The second season of this futuristic British sci-fi series about robots who look and act human and serve as domestic help and menial workers opens in the aftermath of the release of a piece of computer code designed to "wake" the synthetics (synths for short) to a state of sentience, self-awareness, and emotional life. The process is not immediate, however, and the human Leo (Colin Morgan) and the group of sentient synths he protects race to rescue the newly-conscious synths—who awaken in a state of confusion—before the authorities can capture and reprogram them. Meanwhile, Mia (Gemma Chan) attempts a romantic relationship with a human who doesn't know her true origins and lawyer Laura (Katherine Parkinson), who was once resistant to the whole culture of artificial humanoids, represents the angry, aggressive synch Niska (Emily Berrington) in a trial to give her human rights. Carrie-Anne Moss costars as a scientist working independently on artificial intelligence but there are also many other storylines running through the season. Like the more famous and more lavish HBO series Westworld, Humans uses the premise of sentient artificial intelligence to explore issues of identity, prejudice, morality, personal responsibility, and the very definition of what it means to be human, and while not as complex as the HBO drama, it is an intelligent and well-made series. Airing on AMC in the U.S., this set compiles all eight episodes from the 2017 second season, with extras including a behind-the-scenes featurette. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Humans 2.0
Acorn, 394 min., not rated, DVD: 3 discs, $39.99; Blu-ray: 2 discs, $39.99
Humans 2.0
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