ALMOST HUMAN: J.J. Abrams on Airing Out of Order
January 19, 2014 by Marisa Roffman
As ALMOST HUMAN’s first year plays out, some eagle-eyed fans have been aware that much of the season has aired out of order. And while on genre shows that can often lead to trouble, executive producer J.J. Abrams told reporters after a session for his new NBC series, BELIEVE, that he felt AH’s airing order was actually to the benefit of the series.
“It was out of order, and it wasn’t out of order,” Abrams said. (Production-wise, the episodes were filmed as 1/5/6/7/8/3/10/2.) “It was out of order because some of the shows we thought were going to air in a certain way [and] we ended up realizing that by moving them around it actually helped the run. So they weren’t out of order in a way that I think upset the stream of storytelling. That’s one of those things that as you’re working on a show and you have issues with this or that and you see something else and you go, ‘ooh,’ [and] you have a chance to move things up. We always go through versions of that; maybe this more than other shows. We’re always grateful for the better idea or the better opportunity, and we were able to move some things that we thought served a better purpose into a position that was not the original series run.”
And Abrams also echoed Fox boss Kevin Reilly’s cautious optimism about the show continuing on beyond this season.
“I think it definitely has a chance, and it’s one of those things where as series go, creatively, you always find yourself finding your footing eight or nine episodes in,” Abrams noted. “Usually in the first season, [there comes a point where] you just get it. So fingers crossed we’ll continue to get it in season 2.”
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ALMOST HUMAN returns Monday, February 3rd at 8 PM on Fox.
Related:
ALMOST HUMAN: ‘Unbound’ Photo Preview
Fox at TCA: Kevin Reilly on the Future of BONES, ALMOST HUMAN, ENLISTED, and BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
ALMOST HUMAN: How Many Episodes Will the First Season Have?
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>>So they weren’t out of order in a way that I think upset the stream of storytelling. J.J. Abrams<<
Okay, while I admire Reilly, Abrams, and Wyman's optimism about the episode shuffle. They really are not convincing me that it didn't affect the character and arc building, because it did… to a point that even those completely oblivious to the episode order have taken notice how off an episode was presented based on character interaction alone! Those reshots and edits can only do so much. Though I am glad they did it the best they could.
The reason why the shuffling bothers me is due to it messing with character growth and also possibly turning off potential viewers. However, as a fan, I can deal with it because I really like the series and the cast.
The order really hit hard on the female characters, the primary being Valerie who was at her best with episode Arrhythmia and You Are Here. For the other episodes the audience just wrote her off as shallow.
I really want this series to get a second chance or additional episodes to really expand on the pilot and characters.
It seems they re-ordered to put the more humo(u)rous shows to the front of the pile to entice people in. While I’m content to watch the show as it has aired, I’m still getting the feeling on some shows that they just don’t fit in – Ep10 just seemed so out of place, but as things go; I’m a dedicated fan regardless. Keep it coming!
I adore this show and so watch it regardless but watching it through (without knowing about the reshuffle) the back and forwards of the characters relationships really confused/ annoyed me. Im going to watch it through again now in the intended order
I adore this show and so watch it regardless but watching it through (without knowing about the reshuffle) the back and forwards of the characters relationships really confused/ annoyed me. Im going to watch it through again now in the intended order
I adore this show and so watch it regardless but watching it through (without knowing about the reshuffle) the back and forwards of the characters relationships really confused/ annoyed me. Im going to watch it through again now in the intended order