about that.
- Determinator: Even after getting his leg blown off, Kennex still tried to drag himself away from the explosion that put him in a coma.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Sexbots certainly turn him on, as noted by Dorian's hyper senses.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: In Are You Receiving we find out that John's middle name is Reginald because his dad was a big Elton John fan.
- Fair Cop : Stahl certainly appreciates his looks.
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Fake American: Karl Urban is from New Zealand. - Fantastic Racism: Against androids. Specifically MX units, as they're all-logic and one left him and his partner to die.
- Generation Xerox: His dad was also an LAPD officer.
- Good Is Not Nice: Despite his good intentions and strong sense of justice, one gets the sense that he doesn't really know how to be nice. He's gruff at best and can be carelessly hurtful even to the people he likes.
- Irony: He complains about the DRNs having psychological issues and then his superior officer reads his own psych evaluation. The conclusion of it? He should never return to duty. It is also those same psychological issues that make him come to actually like and get along with Dorian, rather than dismissing him as the sort of cold, logic-driven synthetic that he hates.
- Handicapped Badass: He lost his leg in the ambush.
- Harmful to Minors: Stabs his artificial leg and traumatizes a little girl. Later, during a elementary school tour of the department, he shows the children what happens to criminals - that is, he shows a uncensored picture of a guy with his arm blown off.
- Has a Type: Primarily attracted to brown eyed brunettes. Preferably smart ones.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be rude and insensitive, especially towards Dorian, but he means well and is nowhere near as bad as Paul.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He is played by Karl Urban.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Is quite the snarker, likely due to trauma.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Seems to be quite fond of noodles.
DRN "Dorian"
Dorian
Portrayed By: Michael Ealy
A decommissioned android model, designed to be more emotional than the MX's. He was doing satellite maintenance before he was shut down, but has always wanted to be a cop. When Detective Kennex proves to be too distrusting of the coldly logical MX units to be paired with one, Dorian is brought out of storage and put into service with Kennex.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Dorian can tell that the suspect shot himself in the leg just by looking at the medical records for a few seconds.
- Character Tics: Blowing a Raspberry. This may be part of his programming, as an identical-looking DRN has the same tic.
- Deadpan Snarker: A little more subtle compared to John, but still qualifies.
- Dull Surprise: Deliberately used; he tends to exhibit rather subdued emotional reactions. Note that this isn't the same as saying he's not having them; he's just tamping them down.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: The Good Cop of the equation.
- Guns Akimbo: Dorian is sometimes seen wielding dual machine pistols during raids. Justified in that he's an android with superhuman accuracy.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: He has them, and even his little facial scan tech is blue instead of the MX's red.
- Icy Blue Eyes: When he's angry and/or in battle mode.
- Living Lie Detector: Dorian keeps tabs on John's heart rate, as well as that of anyone the pair talks to.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: Quite prominent.
- Made of Iron: Puns aside, he's capable of taking more damage than a human could.
- Temporarily averted in "Blood Brothers" when his chest-plate is off for repairs. Without that armor he's as vulnerable to bullets as anyone.
- The Matchmaker: Sets up an online dating profile for John, and notes that John's description of an ideal woman happens to describe Detective Stahl.
- Mood-Swinger: When his power drops below 50 percent.
- My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: Not only does he note John's attraction to the Sex Bots in episode 2, he also notes Detective Stahl's apparent attraction to John, and the fact that John hasn't tapped anything in a long time. Dorian seems to share John's
squicked out reaction to how he discovered the last one. - New Powers as the Plot Demands: Lampshaded in the episode where he chases a van on foot, catches it and flips it over. Kennex asks "Since when can he do that?"
- Nice Guy: Values civil rights, is incredibly patient with people that treat him like a mere machine.
- No-Sell: When the syndicate operative tries to gas him after mistaking him for a human officer. Also the weapon that disarms all the newer android models has no effect on him.
- Sarcasm Mode: Seems to be Dorian's setting of choice.
- Sherlock Scan: Part of his android abilities. He can keep note of heart rate, respiration, perspiration and a host of other bio processes.
- Super-Strength: He can flip a moving van, haul himself up an elevator shaft with pure arm strength, and crash through a wall with no apparent damage to his body.
- Super-Speed: He catches up to the van while on foot.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: He's friendly, has dreams of his own, loses control of his anger, and even breathes. He looks so human that one of the terrorist leaders tries to use the biological weapon designed to kill cops against him. That said, experts in the field can still tell he's not human. There's a seam by his ears which was probably left there so he wouldn't be able to blend in completely.
- Shipper on Deck: Starts shipping Kennex and Stahl once he learns the latter matches the former's type.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: One wonders if androids have recreational purposes. note
- It is mentioned in "Blood Brothers" that his designers were "thoughtful" in making him look human.
- Terrified of Germs: When John had to preform some on the spot repair for Dorian, he simply grabbed what was available: Nail clippers, a dirty cotton swab, and some chewing gum. Before even being touched by these makeshift tools, Dorian questioned John repeatedly if they were 'clean'. Justified in that he does have a lot of sensitive electronics and unlike humans, no immune system to get rid of foreign material. Plus, there's that whole 'getting deactivated for four years' thing.
- Verbal Tic: Inserting the word "man" in sentences, which he ascribes to a colloquialism program in his system. Another, identical-looking DRN shares the same tic.
- Voice Changeling: Can emulate different voices.
Captain Maldonado
Capt. Sandra Maldonado
Portrayed By: Lili Taylor
The chief of police. She was the one who insisted John return to work, as well as assigned Dorian to him.
- Da Chief: Albeit a coolly professional one.
- Fair Cop
- A Mother to Her Men: She certainly has gone out of her way to help John. She also treats Dorian like a person.
- Old Maid: A observant psychopath reveals one of her greatest fears is becoming one of these. The episode later subverts it by showing she's still a Fair Cop in the eyes of men not under her authority.
- Properly Paranoid: Tells John that, in regard to the InSyndicate, he is the only one in the station that she can trust.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She gave John as much time as she could to recover, but knew when she had to pull him back in. She also assigned Dorian to him after he destroyed his MX.
Rudy
Rudy Lom
Portrayed By: Mackenzie Crook
The police computer and android expert.
- Ambiguously Bi: Clearly attracted to women, but doesn't rule out the idea that the love of his life might end up being a man, either.
- Ambiguously Jewish: "Lom" is an Ashkenazic surname, and Rudy claims to be related to the Rothschilds, but there's no indication of his personal religious beliefs either way.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When interacting with Vanessa.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Is shown tinkering with androids.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Appears to feel this way.
- Hidden Depths: Is implied that he feels under-appreciated at work and wants someone to talk to.
- Mysterious Past: He was a hacker once, and possibly even a cyber-terrorist.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: So far, whenever something scientific needs doing, Rudy can do it. His expertise ranges from computer engineering, through robotics to chemistry and biology, and possibly more.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Would like to be one (and is one while undercover), but rarely takes the trouble to stay immaculate.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: When he says that sometimes people visit Sexbots not for sex but to be able to talk to someone.
- The Smart Guy: He has a broad area of expertise, from androids to bio-engineered viruses.
- Took a Level in Badass: During his undercover operation.
- Waistcoat of Style: Subverted and played straight. He wears a waistcoat often, but it is so wrinkled and rumpled that he gives off more of an absent-minded professor vibe, and played straight when he was undercover.
Detective Paul
Det. Richard Paul
Portrayed By: Michael Irby
A loud and abrasive cop who doesn't think John should have returned to service.
- Driven by Envy: Valerie suggests that he is jealous of John's excellent record prior to the ambush.
- Jerkass: Not only does he go on about how John should have been discharged for leading his squad into a trap, he treats Dorian like he's about to go haywire at any moment.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gave some Bitcoins to a homeless kid so he could find a safe place to sleep the night.
- Lack of Empathy: Most people would feel sorry for the guy who lost all of his team and friends on an ambush, lost a leg and spend a year and a half in a coma. Sadly it is Truth in Television for a significant number of cops.
- The Napoleon: Paul is an abrasive Jerkass and John repeatedly makes jokes about his height. Though that doesn't seem to be a particular Berserk Button for Paul, it's hard to tell given how easily they tend to rile each other up anyway.
Detective Stahl
Det. Valerie Stahl
Portrayed By: Minka Kelly
A younger officer impressed with John's record. An expert in criminal and gang sociology.
- Badass in Distress: A capable officer that runs in a spot of trouble during the police station invasion and needs Dorian's help.
- In "Blood Brothers" she finds herself in this spot again, finding herself the hostage of the clones of the Villain of the Week. When the police find their ruse compromised during the exchange, Stahl elbows her captor and successfully makes a break for it.
- Brainy Brunette: is an exellent profiler. She also came out on top in a duel of wits against another Chrome who was impeding her investigation at a "chrome party" of sorts.
- Designer Babies: Stahl is a "chrome" — someone genetically engineered in-utero to be "perfect".
- Fair Cop: Played by the very attractive Minka Kelly.
- Turns out she's genetically engineered. Of course she's gonna be gorgeous.
- Turns out she's genetically engineered.
- Pro-Human Transhuman: Even though she's a chrome she doesn't seem very enthusiastic about the practice and states that she doesn't get along with others in the movement. One girl she interviews comments that it's unusual for a chrome to be a cop.
- Ship Tease: She's clearly interested in more than just John's record.
MX Units
MX-43
The MX-43 series is a battle-ready militarized humanoid android closely resembling human beings.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: Sans nipples and with distinctly Ken-doll-like hip joints.
- Butt-Monkey: Constantly getting damaged in hilarious ways.
- Creepy Monotone: It becomes more noticeable during high intense situations. The MXs can speak and be calm as their human partners go into a panic.
- Deceptively Human Robots: Though similar in appearance, they do not all look exactly alike, but they are all programmed to "think" alike, and follow orders precisely.
- Icy Blue Eyes: that are not limited to their synthetics skin color. Given the MXs 'cold' and logical exterior by creation- it is fitting.
- Mecha-Mooks: They eat it nearly every episode.
