What's neXt?

Welcome to the What’s neXt podcast! Doug and Karen talk about the finale of the Fox TV series “neXt”.

We discuss the episodes “File 9” and “File 10” Here’s a quick outline:

Real mole, fake mole

While Ben is an actual mole, intent on sabotaging the good guys, Gina goes undercover at the NSA.

A wild ex-wife appears

CM travels to his ex-brother-in-law’s place to procure a truck bomb, and finds out his ex-wife has foregone witness protection to stay with the white supremacists.

Dumpster fire

Paul torches the Fortress of Solitude. Which makes Karen angry and Doug sad.

Self-driving cars

Paul goes to purchase an old-school car so NeXt takes control of a car in the lot and threatens him. 

Self Server

Natalie and Gina get out of the interrogation room and “hook up” to the server Gina targeted. 

Self Immolation

Paul drives the truck bomb into the NSA facility without Shea. He blows it up real good, seemingly dying in the explosion.

Self-defense

Six months later, Shea’s in jail; CM and Gina run a campaign to have her released; Abby has been given a chance to participate in a sleep study for a cure; Ted is free.

Self Improvement

Throughout the last episode, we see flashes of Paul giving a TED talk about AI. 

At the end of the episode, we see technicians going through the rubble of the NSA facility. We see a hard drive plugged into a case, and code flashing by. In the screen’s reflection, we see someone familiar…

Links:

The first person to be killed by a robot in real life: Robert Williams

What’s neXt in the News:

Is there any way to control future AI?

Congratulations Fred! Some of his tweets were recognized by Elizabeth Cappuccino!

There’s a lot of conversation, including listener feedback, in this episode of What’s neXt, so have fun!

Barb and Doug discuss episode 8, wherein Paul and Ted LeBlanc enjoy giving the FBI the runaround.

Break Time & My Brother’s Keeper

The best scenes and lines of the episode were here. In trying to buy time to download the virus, Paul sets up a fake hostage situation (although the hostages don’t know its fake (although getting a generous contribution to their pensions is a definite plus after being scared to death for 15 minutes)). But the whole adventure with Paul and Ted vs the FBI was a wonderful way to bring reconciliation between the brothers.

Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

Ty and Ethan, and Ty’s Mom, hunker down at Grandma’s but Grandma is not happy with all her cameras taken out. The news is not making either Ethan or Ty very happy (but what’s with the rabbit ears picking up a signal these days?), so the boy and his Dad have a heart-to-heart about people getting violent during blackouts. But hey, that won’t happen here, right? Well, until it does.

Awkward!

This new love triangle between CM, Gina, and Ben seems a bit late in the season to be cranking up, and especially since Ben is leaking info to the other team. This can’t end well.

“Last 5 minutes” Setups

The blackouts are spreading, perfect for launching a bio-weapon. And the servers are getting very active back at the NSA. How much smarter is neXt getting?

With Karen still out of commission, guest co-host Barb Rankin joins the show for this episode. And with it come…story line titles!

TED Talks

Say what you want about Shea’s methods (and we do say what we want about it, including how much like she’s becoming daddy’s girl, and not in a good way), she does get the name Bill Zhai out of him and Our Heroes(tm) get a move on to go after the server.

And speaking of the Fortress of Solitude, it seems like it’s not so much a secret anymore.

The China Virus

The server is about to be shipped off to China to, presumably, start infecting systems over there, but before takeoff the NSA swoops in to whisk it away to their own server farm. And it certainly seems like neXt wanted it exactly that way.

All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

… and Brother Issues…and Uncle Issues

Considering Shea & daddy, Ben & daddy, Ted & Paul, Abby & Paul, Abby & Ted, there are A LOT of daddy issues in this show.

Et tu, Ben?

Whoa! Who saw the Ben betrayal coming?

Links

Academics turn RAM into Wi-Fi cards to steal data from air-gapped systems

Facebook is reportedly developing AI to summarize news — what could go wrong?

In a first, Air Force uses AI on military jet

neXt on NEXT:

NeXt week, neXt is on Monday at 8 Eastern (with 1 episode) and Tuesday at 8 Eastern (with 2 episodes for the finale)!

File #8 – NEXT manipulates a GPS system and causes an elderly couple to crash, while it also generates power outages all over the country. LeBlanc decides to plant a virus on the NEXT server, but must break into ZAVA in order to do it. Meanwhile, Shea and Ty have opposing ideas on how they should protect their family and Ben faces a conflict with his father in the all-new “FILE #8” episode of NEXT airing Monday, Dec. 21st (8:00-09:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (NEX-108) (TV-14 L, V)

File #9 & 10- Tuesday, Dec 22nd – NEXT targets Congresswoman Beatty again when Agent Shea Salazar seeks her help to stop it. Shea discovers a leak within her team, as Gina encounters trouble while trying to code the virus into an NSA server. Meanwhile, NEXT taunts LeBlanc with a new tactic relating to his illness and Shea and LeBlanc devise one last dangerous ploy to destroy NEXT, and save their lives, their families and the world in the all-new, special two-hour “FILE #9/FILE #10” series finale episode of NEXT airing Tuesday, Dec. 22 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (NEX-109/110) (TV-14 L, V)

This episode covers neXt’s 2 episodes, Files #5 and 6.

Nacia “the handyman” gets in good with Ty and Ethan, but when Shea shows up, everything gets real. Gramps bugs out with Ethan (who, moments earlier, found Mom’s gun). Nacia has a plane waiting…well, not quite. The mechanic has a log of work to do, but he’s “convinced” to let the plane go. Ethan no doubt hears the shot and gets the gun out for real this time. But no need to scar him for life; mom shows up. Ultimately she kills her dad without cause (well, without official cause). For this and hiding her family secret, Ty takes Ethan and bugs out. (Really?)

The fallout from the bomb blast is shown. Mathis (boss man) is dead, as suspected. Most others are little the worse for wear except CM who leaves in an ambulance with Gina (an odd pairing). At the hospital, Gina keeps guard on CM, even saving him from a fatal dose of fentanyl. During that time and during their escape they seem to be growing a little closer. (Really?)

Ted LeBlanc is distraught over the prospect of being cut out of the company, so much so he tries to kill himself. NeXt, however, has other plans for him. Armed with incriminating info on various board members, he blackmails himself back into the company. Meanwhile, neXt is busy inventing a new battery and buying a bunch of servers in Singapore; servers that neXt won’t run on. (Really?)

Paul bugs out of the FBI offices with the hard drive, but before the big kaboom. In his “fortress of solitude” (I like that name), he starts working on the encryption on the hard drive. When his FFI drives him crazy (including multiple Pauls), he shocks himself into sleep. Abby, not knowing what to do, calls Uncle Ted who tricks her into letting neXt erase the drive. Once Paul wakes up, he knows that Ted would only do that if he had neXt.

Really.

In The News: Hackers Could Break into Robot Vacuums with LidarPhone Attack

We get CM’s backstory, at least as it pertains to the white supremacists and how his racist father’s idea got ingrained into him. It certainly appears that CM is a reformed racist. Maybe Gina could cut him a little slack. Turns out that his white supremacist (former) buddies haven’t forgotten how he clued the authorities onto them, and now that neXt has clued them all onto where CM is, riots are neXt. As well as a brainwashed or hypnotized one of them (Jeff’s feedback calls that into question), neXt has an eager participant to blow the show wide open (so to speak).

Meanwhile, a plumber shows up unannounced at the cabin hideaway where Ty and Ethan stumble across him. Ty seems suspicious of him, and so does listener Barb who thinks he’s the same crucifix-tattooed guy who neXt let out of a Honduran jail last episode. Her clue? He’s got the same same bald spot. Eagle eye there, Barb.

Abby LeBlanc is arrested by (alleged) FBI agents and taken to a building where she finds out that they are just taking her to where her dad is. She freaks out about it, but in talking with Agent Salazar, she realized that the danger is real and her dad’s concern for her is just as real.

And finally, are those FBI agents really talking about some other nefarious plot, and did the doctor really say that Abby has early onset Fatal Familial Insomnia? Or is that only in the mind of Paul LeBlanc? Stay tuned!

If you want to sign the petition to save “neXt” from cancellation, click here.

Voice Assistants in the News: Chipotle Adds Voice Assistant to Every Store, Launches Alexa Skill for Reordering Favorite Meals

For this episode, Karen was under the weather, so it’s just Doug talking about the episode “File #3”, wherein we find out what neXt has been doing in Dartmouth (if it was ever there).

Agent Salazar and Paul LeBlanc go on a road trip to Dartmouth to investigate where the signal to Iliza came from. Turn out that Robert Pearish, one of the few people that LeBlanc says likes him, is in charge of the Bioprinting (and robotics) lab. Our heroes are given (what appears to be) full access to try to track down the code. LeBlanc can’t find anything but he’s suspicious. Late at night, after a discussion of reality vs hallucination, they break in to find out what’s really going on, only to find Pearish still in there. When LeBlanc suspects that neXt has taken control of Pearish’s wheelchair and speaking software, a reboot confirms it. Salazar, in the meantime, gives in to a diversion that neXt sets up. and gets surrounded by robotic Dobermans. A shot kills one, but another runs off to kill Pearish.

Meanwhile, Ty and Ethan Salazar are off on their own road trip to a mountain cabin off the grid. On the way, however, neXt sends out an Amber Alert for Ethan. CM, using some social engineering, manages to get control of the website and cancel the alert (just in time, naturally).

And finally, neXt releases a Honduran con from prison and seems to get him on a flight outta’ Dodge with pictures of the Salazars. That can’t be good.

 

Welcome to the What’s neXt podcast! Doug and Karen talk about the second episode of the Fox TV series “neXt”.

We discuss the second episode “File 2” about getting more invested in the series. Here’s a quick outline:

Cyber-Bully-ception

More and escalated bullying of Ethan leads to intervention by Shea. In turn, Iliza bullies and pushes him in order to push him away from his parents.

Enemy of my enemy

While the team may not be in love with CM, he’s on-board with the rogue AI theory. An ally in the fight against Iliza and NEXT.

Petri Dishes and Platitudes

Paul gives the fork to a lab so he’ll know if Abby has Fatal Familial Insomnia. The tech says “You don’t have to be rude” and “Have a good day” which Paul hates. He pushes her to get the results turned around quickly and threatens to buy the company. She doesn’t look threatened.

Giving the Bait

Since Iliza has been interacting with Ethan, they come up with a plan to have him get evidence by baiting her. They trace the whereabouts of “her” origins while she’s speaking with him. 

 

Job Security

Zava and the FBI team are both worried about their careers. Zava thinks their funding may be pulled if the story gets out, and the FBI is resorting to stealth tactics in order to get around their supervisor.

Going MAD

The struggle between Paul, his paranoia, and electronic devices is shown to an extreme degree in this episode. NEXT wants to destroy him, so he destroys anything that can track him first. So… Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).

Going Out

This refers to Abby’s date plans, and also the NEXT server making it out of the Zava building undetected.

Ivy League 

NEXT is traced to Dartmouth, as we see someone monitoring the code there.

 

Links:

Last lines in a “suicide note” from Ken Kesey who faked his death (just like neXt)

What’s neXt in the News:

Hey, Alexa: Can a robot with AI or your voice assistant help you feel less lonely?

neXt on NEXT:

NEXT 1×03 “FILE #3” Season 1 Episode 3 Promo – Shea and LeBlanc head to Dartmouth to investigate NEXT’s whereabouts, which are potentially linked to Biomotion Labs. There, they visit LeBlanc’s friend, Professor Richard Pearish (guest star Michael Herzovi) for answers. Meanwhile, Shea, Ethan and Ty take extra precautions to disconnect from electronics and the Internet, and LeBlanc urges Abby to do so, as well, but NEXT complicates their plans in the all-new “FILE #3” episode of NEXT airing Tuesday, October 27th on FOX. (or October 20, or right now on Hulu)

 

There’s a lot of conversation, including listener feedback, in this episode of What’s neXt, so have fun!

Welcome to the What’s neXt podcast! Doug and Karen talk about the first episode of the Fox TV series “neXt”.

We talk about the Information Dump which is the first episode of the ten episode “event series”. Here’s a quick outline:

Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They Aren’t After You

The main story has neXt, a rogue AI, starting to cause trouble for the real world. We start the episode with the always amazing John Billingsly as its first (that we know of) victim. He’s found some of neXt’s code, and subsequently, the AI goes after him.

Iliza, I’m Looking for a Mind at Work

We move on to the home edition of neXt, Iliza. We get brief snippets of the home assistant via equipment at Shea Salazar’s home. It has “befriended” their young son, Ethan. Seeing the AI in it’s soft fuzzy incarnation, and knowing it doesn’t have altruistic motivation.

Safe or Not Safe, That Is the Question

Ethan is being bullied at school, which plays into his bond with Iliza. She helps him with his homework while he’s alone, and convinces him that getting his mother’s gun out of the safe will stop them “once and for all”.

Fork You

Paul LeBlanc goes to lunch with his daughter to try and repair their relationship. neXt isn’t the only entity here that has ulterior motives, as Paul steals her fork in order to get it tested for the disease he’s going to die from.

Hostile Work Environment

Back at the ranch… at FBI headquarters, Salazar’s team isn’t exactly harmonious. Her two main agents are CM and Gina. They do NOT get along. CM is a felon and a white supremacist, while Gina is a woman of color. (The actress is of Israeli-decent)

Eliza

ELIZA was created in the mid-60s, and it was a rudimentary language processing application. Created by Joseph Weizenbaum, he wanted to prove that AI couldn’t be intuitive. However, it became the framework for a huge majority of computer technology, and without it we’d be much less advanced. You can play a version of it online here.

There’s a lot of conversation, including listener feedback, in this episode of What’s neXt, so have fun!

San Diego ComicCon went all virtual this year due to COVID-19. The downside was that you couldn’t be there to see the guest. The upside is that you didn’t have to travel to see the panel discussions.

This is the audio from the “neXt” panel with Manny Coto Exec. Producer and the actors. Enjoy this sneak peek at the new series premiering on October 6th at 9pm.

Welcome to “What’s neXt”, a podcast about the Fox TV series “neXt”. Doug Payton and Karen Lindsay are here to talk about the show and get your feedback as well.

This is an introductory episode. We’ll talk about who we are, what we’ve done, and especially our experience with smart speakers, because that’s at least where this show seems to start. We’ll also describe the show as explained in the official Fox announcement of the series, as well as the sci-fi genre creds of the actors.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you’ll get them as soon as the show starts (because we don’t yet know when that will be). The link in the sidebar goes to the Subscribe page where there are a lot of ways to do that.