Black Mirror

As I may have mentioned before, I don't often find myself with enough time to get into TV series. I did make time for Game of Thrones and Westworld, but I don't regularly Netflix and binge..

This week, however, I've found myself staying up a bit later and sneaking in an episode (or two) of a certain series you may or may not have heard of..

src

To be honest, I don't know why I've never checked out this show until now. People have talked about it and recommended it to me, but I just never took the initiative. There was that interactive episode that Netflix was promoting. A kind of choose your own adventure movie. I put it on with my sons.. bad choice.. Black Mirror is NOT a child-friendly type show. It IS, however, very well put together and thought-provoking.

If you, like me, haven't heard too much of the show, it's basically a modern day Twilight Zone.. It's a science fiction anthology series, which means each episode is a standalone episode. There are no recurring characters or storyline, although some episodes pay tribute to elements from episodes that came prior in the time line.

Originally signed for two seasons with the BBC, Netflix picked up the contract for 12 more episodes, which ended up being split between seasons 3 and 4.. Earlier this month saw the premiere of season 5.

src

I have only made it up to season 3 as of the writing of this article. But I am hooked. It's impressive how much thought and detail are put into every episode.

Each episode, with a runtime ranging between 45-75 mins, feels like a self-contained movie. You are thrown into a strange situation and follow a main character or two as events unfold and things become weirder before everything is revealed.. or is it?

The twists are good.. logically and satisfying. The acting, on the whole, is terrific, often requiring the actors to go an emotional range of zero to 100 in a matter of seconds.. and the social commentary is disturbing, if not a blatant warning sign to beware the unintended result of over-dependence on technology.

A lot of it seems scarily plausible at times. I wish more television shows were as thorough and thought-provoking. I am excited to see what the newer seasons have to offer.

In fact, I'm off to watch another episode right now!

src

What about you? Have you seen any of the Black Mirror series? What are your thoughts? Please share in the comments below!