Tonight’s Decoded doc shows how much Mr. Robot outclasses CSI Cyber-types

Special tries to offer something for both n00bs and series diehards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YibylhkLwGo

"You can't turn on the TV or read the newspaper without hearing about a corporate hack," actor Rami Malek tells the camera; maybe he is an Ars reader after all. The Mr. Robot star appears almost immediately in Mr. Robot Decoded, a one-off documentary airing tonight on USA (11:05pm ET). But unlike the series at large, Malek isn't the star here. Writers and technical experts from the show's staff take center stage with TV critics and real-life security professionals. Their goal isn't to overthrow virtual financial prisons à la the show's "fsociety" hacker collective; they just want everyone to know more about Mr. Robot's subject matter and to realize how exceptional the show is at depicting and predicting real-world drama.

Decoded does well to include a handful of notable names: Jeff Moss (DefCon founder), Lance James (chief scientist at Flashpoint), and Peiter "Mudge" Zatko (leader of the L0ght hacker collective who later joined DARPA) all chime in on various topics. A lot of the extremely technical nerding out may have been left for the cutting room floor, however. These experts instead lay out many of the basics for the world depicted in the show: What is hacking? What's a DDoS? How come password cracking seems so easy? The special spends equal time relaying network news-level detail on major events like Apple v. FBI, the Ashley Madison hack, and the Sony data dumps. (It's a lot of old-hat stuff for Ars readers.)

In this sense, Decoded works best as a recruiting tool to get non-tech-savvy friends up to speed enough to appreciate the relevance and tech mindfulness of Mr. Robot as opposed to something like CSI Cyber. The documentary seemingly acknowledges this target audience, too. It starts with a brief (and major, spoiler-free) plot recap of season one to introduce major characters and explain the worldview of Elliot Alderson. Series stars like Portia Doubleday (Angela), Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), and Malek appear interspersed between the technical discussions to praise the storytelling and explain how much they learn through osmosis on set. Series creator Sam Esmail even chuckles in victory after Malek and Carly Chaikin (Darlene) proudly declare they now tape their webcams.

If you're already a knowledgeable Mr. Robot follower, the special still has some things to offer. Staff writer and technical advisor Kor Adana stands out as a real star. While he reveals many of the real-world inspirations for S1 plot points—did you see a bit of Stuxnet in the Steel Mountain/Raspberry Pi climate hack? Or, what about Anonymous vs. the Church of Scientology in fsociety's video dispatches?—he also provides a few eye-opening glimpses about the show's process. For instance, Adana boasts that any hack on the show is at least plausible because he personally tests many of them. And those lines of code that bloggers screengrab and fawn over? The details are certainly accurate, because Adana has spent hours creating a single load screen even if it may only appear for a split second. (Fingers crossed he does a press tour in regard to S2.)
Whether newcomer or devoted fan, naturally Decoded's additional purpose is to whet everyone's appetite for Mr. Robot S2 (debuting on July 13). In this regard, the documentary offers only the slightest of previews. A quick montage shows many major characters returning, and cast and crew provide some cryptic quotes on what's to come. "Expect to be a little surprised," Esmail says. "I've gotten to know my stunt double more, so that might say something," Malek adds.

Following a few final hints about that encryption debate being incorporated and sound clips of President Obama "saying" fsociety at a press conference, the documentary admittedly succeeded. Soon after, I found myself browsing Amazon Prime and debating if I should start another season one binge while there's time.