Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror

[Reply #40 on:]

I watched the entire series (so far) recently, and I really loved it for the most part. The storylines are truly ingenious, as are the twists they usually pack - and you've gotta admire any tv show that can induce multiple existential crises.

My two favourite episodes so far would be Fifteen Million Merits and White Bear. The former was a slow burn, but the last 15 minutes or so was one of the most devastating things I've ever seen on television, and the latter was incredibly suspenseful the entire way through, with a truly genius twist that recontextualised everything brilliantly.

The National Anthem and Be Right Back were also brilliant (hell, reading a synopsis of The National Anthem is what made me check out the show to begin with, and it definitely did not disappoint ) - the latter in particular really got to me, because the motivations of the main character were rooted so deep in my own greatest fears, their actions remained completely understandable no matter how insane the story became.

I wasn't particularly impressed by The Entire History of You or The Waldo Moment, though. Both had decent enough ideas (particularly the former, which could've been something incredible had they taken the idea of the memory-recording technology and applied it towards something more interesting than a bland plot about trust in relationships), but their execution really left something to be desired.

White Christmas was also great, though I couldn't help but feel that Brooker was trying to pack too much into one special. There was definitely enough in here for at least two proper episodes of the show, and it would've been nice to see some of the ideas explored a little further (namely the concept of "blocking" people in real life, and making digital copies of one's consciousness to do minor tasks for them).

Overall, however, the show's resonated very deeply with me, and I'm really looking forward to season 3.

[Reply #41 on:]

It sounds like a really cool show and I'm definitely planning on giving it a go. It sounds both interesting and frightening.

[Reply #42 on:]

I wish they'd give us some news about the third series that they've working away on.

I also wish they'd give us some news about the American remake there have been rumblings of. I'd love for Brooker to exec produce an American version that hires loads of writers to work to his vision, meaning that we get like 10-13 American Black Mirror episodes a year, plus our 3, bi-annual Charlie Brooker-written, British episodes.

[Reply #43 on:]

Old-ish news, but 6 brand new episodes of the show will arrive on Netflix on the 21st October, 3 of which are written by Charlie Brooker.

Episode titles:

1. San Junipero
2. Shut Up and Dance
3. Nosedive
4. Men Against Fire
5. Hated in the Nation
6. Playtest

10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg has both written & directed the sixth episode, so I greatly look forward to that. Also, Wyatt Russell is in it!

[Reply #44 on:]

What was the twist in ten cloverfield lane?

[Reply #45 on:]

What was the twist in ten cloverfield lane?

Show spoiler

Howard turns out to be crazy but also he was right about an attack above the bunker, which turns out to be aliens.

[Reply #46 on:]

That's pretty good.

[Reply #47 on:]

.

[Reply #48 on:]

So I've heard.  How many episodes are they grabbing?

[Reply #49 on:]

12 in total, split into two runs of 6. I assume the next 6 (season 4) will be up on Netflix in 2017.

[Reply #50 on:]

Yay, more than three episodes whenever I watch again!  I still have the christmas ep to watch.

[Reply #51 on:]

I still have the christmas ep to watch.

The fates of the characters in that one are reaaaal grim.

[Reply #52 on:]

Do they like bacon?

[Reply #53 on:]

I just finished series 3 and I feel like it's the best to date.

"Nosedive" is basically identical in premise to that incredible Meowmeowbeanz episode of Community but who cares? It's really interesting to see it played "straight", even if the episode doesn't shy away from the unavoidable satire and darkly comic undertones. This was my favourite of series 3.

"Playtest" was pretty simplistic but it was an enjoyable, little horror romp. It felt like a Black Mirror B-side, but that's fine now that the series are twice as long.

"Shut Up and Dance" was great. A real edge of your seat sort of episode. The "twist" was incredibly obvious to me from the start, but it was still a great watch and one that stayed with me more than anything else this series.

"San Junipero" was the one weak link this series for me despite it seeming to be one of the very favourites of everyone else. I loved the aesthetic, I loved the premise and the montage at the end was absolutely wonderful. I didn't like the incredibly dull 40 minute dry-hump before anything interesting started to happen. This is the first episode of the series that I felt would have strongly benefitted from the running time being trimmed.

"Men Against Fire" was great. I kind of wish they'd, once again, trimmed the running time considerably and hadn't felt the need to spell everything out as blatantly as they did at the end, but I enjoyed it a hell of a lot all the same.

"Hated in the Nation" was another great. A very silly premise handled with absolute sincerity to the point that it becomes a gripping tale and a harrowing exploration of the contemporary condition - which is basically what Black Mirror is all about. Once again, I felt like it could have been trimmed quite a bit, but it was a good end for the season.


Overall, I'm very impressed with what we were given. The increase in budget is hugely noticable and that's only a good thing - especially with how some of the episodes retain the low-end, gritty feel of the earlier series all the same.

[Reply #54 on:]

Series 4 of Black Mirror came out today. What did you guys think?

[Reply #55 on:]

Series 4 of Black Mirror came out today. What did you guys think?

"USS Callister" was the best episode of the series & the entire show, narrowly topping "White Christmas".

"Arkangel" was a nice plot, I think the mother deserved what she got.

"Crocodile" was a little convoluted, the ending was the darkest yet somehow funniest BM scene yet. I loved the place where they lived (Iceland, it looked like???) and the retro-looking memory tech.

"Hang The DJ" was a nice, more lighthearted story. I still don't quite get the ending, though?

"Metalhead" was meh, not boring but not particulalrly interesting, either.

"Black Museum" felt like a rehash of ideas we've seen a thousand times before in BM, but I really liked the Rolo Haynes character.

Overall, much better than series 3, but the second half was weaker than the first half.

[Reply #56 on:]

I definitely agree on "USS Callister" being the best episode of Black Mirror. It was feature length, but felt like a complete packaged episode with everything I could have wanted from the series. It reminded me of Futurama's "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" in places as well.

My second favourite was "Black Museum". It was basically "White Christmas II", but with a happy ending and had a series finale feel to it with all the Black Mirror references. The short story with the Doctor having a Pain addiction was an idea Karl Pilkington had, funnily enough.

Controversial pick for my third favourite, but I quite enjoyed "Metalhead". It was drastically different from a usual Black Mirror episode, as it doesn't really have much of a plot and is mostly a 30 minute chase sequence with a Robot Dog. It's shot quite beautifully and has quite a bleak tone to it throughout. I could see why people didn't like it, though.

The remaining three were the weaker half. "Crocodile" had big potential, but is mostly a straightforward murder killing spree story with an interesting twist that elevates it up a bit for me. "Hang the DJ" was good, but felt like it was trying so hard to be like Series 3's "San Junipero". Finally, "Arkangel" was a bit too bland and predictable for me to love.

I can't believe people are saying this is the worst season. I think Series 4 might be my favourite.

[Reply #57 on:]

I saw the one with the Prime Minister.

[Reply #58 on:]

Andy?

[Reply #59 on:]

"USS Callister" was great but it felt like lesser Black Mirror to me. It was far, far, far too long and it basically just re-explored concepts from past episodes (most obviously White Christmas).

"Arkangel" was a decent premise but it's one of the worst episodes of the show to date. It just didn't really seem to know what to do with its plot after the initial premise was established. None of it played out in a particularly interesting way.

"Crocodile" was good but similarly lesser and just re-hashing old premises.

"Hang the DJ" was outstanding. The best of season 4 for me and one of the show's all-time best. I've heard it compared to "San Junipero" but I thought it was much better, personally. It was a good exploration of love and relationships with a decent sense of humour and I loved the ending. This episode also gave us one of the only new sci-fi concepts this season.

"Metalhead" was absolutely fantastic. I loved how simple and stripped down it all was. It was basically Black Mirror doing horror instead of sci-fi and I'm fine with that. Honestly, it's one of my favourites of the new batch - maybe of the show to date.

"Black Museum" was also excellent. The first segment was another horror story and I'd say the 2nd (and last) new sci-fi concept given to us this episode. The middle segment was absurdly close to that Karl Pilkington movie idea (to say that the first one was also something he's suggested) which took me out of it, but I still really enjoyed it - particularly the monkey toy aspect. The final segment was good. My only real complaint is that the first segment doesn't tie into the overall story like the last two both did. It's weird to have two connected stories and one that just feels completely disconnected like that.


Overall, I absolutely love Black Mirror and I hope it doesn't take too long for us to get more episodes. I can't say that I agree that it was better than season 3. There were more amazing episodes in this one than 3, but I'd say 3 was far more consistently fantastic if that makes sense. I also disagree that the second half was worse. After the first three episodes, I felt like this was setting out to be the worst season of the show to date and one that signalled Brooker was completely out of fresh ideas - one that suggests the show should end. The last three are what won me over. I loved them all. This season did feel like a departure from the previous three in that it's less about exploring sci-fi ideas and concepts and far more about characters and their emotional stories. I think that's likely down to Brooker running out of ideas, quite honestly. Still, if it leads to stuff like Metalhead then I'm fine with it.

And Danny:

"Hang The DJ" was a nice, more lighthearted story. I still don't quite get the ending, though?

The idea was that those two saw each other in a bar and used a dating app like Tinder but it's a mad sci-fi version of it that calculates how compatible you both are for a long-term relationship.
To calculate that, it runs simulations where it basically puts "cookie" versions of you both through the scenario of living in that world where you go through all these relationships and tears you apart from each other by saying you're a match with other people. If the cookies "rebel" against the system to be with each other, then they're considered a successful match.
The app runs the test 1,000 times in unison. We were watching test number 998 for the bulk of the episode. Once they all finished, they were added up which is how the app came to the number that the couple were a 99.8% match for each other.
The implication being that the real versions of those two will now approach in that bar and, being such an amazing match for each other, go on to be together forever after.

[Reply #60 on:]

Thanks for the explanation, cyber! Makes much more sense to me now. My only complaint about that episode is that I felt it didn't explain what exactly was going on very clearly, either that, or I'm just a bit slow.