Charlie Brooker's BLACK MIRROR

Moral of Striking Vipers: Video games make you gay

otm

not a furry though, apparently

except for maybe whoever was fucking people as a polar bear

polar bears have had a rough decade.

The Miley Cyrus one was fine. It should've been a lot shorter. The drag was apparent when it hit the Alexa comes to life bit.

I didn't read that Guardian article because of the choice of shirt he chose for his writer pic.

I thought the robot was one of the best parts and, although a total rehash of prior episodes trapping a consciousness in a machine, was actually fleshed out

It was, it just highlighted how meandering the first part was. When the robot came to life all of a sudden it was a different episode with a different vibe with odd adults are stupid hijinks.

too many undercooked plot segments

was most disappointed by Smithereens, all we got was some good Andrew Scott emoting and a too-generous portrayal of a Jack Dorsey type by Topher Grace

I dunno, just because the guardian guy may not be a big NIN fan and didn't get the in-joke doesn't mean he hasn't got a valid point that the episode denouement felt a bit rockist

Not that I can be particularly arsed to defend a guardian culture journo

he praised the other lyrics in the episode which were: a cover of another NIN song, and a nonsense version of “head like a hole” with funny lyrics written by Booker

you could make the argument for it being rockist or w/e but it really feels like a template being applied by a guy who has read a lot about music criticism but hasn’t a lot of interest in listening to music

I wouldn't dispute your latter point

i should buy the t-shirt though

wish it didn’t say “black mirror” on there, though. kind of gives the game away
https://store.nin.com/products/head-like-a-hole-x-black-mirror-tee

Brooker doesn't come across as someone who's that into music either tbh xp

tbf he’s had a lot of good people working on the soundtrack for this series with mixed results

it’s kind of turned into a soundtrack/actor/location showcase with the plots being a real mixed bag

Idk I didn’t think the episode applied a rockist judgement to the music? Ashley O was still writing all those songs but she wasn’t being coerced by medication into producing stuff that wasn’t how she felt anymore? I didn’t feel that it judged pop more negatively.

trent reznor is a rockism victim. made dark but poppy synthesizer album and was bullied into incorporating more guitars throughout the entire 90s!!

also there’s that elephant in the room which is miley cyrus’s entire musical career where she was a disney pop kid? idk, lots of unexplored angles in journalism, anyone wanting to write a little can have these tips for free

xpost I almost brought up how a lot of episodes remind of Until the End of the World because of the "soundtrack/actor/location showcase." The videogame episode in Brazil was disconcerting.

Topher Grace just sitting on top of a big old hill in the desert

I file NiN under “things I just don’t care about”

Idk if Reznor was really “bullied” into adding guitars in the 90s.

I’ve only seen the Vipers ep of the first season and if that’s the high point I’m worried about the rest.

Reznor getting his first No. 1 with "Old Town Road" is the best Black Mirror episode.

lol

xxp lol i’ve got to start using the sarcasm tag again i guess

had enough of this show. all these episodes are too fucking long

what if ye phone was ye mum

what if ya bruv was a hot and horny chun li type

I find myself very anti-Topher Grace so I will probably not watch that episode.

he's fine in it! no aggravated vocal mannerisms or anything

That ep was bad and hated but I liked it and felt the denouement was great

I thought it was fine, it was just a half gallon of plot in a five gallon bucket

Really dug the Miley episode, with so much packed into an hour and such a satisfying final 15 minutes.

#BlackMirror Creator Says the World Is Too Bleak Right Now for Season 6 https://t.co/ix0l7uFUkX pic.twitter.com/qAswxYknU5

— IndieWire (@IndieWire) May 6, 2020

TBH, I'd rather see a Philomena Cunk Moments of Wonder segment devoted to epidemiology.

my friend messaged me asking if that means Brooker can bring back Nathan Barley instead

not bleak anymore, then?

https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/black-mirror-season-6-netflix-1235266891/

Season 6 trailer is out!

15 June will be a fever dream. pic.twitter.com/XcGN12FP1z

— Black Mirror (@blackmirror) May 31, 2023

Can't believe it's been a decade

Always liked this show but man are they slow to release episodes

*steels self for trailer*

*has to admit that this new season looks pretty dope after the show kinda fell off before the hiatus*

One of these episodes features… David Shields?!? Which seems appropriate.

Interesting angle, two episodes into this season. (It’s an angle they played with a bit before, but they’re leaning harder into it.)

First episode is terrible, second is fucking traumatising wtf

Probably the most fucked up since Shut Up and Dance

Demon 79 is the only good one imo and Anjana Vasan is superb in it.

Beyond the Sea was so dull I can't even remember what happened at the end of it.

The second episode was so good (and yes, emotionally brutal) that it enters the “best Black Mirror episodes) conversation. They haven’t fucked with me like that in a while.

I’m only partway through Beyond The Sea so no comment on that one yet.

It’s not the twist itself, it’s the absolute calm that one character with full knowledge of the events relates them back, and on the other hand the other person with a partial understanding of it is a complete shell. The way Pia moves from being a real person to a face on the screen, distant and unreal. It’s so great but it was a lot.

it reminded me of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer in the sense that I didn't enjoy anything about it and feel like I'd have felt better if I hadn't watched it.

Weirdly, this is one of those shows where many of the best episodes are episodes I could never watch again or recommend in good conscience to people who would never watch Black Mirror or emotionally/psychologically harsh films or shows.