While having very little to do with Halloween, I have always seen
Black Mirror as that one series that can demonstrate how technology could be deadly. Originally on Channel 4 before being moved to Netflix (in one of the rarest instances in which the original broadcaster actually wanted to continue it),
Black Mirror is an anthology series where every episode is a self-contained story with different characters and settings, but still maintaining the scenario of how new and current technologies may be great in the first instance but can be deadly in the long run. This review will be done in the same way that I have done other TV show reviews in which I just review the series as a whole. But do let me know in the comments if you want me to go in depth with them in a later post. For now, let's enter the dystopian world that is
Black Mirror:
Series 1
In the first series, a fictional prime minister (played by 007's Rory Kinnear) faces a dilemma when a member of the royal family is kidnapped with the kidnapper saying that she will be released if he has sex with a pig. Also, we get to see how life in an enclosed space could be like and you should probably never play around with memories in your head. Now as I got into the series later than most, it's one of those Netflix shows where the seasons are in reverse. But as this is an anthology series, that's OK. For a first series, it's good but quite disturbing in areas. Though this would of course become the norm as the series goes on. But that first episode was perhaps one that no one could ever erase the memory of. I mean that's just crazy. 9/10
Series 2
In the second series, a foul-mouthed cartoon character (voiced by Daniel Rigby who also plays the voice actor as well) becomes a contender for an upcoming general election much to the annoyance of the so called "serious" political parties. In another episode, a man (played by Star Wars and Harry Potter actor, Domhnall Gleeson) becomes a social media freak who following an accident, is resurrected onto the phone that he once used and his new being is used as a means to communicate with his family. And finally a woman (played by Lnora Crichlow) becomes the target of "hunters" and must try and figure out what is going on. I find it quite ballsy on the showrunner's part that they did another political stint but with a focus on the election which while an important thing in people's lives, it's scary to imagine that the worst of them could be the MP that a district county gets. Also, yeah it's not good to always be on your phone (I used to and still have some friends that do that) and no one likes to be hunted. Definitely a scarier series this time around and it's only going to get more scary from here (and fun too in a way). 9/10
White Christmas
In the show's only Christmas special (as well as the last to be shown on Channel 4 before it's move to Netflix and international fame), we meet two men who for five years have lived in the same cabin but have never spoken to one another. The man called Matt (played by John Hamm) tries to get his cabin buddy Joe (played by Rafe Spall) to open up by telling him his life story in which he was a leader of an online group who watch each other as they seduce women. As each of them begin talking, we learn that everything is not as it seems. For a Christmas special, it's good. Conversations about things for what feels like the entirety
of the special may sound boring. But it really isn't because we get to know that everything is not as it seems and that there is more to it. It would be a spoiler to reveal what is actually happening, but it's about as
Black Mirror as you can get. 9/10
Series 3
The move to Netflix allowed the next series to have a whopping six episodes which means that they really did want it and want to make some serious stuff with it. So we have one episode which asks "What if Uber ratings is turned into a system that rates people?" and all the benefits and problems which that kind of system could reap. Another episode sees a guy do a playtest of an argumented reality video game which may be more than it seems to be. Another episode sees a pair of men trying to fulfil the wishes of a hacking group who will post videos of them masturbating to the public if they don't comply. A pair of lesbians try to find each other through some timey winey shenanigans in another story. Roaches become the enemy of a solider unit with the roaches may not being what they seem in another episode. And finally in another episode robotic bees become a thing but despite good intentions, they are also not as they seem. Arguably the best episode from this series is "San Junipero" due to its lighthearted nature about finding love in different time settings which to this day people have been begging to see either a sequel or a return to it. The one that is perhaps the most upsetting is "Playtest" due to how the device in the episode plays around with a person's memory to the point where you just don't know what is real any more. It's a very mixed bag this time with some great stories, but also a few that are upsetting, disturbing and also intense too. Probably not for everyone this time, but certainly worth checking out if you can handle it. 8/10
Series 4
Another series of six episodes and this one feels a bit nostalgic. In the first episode, a
Star Trek-like simulation is created by programmer Robert Daly (played by Jesse Plemons) with the DNA of his co-workers becoming digital characters that he frequently abuses as they traverse the galaxy within this simulation with them all desperate to escape his clutches by any means. In another episode, a system called Arkangel is created to allow people to have implants so that they can be tracked which one protective mother (played by Rosemarie DeWitt) needs for her daughter (played by Brenna Harding). A killing spree all for the sake of hiding information occurs in another episode. Another episode plays on the idea of a dating app can be dangerous and competitive if turned into something else. Robotic dogs bring humanity to near extinction in another episode. And finally we go into a museum that's home to a lot of technology (some already featured in the series and new ones too) and we get three mini stories about some of them all in one episode. As I said, this series has a lot of nostalgia, some killing elements and familiar storylines that have probably been done one too many times. It's a good series overall and one that people will no doubt watch more of due to its nostalgic nature (among many other reasons I'm sure). 9/10
Bandersnatch
So around the time when series five was being created, Netflix suggested that maybe for one episode it can be interactive. At the time Netflix had already made several interactive shows and films primarily for children so
Bandersnatch would effectively be the first one made for more mature audiences. Because of it being such a big project,
Bandersnatch was eventually turned into an interactive feature film separate from what would become series five. The general premise is that a young programmer called Stefan Butler (played by
Dunkirk's Fionn Whitehead) is attempting to do a video game adaptation a fantasy gamebook in 1984. As a guy who goes to therapy sessions due to an event that occurred in his past, he initially goes to a video game company to have them make it. But from that point on, it's down to the viewer to decide everything that happens. With multiple endings and seemingly endless possibilities, this is quite possibly the best that
Black Mirror has to offer. It's got multiple choices, different endings all while being a nostalgia trip into the 80s and an experimental film that deals with mental health. At the time of writing this review, I have managed to get to at least one of the endings that has credits. It is a tricky one definitely, but that's
Black Mirror at the best it can be for you. 9/10
Series 5
Following the completion of
Bandersnatch, the next series started being made. But due to how big
Bandersnatch ended up becoming, the fifth series went back to being only three episodes long and I'm OK with that. In one episode, two men (one played by Anthony Mackie and the other by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) play a virtual reality fighting game similar to
Street Fighter but despite both being straight, they use their characters to have sex which leads into a series of questions that they need to answer and some barriers in the relationships they have outside the game. In another episode, Miley Cyrus plays a popstar who becomes an Amazon Echo like device with her as an AI though it may become her as time goes on. And finally in another episode, an employee of a major corporation is held at gunpoint by a guy whose only demand is that he speaks with the CEO. It is hard to top such a big thing like
Bandersnatch and for the few episodes that we got, they are good even if there are some questionable things in them. Again we explore the nightmare of technology dominating our lives to the point that we end up being the technology itself. As well as the unusual and uncomfortable idea to explore different sexualities. But yeah another good series overall. 9/10
It's hard to really say what is wrong with the show overall because for an anthology series, it is really good. It's not going to be a pleasant ride and chances are that you won't feel quite the same afterwards. But if anything it shows that technology should not dominate our lives and if it does, there may be consequences and questionable things that may take place. That's as scary as this is going to get I think. Definitely worth a watch though. 9/10
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