While in the Two-Headed Dog, Andy, Pete and Oliver are discussing what they should call the robots, eventually settling on Blanks because theyre effectively shells of their former selves, naught but robots in human form. The way the blanks are explained and named is a direct homage to The Invasion Of the Body Snatchers, if only with the plants being replaced by a seemingly-benevolent intergalactic organisation. They too are emotionless, and in another reference to the film, the pod person scream emitted whenever they come across a human is later copied during the Networks search for the humans, albeit with a more electronic twist.