[TV] Black Mirror

[Skizzit]

Well season 4 certainly was the weakest. I don't think any of the episodes were bad per se, but I highly doubt any of them will stick with me the way that others like Fifteen Million Merits, White Bear, or The Entire History of You will. Oh well. Sad to go out like this. Assuming this is the final season.

[Berndorf]

I enjoyed it for the most part.

USS Callister I enjoyed up until the end which I found rather dull. Here you have Robert Daly, stuck in his own game without a means of escape either from in the game or some sort of hardware timeout. This bothers me because the subplot of the real life intern girl stealing the genetic material from his fridge really doesn't pay off because it's implied Daly is trapped within his game with a DND on his door. He would most likely be dead without water considering he is a loner with no one to come look for him since the office closed down due to the Holidays.

Arkangel I was really let down by. They could have done so much more with this concept. The discovery of treachery and the resolution were so abrupt that the buildup alone left me wanting. I would have much preferred a longer third act and shorter first act. The mother could have resumed using the Arkangel pad and been aware of what her daughter was doing. Maybe we could have seen a long slow burning process of "Well-meaning" manipulation over the course of the daughter's life.

Crocodile I enjoyed quite a bit. Had to suspend some disbelief that an 80lb (soaking wet) women could be capable of overpowering and murdering several people including two adult men. But I really liked how the two subplots of the narrative bridged together.

Hang the DJ I also enjoyed, The episode lays out a set of boundaries in the outset that you keep in the back of your head throughout the episode. What sort of big brother society is this? Whats the deal with the wall? Why do none of these people seem to work or do anything other than date each other and attend dinner marital events. Pretty satisfying ending I thought.

Metalhead was a decent cat and mouse premise. I thought it was decent, enjoyed the watch, really didn't have any outstanding negative or overwhelming positive things to say about it. Wasn't against the lack of backstory at all really.

Black Museum was almost certainly the most disappointing off all of the episodes in this season for the third act alone. It just did not work for me at all. I felt the character change of the museum curator was completely unrealistic from a rather shady unethical businessman to a literal sociopath. Either of the first two mini stories should have been the finale in my opinion.

I agree with most of your post but I didn't feel like the museum curator's character exposition was all that hard to believe. He's just an amoral businessman. Its not that much different imo than what someone like Harvey Weinstein was able to do for decades while having all these famous people kissing his ass the whole time despite there being rumors of him being a sexual predator.

[Deleted]

awesome show!

[Fabinas]

Season 4 (having seen 3 out of 6 episodes) suxx. I really dislike the change of theme. It's not about Technology nightmares anymore, it's about humans and abuse of certain technology from them. Callister, Arkangel and Crocodile (i missed the reference on the last one, why Crocodile?) are subpar compared to the awsomeness of the first three seasons.
I also noticed that Arkangel was directed by Jodie Foster. Didn't change my opinion on it at all.

After i watch the rest 3 episodes, i'll probably post again.

[melodramocracy]

Not their best work, but there were some solid ones in there. Metalhead was probably the best of them, Black Museum was just a mess.

Amazon has what seems to be a competitor for Black Mirror, called 'Electric Dreams'. Watched the first episode yesterday, not too bad.

[Deleted]

One of the best shows IMO

Really opens your eyes and makes you question a lot of things

[Gallahadd]

Amazon has what seems to be a competitor for Black Mirror, called 'Electric Dreams'. Watched the first episode yesterday, not too bad.

Electric Dreams is great. They're all based on Philip K Dick short stories, so the plots are solid... Oddly though, only every OTHER episode is good. So the first one is alright, second is great, third is a bit rubbish, fourth is great etcetc. (Although I'm SUPER pissed off that a britsh show, created for a british channel has episodes that have aired in the US and not the UK...)

Just got finished watching Black Mirror season 4. EASILY the weakest season yet:

USS McCallister was decent, but not really the right style for Black Mirror.
Archangel and Crocodile were both utter shite, pointless predictable garbage.
Shoot The DJ was fantastic, great concept well executed, no complaints.
Metalhead was artsy, but SUPER predictable and I found myself drifting off.
Black Museum was fun, spotting all the easter eggs and references... But the story had some serious flaws (the biggest one being that she did all that to free her dad... But totally ignores the probably hundred, if not THOUSANDS of keychains he's in...).

So yeah, overall I think this is my last look into the Black Mirror. Charlie Brooker has clearly lost his touch, or maybe it's Netflix fucking with him, because these last two seasons have been weak AF compared to the first two.

[shaunika123]

it's about humans and abuse of certain technology from them.

but... it was always about that. at least partly, many episodes centered around that very concept.

National anthem: abuse of social media, to control people
Fifteen million merits: abuse of the media to control people
White Bear: abuse of technology to create a sadistic theme park under the premise that it's justice
Shut up and dance: abuse of technology to control and blackmail people under the pretense that it's justice (again)
Men Against Fire: abuse of technology to make people feel less bad about murder

many episodes are about humans, and abusing technology from them.

[Lazuli]

This series is really hit or miss for me, but mostly miss. It feels like it's trying to be good but just comes off as an edgy teenager waving its arms around yelling "Look! I'm unique!"

The acting is top notch, but mostly the stories are ridiculous hyperbole, technology is evil and so are people (?).

My favorite episode has to be White Bear, the rest are meh.

[Fabinas]

but... it was always about that. at least partly, many episodes centered around that very concept.

National anthem: abuse of social media, to control people
Fifteen million merits: abuse of the media to control people
White Bear: abuse of technology to create a sadistic theme park under the premise that it's justice
Shut up and dance: abuse of technology to control and blackmail people under the pretense that it's justice (again)
Men Against Fire: abuse of technology to make people feel less bad about murder

many episodes are about humans, and abusing technology from them.

I beg to differ. All those examples are showing a nightmarish dystopia where the technology has been so invasive, it has changed human life and society as we know it. The season 4 episodes are about single humans making (wrong as depicted) choices about the use of a certain technology.

[Gallahadd]

but... it was always about that. at least partly, many episodes centered around that very concept.

The difference is, before it was an exaggerated example of how tech can spiral out of control, if we let it.

This season was more about how idiots misuse things, and it comes back to bite them in the ass.

[Fabinas]

The difference is, before it was an exaggerated example of how tech can spiral out of control, if we let it.

This season was more about how idiots misuse things, and it comes back to bite them in the ass.

Exactly.

Having watched the 3 last episodes of season 4, i preferred them than the initial 3. Hang the dj had this "positive" ending, metalhead was awsomely bleak (b&w helped a lot) and black museum, while not so good as the others, was a nice revenge story. Although the pain addict short one seemed as an extra addition, while the d/l conscience and the prisoner hologram had an organic attachment to the revenge story.

[Travis B]

Thoughts on Bandersnatch?

[Xjev]

Thoughts on Bandersnatch?

Man I spent 6+ hours last night trying different possible choices, some routes are forces eventually you really didn't change the plot that much but still was really nicely done. I really liked how seamless the flow of diverged plots were. Good concept I hope don't over do it though.

[Celista]

Thoughts on Bandersnatch?

Amazing. Spent way too much time testing out alternate endings last night. Meta plot/endings were the best, in my opinion. Not sure how it's "supposed" to end (suspect it's the ending where he goes with his mom in the dream sequence, and dies in the psychiatrist's office) and hope there are more endings/easter eggs to come.

[Gallahadd]

Not sure how it's "supposed" to end

I have a theory that the “best” ending is the one where you get the 5* review, after killing your dad, and then Colin’s daughter remakes the game when she's older.

That said.... I can’t help but think that with 8 hours of footage shot, there HAVE to be some part left to see. On my first blitz I saw all but one of the endings, and there was NOT 8 hours of footage there.

I just have this suspicion, based on the fact that there seems to be a path BACK, to a fairly pivotal point, after the “true” ending, that if you loop enough, and clear certain points, there will be more...

But, then again... I might be crazy...

[Celista]

I have a theory that the “best” ending is the one where you get the 5* review, after killing your dad, and then Colin’s daughter remakes the game when she's older.

That said.... I can’t help but think that with 8 hours of footage shot, there HAVE to be some part left to see. On my first blitz I saw all but one of the endings, and there was NOT 8 hours of footage there.

I just have this suspicion, based on the fact that there seems to be a path BACK, to a fairly pivotal point, after the “true” ending, that if you loop enough, and clear certain points, there will be more...

But, then again... I might be crazy...

I suspect the same, not sure how many viewings are necessary to unlock the rest. Yeah that ending was great, also liked the meta ending when you break the fourth wall by jumping through the window.

[Gallahadd]

I suspect the same, not sure how many viewings are necessary to unlock the rest. Yeah that ending was great, also liked the meta ending when you break the fourth wall by jumping through the window.

Yes! All the stuff past that point was great. I loved how you could use different codes, to unlock different parts of the cabinet.

Also, the whole “Netflix” path was epiccly meta. Loved it.

[Byleth]

I suspect the same, not sure how many viewings are necessary to unlock the rest. Yeah that ending was great, also liked the meta ending when you break the fourth wall by jumping through the window.

I agree, I think there's more to it. If you follow certain paths, it almost seems to loop backwards towards something more, but then one wrong choice ends it. I look forward to people figuring it out.

[Grapemask]

Unless there's a massive hidden reel in here as suggested above, I'm mostly disappointed by Bandersnatch.

It's a great concept, and for effectively the first of its kind, it's a decent start. But it's like the first half of the show and the various paths are building and building to something... and then promptly face plants instead of a decent climax. The 5 star review with the daughter seems to leave you with the least agonizing blue balls of the lot, even if it requires making the worst choices.

It really feels like they wrote the first half of a great story to slot into a great idea, then got hit with a nasty case of writers block and shrugged, "screw it, let the concept carry the rest." And it works, because a lot of people are completely enamored by the choice thing.

Still, it's interesting enough that I'd recommend watching. One of those unique pieces of media that everyone should experience at least once.