For anyone who hasn't seen it, I would highly recommend it. It's basically a modern day Twilight Zone.<p>As some of the other comments have pointed out, episodes 1 and 2 are good but not great. There's a review on AV Club [1] that address it really well, but the general sense is the producers were not quite sure what tone to strike. They tried to mix shock value with sci-fi, a bit of audience pandering and some humor, and it ended up kind of flat.<p>Episode 3 is where it really takes off. I won't give spoilers but it hit so hard I later realized I wasn't prepared for it. I watched it twice to see whether or not it still had value outside of the "shock", and even the second time I found that it was a fascinating look at where we might be going.<p>EDIT: I forgot to mention, Robert Downey Jr. bought the rights to turn episode 3 into a movie. The story will center on a widower who uses the technology to reconstruct a vast conspiracy. [2]<p>[1] <a href="http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/black-mirror-the-national-anthem-105464" rel="nofollow">http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/black-mirror-the-national-anthe...</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/feb/12/robert-downey-jr-black-mirror" rel="nofollow">http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/feb/12/robert-downey-jr...</a>
Brilliant show. Black Mirror is a bit cerebral, thus not everyone's cup of tea. The episodes I've seen seem to show one sort of technology that's different from what we have, but reminiscent of something common. By the end of the episode, you find yourself wondering if the harmless tech you use is really so harmless.
I find it intriguing that the author of this article places "Her" in the "path of least resistance" camp. Specifically, the author states that "Her":<p>> focuses more on the male protagonist’s inability to connect with other humans than the implications of unleashing such powerful programs on the world<p>I thought "Her" had an incredible amount of restraint, and the story of the AI itself was told through a human <i>lens</i>. This is actually exactly what I observed in many episodes of Black Mirror: normal people living their daily lives, and an exploration of what happens when human nature is enhanced or challenged by advanced technologies.<p>Really, when I first watched Black Mirror, "Her" came to mind immediately. "Black Mirror" is perhaps more overtly bleak, but I feel that's a choice of <i>tone</i> rather than a decision to take a somehow more difficult path. "Her" raises a lot of the same questions, even if it doesn't judge quite as harshly.
Either its about art, or its about the loss of innocence caused by technology forcing us to pit moral values against each other that we didn't have to before due to technology increasing the available options.<p><a href="http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/01/01/black-mirror-as-hell-is-other-people-futurism/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/01/01/black-mirror-as-hell-is...</a>
White Bear , S2E2 was as good as I could imagine a modern version of the Twilight Zone can be. Blurring modern day life, SciFi, surrealism, entertainment, and 4th wall breaking oddities.
If you appreciate the underlying vibe, you might also like the 'weekly wipe' series. Different format, it's news / political satire. It's created by the same guy - Charlie Brooker.
Terrible show. I can't speak to episode 3 and beyond because I didn't watch it, 1 and 2 were so bad. I only saw the episodes that were available on Netflix. Episodes 1 and 2 (PM Pigfucker and Reality TV Ad World) were HORRIBLY paced, slower than molasses in January, with so much wasted time that should have been either cut, or filled with more story. Instead, we're given the basis of the episode in the first few minutes, then we get that concept beaten like a dead horse for 30ish more minutes, then a completely unsatisfying ending. There was a minor twist in 1 that could have been more enjoyable were I not so annoyed at how bad the rest of the episode was, and the twist in episode 2 was just obnoxious and completely unoriginal. There were so many moments they could have done interesting things with what happens in the episodes, but instead, they just leave half finished statements all over the place. A complete waste of time, money, and talent.<p>It reminded me of Blair Witch, which was a fantastic 20 minute short film that for no reason was padded out with an additional hour of footage of snotty college kids crying and yelling "FUCK!" in the woods.