Your thoughts on Black Mirror.

[Parasondox]

I wonder how it would be like to be a synth

I loved the first series. Made me think more about how tech is really influencing us in life. Yes its an over exaggeration but some of the themes touched about can hit you in a way.

Watching season 3 at the moment and Nosedive scares me. Hope we never become that in society.

What do you all think of the show and any thoughts? If you want to include a spoiler please use a spoiler tag.

Also i like Charlie Brooker with his writing and screen presents even on Screenwipe.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

I'm still kind of freaked out that the first episode of the series predicted the future.

What have you done, Dave.

 

[Smygskytt]

I'm still kind of freaked out that the first episode of the series predicted the future.

What have you done, Dave.

Well, politicians have always been fucking pigs.

 

[Parasondox]

Season 1 and 2 were great, I haven't got to watch season 3 yet though. I heard its shit. Can anyone confirm that?

Just like with the other seasons, its about whether an episode speaks to you or not. Like if you are a major social media person who lives life daily on all social media sites, then the first episode will hit you.

 

[Parasondox]

I loooved San Junipero

That one actually had a nice happy ending. I was expecting a twist but nope. Happy ever after into the cloud.

 

[Parasondox]

Oh and Hated of the Nation, I hope we never ever become that in society.

 

[Maroona]

This show is entertaining, far from banalty. The actors do their job skillfully. Each serie is so great! Well "Black Mirror" is not for everyone. It's just for those who's ready to watch the other side of modern society... The directors are doing great job as well. I know there is Brian Welsh among them - his new The Rack Pack is really nice ( http://viooz.one/3317-the-rack-pack-2016.html ). Cheers!

 

[Thaluikhain]

Only seen season 1, but very much liked the one with the cartoon running for parliament.

 

[Dizchu]

The only episode of the new season I wasn't fully on board with was the one with the roaches, and that's because it was too on-the-nose with its message. In terms of acting and production though it was great, had a Children of Men vibe.

Also... NOT THE BEES!

Season 1 and 2 were great, I haven't got to watch season 3 yet though. I heard its shit. Can anyone confirm that?

I haven't heard anyone say that season 3 is shit. I'd say on the whole it's more inconsistent, the highs are higher and the lows are lower. San Junipero is probably the best episode of the entire series so far though. Also the budget has gone up thanks to Netflix so the production design is a lot nicer. The main thing that bothers me is all the British actors putting on American accents.

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

It's a very brutal series, and I never took to it mainly because of that.

 

[Sonmi]

I'm glad that anthology shows are making a comeback, it's my favourite genre.

That being said, Brooker is no Serling. While what Black Mirror has produced so far is of good value if a bit on the nose, it lacks the emotional poignancy and comparative brevity that the original Twilight Zone had while being seeming way too forced.

I think we can all sympathize a bit with the recurring Luddite sentiment through the series though, it's nice for the episodes to have somewhat of an overarching theme.

 

[axlryder]

So far I've watched the virus episode, the VR episode and the social media episode and in some ways they feel way too inspired by modern tech culture, and almost comes off as out of touch as a result. The previous seasons were a bit more out there and didn't run the same risks as a result. Also the American accents leave a lot to be desired.

edit: Just finished san junipero. That was a very good episode. I really do like how the ending could be taken as horrifying or just the stark nature of the reality that one needs to accept to be okay with the ideas presented (which I'm sure some people are). As a child the idea of heaven always terrified me, but I understood how it's something that would be very appealing to others, and this really taps into that feeling.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Season 1 and 2 were great, I haven't got to watch season 3 yet though. I heard its shit. Can anyone confirm that?

Best series yet, IMO.

I'm 4 episodes into series 3, and thus far "Shut Up and Dance" and "San Junipero" have been the highlights of the entire run of Black Mirror, most particularly Junipero. Shut Up and Dance finally parlayed Black Mirror's trademark cynicism into something genuinely unsettling on an emotional level rather than just a 3 spooky 5 me techno-paranoia/Twilight Zone level, and San Junipero finally transcends the show's fascination with alarmism and hits upon profundity. I was both moved and rattled by the questions raised by San Junipero, and it's stuck with me a lot longer than any other episode.

Good show getting better.

Will one of the characters disappear forever? Will San junipero become a fate worse than death?

Nope. It's all cool.

Well, yes and no. Kelly's speech towards the end of the episode raises a lot of extremely poignant questions that are never actually answered or rebutted in any meaningful way. The show just leaves you with them. The ending doesn't negate the existence of those questions.

I'd say the ending is "bittersweet" more than happy. It reminded me a bit of "Her", and raised some of the same haunting existential questions.

 

[Tranquility]

I'm still kind of freaked out that the first episode of the series predicted the future.

What have you done, Dave.

Honestly, the first episode of this season isn't too entirely far from the CURRENT, let alone the FUTURE.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Season 1 and 2 were great, I haven't got to watch season 3 yet though. I heard its shit. Can anyone confirm that?

I've always felt the show has been very hit and miss, probably a bit more misses than hits. The 3rd season is very much the same. The series' high point is still easy the Christmas episode with Jon Hamm.

I loooved San Junipero

That one actually had a nice happy ending. I was expecting a twist but nope. Happy ever after into the cloud.

I found San Junipero to have a rather sad ending because she basically settled instead of possibly being able to reconnect with her family. Basically "If you can't be with the one you love, honey; Love the one you're with". She at least thought there was a slight chance (as she wasn't too religious) to be with her family again. I actually found the 1st episode to have the happiest ending as the character at the end was genuinely happy for probably the 1st time in years.

Black mirror is basically "fire bad technology is evil Thomas Edison was a witch" the series. Its feels like it was written by a baby boomer that just found out what twitter is. Throughout the entire episode you wait for the other shoe to drop. For something bad to happen. Will one of the characters disappear forever? Will San junipero become a fate worse than death?

Nope. It's all cool. And our happy couple drives off into the sunset while fucking "Heaven is a place on earth" plays in the background. It's wonderful.

I don't find the show as "technology is bad" but a cautionary tale of what it could lead to. The word "Black" is in the title of the show. Also, I found San Junipero to be a rather sad ending with the main reply to that above to Parasondox.

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

I went and watched the first episode of the third season ("Nosedive") and I found it kind of weird. Out of all the premises of previous Black Mirror episodes, Nosedive is the one most likely to actually occur. In a lot of ways, it already occurs; all that's needed is a system that ties the rating to personal identity instead of a business or a Facebook page. I just don't think it'd work out the way Brooker thinks it would.

Think about it. If everyone had a 5-star rating system for popularity that was publicly displayed at all times, what would happen? Because I don't think we'd devolve into pastel-coloured bimbos with artificial smiles. If anything, it'd take less than a year for popular culture to decide that an ironically low rating was cooler than a near-perfect one. Coolness has never been about conformity; it's been about superficial nonconformity. The coolest guy in school wouldn't be Pastel Pete with the popped collar, it'd be the punk renegade who smokes behind the toolshed. Charlie Brooker should know this; he built his popularity on an intentionally caustic critical persona.

What I'm saying is that it would take a matter of months before the entire concept of rating other people is subverted by hipster douchebags.