Review: 'Bad Robots'

Hidden camera shows have been a staple of television since its earliest days, and at this point, it's difficult to come up with a new twist on the genre. But Channel 4 manages to pull out a successful try with the new series BAD ROBOTS.

The premise is that humanity has been abusing and carelessly discarding machines for decades. So the machines are striking back by creating new pieces of technology designed to terrorize and frustrate unsuspecting humans.

It's really all an excuse to introduce hidden camera stunts in which people encounter machines that have gone horribly, horribly wrong. There's an automated photo-booth that frustratingly sends its users through nonsensical preparations before taking carnival house-of-mirror photos and then threatening to send them to social media. Or the parking lot ticket machine that continues to ask increasingly insane questions before teasing customers with tickets it quickly withdraws before they can grab them.

There's nothing groundbreaking here, but with the emphasis on technology gone wrong, it's a fun twist that does lead to a lot of laughs. And I do appreciate this show more than the recent hidden camera attempts I've recently seen on American television (yes, Howie Mandel, I'm looking at you).