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Cipherr

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,436
I dont follow the show but even I watched San Junipero after catching a bit of a synopsis of it. It delivered. Havent seen this one.
 

Deleted member 25606

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
8,973
Great episode but not my fave. White Bear, shut up and dance, metalhead, and Hang the Dj are my favorites. Though to be honest it would be quicker and a lot easier for me to list/rank the few episodes I don't enjoy much. I plan on eventually rewatching them all the same as I did the first time but maybe I can get someone to watch them with me.

And that is why my advice on the show is how to watch not what. With the subject matter, being an anthology, format of at least an hour with no commercials and no edit cuts to fit ads, and budget in the Netflix seasons it's better to treat them as short films and not only don't binge it all but don't watch handfuls either, watch one and let it percolate until your ready for another, it goes down smoother and I feel even makes the bad episodes go easier, though it's the type of series where opinions vary wildly not just in groups but even with individuals. The only real consensus I see is suggestions that people at least try out an episode, if it's not for them cool.
 

Hey Please

Avenger
Oct 31, 2017
22,824
Not America
It wasn't though. It's very much in the theme of Black Mirror. Just because some people see it as a "happy" ending doesn't mean it is one. It's about a totally Godless endgame for humanity where "heaven" as a concept is replicated by a computer simulation and euthanasia is seen as a positive thing. Where the value of "life" is reduced to feeling good about yourself by hiding in a delusional timeless nostalgia trap and wallowing in the simulation of material and physical pleasure..... forever. It's a fantastic episode, but it's not opposed to the theme of technological dystopia at all. Choosing to "stay" in the simulation is what makes it true to the Black Mirror theme. Humans succumb to the allure of technological comfort over natural life. Always.

That's definitely an interesting and a valid take.

For me it was about choosing the known over unknown, albeit within the illusory world and being cognizant of it. Given the ongoing debate about our own universe possibly being a simulation, and the
season finale of Westworld
and weirdly enough, Supernatural's version of heaven where people get live out their days repeating their "greatest hits" moments, the idea felt apropos. Also, in San Junipero, the residents do get a choice to finally move on, which is a key difference from other episodes which are generally rooted in misery and choices lead to more of it. Now, in this regard, USS Callister explores the idea of "retribution", "liberation" and "hope", but in the "unknown". Finally, San Junipero had successful romance which made me go all gooey, emotionally speaking. Over all, the feel good factors of the two episodes stood out to me.
 

hibikase

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,820
Haha that one is my recommendation to people starting the series usually.
Or to people who unfortunately started and stopped at s01 e01 lol.

I know at least two people who did exactly that.

I think there's a very good reason why the Netflix UI deliberately lists the seasons of Black Mirror in reverse order, as opposed to every other show.
 

StarsTurnCold

Avenger
Apr 30, 2018
654
San Junipero and Hang the DJ are easily the 2 best episodes of the entire show and no one can convince me otherwise. Although there are many other fantastic episodes like The Entire History of You and Shut Up & Dance.
 

Dalek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,952
I really really liked the Uss Callister episode 1 from season 4, it was just so well done. Sad, funny in parts, terrifying to think about in some ways, and very well acted across the board.

It also probably helps too if you are both a sci-fi fan and a gamer too.

Completely agree-my favorite too.

I don't think 15 Million Merits is nearly as good as everyone makes it out to be-it's very basic and not very clever. It's premise is too outlandish to be relatable. Whereas other stories have the sense of something that "could" happen.

I really liked Crocodile from last season but it has to be the bleakest episode by far. The technology in that episod is very interesting and I like how it shows it being used in a dry procedural way-almost as commonplace as DNA testing. But the character knows she's trapped and no matter what she does she's going to get caught.
 
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Dingens

Circumventing ban with an alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,018
I'm kinda surprised people love san junipero this much... I thought it was pretty boring and missing the sadistic edge I came to love about the series. But that's somewhat of an issue for almost all of the netflix seasons.

[...]
Does Black Mirror get better than this, or have I just seen the peak? [...]

I'd argue it's the peak, as the series moved to netflix afterwards and got a lot tamer, in my opinion at least. The budget may be higher... but it also felt a tad more mainstream
 

CassCade

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
2,037
I think it's the best Black Mirror episode, I think San Junipero was a great episode but it wasn't really at all what I like about Black Mirror, that being said, I think the third season is the best.
 

CloudWolf

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,624
White Christmas is definitely the peak. The first two seasons in general are really excellent though (except for the Waldo episode, but that one has aged well).

Third season had some duds, but is generally also pretty good. San Junipero being the best one, though very unlike any other previous BM episodes.

Then you have season 4 and the less said about those episodes, the better IMO.
 

Phamit

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,943
I think it's the best episode. Entire History of You, Hang the DJ, San Junipero, Be right back and Fifteen Million Merits are among my favorites. I also think The National Anthem is a must see episode.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Probably my favorite episode of the series but there's still some great ones to go

Season 2 is absolutely the best season though, waldo moment aside.
 

Lady Murasaki

Scary Shiny Glasses
Member
Oct 25, 2017
680
I think White Christmas will always be the best Black Mirror episode to me. It is undoubtedly the first one that comes to my mind, even being from the 1st season. And one of the best I ever watched in general. But here are a lot of other great episodes in Black Mirror too.

I would say my top 5 is:

1. White Christmas - First time the cookie theme is explored. It takes the virtual psychological torture discussion to a whole new level too.

2. Nosedive - Bryce Dallas Howard is absolutely amazing on this one. Its great color palette plays a big part in the story impact too. I like it especially because of the self-perception and online persona.

3. Hated in the Nation - I like how the plot shows how the snowball effect is quick when it comes to online harassment. Even the antagonist has a backstory that ''explains'' that the main problem is the public online court.

4. Shut Up and Dance/ National Anthem - Their strength is the shocking revelations, but its that kind of thing that keeps you thinking for days.

5. USS Callister/ Men Against Fire - These don't really bring any technologic breakthrough like many of the others, but I really like the social commentary they make on hard topics like toxic masculinity and dehumanization of ''the other''.
 

CloudWolf

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,624
USS Callister is so much fun that I'm willing to overlook the fact that the last third of the episode is some of the sweatiest storytelling I've ever seen
The episode in general has a whole lot of stuff you have to overlook. The episode straight up tells its viewers to believe that DNA from saliva on a lolly or the side of a coffee cup can not only be used to perfectly recreate a person, but also somehow the memories and experiences of that person.
 

GMM

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,483
White Christmas is a fantastic episode and the ending is absolutely brutal, top 5 episode for sure. San Junipero is my personal favorite by far, that episode goes really interesting places and is quite a departure from what the type of stories the show usually tells. Shut Up and Dance, The Entire History of You, Hang The DJ and Fifteen Million Merits are fantastic as well.

Even when Black Mirror is at its worst, it's still quite good and worth watching
 

Psittacus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,933
I like The Entire History of You because it goes in the hardest on technology amplifying our failings until we're consumed by them
 

MilkBeard

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,780
It's definitely near peak Black Mirror. They haven't really been able to deliver that same feeling in the later seasons, though I enjoyed them to varying degrees.
 

Real

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,422
San Junipero doesn't fit the theme of the show at all, is awkwardly paced, and just genuinely not a good episode.

Never understood the hype - White Christmas is leagues ahead.
 

Camstun187

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,166
China
That Christmas episode was the first one I ever watched. It came in the torrents (living in china, so I have no choice) package and it seemed to be the first episode. I was shook too, OP. Great episode.

San Junipero is actually just ok compared to some of the darker shit the series has got going on.

My favorites are the Star Trek tribute, the pedophile teen, and the social ranking episodes.

But hey, they're all amazing.
 

Mesoian

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,503
I overthought my way out of liking white christmas.

Much like star wars TLJ, the crux of the story hinges on the fact that people just don't want to talk to each other. The girlfriend doesn't wanna talk, fine, I get that, that makes sense. WHY DOES HER DAD JUST STRAIGHT UP REFUSE FACE TIME FOR LITERAL YEARS?!? That whole situation could have been avoided if people acted like adults and talked to each other.

The story about the dating streams was way more interesting an has my girl Gina Bellman in it.

I like the Waldo moment a lot. It just...strikes kind of close these days though.
 

Disco

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,451
I feel like every season of black mirror has a few duds and a couple good ones. Not all of them are worth watching imo

But yeah this was defo one of the good ones
 
Oct 26, 2017
6,261
Jon Hamm can objectively do no wrong.

I don't like Black Mirror now, Netflix has spruced it up too much I feel like and it feels like another big production rather than a smaller budget Twilight Zone when it was exclusive to BBC. I was fine waiting for new episodes to make their way over here through Netflix so I'm bummed the way these last two seasons have turned out :/

You've hit the peak in my opinion but I know people like that San Jurnapino (or whatever the hell its called) in S3, I never actually watched it. The only episode of that season I haven't seen.

It was never on the Beeb. It was a Channel 4 show originally. There's definitely been a shift since it moved to Netflix but the quality is about the same I think. C4 series had one bad episode each series too.
 

Deleted member 2809

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
25,478
I overthought my way out of liking white christmas.

Much like star wars TLJ, the crux of the story hinges on the fact that people just don't want to talk to each other. The girlfriend doesn't wanna talk, fine, I get that, that makes sense. WHY DOES HER DAD JUST STRAIGHT UP REFUSE FACE TIME FOR LITERAL YEARS?!? That whole situation could have been avoided if people acted like adults and talked to each other.

The story about the dating streams was way more interesting an has my girl Gina Bellman in it.

I like the Waldo moment a lot. It just...strikes kind of close these days though.
This happens in real life these days you know ?
 

Mesoian

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,503
This happens in real life these days you know ?

There's even less of a reason for it to happen with the dad though. He's not on the service, his daughter is gone, they're both clearly distraught years before the revelation occurs...

This is a 5 minute conversation. We're told that both of those characters care about the situation at hand, direly, and yet they do nothing for ages until the guilt and pain of it all crushes them both. It's stupid and it's the weakest part of the story considering how strong the other two major stories in WC are.
 
Oct 29, 2017
4,273
It's my favorite episode of the three seasons I watched, tho my honeymoon with the series ended and I don't even like this one much anymore.
 

LL_Decitrig

User-Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
10,334
Sunderland
I think White Christmas will always be the best Black Mirror episode to me. It is undoubtedly the first one that comes to my mind, even being from the 1st season. And one of the best I ever watched in general.

That Christmas episode was the first one I ever watched. It came in the torrents (living in china, so I have no choice) package and it seemed to be the first episode.

When the series was first produced for Channel 4, White Christmas was a Christmas special produced and broadcast after the first two three-episode mini-series of the show, for Christmas 2014. This made it the final episode seen by British audiences before it switched to Netflix. Series 3 and 4 followed in 2016 and 2017. You can see the original schedules on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Black_Mirror_episodes
 
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Ogami Itto

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,612
I watched San Junipero to see what the big deal was (internet hype), and I fucking hated it, I was bored to tears. Turned me off from watching the rest of the show.
 

Lady Murasaki

Scary Shiny Glasses
Member
Oct 25, 2017
680
I watched San Junipero to see what the big deal was (internet hype), and I fucking hated it, I was bored to tears. Turned me off from watching the rest of the show.

San Junipero is one of the episodes with a different tone of the rest of the series. It is also considered by many the only happy episode in all 4 seasons.

Most Black Mirror episodes are very bleak and some have a bit of fridge horror as well. I really like San Junipero, but it is almost too non-Black Mirror tbh. You should give it a try again, maybe starting with White Christmas, National Anthem or The Entire Story of You. These are more aligned with the series tone and theme.
 

P-MAC

Member
Nov 15, 2017
4,461
I watched San Junipero to see what the big deal was (internet hype), and I fucking hated it, I was bored to tears. Turned me off from watching the rest of the show.

Give White Christmas a chance if you ever have the time. They literally have nothing in common. San Junipero I enjoyed but it doesn't fit with the rest of the show. White Christmas embodies the show much more and if you enjoy it, you're guaranteed to like a bunch more episodes. If you don't, you probably won't like any of the show at all. San Junipero is a terrible episode to judge the show on, White Christmas is a good one.
 
Oct 25, 2017
16,738
SJ is one of the best episodes of Black Mirror. This one was good as well. For me at least there are only a few that don't hit that well. I'm a fan of most of the episodes.
 

Skyrim

Member
Oct 28, 2017
126
I think San Junipero might be the finest hour ever put to film.It really resonated with me.

But Shut Up and Dance also might be my favourite. And The Entire History of You is really good, but also incredibly hard to watch.

White Christmas is also up there.

Maybe that's the peak of the show? Everyone seems to have a different favourite episode, so it might not be the peak for you. You should watch the rest and see.