I am a fan of Black Mirror. I think the writer, Charlie Brooker, is very clever and not afraid to speak his mind. He used to do a show at the end of each year, reviewing the year. He was never worried about tackling from big topics and usually making light of them.
Black Mirror hit our screens in 2011 and, from the off, it had a hard-hitting story. The first episode was about the UK Prime Minster being blackmailed into having sex with a pig on live TV. If you have seen it, you know how it sits with you.
There have now been 6 seasons of the show, with series 6 just starting streaming on Netflix. Here is a review of the new series, episode by episode.
Joan is Awful
Imagine if the terms and conditions of Netflix meant you gave them rights to make a show about you, in every detail. They did make it happy but found the ratings would go up if they made it about you being an awful person.
This was a very clever story and, again, one of those ones that will keep you thinking about it after it has finished. In the episode, Joan, an average lady, is played by Selma Hayek in the show about her life. But it turns out it’s not really Hayek, but just her image.
I felt this episode was really good, right up until the end. It was a bit of a let-down, but it was still a very interesting episode to watch.
Loch Henry
Episode 2 of Black Mirror was about a couple looking to make a documentary, but then change it to make a video about a local murderer.
Some of this episode was played out with older VHS video footage and had a good story to it. It was a little cliched in places and I’m sure I’ve seen the story before somewhere. Overall though, it was decent.
Beyond the Sea
Two astronauts are on a deep space mission. Back home on Earth though, they have ‘replicant’ androids that they can log into and ‘still be at home’ so to speak. They spend time in the spacecraft but also spend time at home with their wife and kids.
A group of activists, who think the replicants are an abomination, kill one of the crew’s family, in front of him as he is logged into the replicant. This is just the tip of the iceberg with this story.
This has to be one of the best bits of TV I have seen in a while. The story is dark and it’s very hard-hitting. I’m not spoiling anything, but the end was a ‘chef’s kiss’ of an ending.
Mazey Day
A famous actress goes missing and a ‘down-on-her-luck’ paparazzi goes looking for her. She and some colleagues track the actress down to a very private rehab clinic, where it’s not drugs she’s trying to kick.
I did really like this episode, but like some of the others I felt it was let down by the ending. I was really invested in the characters, but then it just ended. I could have happily carried on watching for another hour.
Demon 79
This was, unfortunately, A Knock at the Cabin. A young girl finds a talisman with a demon inside. He is in the form of a demon, but then changes his appearance to the dancer from Boney M. She is told that she has to kill 3 people to prevent the apocalypse from happening.
This was a shame since A Knock in the Cabin came out first, but this is a far superior story. I loved the demon, particularly how he was dressed. It added a nice bit of humour to it.
Overall
Again, I love Black Mirror, you don’t know what you’re going to watch and there are stories that will sit with you for a while. Shawn once said:
The worst crime a movie can commit is to be forgettable.
I’ve seen movies and a day or two later, I couldn’t tell you a thing about them. Beyond the Sea is one of those things I will think about for a long time.
In a nutshell, if you want to see something different, something with a good level of intelligence and good stories, you won’t be disappointed.
Black Mirror, all series, is streaming on Netflix.
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