BLACK MIRROR

[ross adey]

Did a quick search and couldn't find an existing topic on Charlie Brooker's acclaimed cauldron of mindfuck that is Black Mirror. Has anyone caught either of the episodes from the new series? I saw White Bear the other night... It was easily one of the most uncomfortable and disturbing things I've ever seen. Dark and unrelenting but absolute genius.

[Negamuse]

I've seen the first two of series one, and the first of series two, not seen the latest one yet. (Actually, I missed the whole first series and just caught up last week, and there's been a running thing of "But... a PIG" in our house). Very good TV and totally Brooker. Disturbing and so bleak though, the Twilight Zone parallels are spot on.

[ross adey]

I've seen the first two of series one, and the first of series two, not seen the latest one yet. (Actually, I missed the whole first series and just caught up last week, and there's been a running thing of "But... a PIG" in our house). Very good TV and totally Brooker. Disturbing and so bleak though, the Twilight Zone parallels are spot on.

Be Right Back is supposed to be quite good but I haven't seen it yet. Actually, Donal Gleeson (the actor who plays Ash) was in my year at school. Good to see the oirish reppin' across the pond. Fiona O'Shaughnessy in Utopia also, but staying on topic - White Bear is GRIM. One of the things that struck me about it most is that when it ended, an afterglow of sheer horror i'd just witnessed burned until late the following day which is unusual because there is little to no physical violence or gore throughout the whole 40 or so minutes. It's also a bit too close to home with the camera phone colosseum bumping heads through their viewfinders. so genius how he flips it on its head. It's difficult to say anything about it without giving anything away.

[Cupz]

Big big big big big fan of charlie brooker, the series is no exception. Nothing short of pure horrific brilliance. Episode 2 will forever be engraved in my brain as the most emotional 2dimensional imagery I've ever experienced.

Oh, new episodes? cant fucking wait!

[A_Northern_Soul]

Be Right Back was great. Haven't seen the latest one yet - I'll catch it on 4OD.

Good to see really smart sci-fi on TV that can pack an emotional punch too.

[mechanismj]

I MUST CHECK THIS OUT!!!!

[ross adey]

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/black-mirror/4od

[Cupz]

I watched both new episodes last night with the misses. We had to watch a couple of south park episodes before we went to bed because we had the feeling we would have terrible dreams otherwise (we are very vivid dreamers).
The first one was really great, but clearly stood in the shadow of White Bear, which was all we talked about that night. Its like straight from a nightmare, only tilted to realism, and back to nightmare again. Black mirror truly is the greatest piece of television ever.

[Treefingers]

I'm a big fan of Brooker. Though I often think his fans put him on too high a pedestal (see also: Chris Morris, who I'm also a huge fan of), he's definitely proved himself to be one of the best people on TV right now - that's through much of his work, to be honest, but Black Mirror deserves extra kudos for striving to take risks and be thought-provoking in a medium that drifts ever more damningly into mere apathy and tedious aspirational bullshit.

[Cupz]

indeed treefingers. Its a fucking miracle Brooker got this off the ground, must have been a huge battle. He probably works harder then I care to imagine. A testament for the love of his job probably, which is weird as his repertoire is mostly based on how much he hates television, the medium he shines in so much.

[A_Northern_Soul]

I think you're absolutely right Treefingers - if you ever read the comments below his Guardian columns it's hilarious. His fans complaining that he's lost his edge if he writes anything that isn't a bile-fuelled rant (the main criticism seems to be that since getting married* and having a baby he's gone soft). I think he's really matured into a great writer from the sweary misanthrope who wrote TV Go Home.


* - FYI, if I had a newspaper column and was married to Konnie Huq, my column would consist, every week, of the words "I'M MARRIED TO KONNIE HUQ! HA HA HA!" over and over until I was fired, so hats off to Charlie for not doing that....

[Scotronica]

Both in my opinion have been woeful

[Betacord]

Aye, Black Mirror really does pack a fair punch - I saw the first series in order when it was on and I'd say 'Fifteen Million Merits' was my favourite of those.

And it looks like Charlie Brooker is still on-form with this 2nd series. I watched 'White Bear' first and then 'Be Right Back' later - both great ideas.

But, I think it's safe to say White Bear has to be the darkest of all Black Mirror episodes... Not sure how that can be topped in terms of the sheer bleakness, paranoia and dread from start to finish, with the revelations toward the end - a bit of a shell-shocker! By contrast, next week's episode seems to be a real change of tone; something much lighter, but hopefully equally interesting.

Charlie is also presenting Weekly Wipe just now - a sort of silly review show - which has been airing on BBC 2 recently. I'd echo what Treefingers has said, too.

[Treefingers]

I'm looking forward to the next one. Apparently it's based on an idea that Chris Morris came up with that was (I think) originally planned as a part of Nathan Barley.

[Treefingers]

* - FYI, if I had a newspaper column and was married to Konnie Huq, my column would consist, every week, of the words "I'M MARRIED TO KONNIE HUQ! HA HA HA!" over and over until I was fired, so hats off to Charlie for not doing that....

and this

[no name child]

I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this; all great. I'll have to find a way to view it in Canada. Has there been any use of Arcade Fire's song "Black Mirror"? It deals with the same subjects.




and

Lyrics

[frank chipboard]

I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this; all great. I'll have to find a way to view it in Canada. Has there been any use of Arcade Fire's song "Black Mirror"? It deals with the same subjects.




and

Lyrics

Can't say I've heard Arcade Fire but this piece of soulful brilliance was in the first series - http://youtu.be/ZY5rB067518

[jcnporter]

'White Christmas' was another cracking addition to one of the best TV series in the past few years. A bit of a meld of ideas from a few of the previous episodes, but no matter.
Ballardian near-future dystopian tales are right up my street, so given the fact that precisely no-one else is doing this sort of thing these days, even something average would suffice.
That every one has varied from merely very good to near-perfect is the quite substantial icing on the cake.

[Negamuse]

Yep, Brooker killing it once again.It really is like a Twilight Zone for our generation. Went looking for reviews now its available through Netflix and saw on RottenTomatoes it has 100% score.

[Cupz]

Wow that special was very scary! It did not dissapoint at all, very good. Shout out to Brooker, bringing the ethics-in-singularity 101 to everyone's attention. I hope I can still get some sleep tonight.