Black Mirror

Just watched the first series and it's pretty good. It's not really a series though, just a collection of one-off dramas. There's kind of a sci-fi flavour to them but it's more a take-off on current media trends and social networking. Sort of.

The first episode for example is set in the ordinary world, in London. Except someone kidnaps a member of the royal family and threatens to kill her unless the Prime Minister fucks a pig live on TV. Which sounds like an indredibly stupid premise for a drama but it's a great 40 minutes of television.

The first series was 3 episodes and there's a second series of 3 episodes as well.

Isn't that Charlie Brooker's show? I've been meaning to watch it.

Yeah, he's the producer.

A_Nonny_Moose wrote:

The first series was 3 episodes and there's a second series of 3 episodes as well.

Man that's short even by british comedy series standards.

Superbuu3 wrote:

A_Nonny_Moose wrote:

The first series was 3 episodes and there's a second series of 3 episodes as well.

Man that's short even by british comedy series standards.

Sherlock technically had 3 episodes per series.

Skip wrote:

Superbuu3 wrote:

A_Nonny_Moose wrote:

The first series was 3 episodes and there's a second series of 3 episodes as well.

Man that's short even by british comedy series standards.

Sherlock technically had 3 episodes per series.

I'm sure they'd have been 50 minute episodes or something though to compensate. PLus i'd assume those were more high budget and effort put in. I just remember the most watched thing on bbc i player was that one episode where one woman bathed in sherlock, britain is classy like that.

Black Mirror is 45 minutes per episode. One of them is an hour. The 4th episode wasn't that good though.

Superbuu3 wrote:

Skip wrote:

Superbuu3 wrote:

A_Nonny_Moose wrote:

The first series was 3 episodes and there's a second series of 3 episodes as well.

Man that's short even by british comedy series standards.

Sherlock technically had 3 episodes per series.

I'm sure they'd have been 50 minute episodes or something though to compensate. PLus i'd assume those were more high budget and effort put in. I just remember the most watched thing on bbc i player was that one episode where one woman bathed in sherlock, britain is classy like that.

Yeah they were all almost movie length.

The Waldo Moment and White Bear were good. All the episodes had interesting ideas, hopefully there will be a few more later this year.

I watched the first season tonight and enjoyed it a lot.

If I were to rank them, it would be 3 > 1 > 2.

Brooker creates fantastic television, but - like his previous series Dead Set - sometimes it's too on-the-nose about its satire. This was my main problem with Episode 2.

It hardly detracts from the overall presentation though.

The second series is pretty heavy handed on the satire.

Just saw the Christmas special. Very good. Most similar in concept to The Entire History of You, but not quite the same. The idea of blocking someone as depicted in the show is really unsettling.

I just watched the episodes two and three of the first series - I saw the first with some friends last year - and it's fucking incredible. The Entire History of You is my favourite so far.

White Bear and White Christmas were awesome! I liked them even more than The Entire History of You. The Waldo Moment was pretty meh, probably the weakest episode. Be Right Back was weird but cool.

I guess Netflix funded a third series, because there's a 3rd series on Netflix now and they're calling it a Netflix original show. 6 episodes.

Nosedive is good, but a little too small in scope I'd say. It's completely focused on the one character and the one event, when it easily could have spiraled out into much more. But still good.

Playtest was fucked up.

Shut Up and Dance was also fucked up, but I honestly didn't put it all together, even after it finished. When I did I realised it was even more fucked up.

San Junipero might well be my favourite episode of the whole show. It's wonderful.

The last two episodes I haven't seen yet.

Well I've seen 1 and 2.

Nosedive was good, but I agree with what you said Nonny. I think I might have appreciated it more if I hadn't already seen the Meow Meow Beenz episode of Community.

Playtest I absolutely fucking loved. It's possibly my favourite episode of Black Mirror overall at this point.

Seriously, spoilers, you guys:

I binged the third series this weekend. Here is my quick thoughts and episode ranking:

3 > 4 > 6 > 1 > 5 > 2.

The twist at the end of 2 totally lost me even though I had enjoyed it up until that point; I though it cheapened the episode. 5 is a cliche premise with an underwhelming presentation. 1 is fine, not much to say. 6 I enjoyed despite

Spoiler:

because I looooove Kelly Macdonald and the episode's detective genre. 4 is totally unlike any episode of Black Mirror and exceptionally presented, but it didn't quite grab me. 3 is fucking incredible, quite possibly my favorite Black Mirror episode. God I felt sick to my stomach after I finished it.

Yeah, Men Against Fire could have been a 15 minute short and been just as effective. Hated in the Nation was two completely different ideas mashed together, but I really liked it.

I'd rank it 4 > 6 > 3 > 1 > 2 > 5.

A_Nonny_Moose wrote:

Yeah, Men Against Fire could have been a 15 minute short and been just as effective.

Funnily enough: https://vimeo.com/147365861