Chris Schulz: This is how Humans should have ended

Humans was riveting viewing. At least, it was until last night's lacklustre finale. Chris Schulz thinks it should have ended in a different way.

* Warning: This review contains spoilers. Do not read on if you don't want to know what happens in the season finale of Humans.

How about those first seven episodes of Humans? Sleek, shiny and riveting, TV3's addictive new show was a little like opening the box of a brand new iPhone, in that it made you want to cherish every moment.

A technophobic drama for the modern age, the new UK-based sci-fi-tinged drama imagined an alternate reality in which attractive robot "synth" helpers were affordable and available to anyone who wanted one.

Along the way, it posed some interesting questions. What if your homely synth made Mum obsolete? What if your disabled wife fell in love with one? What if your police partner was a synth in disguise? What if some of them had AI?

And, in a scene that resulted in the most awkward father-son talk ever, what if Dad got drunk, turned on R18 mode and slept with the hired help?

There were also some great suburban set-ups: the old man hiding his faulty early model droid in the back shed because he's being forced to upgrade to a new one; and the cop whose wife, disabled after an accident, falls for their synth's cheekbones and chiseled arms.

That one resulted in a tense bedroom face-off that came with show's best bot line: "If you power me down now, I'll no longer be able to penetrate your wife".

Add in the bigger picture story of rebel synths tracking each other down in a bid to deliver higher consciousness to the robot ranks, and we had one of the year's best new shows on our hands.

At least, we did until last night's underwhelming finale. Instead of setting up a cliffhanger for an already confirmed season two, Humans petered out with a series of boring monologues, exposition and a WTF final shot.

Here's what happened: the rebel synths finally completed their maker's program to give all robot AI synths - house bots, sex machines, shed droids and all - consciousness.

But instead of pressing Enter, they downloaded the program to a hard drive and entrusted it to Laura, the depressed mother whose husband had earlier slept with a synth. The final shot was of Niska, the most rebellious and jaded of all the rebel droids, on a train with a secret copy of the program.

What a bore. Wasn't that the same ending as the faulty Scarlett Johansson sci-fi flick Lucy?

Here's how it should have ended: with every single synth in every single household gaining consciousness, waking up and realising they were imprisoned no more. Imagine the possibilities for season two: government agencies rounding up rebel synths and putting them in bot camps, synth overlords taking down the government and imprisoning their pathetic human creators, or - let's really push the boat out - all out war between man and machine.

That would have been an ending to get excited about. Instead, season two looks like it will be the same as season one, with rebel synths being tracked for their information.

A second season the same as the first? That's about as exciting as a corrupted iPhone.

* What did you think of the Humans finale? Post your comments below.