Black Mirror on Channel 4

[Bi_3]

Arkangel 3/5 - Started well, but felt too restrained by the end.

Crocodile 4.5/5 - Best one of the season so far. Great blending of horror elements with sci-fi. Only criticism was that it was too heavy on distracting references to previous episodes.

[Bi_3]

Hang the DJ: 4/5, it missed San Junipero's 'damming social critique wrapped in a happy ending', but still fun

Metalhead: 5/5 fast and brutal. loved this one.

[Bi_3]

Black Museum: 1/5. This felt like they scraped together a bunch of throwaway ideas that couldn't sustain 50 minutes into one episode. And then spit on the whole series.

Spoiler: show

I like the concept in the middle piece with the Monkey, but the first piece was just half baked and silly. The last sequence showed such promise... "black museum" being an obvious metaphor for the prison industrial complex, the idea that a child would come back to seek revenge has real meaning in today's racially charged American society. Especially since the proprietor was callous creator of so much of the series' pain. But they went and broke a cardinal rule of story telling... they made the climax something that was so improbable it shattered the illusion of the world. A computer simulated body sustaining permanent long term damage from a repeated computer simulated execution? Stupid (we also already saw this plot in White Bear). And that same virtual body being so complex it can hold another virtualized mind inside it? Stupider. They had to have seen how ridiculous this was.

Overall, this was the worst season. Far too often they let people with gumption easily overcome the threat posed by the technology and stepped back from the whole "what is extreme consequence of the seemingly innocuous technology we are close to achieving" idea to allow for... less depressing and more commercially accessible plots?

[psychobain]

Decent, but it was the worst season so far.

[Jorge]

Commercially accessible plots?

[Simple Torture]

I've only got the Season 4 finale left, then I'll be back with thoughts--and I'll probably rank all 19 episodes.

[Simple Torture]

The list no one asked for:

The Best

Spoiler: show

1. Be Right Back
2. White Christmas
3. San Junipero
4. The Entire History of You
5. Hang the DJ
6. USS Callister

This part of the list was easier to put together than I thought it would be. I think the only "controversial" pick here might be the Christmas episode, which I haven't heard too many people rave about. As I've written here before, there's something about it that reminds me of a good stage play (with more special effects), and I was gripped the entire time. I'll admit that it did feel its length, though. Callister barely made the cut, but I did think it was funny at times, which helps. I think the rest of the episodes here speak for themselves.

The Middle

Spoiler: show

7. Nosedive
8. The National Anthem
9. Arkangel
10. Metalhead
11. Crocidile
12. Shut Up and Dance
13. Hated in the Nation
14. Playtest
15. White Bear

A much more difficult part of the list to order. I would say that I'd be willing to mix up numbers 9 through 13 almost any way, and I wouldn't argue much with it.
Some of these episodes had really cool, gripping ideas that didn't pay off well. Some, like White Bear, just left me feeling uninterested at the end. Stil some great moments in each individual episode, though.

The Worst

Spoiler: show

16. Men Against Fire
17. Fifteen Million Merits
18. Black Museum
19. The Waldo Moment

I barely think about most of these episodes. The first time I watched it, I think I was a bigger fan of Fifteen Million Merits, but the more episodes I watched,
the less interesting it seemed. I will actually defend one part of Black Museum: I'm not interested in the "self parody" angle that many people argue for, but I like the idea of an episode that looks back to when the advanced tech of the show was new, raw, and unpredictable. It just stinks the way they split it up instead of focusing on it for one solid story. I forgot The Waldo Moment existed before looking at a list of episodes, and I was better off for it.

[Bi_3]

What were your thoughts on 15 Million Merits? It’s a top 5 for me.

[Simple Torture]

I think that when I watched it I was a bigger fan, but the more I thought about it (and the more episodes I watched) the less impactful it became, if that makes sense. Its critique of capitalism and "reality stardom" just aren't as sophisticated as some of the more intimate stories that come later in the series. I also think there's not as much resonance and feeling in the main characters' relationship as in other episodes.

[washing machine]

I thought USS Callister was super thought provoking and enjoyable. It's essentially a parable about escaping into your computer while leading a pitiful existence IRL. A commentary on keyboard warriors, in a way. Also an insane invasion of privacy and personhood, unbeknownst to Daly's victims. Essentially he's a Facebook creeper taken to the extreme. Not my favorite episode of Black Mirror, but I'd rank it among the more memorable ones and a good way to start off the new season.

[contamination]

[B]

Fuck you. That episode fucked me up.

[B]

[Jorge]

I hate XKCD

[Bi_3]

I hate XKCD

Name 5 things you do like

[Jorge]

Garlic bread

[Jorge]

Uhhhh

[Jorge]

Thermal equilibrium

[Jorge]

The song "I Saw the Light" by Todd Rundgren

[Jorge]

Amy Adams