I saw this show pop up in my list of available downloads today, not having heard a word about it before. The blurb on the IMDB didn't tell me much about it when I looked it up, but I figured WTF...I should give it a chance. Good call.
"Mr. Robot" is really remarkably good. It's the first nerd/computer science-based TV show that has really made me want to watch it. For the nerds, the IT/nerd stuff is very good, using real nerdspeak and real technologies. But it's the writing and characterization that makes this show stand out for me, combined with spooky direction that really grabs you and puts you inside the head of the protagonist. And that's a somewhat scary and uncomfortable place to be, because the narrator and protagonist of the series is Elliot, a borderline psychopath with diagnosed anti-social disorder who self-medicates with morphine and hacks into the cyber-universe of pretty much anyone he wants to. He's certifiable, and we're inside his head. Elliot is so distanced from the world he's almost autistic, but he's a brilliant coder, so in his Day Job he's on the staff of a computer security firm, and at night he turns into a Robin Hood-like white hat hacker. Rami Malek is tremendous at capturing all of this. And "all of this" is just the background stuff that goes down in this pilot episode before Elliot gets approached by Mr. Robot. Played by Christian Slater, he's an anarchist who has his own group of uber-hackers and wants Elliot to come on board and join the Revolution. He makes Elliot the proverbial offer he can't refuse: "What if you could set in motion the largest revolution the world will ever see – the single biggest incident of wealth redistribution in history?" To cut to the chase, I really *like* this series. It's gritty and netherworldish like early William Gibson, and I haven't been so quickly grabbed by a new set of characters in quite some time. I finished the pilot looking forward to future episodes. Unfortunately, that seems to mean waiting until the end of June, when the show is due to air on the USA network. Here's the first few minutes, but the full pilot is widely available on the Net, so you can watch it for free if you're interested. I give it a big Thumbs-Up. Mr. Robot: Extended Sneak Peek - New Series on USA (Premieres June 24) | | | | | | | | | | | Mr. Robot: Extended Sneak Peek - New Series on USA (P... | | | | View on www.youtube.com | Preview by Yahoo | | | | |
