“Mr. Robot” is one of the rare shows to make it to mainstream cable television with a perspective which may worry corporate sponsors of cable television. It incorporates elements of hacker and anarchist subcultures within its narrative centering on a network security programmer who moonlights as a cyber-vigilante and hacktivist ringleader. Series such as this are all too rare but much needed for their ability to introduce and/or spread important information through the collective imagination. It’s also one of the first television shows to speak to and reflect segments of contemporary countercultures.

Given the nature of its format, an episodic series on the USA Network (though it is the network that produced Night Flight), it’s vulnerable to censorship and cooptation. However, as it stands now it’s a refreshingly subversive voice in the basic cable wilderness.

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Pilot episode can also be viewed here.