# "Mr. Robot" on USA Network



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Ok, if this is the new USA Network I'm in. If you haven't seen this week's pilot episode, do so and don't look at any reviews at least until you have seen it. I won't say anything more.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Official Series Description:
In MR. ROBOT, Elliot, a cyber-security engineer by day and vigilante hacker by night, is recruited by a mysterious underground group to destroy the firm he's paid to protect. Elliot must decide how far he'll go to expose the forces he believes are running (and ruining) the world.
It looks like it was been picked up for season two before the pilot aired.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

And I can see why. We might finally really have something here. This might even be the best show this summer. It already makes_ True Detective_ season two look like _Here Comes Honey Boo Boo_.

Everything works. With luck, Christian Slater will not kill this the way he has killed the last half-dozen shows he has been in. I don't quite get that; CS has always impressed me, ever since his Jack Nicholson-like impression in _Heathers_. I have always considered him to be an under-appreciated, under-rated talent. The agenda of his character which is revealed, is pretty clever as well. Casting him in this part is brilliant.

But this new kid. He is going to be a huge star, with any luck. He has a really interesting look. Odd, but probably still possesses a high degree of PLQ (panty-lowering quotient). His performance here is mesmerizing. You are fully on his side immediately. The only other actor that has that quality where you can identify with the character this quickly and fully, that I can think of, anyway, is Juliana Marguilies. It's a rare talent. And it really draws you into the story. I had a bit of a problem rationalizing how a person who's hot neighbor wants to sleep with him at the drop of a molly tab ends up with him having crying jags over the pain of severe loneliness, but I guess that can happen if you are borderline mentally ill.

Gloria Reuben, now over 50, looks more luminous than ever, and the bad guy corporate weasel is immediately loathsome. Like I said, everything works. Even the techno score. I would never have imagined that, and I would have thought techno might be a little too on the nose, but they pull it off pretty convincingly. The shoehorning in of a Neil Diamond ballad seems out of place, but in this dreamy reality they have created, everything seems a little jarring and out of place.

But its an intriguing story, and the storytelling technique is top-notch. Great atmospheric cinematography. This show has it all. If you are on the fence, jump off now.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I recorded it, haven't watched it yet (probably will tonight). I will say though, the episode titles threw me off a bit.


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## Jaspear (May 16, 2004)

phrelin said:


> Ok, if this is the new USA Network I'm in. If you haven't seen this week's pilot episode, do so and don't look at any reviews at least until you have seen it. I won't say anything more.


100% agree. Between this and "Complications" USA is finally worth watching. Although, since we're both in the 'useless eyeball' demo, our eyeballs, accumulated nest eggs and purchases mean nada, ziltch, nothing. So have a nice day,


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

Speak for yourself; I am only 16 (but my birthday is Feb 29th). 

My favorite part of this ep was near the end while Elliot is in Times Square and...


Spoiler



...a black Escalade pulls up. Elliot is reveling in the glow of his "victory", and misses it. Ironic, because he is hypervigilant and is either seeing or imagining "Men in Black" pretty much all the time. But out of the corner of the frame we see it pull up and stop, partial frame, out of focus. Now this is Times Square, and vehicles appear and stop all the time, so it might be nothing._ But this is a black Escalade_. And we see it, because we have been conditioned by now, living in Elliot's world, to be alert and somewhat paranoid just like him. We are now identifying with him, so we behave like him. And rather than a wide shot of men getting out and approaching him, the next thing we see is what Elliot sees...someone standing right next to him urging him to get into the vehicle.



That tiny subtle bit of filmmaking is exactly what makes this thing hum. The program is shot in "Protagonist POV", meaning that nearly every scene is from Elliot's POV. Not FPS POV, of course, but we only really see what happens to Elliot serially in his day-to-day life. No manipulative flashbacks or flash forwards. Scenes that happen without him present are kept to a minimum, so there it little dramatic irony, and it is easy to get lulled in and identify with Elliot. That technique, and Rami Malek's ability to engage us in his character, are what make this work.

So the producers found a way to place the dramatic irony directly into the visuals of that scene.


Spoiler



We as viewers now finally know something that Elliot does not know, even though it happened right in front of him. Because he simply missed it. And it portends real danger. Our reaction is "Uh-oh, look out Elliot!'. But of course he can't, and it happens.



There is another great shot just before this, cinematographically, where Elliot is walking through an underground tunnel, and the camera is doing a truck shot, essentially following him as he walks. There are some pipes up about 6 feet above his head, and they placed the camera about a foot below the pipes, so when they truck the camera forward it causes this eerie vertigo-inducing effect that makes you feel like Elliot must feel all of the time. It takes real talent to know where to put the camera for best effect, and these guys know what they are doing. Most don't.


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## seern (Jan 13, 2007)

I thought the first episode has promise for a good show with interesting premise.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

James Long said:


> It looks like it was been picked up for season two before the pilot aired.


I missed this line. Indeed, it was renewed USA Renews 'Mr. Robot' for Season 2 Hours Ahead of Series Premiere.


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

If you missed E 1, look for repeat during the week.

Very interesting series.

Spot on about odd looking lead, but this guy is not boring.

Got me.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Just finished the first episode. This one is definitely a keeper.

Malek kind of reminded me a bit of Marty Feldman, at least when he had his hoodie up.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

The lead actor is from the "Night at the Museum" movies. 

I found it strange. Not sure I'm in for the long haul. 

I also am sick of TV and movies preaching at me about how awful corporations are.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I like strange! It's something different. In this case I noticed that the logo looked very much like the Enron logo. I also liked that on a tech level, it was pretty good. Of course there are some things that can be nitpicked, but all forgivable.


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

I found it a little odd that "E Corp" turned into "Evil Corp", including News shows. Other than that, it's a keeper. I also was impressed by the production values.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

dpeters11 said:


> I like strange! It's something different. In this case I noticed that the logo looked very much like the Enron logo...


Yep. My best guess would be that this is intentional. If Enron were alive and well today, the show could never get away with that. I mean, we are in a legal environment where the band "The Eagles" sued the Boy Scouts Of America for using the term "Eagle Scouts", something that they created before any band members were even born. But Enron is no more, and even if they have rights, they haven't any way to defend them.

It finally dawned on me what literary character the Elliot Alderson character has been hauntingly reminding me of. Holden Caulfield.


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

TomCat said:


> It finally dawned on me what literary character the Elliot Alderson character has been hauntingly reminding me of. Holden Caulfield.


Not literary, but he reminds me somewhat of who Neo was before he met Morpheus. If he had taken the blue pill, the result could have been this series.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

TomCat said:


> Yep. My best guess would be that this is intentional. If Enron were alive and well today, the show could never get away with that. I mean, we are in a legal environment where the band "The Eagles" sued the Boy Scouts Of America for using the term "Eagle Scouts", something that they created before any band members were even born. But Enron is no more, and even if they have rights, they haven't any way to defend them.
> 
> It finally dawned on me what literary character the Elliot Alderson character has been hauntingly reminding me of. Holden Caulfield.


Right, and if you ask someone to name an "Evil" Corporation, Enron probably would be one fairly universal. And it certainly helped that the logo was an E.


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## prushing (Feb 14, 2007)

4HiMarks said:


> I found it a little odd that "E Corp" turned into "Evil Corp", including News shows. Other than that, it's a keeper. I also was impressed by the production values.


I think you missed the line where he was talking to himself and he said he was behind the Evil Corp stuff and was just crazy enough or something like that so he was able to wire his brain to see and hear Evil whenever he saw/heard E Corp.

I liked it enough to continue watching. I know enough of the technology stuff to know what he was doing, just not how to do it so its not too bad if some of it isn't realistic. I think it will be similar to the Person of Interest, but a lot darker.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

prushing said:


> I think you missed the line where he was talking to himself and he said he was behind the Evil Corp stuff and was just crazy enough or something like that so he was able to wire his brain to see and hear Evil whenever he saw/heard E Corp.
> 
> I liked it enough to continue watching. I know enough of the technology stuff to know what he was doing, just not how to do it so its not too bad if some of it isn't realistic. I think it will be similar to the Person of Interest, but a lot darker.


Some noticed things like improper IP addresses, the creator said he tried for real ones, but lost out to the lawyers.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

The World Order and Men in Black been done lots of times. Guess I can handle amother one.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

prushing said:


> I think you missed the line where he was talking to himself and he said he was behind the Evil Corp stuff and was just crazy enough or something like that so he was able to wire his brain to see and hear Evil whenever he saw/heard E Corp...


That is an attribute that this show has, which is since it is from Elliot's POV, and since Elliot hallucinates at times, we really never know whether what we are seeing is real or not, just like Elliot. That can be really unsettling, and I can't imagine what it is like to face life like that. But it only serves to increase our identification with him. Plus, it is an attribute that they don't even have to use; they can just salt and pepper that in when they feel like it; when it works.

_Perception_, a flawed show that I still really liked, mostly for the performance by Eric McCormack, had this attribute, but I never really liked the way they depicted it, which was clumsy, heavy-handed, and juvenile. From a second-person POV, it just never really worked well, although Eric McCormack was able to elevate the material about his bouts of schizophrenia so that it was compelling. _Mr. Robot_, however, seems to have a pretty good handle on this, and the first-person POV only helps.

The launch for this show was also pretty clever. They released it free to every streaming entity they could find, about a dozen of them, promoted it like crazy, and then just waited for the reviews to roll in. There were 2.6 million downloads, which is a great rating for cable, let alone streaming. And since it was streaming, and targeted to a young audience, that implies that most viewers were in the demo. That was what the pre-air renewal was based on.

I guess you can do that when you know you have a show that is going to be golden. It was a better move than _True Detective_ made in the same week; they released 3 eps just to snarky reviewers who panned the show for not being better than last year (as if much could ever be better). Oops.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

TomCat said:


> > I think you missed the line where he was talking to himself and he said he was behind the Evil Corp stuff and was just crazy enough or something like that so he was able to wire his brain to see and hear Evil whenever he saw/heard E Corp.
> 
> 
> That is an attribute that this show has, which is since it is from Elliot's POV, and since Elliot hallucinates at times, we really never know whether what we are seeing is real or not, just like Elliot. That can be really unsettling, and I can't imagine what it is like to face life like that. But it only serves to increase our identification with him. Plus, it is an attribute that they don't even have to use; they can just salt and pepper that in when they feel like it; when it works.
> ...


I'm glad the streaming effort paid off enough to get a second season committed now.

With that said, I'm going to be watching the numbers carefully as this show could be one of the few on TV that does not lend itself to multitaskers - a lot of information gets transmitted in a few seconds of on screen activity. In the case of "Perception" as you note they sort of hit you with a rubber mallet to make sure you got it. It made the show somewhat less enjoyable for me.

But the lack of the rubber mallet technique in "Mr. Robot" makes it more difficult for those who are distracted by squirrels moving in their environment.

Incidentally, does anyone know if the Christian Slater character known as Mr. Robot is a reference to the _Ask Mr. Robot_ website that "provides advanced gear optimization tools for _World of Warcraft_ and other games"?


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Saw the rebroadcast of the pilot last night, and created a season pass on my TiVo. I've sent a text to my younger son, encouraging him to give the show a try, since I think it's right up his alley.

The show definitely shows promise. Technically it is far superior to most programs that purport to show activity on monitor screens. I feel there is greater similarity to Person of Interest than to MIB.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

phrelin said:


> ...the lack of the rubber mallet technique in "Mr. Robot" makes it more difficult for those who are distracted by squirrels moving in their environment.
> 
> Incidentally, does anyone know if the Christian Slater character known as Mr. Robot is a reference to the _Ask Mr. Robot_ website that "provides advanced gear optimization tools for _World of Warcraft_ and other games"?


It has something to do with the patch on his jacket. They went through that a little too fast; I need to FF that patch, I guess.

It is indeed important to pay attention when watching a show like this. The "Rubber Mallet" is probably a courtesy for those who are distracted by kids and phone calls. But TV can't be everything to all people, even though that is always exactly what TV dreams to be.

This is a weird analogy, but its like a no-hitter in baseball. It depends on your point of view. Many folks think a no-hitter is the most boring thing since drying paint, because "nothing happens". Other folks think that a great deal happens. If you watch a no-hitter concentrating on what the pitcher is doing and what the batters are doing to try to react to it, for some that can be more thrilling than skydiving.

Studies show that the same chemical reaction in the brain of a thrill seeker when he luges down Mulholland Drive on a skateboard into traffic is exactly the same chemical reaction that happens in the brain of a non-thrill seeker who reads a good book. People are very different some times, which goes against this one-size-fits-all concept in linear TV. The big Kahuna of streaming TV is not that it is streaming, but that it is narrowcasting rather than broadcasting, and there is something now for everyone. Diversity. That's why YouTube is successful, too.

One thing that HD and large screens have brought us is the immersion factor. We are closer, the picture and sound are clearer, and we pick up nuance. We no longer need the rubber mallet. So writers and especially producers need to capitalize on that, and throw away the rubber mallet.

That immersion factor is also why I feel I watch less TV. Getting immersed deeply into a show like _Mr. Robot,_ after it is over I need a break, to get back to real life. Also, what show would even be entertaining directly after that? By comparison, very little. A show this good stays with you. The reality and mood it creates exists in your mind, sometimes for days after. I don't want to flush that out so I can replace that with the mood or reality of something as trivial as_ Royal Pains,_ ferchrissake.

Since HD, how we watch TV has changed. This is why "silver linings" TV should replace "blue sky" TV, and probably the only reason (the other reasons cited are totally bogus. Millenial tastes? Gimme a break.) SL is more suited to large screens, 5.1 surround, and intimate viewing, while BS is more suited to the fuzzy 25" CRT with tinny speakers sitting 15 feet across the room. Its not 1997 anymore. USA network should adapt and change, but they should be honest with themselves and with us as to why.

If _Mr. Robot _is the direction these networks have chosen, then well done. Regardless of why.


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## Galaxie6411 (Aug 26, 2007)

Thing that keeps popping up in my head since about half way through the first ep. is Fight Club, wouldn't be a bit surprised if pretty much everything on the hacker side isn't real. We never see any of those story lines without the main character in them IIRC, we do see the blonde girl story line without him involved, can't remember if we have seen any of the drug dealer line without him in it. My theory as of now, he does work at Allsafe and the blonde girl is his friend with a POS boyfriend coworker, other than that any or all of the other story lines could all be in his mind as he is sitting at the computer doing the same boring stuff over and over.

Admittedly I did watch the second episode while working on the computer so might have missed something that blows that out of the water.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

While this show gets a 97% on RottenTomatoes, I think the consensus is that ep 2 did not meet the lofty bar that ep 1 has set. But not really unexpected; that would be like bowling two perfect games in a row. And the second ep was one needed to flesh out the story more than to drive the narrative. All good shows must do this; there were a couple in _True Detective _that were done this way that needed to be done this way.

They also, as mentioned, are doing scenes without Elliot, something that they also probably must do to tell this story. I like that they are not making him a perfect hero, and that he has personality faults beyond his illness and condition.

There has been a theory all along that Mr. Robot, the Christian Slater character, is no more than a figment of Elliot's imagination, and is not real. I am starting to buy into that theory more all of the time. You see Elliot interact with him, you see Mr. Robot interact with others (from Elliot's POV) but you never see anyone actually interact with him other than Elliot; you only have implied interaction from other characters, sort of how they sneakily implied that Bruce Willis was really there in _The SIxth Sense._ So it would not surprise me that he is not real.

That would also mean that this episode ending...


Spoiler



...where Mr. Robot pushes Elliot off the pier would actually mean that Elliot either jumped or fell, instead. If Mr. Robot is actually real, it would mean that he is a complete anarchist and has no sympathy for anyone or anyone else's agenda, something we sort of see in him already. Pushing someone off a pier onto sharp rocks 20 feet below is about as reprehensible as it gets, even if there were some reason behind it. If he really did that, I can't wait until someone returns the favor.

More likely, he is only the embodiment of that side of Elliot's personality, meaning that the hack, the .dat file change, the stealing of information, the blackmail threat, and even the pipeline bombing were all things from the drug-addled off-kilter sick mind of Elliot, who is dissociating himself from those thoughts by creating this alternate "responsible" entity out of whole cloth. Maybe its just something he compartmentalizes because he can't bear to be responsible for such darkness. He sees himself as a vigilante hero already, but these are things that are harder to justify.

Still, this ending was even more shocking than (_True Detective _spoiler coming within this spoiler -- fair warning) the Ray Velcoro shooting in _True Detective._



And I am not knocking this show. It is not perfect, the story moved less fluidly this week, and now the tone of some of CS's acting seems a bit off, but this is still the most interesting show in a very long time, and seems almost revolutionary in somewhat the same way that _True Detective _season one was.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

He's a decent anti-hero. He sort of reminds me of Woody Allen.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

While I don't recommend reading interviews with spoilers, I did read this one including both Malek and Slater in which they commented on the timeliness of the show:



> *Rami Malek:* I think people have generally been taken aback. &#8230; How unique and how timely it is. Everything seems to be coalescing at the perfect time for this show. It's a lot of terrible things that are happening the world&#8230;
> 
> *Christian Slater:* But definitely it must be a subject that needs to be clearly addressed; a level of awareness needs to be brought to the dangers of this hacking issue. Look, you turn on the news and its everywhere. When we made the pilot, the Sony hack happened a couple weeks later. Just everyday you watch a story about it and it gets scarier and scarier.
> 
> ...


The disturbing thing is neither this show nor "Person of Interest" are futuristic enough to be called science fiction. They're just fiction about the potential for misuse of currently available technology.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

While this was one of the very few shows coming out this summer that I was looking forward to, I just cannot get into it. And I really can't put my finger on why, it just doesn't hold my attention.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

The problem could be that it is not holding up. The promise of the pilot is not being upheld. That pilot was as good a pilot as I can remember, but each ep since has been a downhill slide from the previous one. It is almost a "_Lost_" situation, where it starts brilliantly and then they lose their way. But Sam Esmail is not J. J. Abrams, a guy with experience and resources behind him. JJ pulled off _Lost_, although they were literally lost with where the story should be going at first. Esmail is brand new at this. The pilot was brilliant, but what have your done for us lately, Sam?

The story is getting so murky and opaque that it is difficult to follow and it is difficult to even know what anyone's motivations are, let alone whether they are real or whether they are an illusion in Elliot's mind. That the story is unique by far and timely is not enough if that story can't be told properly, or if there is no second or third act to support the first act. The skill in storytelling just is not there, and no number of oddly-framed shots or _avante-garde_ shooting angles will ever make up for that. If someone tried to understand what is going on without seeing the pilot first, they would be _really _lost. It's as if the prompter went down on a game show and the emcee started tap dancing.

I could not be more disappointed.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Or it simply could be we need patience as it was only episode 4 and it might not come together until episode...?

I like this review:



> I keep waiting for Mr. Robot to slow down and fulfill its destiny as a forgettable USA Network show (no offense, Monk) but so far Sam Esmail's creation refuses to comply. "Daemons" was the most far-out episode of the series' run.... "Daemons" was blanketed in vagueness and open for interpretation, taking us on a journey to figure things out for ourselves while also not putting too much stress on getting those answers. It was essentially a sequence to remind us what we already knew about Elliot, but done so in striking, jaw-dropping, and more simply, AWEsome fashion.


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## Billzebub (Jan 2, 2007)

I got halfway through the last episode and decided enough is enough. I'm out.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

It's still one of the best shows in awhile for myself and at least 6 people I know who really look forward to Wednesday nights.


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## yosoyellobo (Nov 1, 2006)

I am in.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

There has been a lot tech related shows lately, such as Mr. Robot, Halt and Catch Fire and Humans. I thought that they have been all good. Mr. Robot is a good show.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I still like it, what really helps for me is the realism. They keep the hacking techniques real etc. I lived when they made fun of movies like Hackers. And with the recent news of things like the Chrysler hack, not much is far fetched these days. 

Sent from my Z30 using Tapatalk


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## coolman302003 (Jun 2, 2008)

GeekWire has been detailing more in-depth and explaining how accurate (or inaccurate) the hacking aspects are in the show, most are excellent reads IMO.

Here is the most recent ones ***May contain spoilers***

'Mr. Robot' Rewind: Analyzing human exploits in a wild Episode 5

'Mr. Robot' Rewind: Hunting for flaws in an intense Episode 6

'Mr. Robot' Rewind: True-to-life tech moments in a hack-free Episode 7


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Just an FYI... The season finale, originally scheduled for tonight, is being delayed a week due to a graphic scene similar in nature to today's shootings.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/mr-robot-live-tv-killings-virginia-1201579137/


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Great


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I feel for anybody who ever experiences anything in real life that is similar to a fictional program... but when bad things have happened to me, I just didn't watch TV. Seriously... when I lost my parents (not at the same time) I didn't watch TV for a while... then when I did again, it seemed like every TV show reopened the wounds by having a story about someone losing a parent. Sometimes I would stop watching again... other times I would push through it. I wouldn't have wanted everyone else to change their TV viewing around me, though.

That's all I'll say about that. I haven't seen it reflected in the Dish EPG... so I wonder what they will be airing instead tonight? I also record "Suits" so I'll pay attention and see what comes on after that.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Stewart Vernon said:


> I feel for anybody who ever experiences anything in real life that is similar to a fictional program... but when bad things have happened to me, I just didn't watch TV. Seriously... when I lost my parents (not at the same time) I didn't watch TV for a while... then when I did again, it seemed like every TV show reopened the wounds by having a story about someone losing a parent. Sometimes I would stop watching again... other times I would push through it. I wouldn't have wanted everyone else to change their TV viewing around me, though.
> 
> That's all I'll say about that. I haven't seen it reflected in the Dish EPG... so I wonder what they will be airing instead tonight? I also record "Suits" so I'll pay attention and see what comes on after that.


i'm with you. I decided to stop watching "Mike & Molly" because they pulled crap like this because it was after a hurricane and there was a hurricane in the episode. Stupid....

They showed a re-run of last week's Mr. Robot last night. Now I have to remember and look for next week's episode when/if the guide data changes to record it.


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## gpg (Aug 19, 2006)

The guide data has been updated. The episode will air at 10pm et next Wednesday.


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## longrider (Apr 21, 2007)

Remember that the DVR thinks it already recorded this episode last night so it will not automatically record the airing next week.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

longrider said:


> Remember that the DVR thinks it already recorded this episode last night so it will not automatically record the airing next week.


Exactly. You'll need to manually set it to record.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Fortunately, due to other conflicts, I've been setting manual timers every week for Mr Robot anyway... I just need to remember to delete whatever got recorded last night so I don't forget that I don't need it!


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

For what it's worth... as of tonight (early Friday morning) my Dish DVR has a repeat of NCIS airing in the 10pm slot next week... so not possible to set a proper Dish timer yet.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Stewart Vernon said:


> For what it's worth... as of tonight (early Friday morning) my Dish DVR has a repeat of NCIS airing in the 10pm slot next week... so not possible to set a proper Dish timer yet.


DirecTV's data has the data for the finale.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

It's always weird to me in this age when one or more providers get updated EPG info before others... and not by minutes, but by a day or more. There's not really an excuse for Dish not to have updated EPG info uplinked as soon as DirecTV does. Oh well... I'll keep a lookout!


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Stewart Vernon said:


> It's always weird to me in this age when one or more providers get updated EPG info before others... and not by minutes, but by a day or more. There's not really an excuse for Dish not to have updated EPG info uplinked as soon as DirecTV does. Oh well... I'll keep a lookout!


The method of guide distribution is one excuse for "as soon as" to be slower on DISH. But I agree that DISH should catch up with the next full guide download, which normally occurs overnight or every four hours if the receiver is not in use (on the Hopper).

That being said, Wed 9/2 at 10pm ET now shows Mr. Robot on my Hopper. The timer is showing as "first aired 9/2" and is not skipped.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Yeah... that's why I waited to voice the "complaint" until after my EPG had updated last night... just in case that was why I hadn't seen the EPG change yet. I actually forgot to look tonight, so at this point I'm waiting for my receiver to finish a reboot cycle so I can check... but good to know I can now.

For what it's worth... I typically go through my EPG for my favorite channels about once a week and go out the full extent of the schedule and set timers for the next week or so... then I spot check each night in case of schedule/programming changes and surprises... that's how I noticed this so quickly because it just so happened yesterday was time for my next advance scouting trip through the upcoming 7 days to set timers.


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## Delroy E Walleye (Jun 9, 2012)

Another thing to remember about this program is that if you forget to set the first airing and try to record a later repeat (even on the same night) it may be necessary to add time to your recording. Many times is delayed for at least 5 minutes beyond the guide's listed start time, and cuts the end of the episode off.

(Although USA seems to be "generous" in *providing* titles on demand, it sucks not being able to FF just to get the last missing 5 minutes!)


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Delroy E Walleye said:


> Another thing to remember about this program is that if you forget to set the first airing and try to record a later repeat (even on the same night) it may be necessary to add time to your recording. Many times is delayed for at least 5 minutes beyond the guide's listed start time, and cuts the end of the episode off.
> 
> (Although USA seems to be "generous" in *providing* titles on demand, it sucks not being able to FF just to get the last missing 5 minutes!)


And rumor has it that we'll want to watch after the credits.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Yeah... I used to have issues where I'd set the timer and then a couple of days later the time had shifted 5-10 minutes so my timer would have been ignored if I hadn't reset it! I don't mind weird times, I hate when networks shift it around though.

I could be wrong, but when the Dish EPG finally was correct... I'm only seeing a 10-11pm EDT airing of this, and not the usual late-night repeat airings... so you might need to catch this one first-run.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

So I just got an email from them, and after converting the binary that was in the message, keep watching after the credits tonight.


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## longrider (Apr 21, 2007)

Schedule update, DirecTV guide now shows it as 1:15 run time and repeating 4 times starting at 8 MDT


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

longrider said:


> Schedule update, DirecTV guide now shows it as 1:15 run time and repeating 4 times starting at 8 MDT


DISH has the same EPG update. My timer adjusted to cover the whole program.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

James Long said:


> DISH has the same EPG update. My timer adjusted to cover the whole program.


Yep... I noticed the same thing at some point today... must have happened after the overnight Dish EPG update because prior to that it still was an hour and just one airing.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

When mine updated the time, it removed my extension, so I didn't get the scene afterwards. Got it via streaming, but wow that was annoying. 4 commercials before the episode started, then 4 more when I moved to the credits.


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