Sorry, but this post borders on pseudo-intellectual hogwash. It is like you are saying that if someone doesn’t like the first episode, then they won’t like “Nosedive” or “White Christmas”…even though they have very different themes and plotlines and characters.
The only reason I kept watching after episode 1 was because people hyped the whole series, not just single episodes. I wasn’t repulsed by the first episode or anything. It just didn’t punch any of my buttons. But other episodes did.
Don’t overthink this. It is just a freakin’ TV show.
“Black Mirror” is clearly not for everyone. The show makes you think (sometimes about things you’d prefer not to), and can make you really uncomfortable…because it is revealing about things YOU are not totally comfortable with.
I don’t recall the title, but the one where people have an implant that stores everything they’ve seen/experienced, and can be replayed to the user as well as to the outside world was really uncomfortable for me. I ended up stopping it, and then coming back to it later.
There was another one where people’s entire “standing” was based on (Facebook-like) “likes” you received from everyone else. And this woman just keeps spiralling out of control because of it.
I love that the show’s stories examine how technology, even with the best intentions, can turn into nightmares.
You do realize that child rape comes into play in another Black Mirror episode, right? Although I do agree the first epi is a litmus test. It has all the worst things about this series in a dull, tone-deaf package. If you can sit through it, then child rape and baby killing is easy!
This. Some folks don’t have the intestinal fortitude to think about the sorts of social horrors that are already at our doorstep, and this show isn’t for them. Other folks do have the courage to contemplate how bad things can get, and maybe to make changes to prevent/mitigate those kinds of situations. Not everything worthwhile is pleasant.
It has nothing to do with “pleasant.” The first episode doesn’t really have the same tone as the rest of the episodes. It struck me more as absurd comedy a la Delicatessen or something of that nature, but the rest of the series isn’t really like that. For me, that just wasn’t a particularly insightful episode. It didn’t make me think as much as the rest of the series has. (But it wasn’t as bad as something like “The Waldo Moment.” But, of the first three seasons, it was easily the second worst episode to my tastes.) I mean, I’m all for pig-fucking in TV series–that doesn’t squick me out. But is it done for good purpose? I didn’t think so.
I dunno, it seemed one of the few stories that could actually break tomorrow morning. I rather liked it because it takes the blanket “don’t negotiate with terrorists” wisdom and utterly betrays it because of politics.
I thought it was widely understood that the first episode of a series is generally not representative of subsequent episodes. I doubt most series would be successful if people used the very first episode as a “litmus test”.
It is very much possible to fully comprehend what an episode is trying to achieve and still be completely “meh” about it.
Granted, when I read about the David Cameron story in the Daily Mail (which, I know, I know, doesn’t exactly have have a reputation of stellar reporting), I did think back to the Black Mirror episode and how, well, maybe I should have suspended disbelief just a wee bit more.
If it was so bad why did they choose it for the premier?
To me it set out the satirical mission and staked out all positions to the left of weird, so it’s audience knew who they were. (Anyone who can recall Monty Pythons debut in the states knows that) I knew exactly that I wanted to see the whole series then and not referee episodes against each other.
We are getting absurd on social media. It needs to be witnessed and worked on by artists. The first episode made it clear that it was doing that. A tv show that is sui generis at the moment needs some encouragement. The writing seems great to me.
I didn’t think it was necessary bad per se, but I didn’t think it was wholly representative of the series. Like I said, I didn’t dislike it upon initial viewing, but when I saw the rest of the series for that season and the next two, I thought it was severely lacking and not representative.
I’m a fan. Some episodes more than others of course and I agree with the idea of having to be in the right mental frame of mind for certain episodes.
What I like is the purity of its “what if” nature. It takes one idea and runs with it to see how the extremes play out. That takes us to dark places but plausible places and therein lies the horror. It also very cleverly balances the technology on the edge of what is currently possible and tempts us to take a little peek over the edge. They disturb and horrify us precisely because we see hints of it all around us and to an extent we are all the frogs being boiled and we may not realise until too late. I think they act as cautionary tales, modern fables.
Some of it is very intense and I fully understand why it isn’t for everyone but for those who are a fan I might also recommend “Inside no.9” an anthology horror/suspense/comedy series by Reece Sheersmith and Steve Pemberton who you may know as writers and actors in “the League of Gentlemen”
Came here to post that same episode. Coincidentally that’s the the first ep I watched so you can imagine my surprise when every other ep is quite dark.
I’m one of those people who didn’t watch beyond the first episode. I’m surprised at people saying the pig-fucking episode ‘made them think’ - what about, exactly? :o
Um, like if you have the choice between letting someone be murdered, possibly horribly, and fucking a pig on camera, thereby caving to the demands of a terrorist along with whatever baggage fucking a pig brings you–which do you choose? Kind of a no brainer for you? Not seeing just a little bit of hard choosing? And does it seem like a scenario that’s too far-fetched for reality? The right answer is to never negotiate with or obey a blackmailer/terrorist, but would you be prepared to let you favorite politician allow the murder on that principle? Would you be able to let an innocent die if you had the power to stop it?
And also-- would you watch? I think the people most at fault were the millions who tuned in to view. There were watch parties and bars stuffed with people all who just could not wait to watch the Prime Minister debase himself even though there was an active campaign to get the public NOT to watch. I think those are the people this episode shined its creepy-assed light on.
No, it just bludgeoned over the head with its fucking “point.” That’s a lot why I’m not a huge fan of “Nosedive.” Nice premise. Started out good. Then just wouldn’t stop beating you over the head with its point. Just no subtlety. That’s how I feel about a quarter of Black Mirror episodes, and those kind of bristle at me. The rest are great. (And, actually, Twilight Zone has those moments as well.)