Black Mirror

[Famous Mortimer]

Charlie Brooker's 2014 Wipe made the year again. Subversive bit in the middle that I don't think the BBC would have cleared.

Yeah, I usually like Adam Curtis but I thought that bit was dumb and not really thought out. The world is complex so it must be a conspiracy? Huh?

[Mr. Morden]

*bump*

Rumors that an American version of the show might happen at some point in the near-ish future, but nothing really concrete:

http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/28/media/black-mirror-american-adaptation/

[Grumpier Than Thou]

We just watched the episode "15 Million Merits" in my digital culture class last week. Very powerful stuff.

[doktorb]

"digital culture class"?

I'm so old.

[Nutmeg]

How do you guys rank the episodes?
For me:
1. The Entire History of You
2. Be Right Back
3. The National Anthem
4. The Waldo Moment
5. White Bear
6. Fifteen Million Merits

I'd say:
1. White Bear
2. The National Anthem
3. Be Right Back
4. The Waldo Moment
5. The Entire History of You
6. Fifteen Million Merits

[Mr. Morden]

How do you guys rank the episodes?
For me:
1. The Entire History of You
2. Be Right Back
3. The National Anthem
4. The Waldo Moment
5. White Bear
6. Fifteen Million Merits

I'd say:
1. White Bear
2. The National Anthem
3. Be Right Back
4. The Waldo Moment
5. The Entire History of You
6. Fifteen Million Merits

Really?  You guys both thought 15 Million Merits was the worst?  For me, it was easily the best, with Waldo being the clear choice for worst (not that it was *bad*, just OK, while all the others were quite good).  The others are somewhere in the middle, and hard to rank.  But I guess I'd go with:

1) 15 Million Merits
2) The Entire History of You
3) White Christmas
4) Be Right Back
5) White Bear
6) National Anthem
7) The Waldo Moment

[Joe Republic]

Finished it a few days ago:

1) White Christmas
2) Be Right Back
3) 15 Million Merits
4) The Entire History Of You
5) White Bear
6) The National Anthem
7) The Waldo Moment

The Lady and I tried to watch the whole series but she couldn't go further than The National Anthem.  Bestiality isn't really her thing. 

[afleitch]

I can't grade them. It's like deciding which rose has the least appealing fragrance.

Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe is back. Enjoy it while you can.

[homelycooking]

"The Waldo Moment" was, in spite of its flaws, appropriately unkind to the Liberal Democrats.

[Joe Republic]

"The Waldo Moment" was, in spite of its flaws, appropriately unkind to the Liberal Democrats.

In fairness, that seat was safe Tory, with Labour typically a distant second, and the Lib Dems barely registering.  Those kinds of seats are fairly common in the UK, especially now.

[Mr. Morden]

The Lady and I tried to watch the whole series but she couldn't go further than The National Anthem.  Bestiality isn't really her thing. 

I've actually seen quite a number of people in online discussions who said that they watched The National Anthem, and were so turned off by it that they gave up on the series.  So now when I recommend the show to somebody, I suggest that they skip that one and come back to it later.

[homelycooking]

"The Waldo Moment" was, in spite of its flaws, appropriately unkind to the Liberal Democrats.

In fairness, that seat was safe Tory, with Labour typically a distant second, and the Lib Dems barely registering.  Those kinds of seats are fairly common in the UK, especially now.

I don't think anyone mentions the Liberal Democrat by name until the returning officer at the count does in the final moments of the episode.

"Vote for Monroe or Harris or UKIP, or, I dunno, even that LibDem guy!"

"You're in third place, mate - you overtook that LibDem prick!"

[Mr. Morden]

*bump*

OK, as I said, there had been talk of an American version.  That still might happen.  However, it looks like Netflix is trying to lure Brooker away from Channel 4, and just make Black Mirror as a Netflix exclusive:

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-05-12/charlie-brookers-black-mirror-will-be-back---but-could-be-made-by-netflix-not-channel-4

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[Mr. Morden]

*bump*

Charlie Brooker's working on a new season of the show, and it'll apparently now be produced by Netflix:

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-09-07/charlie-brookers-black-mirror-to-become-a-netflix-show

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Only three episodes a season? Is it more of a series of television specials.

But with a proxy app I can watch Netflix anywhere in the world. Is it on the UK Netflix?

[Oakvale]

It's on UK Netflix assuming that's what we get here BRTD.

[Mr. Morden]

Only three episodes a season? Is it more of a series of television specials.

It’s an anthology series, so sure, I guess you could say that. 

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Last I heard, every episode except for “White Christmas” was available on US Netflix.  But that was months ago, and I’m not sure if they’re still there.

[Simfan34]

Only three episodes a season? Is it more of a series of television specials.

But with a proxy app I can watch Netflix anywhere in the world. Is it on the UK Netflix?

Are you traveling?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No I just use it to watch shows not available in the US. Hannibal for example is for whatever reason only available in Norway do I watched the first two seasons via a Norwegian proxy.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Seeing as how it's an anthology series there's no need to watch the episodes in order, and honestly hearing about Cameron is bad enough, I found the premise of the pilot unappealing. So I just watched two other episodes, White Bear and Fifteen Million Merits.

White Bear I found to be the better one of the two. Quite thrilling and the twist that turned it from a generic sci-fi plot worked well. Not sure if it was aiming for some type of social commentary though, maybe something about the "court of public opinion"? But very well acted and plotted.

Fifteen Million Merits was well done except for being too Anvilicious. I mean yeah the social commentary here is obvious, everything has an analogy, the prevalence of advertising, how things like YouTube have unskippable ads and how having to pay to skip ads may be down the line, how reality TV and those talent shows operate, riding the bikes equalling working dull menial labor, etc. But that's it, it was all too obvious and plotted making the climax too predictable for me, the hints were dropped like lead balloons. I did find though the eventual fate of the protagonist, in which he ends up far better off but it's hard to call it a happy ending a bit of a well done touch. I would've kept watching if this had been the first because it shows potential that could shine through if not trying to shove in social commentary.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

White Bear I think is very much a take on a hidden nastiness of our (and here, I'm emphasising British) society. The way anger is reduced to a game, a voyeuristic attempt to avenge horrible acts by trying to prove how much we loathe the terrible individual at hand. In this case, as she loses her memories every single day, the public are no longer torturing the individual who did the despicable acts, but are merely trying to achieve catharsis - to feel like through their anger they are helping somehow (and modern day Twitter mobs will attest to this very human instinct to throw revenge upon villains) In particular, it seems to very much riff on Myra Hinckley - a British murderess who despite being the accomplice to her partnet's crimes, drew the brunt of public revulsion, namely due to a fascination with the feminine evil. (Male murderers, of course, being dime a dozen, sadly)

Merits is another interesting case, because when you think about it's not a happy ending at all. Not even bittersweet in fact - despite everything, he sold out; even without drugs he gave in to the system just like that girl from Downton Abbey. His "speech" is now just a commercialised and packaged part of the very system that he rails against in the very speech itself (how many comedians/musicians/writers etc. end up in a similar conundrum, one thinks) ; and the only thing he has gained is a slightly larger prison.

[Mr. Morden]

The next season (now Netflix-produced) will be 12 episodes long:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/25/black-mirror-netflix

Unclear on the exact timing of the release, but the speculation is "mid or late 2016".  Do all of Netflix's original series release all episodes from a season on the same day?

[Mr. Morden]

*bump*

For those of you in the US, looks like "White Christmas" is finally joining the other episodes in being made available there:

http://www.vulture.com/2015/11/whats-new-on-netflix-december-2015.html

Also, some casting info on one of the episodes from the new season currently in production:

http://www.thewrap.com/mackenzie-davis-gugu-mbatha-raw-to-star-in-black-mirror-episode-for-netflix-exclusive/

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[afleitch]

Yup;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iha1umZ9hw

[justfollowingtheelections]

As great as this show is some episodes such as 15 mil merits and White Bear are really too depressing.