Of course the best thing about fall is the return of our favorite TV series’, like The Walking Dead in all of its gory glory. However, emerging with the tried and true are also some new shows. One new series that is receiving the most acclaim of 2015 is USA Network’s Mr. Robot, created by Sam Esmail.
This series is unlike so many of the other hacking shows out there that promised and did not deliver, presenting hackers with absolutely no skill and who probably prefer to use many of today’s easy website tools, let alone hack into any cyber secure networks. Mr. Robot, on the other hand, is well written, well casted, and well thought out – including technical authenticity and the coding that shows up on the screens. Although it isn’t perfect, as many review articles point out, it is doing enough right to keep the audience engaged and looking for more.
The hero of the series, Elliot Anderson (Rami Malek), is a young cybersecurity professional who struggles with social anxiety and depression. He forms connections with people through a rather unorthodox way: by hacking them. Recruited to a vigilante group of hackers who plan to forge a digital revolution, Elliot is a very unlikely heroic character, but incredibly likeable.
Heralded by Wired as being “the best hacking show yet”. With the vigilante agenda and super hero-esque story line of hacking for social justice aside, what the show perhaps best depicts is hacker mentality. Although brilliant and often separated from society because of it, our hero uses hacking as a coping mechanism. As Wired says: “hacking is his primary mechanism for controlling a world that he feels powerless to control and for making connections in a world in which he feels disconnected”.
A show for our increasingly digital generation, our cyber vigilante occupies a space that although it is morally grey and illegal, seems somehow commendable as he is attempting to right some perceived wrongs. With only one season under its belt, we aren’t ready to condemn just yet where the show still needs to improve. Most of the areas of oversight should be addressed as characters and plot develop. We are interested to see where the show is going and whether it can hold up to its current high expectations, or if it will, like countless other predecessors, experience a series system failure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=C_zu6XuI_g4
Originally published October 17, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
