Black Mirror: Season 4 Starts on 12/29

[Harley Quinn]

Can't find where the posts were and this series deserves its own thread IMO. Enjoyed the Season 3 two part finale after finally getting around to watching it, although I felt some of the other eps were stronger overall.

If you need to watch just one episode, I'm a sucker for Be Right Back but the obvious is probably San Junipero from Season 3.

Just got an e-mail that the show's back on 12/29. Very excited for it.

[NoCalMike]

Assuming I am staying home on NYE (I have kids, so probably a safe bet) S4 will be taking up a good portion of the night for me.

[Mayor of Flavortown]

It seems like no one ever has the same favorite Black Mirror episode. My two favorites are probably White Bear and 15 Million Merits. Be Right Back and San Junipero are definitely great episode though. I like every episode though in some way at least. Very excited for this season. The Star Trek inspired one and Metalhead which had the most intriguing trailer are probably the two I'm most excited for.

[Youth N Asia]

My two favorites are likely White Christmas and The Entire History of You... with BRB and Shut Up and Dance closely behind.

What are your two least favorites? I think I’m with Playtest (because the lead was annoying as shit) and Men Against Fire

[Brooklyn Zoo]

My favorites are White Christmas, Entire History of You and Shut up and dance.

Least probably the cartoon that ran for office but I don’t hate it

[Mayor of Flavortown]

I actually forgot Men Against Fire even existed. That's probably the worst one. I can't remember anything about it.

Waldo Moment dragged at times, but I liked the lead actor.

Those are probably my bottom two.

Screw it, gonna rank em:

1. White Bear
2. Fifteen Million Merits (I see this gets some hate, but I found it to be one of the most emotionally captivating episodes on my first viewing and there are parts that really stick with me.)
3. White Christmas
4. Shut Up And Dance
5. Be Right Back
6. San Junipero
7. The Entire History Of You
8. Nosedive
9. The National Anthem
10. Hated In The Nation (Really need to rewatch this one. I watched it when I was pretty tired and I felt the length of the episode even though I thought the acting was fantastic.)
11. Playtest
12. The Waldo Moment
13. Men Against Fire

The first 8 can probably be mixed and matched. I love them all almost equally.

What's your favorite performance of the show? It's really tough for me but I'm going with Daniel Kaluuya in Fifteen Million Merits, Hayley Atwell in Be Right Back, or Alex Lawther in Shut Up And Dance. And, there are so many other great ones.

[Brooklyn Zoo]

Those three are great and even Jerome Flynn in shut up and dance was hilarious. Bryce Dallas Howard is perfect in Nosedive.

Also liked both leads in entire history of you (Toby kebbell and Jodie Whittaker) and Jon Hamm in White Christmas. Really liked him when he was selling/activating the own personal assistant egg

[Mayor of Flavortown]

Bryce Dallas Howard was a revelation in Nosedive. I've only seen her play one note characters in 50/50, Jurassic World, or Spider-Man 3, etc but she was incredible in that episode.

[Youth N Asia]

I was thrown off by the ending of San Junipero. It’s the only episode that doesn’t end on such a bummer note. Kinda felt out of place in that sense.

[Mayor of Flavortown]

Started Season 4. USS Callister is fucking great. Loved the performances of Jesse Plemons, Jimmi Simpson, and Cristin Milioti. Blended together some light comedy with the darker Black Mirror themes perfectly and I loved the world it set up. Can't wait to dive in and watch more. I'm glad the season led off with something that didn't leave me emotionally devastated.

Spoiler: show

Anyone else spot Kirsten Dunst walking through Callister Inc. during the beginning of the episode? Also, the Aaron Paul voice cameo was hilarious.

[Epic by Faith No More]

I just started watching Season 3 a few days ago. I saw "Shut up and Dance" last night and it was pretty fucked up even though I called the ending before it happened. Gonna try to finish it this weekend before moving on to Season 4.

[Harley Quinn]

Just finished up USS Callister and really liked it. Reminded me of a very dark, far more morbid take on something like Galaxy Quest but with that Black Mirror edge to it all.

Spoiler: show

I like that the ending was upbeat, in a way, but also still very dark (I mean Robert Daly likely dies irl and gets trapped forever!) in a way that Black Matter isn't afraid to go. Also props to them for sticking with the death of Tommy and its gravity/weight for Walton where most shows would've cut that out or very briefly alluded to it.

[Mayor of Flavortown]

Just finished up USS Callister and really liked it. Reminded me of a very dark, far more morbid take on something like Galaxy Quest but with that Black Mirror edge to it all.

Spoiler: show

I like that the ending was upbeat, in a way, but also still very dark (I mean Robert Daly likely dies irl and gets trapped forever!) in a way that Black Matter isn't afraid to go. Also props to them for sticking with the death of Tommy and its gravity/weight for Walton where most shows would've cut that out or very briefly alluded to it.

Charlie Brooker said in an interview that

Spoiler: show

IRL Robert Daly died of starvation after no one checked on him because of the Do Not Disturb sign he put up.

I really liked Arkangel. I thought Jodie Foster did a great job directing and Rosemarie DeWitt was fantastic.

Spoiler: show

I ended up emphasizing with both mother and daughter characters even though the Helicopter Mom went over the line. I thought they did a good job justifying why the Mom did what she did with her almost losing Sara during childbirth and then again when she went missing. I thought the actress playing Sara looked a little too old for 15 and according to wiki she was 21. I saw theories on reddit saying that it was possible that her growth was stunted and she was supposed to look older but I don't know about that.

[Youth N Asia]

Just finished up USS Callister and really liked it. Reminded me of a very dark, far more morbid take on something like Galaxy Quest but with that Black Mirror edge to it all.

Spoiler: show

I like that the ending was upbeat, in a way, but also still very dark (I mean Robert Daly likely dies irl and gets trapped forever!) in a way that Black Matter isn't afraid to go. Also props to them for sticking with the death of Tommy and its gravity/weight for Walton where most shows would've cut that out or very briefly alluded to it.

Charlie Brooker said in an interview that

Spoiler: show

IRL Robert Daly died of starvation after no one checked on him because of the Do Not Disturb sign he put up.

Yeah. As the episode was ending my mind went back to that. Factor in the Christmas break and no one from work would have thought to check in.

Watched it last night. Terrific episode. Plemons was Shatner as hell.

[Harley Quinn]

I thought Arkangel was okay. The directing and acting was good but the plot felt very... thin so far as where the subject matter really could've gone with everything. It also felt somewhat hamstrung mostly containing itself to, mostly, 3 characters but not really doing much with any of them beyond their relation to the plot/to one another.

I kept waiting for more to be made/done about the actual Arkangel technology as a bit of a subplot/B-Plot but aside from the implanting/it being banned, that was it.

It'll probably end up being towards the bottom of the season for me IMO unless the other episodes really suck.

[Mayor of Flavortown]

Four episodes in and this season seems to be less about technology than the others and I'm fine with that.

Crocodile was well acted and well directed but it felt really long. It was 15 minutes shorter than Callister but felt so slow. The cinematography was really nice though. Thought the Anne Heche lookalike and the insurance investigator were both great, but the last fifteen minutes were just misery overkill even for this show.

Spoiler: show

The baby being blind and the gerbil getting recalled took it to an absurd level they had to be going for.

Hang The DJ was a blast. Most reviewers say it is this season's version of San Junipero and I could see that. It didn't make me as emotional as that episode, but this was a really pleasant and kind of sweet episode of Black Mirror. The two leads were incredibly charming and had great chemistry. I liked this one a lot. Probably my second favorite after USS Callister.

[Brooklyn Zoo]

Saw the first 3 eps and then had to stop because it was getting too depressing.

Spoiler: show

I think USS Callister is the best so far and while at the time I thought the copies got too good of an ending, the story was always about Daly and his use of technology, fanboy love of Space Fleet so that makes sense. Jesse Plemons has my fav performance so far, “Coooole.”

Arkangel went exactly as it should so no surprises and crocodile was fucking bleak

[Harley Quinn]

Got through 5 episodes so far. My early rankings...

1: USS Callister/Hang the DJ. A tie as both were really great and highlights of the series. I prefer San Junipero but Hang the DJ was a bit more uplifting than that as a whole.
2: Crocodile - Bleak and impactful. Not something I'd go out of my way to watch again, probably, but left a bigger impression.
3: Arkangel - Enjoyable enough and solid for the most part. Not quite a wow but not blech either.
4: Metalhead - Awful. Worst of the series for me. It was basically a futuristic Cujo (and the main lead was no Dee Wallace) and I made it 15-20 minutes before giving up. A 15-20 minute concept stretched to 40 minutes? No Thanks.

[Mayor of Flavortown]

I didn't hate Metalhead, but it was the worst of the five I watched. I don't think it's the worst of the series as I'd go with Men Against Fire and The Waldo Moment. I liked the aesthetic of Metalhead and was entertained, it just needed a reason for me to care about the main character.

[NoCalMike]

I am a horror guy so Metalhead should have been right up my alley, but honestly it doesn't feel like it belongs in a Black Mirror series. There wasn't much substance to it, and that's not even to say it was bad, I still semi-liked it.

[Mayor of Flavortown]

I thought Black Museum was a lot of fun. It was similar to White Christmas, but the three stories were classic Black Mirror. I thought the guy that played Rolo was very entertaining and the 70 minutes flew right by. Not the best Black Mirror season and I think Charlie Brooker should go back to three episode seasons for freshness, but I thought it was very consistent. All the episodes were entertaining to me in some way even if none of them seemed like absolute classics. The closest to a classic was Callister.

Season Ranking

1. USS Callister
2. Hang The DJ
3. Black Museum
4. Arkangel
5. Crocodile
6. Metalhead

Series Ranking:

1. White Bear
2. Fifteen Million Merits
3. White Christmas
4. Shut Up And Dance
5. Be Right Back
6. San Junipero
7. USS Callister
8. The Entire History Of You
9. Hang The DJ
10. Nosedive
11. The National Anthem
12. Black Museum
13. Arkangel
14. Playtest
15. Crocodile
16. Hated In The Nation
17. Metalhead
18. The Waldo Moment
19. Men Against Fire

Rewatched Hated In The Nation and while the acting was still great, I thought it would've been better at 60 minutes instead of 90. There was some fat that could've been trimmed to make it a leaner episode. The last two on the list are the only Black Mirror episodes I don't care for.

[Brooklyn Zoo]

^ I mostly have the same ranking for this season (Arkangel and Black Museum are like tied for me). The first story of Black Museum was some fucked up shit and made me cringe (we know what part). It was gonna turn into Hellraiser before they cut it short. I liked that it was like White Christmas and all the stores came together. There were also some good lines that stick out on second viewing like Rolo asking Nish something about ever having a feeling of someone stuck in your head and she answers yes, which she actually means literally and Rolo saying the monkey is the saddest part of the museum because it basically fucked him over. Ep was over the top, also had the easter eggs so it was enjoyable.

Thought Metalhead was shot well but wish there was more of a story. The scenes were creative but it's not something I'd watch again.

Will do series rankings later but I think USS Callister and Hang the DJ make my top 10.

[no fact, no matter]

I didn't think that any episodes this season were awful and thought it was very solid overall. I feel the hate that Metalhead is getting is a bit hyperbolic only because it's such a departure from now they normally tell stories on this show. It's so much more than "a futuristic Cujo" and more akin to The Terminator than anything else (with the obviousl messaging being about robotics/AI and tech disruption in general).

That said, my rankings for this season:

1. USS Callister
2. Crocodile
3. Black Museum
4. Hang the DJ / Metalhead (tie)
5. Arkangel

[Harley Quinn]

Finished up the final episode. Solid finale and I'm a sucker for anthology shit. Also loved how the 2 prior stories led to the 3rd. Also cool to see the actor who played Hardison on Leverage get a role.

1: USS Callister
2: Hang the DJ
3: Black Museum
4: Crocodile
5: Arkangel
6: Metalhead

[Harley Quinn]

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is the 1 & Half Hour Interactive Movie up on Netflix now. Intriguing concept and fitting of the "tech" background behind the series.

[Youth N Asia]

Finished up the final episode. Solid finale and I'm a sucker for anthology shit. Also loved how the 2 prior stories led to the 3rd. Also cool to see the actor who played Hardison on Leverage get a role.

1: USS Callister
2: Hang the DJ
3: Black Museum
4: Crocodile
5: Arkangel
6: Metalhead

Pretty much my ranking at the top. I’d probably put metalhead at 4 and push the other two down one each because of it.

[Epic by Faith No More]

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is the 1 & Half Hour Interactive Movie up on Netflix now. Intriguing concept and fitting of the "tech" background behind the series.

Watched it last night with several different endings but still felt disappointed at the end. I'm obviously going to watch it a few more times with different choices to flesh out the story more. Interesting concept and will see how well it catches on.

[Harley Quinn]

Yeah, I watched it and it felt like an interesting concept that didn't quite pan out to a good "movie" per se in part due to the constant shifting and having to go back for a different path, etc. which hurt its narrative flow for me.

[no fact, no matter]

I really do not enjoy interactive movies but I'll give this a go.