Line #113 YMMV/BlackMirror


1	[[center:[-'''Black Mirror YMMV'''-]]]
2	[[center:[-'''Series One'''-]]]
3	[[center:[-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem The National Anthem]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits Fifteen Million Merits]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorTheEntireHistoryOfYou The Entire History of You]]-]]]
4	[[center:[-'''Series Two'''-]]]
5	[[center:[-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorBeRightBack Be Right Back]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorWhiteBear White Bear]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorTheWaldoMoment The Waldo Moment]]-]]]
6	[[center:[-''[[YMMV/BlackMirrorWhiteChristmas Christmas Special]]''-]]]
7	[[center:[-'''Series Three'''-]]]
8	[[center:[-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorNosedive Nosedive]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorPlaytest Playtest]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorShutUpAndDance Shut Up and Dance]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorSanJunipero San Junipero]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorMenAgainstFire Men Against Fire]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorHatedInTheNation Hated in the Nation]]-]]]
9	[[center:[-'''Series Four'''-]]]
10	[[center:[-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorUSSCallister USS Callister]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorArkangel Arkangel]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorCrocodile Crocodile]]-] -- [-Hang the DJ-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorMetalhead Metalhead]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorBlackMuseum Black Museum]]-]]]
11	[[center:[-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorBandersnatch Bandersnatch]]-]]]
12	[[center:[-'''Series Five'''-]]]
13	[[center:[-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorStrikingVipers Striking Vipers]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorSmithereens Smithereens]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorRachelJackAndAshleyToo Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too]]-]]]
14	[[center:[-'''Series Six'''-]]]
15	[[center:[-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorJoanIsAwful Joan is Awful]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorLochHenry Loch Henry]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorBeyondTheSea Beyond the Sea]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorMazeyDay Mazey Day]]-] -- [-[[YMMV/BlackMirrorDemon79 Demon 79]]-]]]
16	----
17
18	* {{Anvilicious}}: Charlie Brooker's never been one for subtlety, but many consider the series' messages extreme even by his standards. Technology as we know it is meant to be helpful, but many episodes dedicate their stories to spelling out the potential consequences for futuristic technologies.
19	* BrokenBase: Season 5 had a pretty mixed reception with the fanbase, with a clear split between those who felt it was a decent season that just happened to come after the ToughActToFollow that was Season 4 and those who felt it was a complete letdown. "Rachel, Jack, And Ashley Too" was especially controversial due to its DenserAndWackier plot and the inclusion of Miley Cyrus.
20	* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits Judge Wraith]]; [[YMMV/BlackMirrorMenAgainstFire Arquette]]; [[YMMV/BlackMirrorUSSCallister Robert Daly]]; [[YMMV/BlackMirrorBlackMuseum Rolo Haynes]]; [[YMMV/BlackMirrorRachelJackAndAshleyToo Catherine Ortiz]]; [[YMMV/BlackMirrorLochHenry Ian’s Accomplice]]; [[YMMV/BlackMirrorDemon79 Michael Smart & Tim Simons]]. See those pages for details.
21	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
22	** The show has a pretty big following in China, where the series has been subject to rave reviews, including the claim that it's "better than a masterpiece". Also lead Chinese bloggers to dub surreal tech-related events "Black Mirror Moments".
23	** Something similar happened in Brazil after Season 3, when the series became popular in the country, with the coining of the expression "dude, that's so Black Mirror!".
24	** Not to mention the ''huge'' following it got in all of America after Creator/{{Netflix}} acquired the rights and cranked out a much-beloved third series.
25	* GrowingTheBeard: While the series was already considered good, it really came into its own in the third season, which included what many consider to be the best episode of the entire series: "San Junipero".
26	* HarsherInHindsight: "San Junipero" was happy? The stories of "Black Museum" show the horror that people had to go through in order to make that technology possible.
27	* MagnificentBastard: [[YMMV/BlackMirrorDemon79 Demon 79]]: [[NobleDemon Gaap]] is demon-in-training who was sent to [[TheCorrupter convince meek sales lady Nida to kill 3 people]] to prevent the apocalypse and keep him out of purgatory. [[AffablyEvil While being a compassionate and kind person]] to Nida, [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith even using a form she liked through Bobby Farell from Boney-M]], he uses manipulation and his powers to make her see the incoming apocalypse as well as the crimes of her potential victims, convincing her to [[AssholeVictim kill a child rapist and murderer]]. Despite Nida going against him to kill Micheal Smart against his wishes, and despite Nida failing, [[FaceDeathWithDignity Gaap takes his incoming fate with stride]] as he finds a loophole in the rules to take Nida with him to purgatory so the two can spend eternity together as the world that rejected Nida burned.
28	* MemeticMutation:
29	** In Brazil, "Isso é tão Black Mirror" ("This is so Black Mirror"), said in reaction to a strange or surreal event.
30	*** Similarly, "This episode of Black Mirror sucks" in English speaking online circles when something in real life seems dystopian.
31	** The "just like Black Mirror" meme in the UK (typically used in the same vein as "[[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]] was not an instruction manual") took on a very meta meaning in the wake of "[=PigGate=]" - an event that bore striking resemblance to the very first episode of the show - leading to Charlie Brooker himself using a version of the meme on Twitter.
32	** "what if phones, but too much?" from Daniel Lavery’s [[http://the-toast.net/2015/01/20/next-black-mirror/ parodying of the show’s concept]]. Became an AscendedMeme when Charlie Booker acknowledged it inspired [[Recap/BlackMirrorPlaytest the episode "Playtest"]]
33	* MisaimedFandom: Join any online discussion about Black Mirror, and you will find at least one person that subscribes to the "[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman digital copies are just code, even if they're self-aware]]" point-of-view espoused by the series' [[RootingForTheEmpire villains to justify abusing and torturing the copies]].
34	* RetroactiveRecognition:
35	** Jem (Creator/TuppenceMiddleton) from "White Bear" is known best as Riley in ''Series/Sense8''.
36	** Creator/DanielKaluuya played the main character of Bing in "Fifteen Million Merits". While his performance in the episode was properly acclaimed at the time, he reached a new level of stardom when he starred as Chris in the breakout hit ''Film/GetOut2017'' and earned an Oscar nomination.
37	** Selma from "Fifteen Million Merits" and Sonja from "Playtest" (Creator/HannahJohnKamen) is Dutch in ''Series/{{Killjoys}}''. She also would later become more familiar to general audiences as Ghost in ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp''.
38	** Nish (Creator/LetitiaWright) from "Black Museum" is Shuri in ''Film/{{Black Panther\|2018}}''.
39	** In another MCU example, Cooper from "Playtest" is [[Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier John Walker]], and the black woman who helps guide him through the VR process is [[Series/Loki2021 Hunter B-15]].
40	** The actress who plays the young Kelley in "San Junipero" is Creator/GuguMbathaRaw, who would [[RunningGag also join the MCU]] in ''[[Series/Loki2021 Loki]]'' as Judge Ravonna Renslayer.
41	** Creator/AlexLawther, who stars as Kenny in "Shut Up and Dance", would go on to portray James in ''Series/TheEndOfTheFuckingWorld'' and Karis Nemik in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' Disney+ series ''Series/{{Andor}}''.
42	* SeasonalRot: The fifth series is seen by many as a drop in quality, though not by that much.
43	** The sixth series was seen as a much sharper drop in quality. Although it had hits like ''Joan is Awful'', it's generally agreed that the misses were more plentiful. ''Mazey Day'' in particular is held as one of the entire show's low points.
44	* SignatureScene:
45	** Given the fact the show is an anthology, each episode has its most memorable moment, most of which are [[GutPunch for disturbing reasons]]. But when it comes to the show overall, the one moment most fans agree they will never forget is [[spoiler: the Prime Minister [[NauseaFuel having sex with a pig]]]] from “The National Anthem.”
46	** The PlotTwist of “Shut Up and Dance” is also extremely memorable. And as usual, [[DownerEnding not for good reasons]].
47	** The ending to "San Junipero" due to it being one of the only episodes that actually has a happy ending.
48	* SignatureSong: Music/IrmaThomas' "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is", which was first featured in "Fifteen Million Merits" and used several more times throughout the show.
49	* SpiritualSuccessor:
50	** To ''Franchise/TheTwilightZone'', in its intent and in its effect on viewers.
51	** In many ways, ''Black Mirror'' could be considered a tv version of ''ComicBook/ThargsFutureShocks'', given how the episodes are self contained, have a science fiction theme to them, and often involve a CruelTwistEnding.
52	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: "Mazey Day" is the first ''Black Mirror'' episode to [[spoiler:feature [[OutOfGenreExperience explicitly supernatural elements]]]] and is considered one of the worst episodes (if not ''the'' worst) in the whole show almost solely for that reason, especially due to the poor {{Foreshadowing}}. Ironically, the following episode "Demon 79", which is even ''more'' explicitly [[spoiler:supernatural]], didn't receive those same criticisms, most likely because it established its more experimental nature very early on and was [[DenserAndWackier far more comedic]] in its execution.
53	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Nothing will ever turn out well for anyone, so why bother?
54	** This came into play in an interesting manner after the release of Season 3, regarding "San Junipero", a BreatherEpisode between two extremely dark episodes. Though it was critically acclaimed and has a sizable fandom of people who find it one of the show's best episodes, it wasn't immune to criticism from other fans who found it too saccharine to fit the rest of the show. The episode still had some depressing moments, but it goes to show that there are many people who watch the show specifically ''because'' of how dark it gets.
55	** The show also subverted this in Season 4, particularly with the fates of the protagonists in "USS Callister" and "Hang the DJ".
56	** Fully exploited in "Black Museum," where Charlie Brooker's AuthorAvatar is a sadistic monster spreading chaos for fun and profit, lacking any kind of human empathy for the stories he tells. Season 4 also includes ''two'' (arguably three) episodes with straight-up happy endings.
57	* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: The highest praises of even the lowest reviewed episodes tend to revolve around the cast, who either genuinely turn in stellar performances or do the best with what they've got. Case in point, while Season 6 is listed in SeasonalRot, the performances in every episode of the season always received positive reviews.

Context YMMV / BlackMirror