Klaus

Crazy that this managed to reach its 100th episode when it has like 6 episodes a series! Was a great celebration though and its nice to see that Ant & Dec still love to do the show (at least it comes across that way)!

 

I really do think that since its 'revival' it has got better with every series and it has become the PERFECT Saturday night entertainment show!

TOP THREE:

 

SAN JUNIPERO

USS CALLISTER

WHITE BEAR

 

 

04. NOSEDIVE

 

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Average: 9.3

Highest: 11 (Jack) 10 (lewistgreen, ionderella, HarryEzra, Chez Wombat, lotitia, jafetsgfinns, Oliver, Botchia, Josh, Liam, Klaus)

Lowest: 6 (LewisGT)

 

In a world where people rate each other 1-5 stars for ever interaction that they have and this impacts their socioeconomic status, Lacie is obsessed in getting the best rating that she can. She needs a higher rating in order to move into a better house. She has been chosen by her popular childhood friend to be the maid of honour for her wedding and she finds this as a great opportunity to elevate her rating. However, on her way to the wedding, a number of problems mean that she sees a rapid reduction in her rating.

 

This episode was many people's first look at the show since its vastly increased budget as it moved to Netflix from Channel 4. Therefore, the episode went all out to highlight this budget change, creating an entire world that was dependant on ratings and the episode featured a pastel aesthetic. Alongside USS Callister, this is the show at its most 'Hollywood' and its most glossy but that helps it with the weird world that has been created. I find the whole idea an absolute worst nightmare as I cba with social media as it is, nevermind having to fake your whole entire life just to have access to good things! I love the whole downward journey that Lacie goes on but downward in a way that actually helps and could improve her life! The whole episode is the perfect exaggeration of what life is currently like as, particularly with things like Instagram, we're all trying to display that we're all living a much better life than we currently are, purely to impress other people.

 

When people talk about Black Mirror all being set in one universe, I think this is the episode that doesn't really fit with that as everything is clearly dependant on ratings, particularly your access to things so that doesn't fit in with all the other episodes.

 

Parallels with real life: the episode mixes social media with things like Uber where you rate the drivers and the drivers rate you. There's also the app Peeple that rates individuals and initially you could be included even without signing up!!! China are also proposing a Social Credit System that is intended to assign a social credit rating to every citizen regarding their economic and social status. Scary indeed.

 

05. HATED IN THE NATION

 

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Average: 9.16

Highest: 10 (lewistgreen, ionderella, Calum, Chez Wombat, lotitia, Dexton, jafetsgfinns, dandy*, Botchia, Iz)

Lowest: 7 (HausofTroye)

 

DCI Karen and Trainee Blue are investigating some deaths. It is revealed that these deaths are as a result of mechanical bees that target their victims as a result of a 'Game of Consequences' where writing #Deathto could actually cause the death of someone. It is a race against time to prevent there being a next victim.

 

This is definitely Black Mirror: the Movie as it is the longest (i think) episode and it does have that movie feel about it. It has obviously become known as the one with the killer bees but I think it is such a good comment on social media as we're so much more keen to show and express our hate, not even dislike, on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. It's so much easier to hide behind a screen and there's so many death threats that fly around for the smallest of things. If someone has been in the public eye, there is a guarantee that they will have received a death threat and how is that even normal? ANYWAY, I think it deals with this issue so well, starting off with a Katie Hopkins type figure and moving onto some very realistic 'hate figures' as every now and then social media (and the media in general) targets people who have done something wrong, sending all sorts of threats only to forget about them two weeks later. It all builds up to a brilliant finale.

 

Parallels with real life: The research group of Eijiro Miyako at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan is currently working on Materially Engineered Artificial Pollinators using micro-drones. The killer bees are coming!!!

 

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There's always one who has already seen it all!

Very interesting that he put all the diverse people in hell and everyone else in heaven!

 

It is early days but I do agree that I'm not completely feeling it yet. I guess its just because we haven't seen enough of the houseguests though. I don't have a clue who any of them are and lots of them blend into each other. I genuinely haven't been able to distinguish any of them so far.

 

She might have been horrendous but I really do feel gutted for Kirsten! To be a major superfan and be that close to entering the house only to be taken away from you by someone who has only watched the show whilst being sequestered! Odd that they're playing so much on the fans bringing the show back and a fan can't even get in the house.

06. WHITE CHRISTMAS

 

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Average: 9.03

Highest: 11 (Klaus) 10 (ionderella, bridgecow, Chez Wombat)

Lowest: 6 (lewistgreen)

 

Two men are stationed at a remote outpost in the middle of a snowy wilderness. They tell each other their respective lives whilst preparing Christmas dinner, forming three mini-stories. In the first part, Matt tells his story of being a dating coach using an augmented reality device implanted in his client's eye whilst several other single men watch over the internet. The second story is also told by Matt as he explains his profession is using a chip that is implanted in a person's brain, creating a copy of the consciousness that is placed in a device to run a smart house. The third story is told by Joe as he explains his partner blocked him after she wanted to abort a baby. These all link together for a chilling conclusion.

 

I love love LOVE this episode as I feel each story is SO strong that they are able to stand up by themselves and each leave a lasting impact. In particular, I feel the 'cookie' story is so dark for me as its the living consciousness that is left in a place with nothing to do. Its when he skips for several months, I always just imagine how torturous that must be for the consciousness! The twists in all the stories and the overall ending are just so good and the best of the show. There's not one bad part of the whole episode for me. I love the whole personal aspect to the third story and how it culminates in a shocking reveal as his daughter isn't actually his daughter and that he actually ends up indirectly killing her! Then you have that now traditional double twist as your perceptions are turned on their head as Joe's consciousness is being tortured and Matt being blocked by everyone! omg its just so good, I don't think I've mentioned that yet. It should be higher!!

 

 

Parallels with real life: Smart Homes are trying to be a thing, helped by home assistant devices such as Alexa. Hopefully, people's consciousnesses aren't living inside them!a

 

I've seen Agents of SHIELD (s1-4 so far!!) and all the Netflix shows! I want to watch Agent Carter and there seems to be praise for Runaways. I'm happy to miss out Inhumans though :lol:

 

My favourite has to be Jessica Jones, for reasons I've expressed multiple times on here before! One of the best series in recent years, I'm hyped to watch the second season.

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There's been TEN Marvel TV series since 2013 that are all part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but, aside from Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, there are little crossovers with the films.

 

US Network ABC (owned by Disney) has produced three series: Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter and Inhumans (originally meant to be a film).

 

Netflix has produced its own 'mini'-universe within the MCU as Daredevil, Jessica Jones. Luke Cage and Iron Fist all have their own series and they also teamed up for The Defenders. The Punisher is also the latest series, having originally appeared in Daredevil.

 

THEN, Hulu have also produced Runaways which aired November last year.

 

Which is your favourite though and which ones have you seen? Has anyone managed to see all 237 episodes so far??

Watched the first episode and it was better than I was expecting (only because the reviews have been sub-par!). I am worried how the series will pan out as it doesn't have Kilgrave in a main villain capacity and he was a BIG part in what helped make the first series so good. He's the best villain of the whole MCU for me.

 

Still feeling positive though.

They must dedicate one household’s licence fee for the budget for the music videos for our entries. Maybe even that’s too expensive :lol:

 

One thing that bugs me about the song is that it feels as though they couldn’t decide what Middle 8 to have so they stuck both in there and it really stops the song flowing. I would have liked the first Middle 8 to be the sole one.

sure it's don mclean's label or management tweeting about ellie goulding, the man has to be in his 70s for sure

People in their 70s don’t have brains??

07. HANG THE DJ

 

 

Average: 8.98

Highest: 10 (lewistgreen, ionderella, Calum, Dexton, Botchia, LewisGT, Josh, HausofTroye)

Lowest: 7 (Oliver, Harve)

 

Amy and Frank are two people in an enclosed system that have a digital Coach that trials romantic relationships. Coach dictates how long partners spend together, collecting the data which helps it to find their ultimate compatible other. Amy and Frank are paired together but only for 12 hours before being paired off with others for months or years but their attraction from those 12 hours persists...

 

I feel a lot of Series 4 (with its episode structure) paralleled Season 3 a bit but this is the most 'obvious' with a comparison to San Junipero as it is another romantic drama with a happy ending because of the technology. It still stands very strong in its own regard though and I was questioning what the whole circumstances etc were throughout! It was a very interesting but odd premise as you are thrown into this world where the people are put on blind dates that you are forced to be on for months or even years. I think the chemistry between the two leads was very strong and helped to sell the story really well, meaning that the ending had a strong impact. The resolution is in fact one of the strongest. The only thing that did bother me (especially after USS Callister) was, do each of those 1000 incarnations have real feelings/awareness etc, isn't that torture to have 1000 incarnations of yourself going through years of misery just to find your perfect match?? :mellow:

 

Parallels with real life: Tinder and Siri are the two biggest examples of the inspirations of the technology in the episode. If only the technology here did exist so we could all find our perfect match!!

 

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08. SHUT UP AND DANCE

 

 

Average: 8.8

Highest: 11 (LewisGT, Josh) 10 (bridgecow, lotitia, Iz, HausofTroye, Liam)

Lowest: 6 (Calum)

 

A teenage boy is blackmaied into committing different acts, including criminal, by a mysterious hacker who has possessed a video of him master-baking. In these acts, he is joined by a middle-aged man that the same hacker is blackmailing over infidelity.

 

I think this is the most 'real' Black Mirror episode as it is something that uses the technology that we have today and could easily be DONE today. It therefore pushes morality questions of how far would you go to protect a dark secret. In that respect, I found it really test and I loved the performance of Alex Lawther (omg you need to check out The End of the f***ing World!!). It is such a great build-up to a really shocking final act as all your perceptions are turned on their head! The simplicity of the episode really helps and often that makes it even darker....

 

Parallels with real life: well, hacking and blackmailing are two common parts of today's society and so can happen right now! Lots of celebs erm private videos have been hacked and released.

 

09. BLACK MUSEUM

 

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Average: 8.26

Highest: 10 (Dexton, Oliver, Botchia, LewisGT) 9 (ionderella, Chez Wombat, Jack, lotitia, jafetsfiggins, )

Lowest: 6 (lewistgreen, Iz)

 

Nish visits the Black Museum whilst waiting for her car to charge. She meets the proprietor, Rolo who gives her a tour. He tells the tale of a doctor that got an implant that allowed him to feel the physical sensations of others but soon meant he got off on feeling pain. The next story he tells is off a man who shared a consciousness with his dead wife until she is transferred into a toy monkey. The next story is the main attraction of a hologram projection of a convicted murderer where visitors can put him in the electric chair over and over again. We then learn that Nish didn't accidentally venture into the Black Museum as we first thought...

 

Black Museum is the second Black Mirror episode to feature a trio of mini-stories and the highlight for me was all the little easter eggs that referenced previous episodes, including White Bear, Arkangel and Fifteen Million Merits. It was interesting to see that the episodes could all be taking place in the same 'universe' but I think the easter eggs are as far as I'd like to see that idea being taken. I did also like that we sort of saw a face behind some of these technology inventions and how dark that character also was. As for the stories, my favourite was the teddy bear one. It was reminiscent to one of the features of White Christmas and I find it so dark for a person to be internally trapped with no real voice! I know a lot of people's favourites was the doctor one but it didn't capture me as much as everyone else, I think it served its purpose within the short story. It was great that it all came together and Nish's true intentions were revealed, although I'm sure any Black Mirror fan would know that something was up with either her intentions or Rolos!

 

omg my continued irrelevance

Yeh watch BBCan when it starts next week, mich better than BBUS but the same format! Avoid BB19 at ALL costs though, the only redeeming feature of the season is the last 5 minutes and that is IT, with zero exaggeration! :lol: the worst set of housemates you could have encounter for how DULL they made it.

 

As for Celebrity BB, it turned out really good in the end. The housemates were actually playing which made sich a nice refresh compared to the long drawn out for nothing BB19. It does make me think though that the main series would be so mich better if it was shorter. The housemates were great in themselves but the speediness of the whole thing really helped inject even more life into it. It’s possible why BBCan has been better than BBUS, as that’s only on for 8 weeks I think compared to the 14 of BBUS despite having the same number of houseguests!!

 

Really hope that the bitter jury trend stops though, its getting irritating when you have a clear winner who has played the game and doesn’t win BECAUSE they’ve played the game!

what a bonkers final episode! :lol:

 

It's nice that it leaves it open for a second series but, considering the ratings don't seem to support one, it would have been nice to have a greater explanation of things. Overall, the series was solid, if nothing special. It would have been a lot stronger if it had been 4 episodes, as there was a lot of filler between eps 2-5 or

 

10. THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF YOU

 

 

Average: 8.2

Highest: 11 (BridgeCow, HarryEzra, HausofTroye) 10 (Calum, Josh)

Lowest: 6 (ionderella, Botchia), 5 (Iz)

 

Society can now have implanted 'grains' in their heads that record everything that they see and hear, allowing them to reply scenes of their life. At a dinner party, Liam finds his wife, Ffion, talking to a man that he doesn't recognise. Later, Ffion admits she used to be in a relationship with him before meeting Liam but Liam becomes more paranoid...

 

The last of Series 1 falls now, but it shows that the series got better as it went along. It is the only episode of the show not to have at least been co-written by Charlie Brooker! The episode plays into the paranoia that relationships can sometimes bring but enforces it through the opportunity of being able to replay scenes, thereby increasing your thoughts of the situation. Being able to rewind and watch scenes of your life is a technological ability that appears brilliant and incredibly useful on paper but would be very dangerous in practice. The two leads, including the 13th Doctor, really help push the story.

 

Coincidentally, the episode helped inspire Crocodile which is one place lower! Further, the episode was optioned to be potentially made into a film by Robert Downey Jr. However, that was in 2013 and there has been no news since...

 

Parallels with real life: Google glasses, snapchat lense etc allow us to record what we see

 

 

I don’t know why anyone would sign with Syco these days, they just don’t understand how the music industry has changed and have had no clue how to manage any artists in recent years apart from Little Mix.

 

What more could Ella have done? She had a massive single, a platinum (?) selling album, and two decent selling features. If it’s because of the delay, the label have a massive part to play in that?? You don’t just wait for an artist to go around making songs for however long it will take unless the artist is Adele :lol:

 

I can’t get over how much they’ve messed uo Labrinth’s career too, from just doing... nothing :drama:

Such a brilliant comedy and show!! Just by the end of the first episode, you feel like you’ve known the characters for at least a full series beforehand and what each of them bring!

 

The fish shop fire was my favourite moment <3

 

The mam looks a lot like Zanab from Eastenders.

That’s so true!! She’s been looking very familiar for me, I’m wondering if its because of that??

It does look a really interesting concept for a show, it was added to my ever growing list a while ago :kink:

omg it has been renewed for FOUR more series which will each have 10 episodes!

 

I think 10 episodes it possible a bit too much of an overload, I felt 8 for the last two was slightly pushing it.

 

Anyway, Series 6 airs in the spring with to Alice Levine, Asim Chaudhry, Liza Tarbuck, Russell Howard and Tim Vine!

 

Very excited for Alice!

TOP 10:

 

Black Museum

Hang the DJ

Hated in the Nation

Nosedive

San Junipero

Shut Up and Dance

The Entire History of You

USS Callister

White Bear

White Christmas

 

11. CROCODILE

 

 

Average: 8.15

Highest: 10 (ionderella, BridgeCow, lotitia, Botchia, Josh, Severin, HausofTroye)

Lowest: 5 (HarryEzra), 1 (LewisGT)

 

Mia helps her friend cover up a hit and run death and, many years later, her friend comes to her to tell her that he is going to tell the police. Mia kills him and, whilst covering up that murder, she witnesses a road accident. This creates a downward spiral as an insurance investigator has a Recaller machine that visualises memories...

 

This was a surprise highlight of Series 4 for me as I knew absolutely nothing of the episode coming into it. It turned out to be pretty divisive amongst fans but I really loved it. I loved the downward spiral journey that Mia goes on as you are sympathetic for her at the start but the lengths she goes to trying to cover up her actions means that your afflictions change. It really is one of the darkest Black Mirror episodes even if the whole thing is played quite low-key. I find it interesting that the technology seen is portrayed to be quite old-school with its design and the way they talk of its problems even though, in essence, it is very advanced. Of course being Iceland, the scenery is also absolutely beautiful.

 

Parallels with real life: Recaller devices look to be a bit too advanced at the moment but the self-driving pizza van that creates many of the problems in the episode (for better or worse) is becoming a reality by Pizza Hut!