Line #108 Recap/BlackMirrorUSSCallister


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7	[[WMG:[[center:[-'''[[Recap/BlackMirror Recap:]] Series/BlackMirror Series Four'''\
8	'''USS Callister''' \| [[Recap/BlackMirrorArkangel Arkangel]] \| [[Recap/BlackMirrorCrocodile Crocodile]] \| [[Recap/BlackMirrorHangTheDJ Hang the DJ]] \| [[Recap/BlackMirrorMetalhead Metalhead]] \| [[Recap/BlackMirrorBlackMuseum Black Museum]]-]]]]]
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14	[[quoteright:266:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2017_12_27_at_231949.png]]
15
16	->'''Nanette:''' This is a dream. ...It has to be.\
17	'''Walton:''' It's more like an eternal waking nightmare, from which there is no escape.
18
19	Capt. Robert Daly of Space Fleet presides over his crew with wisdom and courage as he battles the enemies of peace and progress across the galaxy. When a new recruit comes aboard, she soon finds that Daly is not the virtuous captain he first appears and that she's trapped in a deadly game with only one rule: Serve Daly's every whim, or face unspeakable consequences.
20
21	Starring Creator/JessePlemons as Captain Daly and Creator/CristinMilioti as Lieutenant Cole.
22
23	Trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgTtyfgzGc0 here]].
24	----
25	!!Tropes related to ''USS Callister'':
26	* AccidentalMisnaming: When Nanette is first introduced to the USS ''Callister'', she asks if it's based on the "Space Thing" show that Daly likes. He looks uncomfortable when correcting her, but smiles because she's obviously unfamiliar. Later when she gets it wrong again and it's [[MaliciousMisnaming heavily implied to be a deliberate misname]], he is not so accommodating.
27	* AllPlanetsAreEarthLike: Justified. Just like in the original ''Franchise/StarTrek'' universe, the planets Daly and his crew beam down to are conveniently suitable for human life and don't require them to wear spacesuits.
28	* AlternatePersonalityPunishment: Daly creates innocent copies of his coworkers to torment them for perceived slights.
29	* AndIMustScream: So many examples:
30	** Daly enacts the literal version on digital Nanette, removing her face so that she can only scream through her missing mouth. Just in case you missed the episode is a wholesale homage to the original ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'', with Daly channeling AM as the malevolent God creating hell for his hated subjects.
31	** Those transferred to the virtual world cannot fall unconscious (including sleep), die (unless Daly kills them himself), or copulate. Even seemingly impossible things to hold consciousness through, such as being disintegrated by engine thrusters, will not end their suffering.
32	** Those who misbehave badly enough are turned by Daly into Arachnajax, huge insectoid-like creatures who are forced to endure all of the above ''in addition'' to being stuck in monstrous bodies. They are also dumped on empty planets, meaning that they have to suffer alone. At the end of the episode, Shania is transformed back by the removal of the Space Fleet mod, but those left behind on the planets are looking at CessationOfExistence at best.
33	** May apply to the ending, where Daly is unable to escape the deleted game, though it's not stated what happens if his body expires.
34	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Nanette knows that Daly has kidnapped her and tortured her friends, but what ultimately makes her want to beat his slimy guts is the fact that he took away her genitals. It's not exactly a light crime (it was painless, but still horrible and a major violation), but it's not nearly ''as'' serious as the others.
35	** Among all the other horrific tortures, one of the things the crew hate Daly for is that he removed their ability to defecate along with their genitals and anus. They don't actually ''need'' to anymore of course, but even that simple act of biology would have been a relief.
36	* AspectRatioSwitch: The FakeActionPrologue is shot in 4:3, deliberately making it look like [[{{Retraux}} an old science fiction show]]. The rest of the episode is shot in 16:9.
37	* AsteroidThicket: Justified because this is a game obstacle.
38	* AuthorityInNameOnly: Daly is the company's CTO, but Nanette is alone in treating him like a boss.
39	* BarbieDollAnatomy: Invoked by Daly. The digital clones in the Space Fleet mod have no genitals or anus because ''Space Fleet'' is a "wholesome universe". They all become anatomically correct again once they are reborn in ''Infinity''.
40	* BatmanGambit: Digital Nanette's plan involves manipulating Daly's ego and self-image to create an opportunity for the crew to escape the mod while he's distracted role-playing his favorite ''Space Fleet'' tropes. Daly falls right into it.
41	* BetweenMyLegs: Digital Walton sheds his pants and the camera frames Digital Nanette between them. He does so to reveal that the clones don't have genitals.
42	* BillionsOfButtons: The panels on the bridge of the USS ''Callister'' are adorned with plenty of buttons to match ''Space Fleet''[='=]s [[RaygunGothic old-timey futuristic appearance]]. When Daly barks an order that Nanette has no idea how to follow, Lowry mentions that it's all for aesthetic.
43	-->'''Lowry:''' Just press any button, they all do exactly the same thing.
44	* BitingTheHandHumor: Early on, Daly takes a hit at Creator/{{Netflix}}, and the show's move to the platform, by saying he has the VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray versions of his favourite TV show and snarks that it doesn't matter since "everything's on Netflix now".
45	* BittersweetEnding: Robert Daly is trapped in his own mod, which is later erased, presumably rendering him brain-dead. If he is indeed dead, it might inflict a terrible toll on the real Nanette (as she truly admired Daly and didn't know about the digital crew's plans). However, the digital clones end up in the updated ''Infinity'' game. Moreover, despite not being able to return to the real world, they are having a much better life than living in Daly's mod. Also, the untold number of other digital-clone slaves that weren't so lucky to be transported to ''Infinity'' were presumably erased along with the mod, but at least their suffering is over.
46	* {{Blackmail}}: Daly forces Walton into submission by threatening to kills his son's digital copy over and over.
47	* TheBlank: Daly does this to Nanette, and can do much worse at any time. This is a reference to "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" and a possible ShoutOut to both [[Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie movie version of "It's a Good Life"]] and the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS1E2CharlieX "Charlie X"]], where a woman's face is ''also'' removed by a misanthropic ManChild with godlike powers.
48	* BlofeldPloy: When Digital Nanette is able to send a message to real Nanette which tips Daly off and has him screaming at the crew, she steps forward to take the blame for it. Daly is about to inflict a punishment until Digital Lowry steps in, begging Daly to take it easy because Nanette is new. He spares Nanette, but turns Lowry into a monster.
49	* BlueIsHeroic: An early sign that Nanette and Walton are the heroes is their blue shirts, especially when the crew shirt colours don't have anything to do with their role.
50	* BodyHorror: What happens to Shania and other victims, who are turned into Arachnajax.
51	* BridgeBunny: Both Shania and Nanette are dressed in [[TheSixties 1960s]] bridge bunny outfits that show most of their midsections, but not their navels.
52	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The episode ends with Nanette looking right at the camera and smiling.
53	* BrokenPedestal: Nanette is a ''huge'' fan of Daly's, thinking he's the best coder ever--it's the reason she took the job at Callister Inc. in the first place. Needless to say, digital Nanette gets her shiny image of him shattered big time.
54	* CallBack:
55	** The virtual reality technology in this episode is very similar to the ones in [[Recap/BlackMirrorPlaytest "Playtest"]] and [[Recap/BlackMirrorSanJunipero "San Junipero"]]. Indeed, the 'stud' required to access the Infinity simulation is identical to the device seen in the latter.
56	** The way the clones get real Nanette to break into Daly's house is essentially a copy of the plot of [[Recap/BlackMirrorShutUpAndDance "Shut Up and Dance"]], albeit from the perspective of the hacker, and slightly more sympathetic to the blackmailers in this case.
57	** The digital clones are like the cookies in the Christmas special [[Recap/BlackMirrorWhiteChristmas "White Christmas"]], mainly for being sentient, not initially knowing they're not their original selves and being entirely at the mercy of their creator.
58	** While gaming, the user's iris turns blank à la the technologies in [[Recap/BlackMirrorTheEntireHistoryOfYou "The Entire History of You"]] and [[Recap/BlackMirrorMenAgainstFire "Men Against Fire"]].
59	* TheCameo: Both Creator/KirstenDunst and Creator/AaronPaul appear as cameos in the episode, with Dunst being a FreezeFrameBonus and Paul voicing [=Gamer691=]. Dunst and Paul worked with Creator/JessePlemons in ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' and ''Series/BreakingBad'', respectively (and also Dunst is married to Plemons).
60	* CessationOfExistence: This is the crew's goal, to escape the living hell of the game, and going into a wormhole which represents the update patch will do it. However, since Daly can just copy them again, they blackmail the original Nanette into stealing his DNA samples too. It turns out they are left alive and free.
61	-->'''Nanette:''' We would cease to exist, that's true. But we'd be free. We'd be... [[IDieFree FREE]].
62	* CharacterShilling:
63	** Forcibly invoked by Daly, who under the threat of inflicting more suffering upon them, makes his captives constantly sing his praises whenever he comes up with or executes a plan, no matter how clichéd or uncreative it is, much to their chagrin.
64	** Done by Nanette at the office as she repeatedly praises Daly's coding skills.
65	* ChristmasEpisode: The climax takes place at Christmas, though it's not especially relevant besides making [[TwistedChristmas the experiences of the crew (and Daly's probably real-life death)]] [[FromBadToWorse that much worse]]. There's also the fact that "Silent Night" is very appropriately playing in the background when Daly's mod of the game is being deleted, and continues over to seeing him in reality right after. The fact that it's Christmas also makes what happened to Daly more horrifying, as Callister Inc. was on a ten-day Christmas break and it's implied that no one really cares about Daly outside of work, meaning that no one will notice that he's gone for at least ten days and ''he will die''.
66	* ChristmasRushed: Callister, Inc. doing this InUniverse with the new patch of ''Infinity'' gives important details about several things, including why Daly thinks that Walton treats him badly, that Daly's real personality being so weak that he can't enforce the deadline on his direct subordinates, and also is used as more significantly plot-worthy in that it basically screws Daly within his mod at the end.
67	* ClonesArePeopleToo: A dark example with digital clones. At first, it seems like the digital crew in Daly's Space Fleet Infinity mod are hollow projections of their real-world counterparts. However, we then see them act with realistic fear when Daly is choking Walton for a mistake, then find out 100% when Nanette is scanned that they're fully aware of their situation. Daly uses the fact that they basically ARE their real-world counterparts (just digital) to take his frustrations out on them.
68	* ContinuityNod:
69	** The two planets visited in the episode are "Rannoch [[NumberedHomeworld B]]" and "Skillane [[NumberedHomeworld IV]]", names of the characters Iain Rannoch and Victoria Skillane from [[Recap/BlackMirrorWhiteBear "White Bear"]].
70	** Daly drinks "Raiman's" branded-flavoured milk. Raiman is the name of Stripe's squadmate in "Men Against Fire", who mentions that her family owns a farm.
71	** A poster for the [=SaitoGemu=] video game ''Skinned Alive'', last seen in "Playtest", is seen in Daly's apartment.
72	** Daly orders takeout from Fences Pizza, a company that later also appears in [[Recap/BlackMirrorCrocodile "Crocodile"]].
73	** Elena is seen using the dating app on her phone that uses The System algorithm from [[Recap/BlackMirrorHangTheDJ "Hang the DJ"]].
74	* CorralledCosmos: It seems like the asteroid belt is in its place to create an effective barrier between the universe that is to be explored in Daly's mod and where the updates happen, to very literally prevent travel into an [[ProceduralGeneration Infinite universe]].
75	* CouldSayItBut: An unusual example. During their last confrontation, Walton tells Daly that he feels like he should say that he's sorry for the way he exploited and insulted Daly in the real world... and [[BaitAndSwitch then clarifies]] that he feels like he ''should'' say that, but he's not going to, because after [[DisproportionateRetribution all that Daly has done to him]] he's not the least bit sorry anymore.
76	* CrueltyByFeet: [[DecoyProtagonist Daly]] is revealed to be a petty, [[{{Sadist}} sadistic]] creep when he chokes [[RevengeByProxy the simulated version of his business partner]] and then [[DominanceThroughFurniture forces him to be his footstool]]. All sympathy he had from the audience before this point instantly evaporates.
77	* CruelMercy: When Daly shoots him, Valdack asks to GetItOverWith. Daly says that killing in cold blood is against the Space Fleet code, but he didn't kill him because he is another digital clone and it would free him from his "AndIMustScream" state.
78	* CruelTwistEnding: A rare aversion for this series. A few moments after the spaceship crew finally escape through the black hole and realize they're free from Daly's torment, their bodies are complete again and they can freely roam the ''Infinity'' universe, they run into another player, "[=Gamer691=]", who asks them to pay him if they don't want to be destroyed. Given how they just recently got out of a standalone simulation the viewer assumes they most likely have no means to pay and will be destroyed, turning their escape into merely a HopeSpot. Instead, they simply resume control of the ship and fly away, leaving [=Gamer691=] to his own; the only cruel twist being the crew may be free of Daly, but they are not quite free from annoying nerds with [[AGodAmI god complexes]] just yet. However, none of those nerds are capable of even a fraction of the cruelty Daly exhibited and the crew can just fly away from them.
79	* DeconstructiveParody: Of VideoGames as power fantasy. How much of a monster would a person have to be to inflict VideoGameCrueltyPotential on video game characters who are smart enough to pass the TuringTest?
80	* DeconReconSwitch: The show's parody of ''Star Trek'' at first deconstructs it by making the central captain figure an embittered, privileged toxic fan using the show and its trapping to fulfill his petty revenge and power fantasies. Then it switches the perspective to Nanette, a new "recruit" into said fantasy, who does everything in her might to escape and by the end of the episode, earns by the merit of her wits, dedication and TeamMom tendencies [[spoiler:the capitancy of the USS Callister]], effectively reconstructing the type of character usually associated with the captain of various ''Star Trek'' vessels.
81	* DecoyProtagonist: Watching the beginning of the episode, you could be forgiven for thinking Daly is the focus and we are meant to empathize with his plight as another [[LoserProtagonist sad sack]] pining for a girl he lacks the nerve to approach and bullied by his peers. Once the digital version of Nanette awakens, it becomes obvious ''she'' is the real protagonist, and Daly is the monster she and the crew must overcome.
82	%%* DecompositeCharacter: Lowry and Walton both fit the role of the SadClown from Five Characters In Search Of An Exit. - ZCE, needs a description of the attributes being split off
83	* DeepImmersionGaming: ''Infinity'' and Daly's Space Fleet mod both uses a technology that allows a deeper level of immersion, similar to two other episodes of the previous season.
84	* DenserAndWackier: This is undoubtedly one of the more comedic episodes of ''Black Mirror'' after "Nosedive".
85	* DespairEventHorizon: James Walton was the first digital clone, and he resisted having his will broken no matter what Daly did to him. He finally gives in when he's ForcedToWatch his son's digital clone get thrown out the airlock, with the promise of yet even more if he steps out of line.
86	* DisproportionateRetribution: In addition to Walton, who was the first victim over stealing Daly's brainchild from him, Robert also punishes those who don't give him the respect he feels entitled to by turning them into digital slaves for his own amusement:
87	** Putting Kabir in is especially cruel as Kabir, unlike the rest of the ''Space Fleet'' crew, was never mean to Daly and seemed to respect him as a boss, even asking his permission before going ahead and updating the game. Yet Daly still put him in as he once reset admin permissions for 14 minutes, which mildly annoyed Daly enough to eternally torture him.
88	** He also puts in Nanette for no reason at all: she's always nice to him, and actually admires him, while at the same time not being attracted to him. Then, when the digital Nanette understandably has a FreakOut on realizing her situation and calls out Daly for the violation of privacy, he removes her face.
89	** Elena was apparently put in the game for "insufficient smiling" (and possibly for making him ask for permission to enter his own office). The thing is, Elena doesn't really smile at anyone, just naturally having an EmotionlessGirl disposition. So Daly essentially put her in the game, torments her, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking made her blue]] because he simply didn't like her face.
90	** Poor Packer was put into the torture game because he innocently made Daly the wrong sandwich once, [[NiceGuy even though he makes coffee and sandwiches for all his colleagues]].
91	* DistractAndDisarm: {{Parodied\|Trope}}. Daly and his crew are held at gunpoint by Valdack. Daly distracts Valdack by saying [[RefugeInAudacity "Look! A naked lady!"]] which... works (Valdack asks, "Where?"), and enables him to attack back and disarm Valdack, who begs for death. In fact, this is because Valdack is another captive clone and he is neither capable of nor interested in hurting anybody. The absurdity of the premise is to show Daly's petty control of the clones and his obsession with remaking tropes from ''Space Fleet''.
92	* DistractedByTheSexy:
93	** Daly trips and falls over Valdack's gym bag in the office because he was too busy ogling Lowry to watch where he was going.
94	** Also invoked in the simulation by Daly against Valdack, who has no choice but to play along.
95	* DominanceThroughFurniture: In the second gaming session in the episode, Daly throttles clone Walton half to death, then forces him to kneel on the floor while Daly props his boots on top of him - and Walton's reaction indicates that he's done this before. In the process, Daly illustrates both his power over the virtual setting and the fact that his shy exterior is just a mask for a PsychopathicManchild.
96	* DramaticHighPerching: Valdack makes his presence known to the crew from a clifftop.
97	* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Even though Space Fleet, like the Federation from ''Star Trek'' that it is a clear Expy of, is, by Daly's own admission, intended to embody all that is good and noble in the universe, Daly never recognizes the dissonance between the ideal organization he's supposed to represent in the game and the loathsome reality of what he's doing to the other characters. [[{{Hypocrite}} He even goes out of his way to lecture the others on not understanding the series at one point, compounding the irony.]]
98	* DramaticSitDown: Digital Nanette needs to sit down when she learns about where she is and what Daly is doing. She refuses initially, and after the first few bombs are unloaded on her, but eventually has to be lifted onto a chair.
99	* EarnYourHappyEnding: The crew survives their attempted suicide and is left with an entire virtual galaxy to explore. Though blunted a bit as the final minutes of the episode show they're not entirely out of having to deal with entitled {{Jerkass}} gamers, but at least now they can just leave and move to the next area.
100	* EasterEgg: [[spoiler:The ultimate fate of survivors and their ship, the USS Callister, is being an easter egg inside the ''Infinity'' MMO game - an NPC ship named and modeled after an old, in-universe sci-fi TV series.]] [=Gamer691=] probably didn't even realize that yet, adding to how out of depth he is.
101	* EvenEvilHasStandards: After everything he did, Daly did not (yet) go to the levels of low of his prototype [[VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream AM]], considering sexual abuse and bloody torture of the crew something that has no place in his mod, and at least having the decency to ''kill'' Tommy after he's done, which is a luxury not allowed to adult victims. Not that it's of any consolation to them.
102	* ExplosiveInstrumentation: A downplayed example. When the ''USS Callister'' is hit by enemy fire in the prologue, there is smoke coming from the control panels.
103	* {{Expy}}: While some of the characters are relatively original, there are numerous ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' expies given that ''Space Fleet'' is a homage to the ''Trek'' franchise.
104	** Valdack is clearly based on Khan Noonien Singh from [[Recap/StarTrekS1E22SpaceSeed "Space Seed"]] and ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''.
105	** Lieutenant Lowry is heavily based on Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, being a near-perfect stand-in before being turned into a monster.
106	** Helmsman Packer, an intern in the real world, is the stand-in for Ensign Pavel Chekov.
107	** Captain Daly speaks like Captain James T. Kirk and has his hairstyle from the 1966–1969 series. (Jesse Plemons reportedly had a vocal coach assigned to him to help him emulate Creator/WilliamShatner's voice.)
108	** Daly is basically a BadassNormal Anthony from Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E8ItsAGoodLife. They even bear a slight resemblance to each other.
109	* FakeActionPrologue: The opening action scene on board the ''USS Callister'' turns out to be a simulation.
110	* FantasticFragility: For some reason, Daly's RealityWarper powers inside the simulation is limited in range. This flaw is exploited by the crew who manage to get out of his grip while the game is on pause. This is possibly due to Daly's attention to detail. He's obsessed with making everything as "realistic" as possible, even going so far as to realistically program what happens to a body in space, so he's created self-imposed limitations for immersion's sake.
111	* FateWorseThanDeath: Any of the clones due to how cruelly Daly treats them.
112	* FirstEpisodeTwist: The twist that ''Callister'' is a virtual reality game is revealed only four minutes in.
113	* FlashyTeleportation: Characters glow golden during transportation.
114	* ForcedToWatch:
115	** Walton when Robert has Walton's son sucked into deep space through an airlock, with his body decompressing and freezing. Sure, it's not his ''real'' son, but the fact that Tommy has all his memories and full consciousness makes it painfully real, as when he screams for his dad to help him.
116	* ForTheEvulz: The digital copies of people could easily be blank slates who play along with Daly fine. Even if DNA contains memories in this story, Daly is a God-tier programmer who could have wiped those memories clean. That every new copy of someone thinks they're a real person and has to be "broken" to cooperate when they don't want to implies Daly ''savors'' breaking people in this fashion.
117	** Confirmed when he changes Lowry into an Arachnajax and responds to Nanette's horror with the line, "You know what makes me happy? The look on your face right now."
118	* ForWantOfANail: If Daly hadn't been distracted by Walton flirting with Nanette, he wouldn't have unintentionally authorized the update patch to be delayed until Christmas Eve, giving the crew of the Callister enough time to plot a way to escape.
119	* FreakOut: Digital Nanette understandably has one when she realizes the gist of the situation. She runs off and tries to find an exit, banging at the doors until Daly transports her back to the control room.
120	* FreezeFrameBonus: In every scene she's shown, real Elena is wearing teal lacquer on her fingernails. It's the same shade as the skintone of her digital, [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe space-babe]] copy.
121	* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Walton says this outright when he admits that he probably is part of why Daly is so angry and bitter -- and then points out that Daly still murdered a clone of his son purely to get him to cooperate, so ''"fuck you to death!"''
122	* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
123	** When the game is paused, the Arachnajax monster is seen nodding her head and blinking in frustration, shortly before the reveal that she is one of the victims as well (Gillian from Marketing).
124	** When Daly turns Lowry into an Arachnajax and has her escorted off the bridge, she visibly bumps her head on the elevator door frame due to her inhuman size. Might double as a ShoutOut to the famous [[ThrowItIn filming mishap]] in ''Film/ANewHope'' where the same happened to a stormtrooper.
125	** Right before the end of the episode when the crew break through into the online version of the game and their character models update, Helmsman Packer can be seen checking his trousers for genitals and grinning at what he finds. Even better -- he and Lowry then smirk at each other.
126	* GameMod: In-universe. Daly has modified the ''Infinity'' MMO he developed so that he can play it offline and as the captain of the ship from his favourite TV show.
127	* GeneticMemory: The digital copies of those in Daly's Space Fleet mod of ''Infinity'' are created from DNA, rather than tech that can copy the brains/memories of their originals like we've seen before. Despite this, the copies somehow retain the memories and personalities of their originals.
128	* GenreDeconstruction: In almost any other solidly sci-fi movie, the Daly character would be written as the sympathetic underdog whose boss stole his dream creation from him -- but this episode instead shows how a character like Daly can be just as bad as the people who have tormented him. This is explicitly referenced when Walton tells Daly that he feels like he "should" apologize for how he treated him, but then refuses because Daly threw his son out of an airlock.
129	-->'''Walton:''' I ''should'' say that, but you threw my son out of an airlock, so ''fuck you to death''.
130	* GetItOverWith: Valdack asks for this after Daly defeats him, [[CruelMercy who refuses]]. It also becomes the goal of the crew to release themselves after they find out it's possible (usually they can't die unless Daly allows this). However, they are saved at the end.
131	* HeadTiltinglyKinky: Nanette's photo album is apparently ridiculously sexy, so much so that the crewmates can't even decide which one would be best to be used as blackmail material. That said, [[SexyDiscretionShot she's not nude in any of the pictures the viewer gets to see.]]
132	-->'''Walton:''' Really, any of the last nine would do.
133	* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: Taken to the logical extremes and deconstructed. Daly in his mod makes himself the handsome, heroic captain, but also deliberately tortures his "crew" and forces them to idolize him on threat of torture. Nanette is having none of it, especially since she's not physically attracted to Daly and she didn't ''ask'' to be copied into his mod.
134	* HeroicSacrifice: Walton volunteers to go down to the chamber and fix the jet fader manually before Daly catches them and/or the vortex closes, knowing that it'll come on immediately and he'll be incinerated as it flames. Even worse is the fact that they can't die, so he knows he'll suffer through deadly pain for a while rather than go quickly.
135	* {{Homage}}:
136	** The [[ShowWithinAShow fictional television series]] ''Space Fleet'' is this to ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.
137	** The crew's functional blue uniforms in the updated game is a nod to ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''.
138	** The bright, white LensFlare aesthetic of the live game matches the look of ''Film/StarTrek2009''.
139	** The episode inverts the premise of Creator/HarlanEllison trope maker for the AndIMustScream. In that story a mad AI torments a group of humans, whereas in the episode a mad human torments a group of [=AIs=].
140	** The face removal scene also channels a memorable moment from the original Star Trek episode "Charlie X", where villanous God-child Charlie Evans uses his powers to do something almost identical to one of the USS Enterprise crew.
141	* HopeSpot: When Nanette manages to send a [[DistressCall "help" message]] to herself, it looks like this could bring Daly's simulation down, but things take a different turn. The real Nanette thinks it's a spambot after showing it to Daly, and doesn't open the attachment because it could be a virus.
142	* IDieFree: The digital clones' plan is to reach the wormhole that represents the virtual environment's connection to the internet in order to be deleted by the firewall. Subverted in that the firewall only deletes the ''Space Fleet'' mod, leaving them free to roam the ''Infinity'' universe.
143	* IHaveYourWife: A variant. Daly not only has access to all the digital crew's DNA (to make new clones even if they die), he has DNA from Walton's son Tommy.
144	* INeedAFreakingDrink: The entire crew, but especially Walton, are prone to go for a drink once Daly is out of sight. It's one of the only things they can do to cope. Walton has even grown accustomed to drinking alien phlegm and has been hitting the bar for so long that he didn't even think about how the extraterrestrial choices (which apparently included actual poison) would freak out Nanette.
145	* InnocentFanserviceGirl: PlayedForDrama. This is how Daly expects all the female Space Fleet members to act, putting them in revealing clothes, chastely kissing them without tongue, expecting them to adore and desire him. However, he's completely freaked out and lost when Nanette takes off some of her clothes and gets in the pool to distract him.
146	* InstantAIJustAddWater: It doesn't make sense that harvested DNA can create fully sentient clones in ''Infinity'' that come outfitted with feelings and memories, and which can move and act independently of Daly's player character, rather than have them be simple and non-sentient [=A.I.s=] that can mindlessly do his bidding while still giving him the benefit of torturing his disliked coworkers, but it works for the episode's premise.
147	* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: All the Americans in the cast have starred in shows/films where Jesse Plemons or Cristin Milioti were main characters before, adding to the postmodern romp of the episode. Plemons and Milioti were both in ''Series/{{Fargo}}'', Jimmi Simpson was in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' with Milioti, Billy Magnussen was in ''Film/TheBrassTeapot'' with Milioti and both ''Film/BridgeOfSpies'' and ''Film/GameNight'' with Plemons, Aaron Paul in ''Series/BreakingBad'' with Plemons (where he was a larger character) and Kirsten Dunst in ''Series/{{Fargo}}'', too.
148	* IronicEcho: In the opening scene, Daly suggests piloting the ship into a gas cluster, which Walton warns would be suicide. The A.I. characters later end up deliberately piloting themselves into a wormhole in an attempt to be deleted.
149	* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: In ''Infinity'', Shania attempts to help Nanette after Daly has discovered and foiled Nanette's plan to escape (and take the others with her). Daly is threatening to torture Nanette horrifically, but instead, after Shania tries to help, he turns her into a giant bug.
150	* JerkassHasAPoint: The real Walton gets angry at Daly for not having the update ready in time, but Daly had promised to get it done. Also, Walton isn't super-angry, just firm about how they need to keep the customers happy. He's just doing his job, while Daly in this instance isn't. It's also implied Daly never told Walton either that the update would be late or why it would be late, given Walton seemed to only know about the delay from a news article he shows Daly.
151	* JustInTime: The crew manages to get to the wormhole just before the update window closes, saving them but trapping Daly as he follows seconds later after it's closed.
152	* KarmicDeath: Daly's rogue video game and his actions lead to him having his mind trapped in the oblivion of a deleted video game and probably dying in the real world, thanks to an update.
153	* LaserGuidedKarma:
154	** When Daly accepts the pizza Nanette ordered, he shuts the door in the deliveryman's face without tipping, promptly activating a "do not disturb" sign. Come the end of the episode, once his mind is trapped in the game, the sign ensures that, since his company has just gone on a 10-day holiday break, no one will find his body before he dies.
155	** One could also interpret his selection of victims as this. His coworkers at least did wrong him in some way in real life, and even if it's DisproportionateRetribution, Daly did torment them for ''something''. It's when he duplicates Tommy (a mere kid whose only crime is having a jerk of a dad) and Nanette (who's not only done nothing to Daly, but idolized him) that he loses all sympathy he had and his payback actually comes for him.
156	* LastSecondJokeProblem: The episode ends with the ''Callister'' crew free of Daly's control and realizing they can now explore the updated ''Infinity'' game at their leisure... and they immediately have to escape the quadrant when an obnoxious player promises to "blast them into shit."
157	* LensFlare: Almost omnipresent in the original, unmodded version of ''Infinity'', continuing the ''Film/StarTrek2009'' parallel.
158	* LighterAndSofter:
159	** It isn't the first episode not to end in soul-crushing tragedy, but moments of humor are peppered through the episode, somewhat unusually.
160	** And while what happens to the digital clones is certainly disturbing, the only actual human who is harmed in the episode is Daly.
161	* LogicalLatecomer: Nanette in the space crew points out immediately how wrong the situation is. Daly responds by removing her face and suffocating her.
162	* LongingLook: Daly cannot take his eyes off Nanette at the office, which is noted by Lowry as him getting "stare-y." This takes a darker turn as Lowry reveals he put her in the game for calling him out on his staring.
163	* LookBehindYou: Daly manages to distract Valdack this way. Though it's suggested that 'Valdack', or the poor worker with the gym bag playing him, knows the drill and lets himself get distracted as he's playing along with Daly's often-immature story.
164	-->'''Daly:''' Over there! A naked lady!
165	** Despite Valdack playing along, he also breaks character for a second and says, "Oh, really?" He's so bored of the endless monotony that even the possibility of seeing a naked woman, no matter how likely it is to be false, makes him excited.
166	* LotusEaterMachine: The video games in this universe, or at least those made by Callister, seem to be exclusively highly-immersive virtual reality that uses this kind of technology.
167	* LowClearance: Packer navigates the USS ''Callister'' through a narrow gap between two asteroids that immediately collide behind them. Notably, the special effects of this event are [[StylisticSuck lower-quality]] than the rest of the episode, making it a greater homage to the cheesy close calls of old action sci-fi.
168	* MaliciousMisnaming: Nanette calls Daly's sci-fi simulation "Space Force bullshit". He reacts in a FandomEnragingMisconception way [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne that it's "Space ]]''[[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne Fleet]]''[[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne "]] -- like angry nerd fandom gatekeepers who get offended at people who don't remember if they like ''Franchise/StarTrek'' or ''Franchise/StarWars'' (that is, assuming they like only one of them rather than neither or both).
169	* MatrixRainingCode: This can be seen on Daly's monitor at his office and at home, though it looks more like a screensaver than anything, possibly being a little in-universe allusion by Daly to by-then "historic" coding.
170	* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: The crew's mutiny is a result of Daly constantly mistreating them. With that said, Nanette has to convince them because Daly had broken them so thoroughly.
171	* {{Narm}}: Invoked. The digital clones have hammy, over-the-top reactions to Daly's "adventures" in the Space Fleet mod. After all, they are just his office co-workers, and being made to act under threat of force besides.
172	* NeckLift: Daly does this to Walton in the game when he wants to humiliate Walton for doubting him. This is when the digital clones visibly change from looking like lifeless copies to terrified of their captor.
173	* NerdHoard: Daly has a prized collection of Space Fleet memorabilia. It serves as {{foreshadowing}} for the way he traps his co-workers in a simulation...
174	* NerdsAreVirgins: Zig-Zagged. Averted with Nanette, a computer programmer, who is shown to have sexy pictures and boyfriends. Played ''very'' straight in Daly's case (who is also noted to be the most intellectual member of Callister), although he also has ''many'' other potential reasons to be a virgin still.
175	* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
176	** Daly putting Nanette into the game ends up proving his undoing. Unlike the others, who have been conditioned into playing along with his sadistic games, Nanette is a PluckyGirl and LogicalLatecomer. She also refuses to go down passively and resorts to dirty means to help everyone escape.
177	** Daly pushing back the deadline on the update patch to Christmas Eve allows the crew enough time to conspire against him. In addition, the real Shania Lowry mentions that the office is closed for ten days. If the digital crew had trapped him in his own mod at any other time, there's good odds Daly would be missed quickly and potentially rescued. The delayed deadline dramatically increases the odds that his physical body will die before anyone even realizes his mind is trapped in a broken mod.
178	* NobodyPoops: In true ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fashion, and actually justified. Daly has {{invoked\|trope}} the trope, by taking away the digital clones' genitals and anuses to make sure his mod is "wholesome" like ''Space Fleet''.
179	* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup:
180	** Defied by Daly. The crew tells digital Nanette that even if they escape and die, then Daly could still use their DNA to bring them {{back from the dead}} and do worse. So she has to get the real Nanette to steal the DNA, to prevent that scenario from happening.
181	** He also has a backup disc for his mod, allowing him to get back in the game faster than the crew expected.
182	** However, in the end, this is what comes to bite him in the arse: consumed by his god complex, he did not install anything to wake him up or at least call for help if the immersion goes wrong. Maybe he did not expect for his mod to be deleted by the server, yes, but what if anything as simple as a power outage, a programming error or falling asleep made him trapped inside the simulation?
183	* OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding: An interesting case: the "leads" here are copies of characters in the real world; they break out of Robert Daly's mod of ''Infinity'' and into a way better game (the real one with an update applied). However, the real Nanette is probably paranoid as hell on account of "the blackmailers" who probably have her naked photos to use again anytime. If Robert Daly dies, she will probably be devastated (she idolized him), along with investigated since she called a pizza to his house and left prints getting the digital copies' DNA. This is not to mention the potential damage to the company (since Robert Daly's genius was the backbone there). All in all, the digital crew's win is good only for them, although there is a possibility that Daly's actions can still be exposed.
184	* OurWormholesAreDifferent: The wormhole is actually a representation of the ''Infinity'' game content update.
185	* PainfulTransformation: Shania seems to be in pain when changing into an Arachnajax.
186	* ParanoiaGambit: The digital Nanette has to blackmail her real-life counterpart with nude photos to get her to help steal back the crew's DNA samples, and real Nanette has no idea who's doing the blackmailing or that the threat is empty.
187	* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Defied by Nanette. The password of her [=PhotoCloud=] account is "[=Y998gb7TY&4=]", which, as Dudani points out, is a secure choice. However, it doesn't help real life Nanette's case, since her digital copy obviously knows it as well.
188	* PlotDemandedManualMode: Walton volunteers to manually kick-start the engines after the PlotDrivenBreakdown.
189	* PlotDrivenBreakdown: Right before the USS ''Callister'' exits the AsteroidThicket, it brushes an asteroid and suffers engine failure. Cue Walton's HeroicSacrifice.
190	* PlotSensitiveButton: When Daly commands Nanette to perform functions on the ship, Nanette is confused, until Lowry helpfully informs her that pushing any button will do.
191	* PowerFantasy: Daly's ''Space Fleet'' mod is his way of coping with the humiliation he experiences every day at the hands of his colleagues. If Daly had grown a backbone and stood up for himself at work (after all, he was the man responsible for the company's success), he probably wouldn't feel the need to clone his colleagues digitally in order to torture them in his own virtual reality.
192	* ProceduralGeneration: In-universe, ''Infinity'' is an infinite procedurally generated universe.
193	* RedFlagRecreationMaterial: Played with. Robert Daly plays the virtual reality game ''Infinity'' in order to escape from disappointments in the real world, with his NPC crew apparently reskinned to resemble his boss and fellow employees. As such, when he responds to a bad day at work by throttling the NPC version of Walton and [[DominanceThroughFurniture using him as a footstool]], the IntendedAudienceReaction is to assume that Daly has a dark side under his shy exterior. However, it's soon revealed that the characters aren't NPC programs at all, but fully sapient doppelgangers of real people that Daly has cloned and imprisoned for his own twisted amusement - meaning that this isn't a character-revealing choice of entertainment, but a ''conscious act of villainy.''
194	* RedShirt: This wouldn't be a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' homage without it:
195	** Shania wears the red outfit and is the first one to suffer Daly's wrath on-screen. She gets better, however.
196	** Daly himself wears a red jacket and gets stuck in a potentially inescapable situation.
197	* {{Retraux}}: The FakeActionPrologue sampling the exploits of the ''Callister'' crew is shown in grainy, low-quality video that would not be out of place when ''Star Trek'' first came out.
198	* RevengePornBlackmail: The digital copy of Nanette blackmails the real Nanette to go along with their plan for freeing them with some X-rated photos in her cloud account (since, as a digital copy, she knows the password).
199	* RevengeViaStorytelling: This is part of Robert Daly's revenge on his co-workers. He uses their DNA to create online avatars of them that he tortures, but he also forces them to act out mini-plots that involve them, especially his hated CEO, being made to look like fools and/or enemies that repeatedly praise him.
200	* RightForTheWrongReasons: The real life Shania Lowry suspects that something is not right about Robert Daly, so she warns the real life Nanette Cole to be careful around him. Lowry obviously has no idea what Daly does outside of work (if she did, there would be no trash in the office), but she is correct in believing him to be unsettling.
201	* SavedForTheSequel: When Captain Daly destroys the enemy ship, he lets Valdack escape so he can finish him off in his next mission.
202	* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: The update wormhole was a "parsec" away, over three light-years, an absurd distance for a SternChase by a shuttle. The navigation screen showing a shortcut through an asteroid field is also badly scaled: asteroid fields are not multiple light-years across. Justified since this is a computer game.[[note]]Though at the very least, a parsec was referred to as a unit of distance, unlike how it was referred to in [[Film/ANewHope another sci-fi story.]][[/note]]
203	* ScreenShake: Happens when the ''USS Callister'' is hit in the opening scene, accompanied by [[ExplosiveInstrumentation sparks and smoke coming from the control panels]].
204	* ShinyLookingSpaceships: The ''USS Callister'' is shiny and white; par for the course of all ''Star Trek'' Federation ships.
205	* ShoutOut: Besides ''Star Trek'', Creator/CharlieBrooker [[InspirationNod has said in interviews]] that ''Franchise/ToyStory'', of all things, has been an inspiration for this episode, with the digital clones being a very dark take of the toys that only gain life when the kid is absent. The shot with the crew holding hands when hurtling toward possible oblivion may be even a specific shout-out to ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''[='=]s famous scene.
206	-->''[[CatchPhrase "To Infinity and beyond!"]]''
207	* ShowSomeLeg: In ''Infinity'', the digital Nanette invokes {{fanservice}} by stripping down to her underwear and inviting Daly to a bath with her in a nearby lake, in order to distract him long enough for the others to enact their escape plan. While the first example only results in some ridicule for Daly, the second one plays an important role in his ultimate downfall.
208	* SmoochOfVictory: Invoked. After a successful mission, Daly urges all the female members of the crew to kiss him as a reward for "saving the day". Of course, it is very creepy, but it also hints at Daly's [[PsychopathicManchild arrested development]]; the kisses are closed mouth and the digital copies have no tongues or genitals, so the smooches are really just power plays for him.
209	* SpaceIsCold: Justified since it's in a game which has been programmed for what people expect, not what is real.
210	** Walton tells Nanette the story about his son being ThrownOutTheAirlock and freezing to death.
211	--->'''Walton:''' Have you ever seen an unsuited body compress in space? They freeze... and [[LiterallyShatteredLives crack like a porcelain doll]].
212	** This is also why Nanette rolls her eyes at the "damsels in mini-skirts" on Daly's ''Space Fleet'' poster, as she believes that outfit would more realistically be chilly in space.
213	* SpaceIsNoisy: In the opening scene, there is an impact sound when the ''USS Callister''[='=]s proton bolts hit the enemy ship.
214	* SpaceIsolationHorror: What Daly's mind experiences at the end, and theoretically will exist in forever unable to leave or die. You can also tell how the ''Infinity'' crew were scared of this happening, albeit with much greater freedom, by how relieved they are at hearing Gamer 691.
215	-->'''Daly:''' [[MadnessMantra Exit game! EXIT GAME! EXIT GAME!!]] [[VillainousBreakdown EXIT FUCKING GAME!!! EXIT FUCKING GAME!!!! EXIT FUCKING GAME!!!!!]]
216	* SpiritualAntithesis: This is a ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' with horror elements.
217	* SpiritualSuccessor: To two ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episodes. The antagonist is a blonde RealityWarper with the mind of a child like in [[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E8ItsAGoodLife "It's a Good Life"]]. Also, the main characters are sentient non-humans like in [[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E14FiveCharactersInSearchOfAnExit "Five Characters in Search of an Exit"]].
218	* StackedCharactersPoster: The episode's poster looks like an homage to the ''Star Wars'' posters with all the characters stacked into a column with the villain right in the center.
219	* StylisticSuck: The horrible acting of the digital-copy crew within the 'storylines' of Daly's mod. They are not happy to be there, and it shows. Even [[FunWithSubtitles the Netflix subtitles make this clear]], as when Walton is crying about how they're "all gonna die" when confronted by Valdack, the subtitles say "[fake sobbing]".
220	* TakeThat: Daly is an obvious shot at current entitled nerd culture, with many taking their newfound social acceptance to the point of being just as bad as the people who used to torment them.
221	* ThrownOutTheAirlock: Daly threw a digital copy of Walton's son Tommy out the airlock to break Walton's spirit and force him to comply with Daly's orders.
222	* TransformationDiscretionShot: When Daly uses his power over the simulation to transform Lowry into an arachnajax as punishment for Nanette's disobedience, the audience has a clear view of Lowry collapsing to the ground and the first couple of spider-legs erupting from her back... and then we cut away to Daly still performing his signature MagicalGesture, with the rest of the transformation occurring through sound-effects until the fully-transformed arachnajax is led away to the brig.
223	* TrappedInAnotherWorld: What Nanette in the simulation goes through. Except that she and the others cannot return to the real world because they are copies of their real world selves.
224	* TauntingTheTransformed: when Nanette attempts to resist her imprisonment in the simulation, Robert Daly makes [[VirtualRealityWarper his power over the virtual world]] apparent by [[TheBlank removing Nanette's face]] and vocally delighting in her voiceless terror over the course of the next few seconds.
225	-->Oh dear. You can't see. You can't breathe. Unpleasant, isn't it? Do you submit? You won't die, you know. No one dies in here unless I want them to. I can keep you like this forever if I feel like it. Forever gasping for breath with a mouth that isn't there...
226	* VehicleTitle: The titular "USS ''Callister''" is the ship piloted by Daly et al. in his simulation. It's named after the same ship from ''Space Fleet'', and is also the name of Daly and Walton's company.
227	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: If Daly ever had any other use for the Space Fleet mod, he now seems to use it largely to punish people that frustrate him in reality. Deconstructed by showing that this isn't much different than a CosmicHorrorStory if the characters are sapient.
228	* WhamLine: As Nanette makes her strategy and tries to swear everyone into helping, Walton is the only one to object. In frustration, she asks why he isn't fighting back. He answers with a name seen constantly on a plastic baggy in Daly's Fridge with a lollipop inside: Tommy.
229	-->'''Nanette''': Who is Tommy?\
230	'''Walton''': [[WouldHurtAChild He's my son.]]
231	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
232	** We never learn what happened to Gillian from marketing, nor any of the other workers Lowry mentions are littered throughout the in-game universe. Since they weren't on the ship, they presumably didn't escape. One can only hope they were deleted when Daly's mod collapsed.
233	** We also don't see Walton after the ship passes through the wormhole, which leaves [[UncertainDoom his fate uncertain]]: did he survive along with the rest of the crew (and if so, is he still horribly burned?), or was he deleted?
234	* WhereNoParodyHasGoneBefore: Daly's "Space Fleet" mod is quite clearly based on ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', with Daly himself adopting a persona similar to Kirk while playing. The crew even wear blue, gold and red uniforms.
235	* WrongGenreSavvy: Invoked and played for drama throughout. Daly forces everyone on USS ''Callister'' to comply with his 1970s-era fantasy of the Space Fleet's NarmCharm world against their will. Nanette tries to trick him throughout more modern means, but ultimately succeeds by invoking Daly's favourite tropes.
236	* YouGetMeCoffee: When Daly tasks everyone on the bridge, the last one in line is Packer whom he tells to get coffee. Serves as a punishment for Packer for not getting him coffee at the office. With that said, that's the mildest thing Daly does.
237	* YourMindMakesItReal: It's heavily implied that the real Daly is going to die from his mind being trapped in a deleted video game. The crew show elation at this, and though he imprisoned and tortured them, he's still a person.
238	** This or he simply dies from dehydration in his chair during the 10-day break from work.

Context Recap / BlackMirrorUSSCallister