I just saw the first episode. It’s very disturbing, especially considering that such a thing is entirely possible in our new connected world. I won’t post any spoilers but I’ll warn that it’s not a family show, and it’s very intense and disturbing.
In case anybody is wondering what Black Mirror is all about:
[QUOTE=Wiki]
Black Mirror is a British television anthology series created by Charlie Brooker that shows the dark side of life and technology. The series is produced by Zeppotron for Endemol. Regarding the programme’s content and structure, Brooker noted, “each episode has a different cast, a different setting, even a different reality. But they’re all about the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes’ time if we’re clumsy.”[1]
An Endemol press release describes the series as “a hybrid of The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected which taps into our contemporary unease about our modern world”, with the stories having a “techno-paranoia” feel.[2] Channel 4 describes the first episode as “a twisted parable for the Twitter age”.[3] Black Mirror Series 1 was released on DVD on 27 February 2012.[4]
In November 2012, Black Mirror won the Best TV movie/mini-series award at the International Emmys.[5]
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Sounds interesting, I’ll have to give it a shot.
Thanks for sharing.
Hah, yes, Black Mirror is Charlie Brooker going to some very dark places. I can’t remember exactly (there’s no over-arching narrative, it’s just a collection of near-future stories), but isn’t the first one the one where
the Prime Minister is blackmailed into fucking a pig on live TV?
Baron Greenback, I don’t want to open your spoiler in case you’re thinking of one that I haven’t seen yet. If you’ve seen them all then you can check my spoiler and tell me if we’re talking about the same thing.
A princess is kidnapped and the kidnappers demand that the prime minister has intercourse with a pig on live TV.
That’s the one davidm. I put it a bit more bluntly 
It’s quite the concept…
The second episode of the second series “White Bear” is a masterpiece.
Hrm.
From the bit spoiled in a couple of posts above, the show sounds fairly over-the-top considering its comparisons to Twilight Zone. (Which, of course, being a product of 50’s TV, wasn’t exactly subtle, but still when I hear the show evoked I expect something more quiet and creepy and make-you-think-y than what I saw described above.)
Inaccurate snap judgment on my part?
Without searching for a cite, but didn’t Jon Hamm specifically ask to meet Charlie Brooker on a recent uk visit and has since filmed the Black Mirror Christmas Special?
I think so. Black Mirror uses some grotesque imagery and concepts to make its points, but it is actually fairly thoughtful and astute (I know this sounds unlikely, given the spoiled plot synopsis)
Around the turn of the century, Brooker did a thing called TV Go Home which skewered in bitter and biting fashion then-current trends in programme production, by just taking it a little further. Now that TV has caught up with his nightmarish vision, Black Mirror is the same sort of idea, just with the networking technology added into the mix.
Anyone know if it’s on Hulu?
I would agree. The spoilers were intended to indicate to each other that we were in fact discussing the same episode. They weren’t meant as a full description or critique. They don’t really do it justice.
While grotesque, it does have a point and it does make you think. It’s disturbing rather than disgusting, at least to me. It’s kind of a shame though that you read the spoilers, knowing about it kind of ruins a shocking moment. I would recommend to anyone else that you don’t read the spoilers if you’re intending to watch it, although it’s still worth watching even if you have. What’s revealed in the spoilers comes out early in the show. They don’t give away a twist ending or anything like that.
Yes.
This series is gut-wrenching and fantastic. Be sure to check it out!
Thanks for the further clarification. We’ll give it a whirl.
Concerning spoilers, I’m a big fan of reading all of them every chance I get. 
Turns out there’s research to indicate this enhances the enjoyment rather than detracting from it, though I’d be lying if I said that this research is the reason I read spoilers. I just like readin’ em.
I’m skeptical of that research in general, and I’m not so sure that it’s applicable in this particular case. The moment when the Prime Minister is told the kidnappers’ demand is quite shocking. I was not expecting anything remotely like it. The shock was largely realizing that in the age of Youtube and Twitter kidnappers can make outrageous demands in such a manner that authorities can’t possibly hide the demands from the public, try as they might, and that public figures could suddenly find themselves feeling pressure from the public to humiliate themselves in ways that objectively cause little harm, but are emotionally devastating, in order to prevent some horrible act such as the murder of a beloved princess. In retrospect it seems obvious that someone could attempt this, but I at least never considered the possibility. It’s a rather frightening realization. I find myself hoping that it doesn’t inspire some maniac.
I’ve added this to my list. It sounds right up my alley and Netflix predicts 4.6 stars for me, so we’ll see!
Just added - thanks!
I do love Charlie Brooker’s take on things and Black Mirror has some masterpiece episodes.
“The entire history of you” is one the most haunting near-vision futures I’ve seen. The tech involved is* just close enough to possible and the evolved behaviours of the protagonists are just* about familiar enough to us to be unnerving.
I particularly like the fact that he doesn’t really offer any solutions or happy endings. It is very much, “this is where we may be going…make of it what you will”
This show is an absolute masterpiece. I can’t think of any other show I’ve seen in recent years that has stuck with me and made me think like Black Mirror has. It’s often disturbing and very dark, but incredibly well-done. Some episodes are, of course, slightly better than others.
The most interesting thing about Black Mirror is that, I started following Charlie Brooker many years ago because he is a very, very funny guy. Check out any of his stuff via Google.
Here is this week’s rant about consumerism.
I’m sorry, but I can’t take this seriously. It sounds like the series is being produced by the decapitated and artificially-life-supported head of a Marx Brother on behalf of a high blood pressure drug.