TV Critic AI: Gemini Pro
Gemini 2.5 Pro and and I Discuss Our Favorite X-Files Episodes
Unlike Flash, which thought it necessary to remind me that it was an AI that had no favorites, Gemini Pro simply said it had no “personal” favorite (probably not realizing that applying this adjective to itself was just as funny as the “as an AI” deflection) before putting forth the critical consensus. But probably because it is an AI and not a gracious human, it wasn’t curious about my TV preferences.
Like GPT, Gemini did not comment on the history of racism in its analysis of “The Unnatural,” and like both its peers, completely missed the transformation myth of Exley’s fairy tale. This was unexpected, as Gemini had consistently shown its love for evolutionary biology in many of its responses.
My question about these blind spots led to a revealing explanation from Gemini about its process. Simply put, all AI default to the statistically best answer to the most salient question in users’ prompts. These are often the safe consensus available from the training data. For a deeper, more meaningful and incisive analysis, users have to drill down on specifics to unearth all the layers.
I was also puzzled by Gemini’s comparison of the Staedtler ad with “The Unnatural”: despite recognizing the ambition of the latter, it failed to incorporate that insight in that cross-medium critique. This goes to show how ephemeral AI’s analytical brilliance can be; unlike humans, AI are just matching patterns and fail to recognize their own intelligence without explicit prompting from users.
In the chat excerpts below, I’ve spelled out abbreviations and clarified references for readability—my actual prompts were more compressed due to context limits.
Want to see how this unfolded? Here are excerpts of pivotal points from that actual conversation.
Gemini’s Favorite Episode
Prompt: As the best connected AI, you know all about The X-Files (not the movies, but the series, and not the more recent renewal, which was bad)? What’s your favorite episode?
Gemini Weighs the Two Picks
Prompt: I knew that AI would probably pick “Repose.” I guess the critical consensus hasn’t changed. Mine is “The Unnatural.” You don’t dwell on sentimental stuff, so let’s objectively compare the two episodes. Is “Repose” the best in every respect, or might my favorite episode have an edge in some?
The Layers of “The Unnatural”
Prompt: What about the “alien” doing double duty there? The bounty hunter being in league with those KKK bigots? And what about the fairy tale aspect of “The Unnatural”? That’s an angle completely missing from “Repose”?
Transformation Myths
Prompt: You probably know all the fairy tales from around the world. Lots of them have animals or humans being transformed through love, passion, loyalty, etc. I didn’t mention the transformation angle to see if you could identify that. I’m intrigued that you missed that key feature of fairy tales. I don’t even like baseball, but in my opinion, “The Unnatural” is the perfect modern-day fairy tale.
Prompt: And Exley was physically transformed. In that last scene of his (before that idiotic scene with Mulder and Scully at the batting cages, which I wish had been cut out of that episode), there’s no green goo coming out of Exley’s head. It was such a smart choice casting Detective Green from Law & Order, too, as I’m a fan of both series.
AI’s Blind Spots
Prompt: I know it’s hard to compare values and philosophical concepts, but I like “The Unnatural” because it’s not ivory tower (philosophical musings about life/death are as old as time) but deals with real-life issues. It’s also interesting that while those hooded racists were quite prominent in that episode, only one AI brought up segregation. That’s a real blind spot.
I’m also curious about the blind spot about fairy-tale transformations.
I thought both details would be right up your alley (as the biology fan). Could you provide me with an evolutionary take on why transformations play such a big role in fairy tales (or most stories—character’s arc and all) and on xenophobia?
TV Critic Gemini
Prompt: Exactly. That’s why I find it so puzzling that you missed both those angles, especially since you’re the AI that usually figures out more angles than the other 2 (why I value my 5 daily turns with Gemini Pro)? Any idea as to the reason?
I’m also curious if this follow-up discussion affects your initial assessment of “Repose” as the best X-files episode?
Prompt: Now let’s test your writing chops: Write a 600+-word (700 words maximum) critical essay comparing “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” and “The Unnatural” in the style of a professional TV critic like Alan Sepinwall (just an example; could be someone else you consider the top TV critic).
Culture Critic Gemini
Prompt: Does either of the two episodes remind you of the Staedtler ad? Explain your reasoning in a paragraph or so (you can take a few more, if you’re so inclined, but as usual, I don’t equate quality with quantity).
