This week, I am highlighting a new show that premiered this summer, Mr. Robot. Although its first season is over, all of the episodes are still available free On Demand or on the USA Network website.
This is one of the few shows that my husband and I watched with our
21-year old college son this summer - he usually comes home once a week,
and the three of us enjoy watching favorite TV shows together (our
younger son doesn't have much interest in TV!)Mr. Robot is a twisty and suspenseful show about computer hackers and conspiracies. Elliot, played beautifully and cryptically by Rami Malek, is a socially anxious computer programmer who works for a computer security firm. His childhood friend Angela works alongside him and is one of the few people that Elliot can comfortably interact with. Elliot is contacted by a mysterious anarchist hacker organization, headed by a man known only as Mr. Robot, played by Christian Slater. Mr. Robot wants Elliot to join his team, and although Elliot has some misgivings and questions, he gets involved with them because he agrees with their conspiracy goals - to bring down the ever-present E-Corp, known by Elliot and throughout the show as Evil Corp. They represent all the paranoia Elliot feels about the Big Brother-type world we live in, and they are also responsible for the death of Elliot's father and Angela's mother. Carly Chaikin, who we loved in Suburgatory, also co-stars as one of the other hackers working for Mr. Robot. In each episode, the plans to bring down Evil Corp progress, all while Elliot tries to keep up appearances in his day job and maintain his friendship with Angela. Through it all, we also see Elliot's weekly mandatory meetings with a therapist, though we don't know why.
The show is filmed in a jerky, realistic way in New York City, almost as if from a handheld camera. Elliot narrates the show in a voice-over in which he talks directly to the audience. This approach and the cinematography add to the jumpy, paranoid feel of the story. All in all, it feels more like a movie than a typical TV show, and all three of us have been hooked right from the start. We still have a couple of episodes left to watch, so no spoilers, please! We've already been blown away by some major plot twists that we never saw coming, and we can't wait to see how the season ends.
If you've seen Mr. Robot, what did you think?
What are your favorite TV shows now?
Here's a short preview of Mr. Robot:
I tried to get into watching Mr. Robot, but because of how jumpy it is and the way it was laid out it made it hard for me to follow along with the storyline. That probably has to do with the fact that I can only watch shows as I'm also working so it's hard to get into a show that I have to focus 110% of my attention to in order follow along. This show made me feel like I had to do that. Unfortunately, it didn't reel me in enough to give it my full attention. However, reading your description of it makes me feel like I should give it another try. Thank you for sharing your review of it on #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I'm watching Blood and Oil, it's a series filled with loads of drama, but I'm not going to say it's my favorite new show. Despite my long list of shows I was eager to see this season, I haven't got attached to any of them yet.
I can definitely see that, Crystal - the plot here is complex and there is more to the characters than first meets the eye, so it is definitely a show that requires your full attention!
DeleteWe are checking out the new shows, too - I will write about some of them once we've seen a few episodes. We haven't tried Blood and Oil yet but the ads look good. So far, we are enjoying Quantico, Limitless, Blindspot, and Minority Report. Lots of good action/thrillers this season! That's a good thing here because I live in a house with 3 men! I watch the less-actiony shows by myself while I eat lunch :)
Sue