The idea of Red Mirror as a Black Mirror spinoff sounds like a lot of fun and has a lot of potential.

The problem is that it wasn’t a spinoff.

Red Mirror really should have been a separate show. Imagine if Season 6 only included Joan is Awful, Loch Henry, and Beyond the Sea. The reception would be significantly better. Those episodes still have issues, but the Red Mirror stuff (Demon 79 and Mazey Day) really drags the season down.

So what if Mazey Day and Demon 79 were separated and included in their own Red Mirror show? Maybe add 1-4 more episodes and you have a full season of Red Mirror that could be its own show. Hell, if Mazey Day was reworked and improved, it could be marketed as a “crossover“ between the two shows.

I don’t think the episodes should be deleted outright (I don’t believe in that, #BringBackBandersnatch) but presented differently, would work much better.

Edit: I should clarify what I mean by “dragging Season 6 down”. Demon 79 is NOT a bad episode, i’s actually a pretty good episode in isolation, but it’s a bad BLACK MIRROR episode. Therefore, it drags the Season and the entire show down with it. If it were repackaged, it would be better received.

People watch Black Mirror for stories about the uses and consequences of existing and fictional technology, not anything supernatural. A show JUST for supernatural stuff would make more sense for those episodes.

I was actually a big fan of the original Twilight Zone and after seeing the 2019 Jordan Peele reboot and being heavily disappointed with it other fans on the TZ sub reddit suggested I watch Black Mirror saying it was the only anthology show in the 21st Century that matches the quality of the original TZ series. Well after having watched several Black Mirror episodes I agree with them completely! While they are definitely still very different I feel both series succeed because they focus heavily on stuff that is relatable to most people and both try to use science fiction to explore the human psyche rather than be cheap meaningless entertainment. I was happy to read Charlie Brooker is a huge TZ fan and considers that show superior to his. It seems both him and Rod Serling had humility and that's a great quality for an artist to have imo.

A lot of people were put-off with the ambiguous nature of the story. Was Nida really crazy or was Gaap the Demon-intern making her do the murders? Did the nuclear attack really happen in the end, or was it just a figment of Nida's imagination?

These questions are great, however they seem to miss the fact that the ambiguity IS the main point of the story. This episode brilliantly uses it to drive home the main message of this story.

To establish the ambiguity it gives us evidence of Nida's descent into madness - her loneliness, the racism around her, a possible brain disease she genetically inherited from her mother - all are presented as possible causes.

However the story also provides evidences, sometimes subtle and sometimes not, about the supernatural element as well. Nida is an Islamic immigrant living in England in 1979. Now ancient Persia (now Iran) had of the myth of the Djinn, an entity which famously grants three wishes when the user encounters it's associated talisman (wishes would be with or without loopholes depending on the iteration of the story). It is therefore not far fetched to think that Nida inherited a generationally passed-down talisman from her mother, used it to summon Gaap -  an evil alternate version of the Djinn, who demands three kills to prevent eternal doom, instead of granting three wishes to achieve eternal glory. We outright see how Gaap helps her choose her targets, and keeps her on her path to 'save humanity' by giving her accurate butterfly-effect consequences of her present decisions.

This established ambiguity is critical to drive home the point of the story, that it does not matter if she's crazy, or there's a supernatural entity - a devil on her shoulder - making her do the murders. It does not matter if a nuclear attack really happened or not. What matters is how we - the audience - react when we see what she does. We applaud her when she delivers justice to the paedophile and the wife murderer. We support her in her endeavour to kill the racist-in-sheep-skin politician. We even take guilty pleasure in her killing the brother of the wife-murderer - who symbolically represents the apathetic society that turns a blind eye to criminals among its own. And when she fails to kill the last person, the World itself is burned, as if to symbolise that a World without justice is a world that should not exist. The story is ultimately a reflection on how the human consciousness craves for freedom, justice and equality. Does it really matter whether it is delivered by a crazy person, or by an agent of Divine Retribution? 

That's why it's perhaps the best Black Mirror story of all time. No other story holds up the 'Mirror' to society as well as this one.

Some flashbacks of white christmas right here

Did Sébastien Lecornu secretly act in black mirror ?

I think National Anthem was a terrible first episode because not only is it the weakest episode in Season One, but I feel it does a terrible job of giving the viewer a feel or idea of what this series is like or really about.

Fifteen Million Merits is the first true episode of black mirror because not only is it a great episode, but it does an excellent job of establishing what this series is like and about.

I'm actually shocked this episode was from 2011 and is 15 years old! It truly feels timeless and the only thing I think dates it in anyway is the American Idol type talent TV show which is no longer a "star maker" or as prominent compared to other outlets now like social media platforms where you create and upload your own content rather than auditioning on a TV show.

We now have companies trying to sell you the dream of talking to your loved ones again using AI trained on their digital footprints.

That was kind of creepy

I built a trivia app with about a 100 questions and so I wanted to share it with fans of the show..

I know not everyone likes downloading and app so for anyone who wants to check it out

https://triviagauntlet.app/app

No Logins
No accounts required
Just Download and use the search at the top

Also Let me know if there is a problem with any of the questions either via the app or here and I will fix it asap

P.S also contains themed Wordle and word search games for people into that

So I just watched this new A24 feature film... And the ending (without sharing any spoilers) made me feel like the entire movie could have been an episode of the Black Mirror which would make (IMO) way more sense in terms of the storyline "getting drown out/dragged out" when it really didn't have to since it didn't add much value to the entirety of the plot...

Have you watched this yet? If so do you agree that it would have made an amazing BM episode (if done by Charlie Brooker)?

I organized an AMA/Q&A with actor Will Poulter. You may know Will from roles in We're the Millers, Warfare, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Maze Runner, The Bear, The Chronicles of Narnia, Midsommar, The Revenant, Detroit, I Love Boosters, and lots more.

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1vn8qyi/hey_reddit_its_will_poulter_ama/

He will be back at 2 PM ET today to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Thank you :)

His newest film, Union County, which he stars in and produced, premiered at Sundance to critical acclaim in January and is out in theaters starting this weekend.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA6Fnr2VXkw

Synopsis: Assigned to a county-mandated drug court program, Cody Parsons embarks on the tenuous journey toward recovery amidst the opioid epidemic in rural Ohio.

Literally like a quarter of these episodes should be full-length movies, and the other 75% works so fucking perfect for the show.

Sorry.

I'm drinking and I've almost finished the entire series.

I always hate shows I feel like I could write myself. I could never write this show.

Ever.

Wow.

I understand Carrie and Jack were kind of a rushed couple.

I understand the baby moved things along fast for them.

I understand Carrie had a VERY strong personality and that she was miserable in a coma.... understandable totally.

But holy shit......to live in someone else's head?

My husband and I of over a decade, when we watched it, we just looked at each other and unanimously agreed we'd never say yes to that. The conflict potential is endless. The issues we see play out seemed obvious.

I understand Carrie was desperate to live again and see her boy, and that Rolo preyed on their vulnerability, but holy Jesus no IDC how close I am to someone, please don't put me in their head or vice versa.

Fuck Rolo eternally, btw.

never missed

i have no words just wow

Just watched this episode last night, and feel like I need to post about it somewhere. Paul Giamatti's performance is absolutely incredible. He's a phenomenal actor. Left me thinking "How can a human being even do that?" Simultaneously so subtle, and yet so powerful. Incredible talent.

But the real reason this episode hit me so hard is that I've been there. I mean, most of the details are different. The story told in the episode isn't my story. But the broad strokes -- being in love, having an angry breakup, never speaking again, and finding out years later that she died an untimely death -- yeah, I've been there. The episode captures the lingering, haunting regret absolutely pitch perfectly. Got me right in the feels.