Black Mirror / Charlie Brooker

Who here has already seen /played the interactive Choose Your Own Adventurish Black Mirror: Bandersnatch on Netflix yet? I found it very engaging, and spent a long time on it -- it has quite the Donnie Darko vibe to it. Don't wish to spoil it, but I loved how Tangerine Dream's Phaedra, Isao Tomita's The Bermuda Triangle and Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" were incorporated, plus Philip K. Dick's Ubik.



I'm looking forward to season/series 5 of Black Mirror, which should come out in 2019. It's a shame that Charlie Brooker hasn't had the time to do a year end Screen Wipe for 2018 (or for 2017).

By the way, here's an interview with Charlie Brooker with Adam Buxton (he has one of my very favourite podcasts) which came out in May (doesn't seem that long ago to me).

http://adam-buxton.co.uk/podcasts/ep-76-charlie-brooker

I'm a fan of Black Mirror and Charlie Brooker generally, loved his Dead Set, which is also on Netflix (here in Canada), Nathan Barley co-written with Chris Morris, I enjoyed A Touch of Cloth considerably, and his various Wipes. Would love to see him collaborate with Steve Pemberton and Reese Shearsmith on a series at some time (he's a big fan of Inside No. 9).

Edited by Logan - December 30 2018 at 11:23

I watched White Christmas last week to get into a festive mood  

Meltdowner wrote: I watched White Christmas last week to get into a festive mood

Haha, me too! And I watched Inside No. 9's The Devil of Christmas as an antidote to some of the sugary sweetness of Christmas.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6vnzki

Argo2112 wrote: I love Black Mirror but I haven't seen <span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;">Bandersnatch yet. Is is available on Netflix or is it some internet promo thing?  </span>

Great to see another fan. Was feeling so alone after posting this topic. It's available on Netflix, and is listed separately from the Black Mirror television series.

Those who have already seen it may also wish to check out https://tuckersoft.net/ealing20541/

Edited by Logan - December 31 2018 at 09:32

I'm Black Mirror fan

Man With Hat wrote: I've only started watching Black Mirror (I'm on episode 4 or 5). I like all of it moreso in theory right now than actual practice. But I should probably get back to watching it. I'll get to this particular one in due time (and hope my computer can play it properly).

Good luck on your computer. I think I in the right, or wrong depending upon how you look at it, headspace when I started watching Black Mirror with the first series and was instantly hooked. White Bear off the second series is the one I have watched the most times.

MrMHead wrote: I'm Black Mirror fan Being somewhat of a Luddite, some of the episodes are my worst nightmare  A number of people I recommended it to have come back and said it was too dark for them and they didn't finish. Somewhere I did notice something new with Black Mirror - I just didn't get the details yet. Can Bandersnatch be played on Roku? ... And I'm no stranger to Tangerine Dream and Laurie Anderson.  Looking forward to it. Thanks!

I rather doubt that it will work on your Roku. The platforms are rather limited. I was able to watch it on both my iPad and on my TV which has a 4k digital box from Telus here in Canada and a built in Netflix app. Fortunately our home and neighborhood is also set up with fibre optics.

Squonk19 wrote: I'm a big Black Mirror fan, Logan - but need to work out which device will get me to interact with Bandersnatch with - as my Smart TV and iPad aren't up to it. I'll try out the PC tomorrow.

I remember that you're a fan, was hoping you'd visit this thread. I think we missed discussing Inside No. 9's Deadline around Halloween (a show, as I've mentioned before, that Charlie Brooker loves).

PC might be a problem if it's running Windows 10, though finding the right browser might help (maybe non-Chrome). And one might might want to make sure that the app is updated to the latest version.

It's not currently set up for Apple TV or Chromecast and some "legacy" devices (outdated devices). I couldn't play it on my Wii U f I tried, or a smart Easy Bake oven presumably. Maybe Netflix will release Bandersnatch on more platforms. I wish I could play it on a ZX Spectrum (an early computer for me, followed by a Commodore 64). I could play Nohzdyve on a Spectrum emulator.

I found it to be a really interesting experience, but it's been somewhat divisive. I think that it's not confirming to certain Black viewer's expectations and hardcore, and some softcore, gamers might want more options. I like different. I like unconventional. I personally really appreciate it (resonates with me in various ways, and does ring me some nostalgia), and think it a very fine addition to the Black Mirror worlds.

Hope you both get the chance to experience it before long.


Edited by Logan - December 31 2018 at 17:26

MrMHead wrote: Logan wrote:   I rather doubt that it will work on your Roku. The platforms are rather limited. I was able to watch it on both my iPad and on my TV which has a 4k digital box from Telus here in Canada and a built in Netflix app. Fortunately our home and neighborhood is also set up with fibre optics. YIKES! it does work on Roku! I selected Frosties and Thompson Twins so far!!

Cool, those were my first choices too. I hope you found it engaging.

MrMHead wrote: Logan wrote: Cool, those were my first choices too. I hope you found it engaging. I went through it again, picking a few different choices. SPOILER ALERT (kinda) ...Some choices lead you into a dead end  (sometimes "dead" literally) and you roll back to an earlier choice. The first time through, I didn't hit the Laurie Anderson scene, but hit it after a few alternate choices. I picked Tomita the 2nd time through, but Phaedra still played while he worked. ... Interesting concept none-the-less.  And it certainly will boost the "Re Watch" metric!  Looks like there's some interesting articles about it and Easter-eggs in it. --- The King Crimson DVD "Eyes Wide Open" has a feature where at certain parts it will insert a random improv track - like a live KC concert (kinda).  So supposedly every time you watch it, it is different. I haven't watched it enough times to have picked that out.

I noticed that with Phaedra and The Bermuda Triangle too.

I should get that King Crimson DVD at some time.

Blacksword wrote: I really enjoy Black Mirror. Not seen Bandersnatch yet. I thought the earlier episodes were the best "Complete History of You" and "White Bear" being two of my favourites. I love the darkness in the stories and the dystopian feel. On a general note about Charlie Brooker I think he is a great writer, and I too miss his annual newswipe. I was watching the sitcom Nathan Barley the other week, which he co-wrote with satirist Chris Morris some years ago. Totally bizarre, and definitely not for everyone, but if you know the types of people being portrayed in it, you get it, and it's funny trust me

I also tend to enjoy the pre-Netflix, Channel 4 Black Mirror the most. "White Bear" may be my favourite episode, but I also love "The National Anthem" -- first episode and first one I saw and it hooked me, though I know people are divided on this one --, "Fifteen Million Merits" and the special "White Christmas". From the Netflix ones, I do find ""Shut Up and Dance" to be a particular stand-out, but then it's rather White Bearish. I also really liked "Hated in the Nation", "USS Callister", "Black Museum" and "Crocodile", though that's really depressing.

When Back Mirror came back on Netflix, I was a little disappointed with "Nosedive". It just felt to US generic to me, and padded. I do think that the Channel 4 ones were tighter and better made on the whole (bigger budgets can be a curse and with too many Netflix series I feel like it's led, or guided by committee somewhat).   It felt less "auteur" and sometimes too Americanised.

I also love "Nathan Barley", and I'm a big fan of Chris Morris ("Brass Eye", "The Day Today"). "Nathan Barley" is one of my favourite "sitcoms" -- it's definitely dark and bizarre. It is funny, but it's a different kind of funny than most people would be used to (it can be quite harrowing).   It was also quite a prescient series. I also seem to like pretty much anything that Julian Barratt has been in. The most recent series I've been watching has Barratt and Olivia Colman in it, and is called "Flowers".

Logan wrote: Blacksword wrote: I really enjoy Black Mirror. Not seen Bandersnatch yet. I thought the earlier episodes were the best "Complete History of You" and "White Bear" being two of my favourites. I love the darkness in the stories and the dystopian feel. On a general note about Charlie Brooker I think he is a great writer, and I too miss his annual newswipe. I was watching the sitcom Nathan Barley the other week, which he co-wrote with satirist Chris Morris some years ago. Totally bizarre, and definitely not for everyone, but if you know the types of people being portrayed in it, you get it, and it's funny trust me I also tend to enjoy the pre-Netflix, Channel 4 Black Mirror the most. "White Bear" may be my favourite episode, but I also love "The National Anthem" -- first episode and first one I saw and it hooked me, though I know people are divided on this one --, "Fifteen Million Merits" and the special "White Christmas". From the Netflix ones, I do find ""Shut Up and Dance" to be a particular stand-out, but then it's rather White Bearish. I also really liked "Hated in the Nation", "USS Callister", "Black Museum" and "Crocodile", though that's really depressing. When Back Mirror came back on Netflix, I was a little disappointed with "Nosedive". It just felt to US generic to me, and padded. I do think that the Channel 4 ones were tighter and better made on the whole (bigger budgets can be a curse and with too many Netflix series I feel like it's led, or guided by committee somewhat).   It felt less "auteur" and sometimes too Americanised. I also love "Nathan Barley", and I'm a big fan of Chris Morris ("Brass Eye", "The Day Today"). "Nathan Barley" is one of my favourite "sitcoms" -- it's definitely dark and bizarre. It is funny, but it's a different kind of funny than most people would be used to (it can be quite harrowing).   It was also quite a prescient series. I also seem to like pretty much anything that Julian Barratt has been in. The most recent series I've been watching has Barratt and Olivia Colman in it, and is called "Flowers".

Shut up and Dance is a brilliant episode.

I quite liked the concept in Nosedive. I believe they have some kind of social rating system in China, similar to that used in the episode, based on 'approval' points.

A friend of mine worked in the music industry, and was based in south London in the late 90's. I spend a lot of time hanging out with people who could have been plucked straight out of Nathan Barley. The characters in the show, are not that unbelievable.

I'm a big fan of Chris Morris too. Brass Eye and The Day Today are two of my all time favourite satires. Do you think anything like Brass Eye would ever be commissioned these days? Personally, I doubt it. People would be far too upset by it, and politicians and celebrities will be wiser, and less likely to be duped than they were back then.

Meltdowner wrote: "Nosedive" was the most depressing for me, maybe because it's futuristic but actually much closer to our reality and the bubblegum way it's presented is nauseating. Looking back, the third season was way better than the fourth.

Certainly agree, third season was better.

I think the way Nosedive was presented, hi-lighted the vapid and superficial way that social media is used by so many of its most enthusiastic, and more..shall we say..narcissistic advocates. I think it works quite well.