Black Mirror- “ Bandersnatch “

*** Spoiler Alert ***
No way to write this or discuss this episode without tons of spoilers. So, fair warning !!

Bandersnatch.

I’m far enough in on my first viewing that I’m seeing “Netflix” as a choice. Amusing. ( Not as amusing as watching the story “ end “ and watching the “ credits “ roll - and when I clicked to see how much time was left, I discovered no active timeline. For the first time in any material I’ve watched on Netflix. Amusing.

Equally amusing, but a bit sad, is how much of this is stolen from other writers. There’s an old Star Trek fanfic piece called “ Visit To A Weird Planet “, wherein the cast finds itself transported onto the real Enterprise. Then, a while later, the predictable “ Visit To A Weird Planet Revisited “, wherein the reverse occurs, and the 23rd Century crew transports down onto the sound stage at Desilu Studios.

The meta moment has just occurred in Bandersnatch, and so I figured it’s a good time to compose this post. Our intrepid central character has just found himself on a set on a soundstage.

I figure I ought to keep clicking on every option not yet chosen so I can be informed when this thing comes up, as it still does sometimes, in conversation. But I am past intrigued and well into bored.

They’re stealing everything from everybody. Is that the point? That there’s no such thing as an original computer game idea? ( Doubt this )

Will post back in when I think I’ve exhausted the options.

I don’t game, never have. I’m quite aware of the level of viewer manipulation I’m participating in by dint of making choices as the game / show progresses.

Thoughts on this episode?

I think it’s a love it or hate it episode.

I loved it. I remember laughing my ass off when “I” revealed to the protagonist he’s a character on a Netflix show. (And then having to explain to him what Netflix is.)

That said, I tried another viewing so I could explore other options, but it wasn’t as fun.

Stolen? The Bandersnatch writers probably never read that fanfic, and even if they did, it takes a lot more than a similar premise to steal something.

There’s nothing new under the sun. Hell I’m pretty sure when Aristophanes was breaking the fourth wall back in the fourth century BC some knowitall in the theatre complained up his ripping off Aeschylus.

True dat.

That “Bandersnatch” is not original enough is one of the craziest criticisms of any sort of any sort of media I’ve ever heard.

Not as crazy as saying it ripped off a fanfic imo.