Black Mirror

Amazing British anthology series with a very intriguing concept. The premise: taking contemporary phenomena (ranging from the wild popularity of talent shows on TV to the impact of social media and smartphones on our lives) as a starting point and speculate how such phenomena could/would evolve in the future. Each episode tells a different story with different protagonists and focuses on a different theme. Of course, the series doesn't explore the beneficial aspects or any positive trends - (where would the fun be in that?) - but clearly approaches its topics from a pessimistic, cynical point of view (hence the title). As the show's creator Charlie Brooker ('Dead Set') puts it: "...They (the different stories) are all about the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes' time if we're clumsy."

The resulting mix of bleak sci-fi, drama, satire and black comedy makes for highly intelligent Television and ranks among the most original and entertaining shows I've ever come across. The writing and directing are excellent and the cast includes such talented thesps as Domhnall Gleeson, Rory Kinnear, Toby Kebbell, Hayley Atwell, Jon Hamm, Jason Flemyng and Rupert Everett - to name but a few. Unique, fascinating and highly recommended. 9 stars out of 10.

Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

This is purely for seasons 1-4 and for Bandersnatch from season 5.

Season 5 was boring and silly. Season 6 is a mixture of terrible episodes and some quite well done episodes that have nothing whatsoever to do with Black Mirror.

Seasons 1 through 4 are masterpieces. Some episodes are better than others, like with any Anthology series. But the good ones are just next-level, even when you have to suspend disbelief sometimes (full nervous system VR systems the size of an M&M - no, not unless everything else is up to the same level of tech!).

It seems that once a series peaks, we just have to accept that that's it, it's done, it will never get up there again. For me the high water marks were CROCODILE, METALHEAD and WHITE BEAR. Though I have to say, I still got back and watch the speech from 15 MILLION MERITS for the thrill of it. It's too good.

4 seasons, 1 special - that's pretty good. Now we need something of equal calibre!

"Somebody" removes negative reviews so I hope this one will just sail through.

Black Mirror is one of the most original and best Mini-Series ever created. Each episode tells a different story about the modern world we live in and the technology we all love and while not all, most of them are fascinating. They are all filled with a-list stars and made by great directors. Each stand alone episode is thought provoking and filled with enough drama and suspense to keep you at the edge of your seat. While there are a few episodes that are not as good when compared to the others, most of them are fantastic. This show gets compared to The Twilight Zone a lot and while it's a pretty good comparison, I think Black Mirror is actually a lot better. It's hard to explain how incredible this show is so just go watch it.

I just finished Black Mirror and the first word that comes to mind is...wow! I've never seen anything like it. The stories are all shocking, disturbing and thought provoking. Most of them are about how technology is changing, has changed us, and not always for the better. It's almost like a satire of how media obsessed we have gotten. Each episode really makes you think afterwards and will make you want to talk about what happened. Every episode is like a mini movie, there're stand alone episodes and every episode has an incredible cast filled with A-list actors. While everyone will have their own favorite episodes, every single one of them will make you think and there's not a "bad" episode in the entire series.

I've been a longtime fan of Black Mirror. It had always felt like a modern Twilight Zone with a focus on the potential downsides of future technologies. With season 6 it feels like they threw the premise out the window and went with an anything goes approach to storytelling, including the supernatural. In addition, the overall quality of the writing has declined in seasons 5 and 6. The first 4 seasons of the show is among my favorite TV shows ever, but they seem to have mostly lost their touch.

It's not that the most recent seasons are irredeemable because there are some pretty good episodes, but they are nowhere near the high bar that was set by the early seasons. Don't believe me? Go watch from the beginning and it will become obvious how much the show has changed. None of the newer episodes are remotely close to the quality of "The Entire History of You", "White Bear", and "White Christmas." Even the weaker episodes of seasons 1-4 are significantly better than most of seasons 5 and 6.

I suppose it's nice to get some new episodes of Black Mirror even if it isn't what it used to be, but I was hoping for much better. Despite my misgivings about the last two seasons, I hope there ends up being a season 7 because I am a big fan of the anthology series format. Overall, I still think the show deserves a solid 8 when considering the entirety of the series to this point.